A Spoonful of Promises
Stories & Recipes from a Well-Tempered Table
by T. Susan Chang
Lyons Press
November 2011
$24.95/Hardcover
Color Photographs
ISBN-13: 978-0762772506

Contact: Jessica DeFranco
jessica.defranco@globepequot.com

A Spoonful of Promises: Stories & Recipes from a Well-Tempered Table is a collection of mouthwatering stories with intimacy–between family and friends, parents and children–as its common thread. Here, food is a metaphor, a sixth sense that binds to the drama of our lives and to moments that might otherwise be forgotten. Chang’s food stories explore facets of the human condition, whether nostalgia, romance, loyalty, love, guilt, envy, or hope, each in its most delicious form.

The book—comprising thirty-three essays and recipes—begins with food scenes from Chang’s childhood, memories of the mother she lost to cancer early in her life, and the family that helped shape who she is today. This is followed by practical recipes for the weeknight parent and lessons Chang has learned along her own parenting journey. Finally, Chang dips into more adventurous cooking for special occasions: once-in-a-lifetime recipes and experiences meant to be shared with family, friends, or even strangers—who, as the saying goes, are only friends who have not met before.

About the Author

T. Susan Chang is a freelance food writer and the regular cookbook reviewer for the Boston Globe and NPR. She also regularly contributes to NPR’s Kitchen Window Column, and reviews and blog at eatyourbooks.com, a cookbook indexing website. Chang lives with her family in Western Massachusetts. Visit her blog, Cookbooks for Dinner, at  tsusanchang.com.

Sample Recipes

Chilled Roasted Tomato Soup

This is a great solution for the too-many-tomatoes problem some of us have in mid-August. If you don’t feel like firing up the grill just to make a soup, then grill the vegetables when you’re grilling something else. You can hold them, peeled and covered, for a day or two in the fridge. The rest of the soup is easy.

Serves 4

1 red bell pepper
2 pounds ripe tomatoes
1/4  cup olive oil
1 onion, chopped into medium dice
3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
Salt and pepper
1 cup chicken or vegetable stock

1. Preheat a gas grill, or start some coals for a charcoal grill. While the grill is heating, cut a slice off the top and the bottom of the red pepper and reserve. Cut the pepper open; remove the membrane and seeds. Flatten the pepper into one wide strip as best you can. Remove any tomato stems.

2. When the grill is hot, place the whole tomatoes and the pepper pieces, including the top and bottom, over the hottest part of the grate. Grill, turning frequently, until they’re blackened and blistering on all sides. As they finish, transfer them carefully to a medium-size mixing bowl. Let them rest, covering the bowl with a lid or plate, for 15 minutes or until they’re cool enough to handle.

3. While the tomato and pepper are cooling, place the oil, onion, garlic, and a little salt to taste in a heavy pot. Turn the heat to low, cover and sweat for about 25 minutes. Stir a few times to keep them from browning. When they’re done, the onions will be translucent and will have given off quite a bit of liquid.

4. While the onions are sweating, peel the tomato and pepper (discarding any remaining stems) and coarsely chop them. After the onions are done sweating, raise the heat, add the red vegetables, and sauté over high heat for 5 minutes. Add the stock and simmer an additional 5 minutes.

5. Using a blender set on high, puree the soup in batches and strain through a fine strainer or sieve, discarding any fibrous solids.

6. Chill at least 4 hours. Season to taste and serve.

Mint Chip Ice Cream

Sometimes I like to indulge in primo chocolate when I make this—Callebaut or Scharffen Berger or Ghirardelli, say. But that’s mostly because I snack when I cook. Once the chocolate is frozen in the ice cream, the distinctions kind of fade, so if you only have a yellow pack of semisweet morsels around, that’s all kinds of awesome, too. Guys, it’s chocolate.

Yield: 1 quart

Leaves from 1 generous bunch (about 10 leafy sprigs) of mint, preferably peppermint
1-1/2 cups milk
1-1/2 cups heavy cream (non-ultrapasteurized)
2/3 cup sugar, divided
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
4 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla
8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate (store them in the freezer till you need them)

1. Put the mint leaves in a heavy saucepan with the milk. Bring to a bare simmer, remove from heat, cover, and let stand for 30 minutes. Strain the milk into a bowl and reserve. Clean the saucepan.

2. Combine the heavy cream, 1⁄3 cup of the sugar, and the salt in the clean saucepan and bring to a bare simmer. Whisk the yolks with the remaining 1⁄3 cup of sugar in a large bowl. When the cream is hot, very gradually pour it into the yolks and sugar, whisking vigorously at the same time so the yolks don’t curdle.

3. When all the cream has been added, return the whole mixture to the saucepan. Heat slowly just to 170˚F (or when it coats the back of a wooden spoon). Pour into a large metal bowl and add the reserved, mint-flavored milk.

4. Cool over an ice bath and allow to chill in the refrigerator for 3 or 4 hours.

5. Add the vanilla. Churn in an ice cream machine according to instructions. As the churning finishes, add the cold chocolate chips. Freeze 4 hours or overnight.

These recipes may be reproduced with the following credit:

Excerpted from A Spoonful of Promises: Stories & Recipes from a Well-Tempered Table by T. Susan Chang © Lyons Press. Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved.