Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip

Well, I've finally done it -- I made my first Pinterest recipe this weekend. I whipped up this chocolate chip cookie dough dip for a bunco night with some of the spouses in my husband's squadron. (If you don't know -- which I definitely didn't! -- bunco is a dice game that requires absolutely no skill whatsover, so it's perfect for playing while chatting and drinking too much wine. And a prize is given not only to the overall winner, but also to the player who racked up the most losses. Incidentally, that was me. Not sure if I should be proud or ashamed...)

I served this quick and easy dip with fresh strawberries and vanilla wafer cookies. I really wanted chocolate graham crackers, as suggested in the recipe, but I couldn't find them anywhere. (Well, not at the two grocery stores I checked after remembering a couple hours before the event that we were supposed to bring something.) Luckily, someone else brought chocolate graham crackers (I admit to being slightly overcome with envy when I first spotted those evil chocolate grahams next to a competing cream cheese-based dip!), and they were just as delectable with the chocolate chip cookie dough dip as the original blog post made them sound.

This dip has it all -- fat, calories, guilt and drool-inducement. At least the fruit lightens it up a bit, right? Er... right? If you're like me and inhale half the cookie dough each time you bake cookies, you'll enjoy this. It's basically cookie dough without the eggs and with the addition of cream cheese. Yum! Check out the recipe at addapinch.com. Happy eating!

Book Review: "A Crimson Warning"

"A Crimson Warning" by Tasha Alexander
First published in 2011
My rating: 4.5 out of 5

There are a few book series of which I am a devoted fan, anxiously awaiting the newest release and then happily devouring it. There's just something about a favorite series -- reading the newest addition is like coming home to familiar environs, reuniting with a cast of characters you've grown to know and love. Tasha Alexander's Lady Emily Victorian mystery series is like that for me.

"A Crimson Warning" is the sixth installment in the Lady Emily books, which take place in the late 1800s, mostly in London (although Emily's adventures take her to Paris, Vienna and Constantinople). Lady Emily has developed throughout the series into progressive woman who drinks port, smokes an occasional cigar, supports women's suffrage, studies Greek, sometimes rolls her eyes at the inane, vapid and double-standard-filled high society of which she is a part, and solves murder mysteries. But, even with her intelligence, cleverness and confidence to push the boundaries set forth for women in Victorian society, Emily is still feminine, romantic and can perfectly play the part of genteel society lady when needed -- a wonderful combination.

In "A Crimson Warning," Emily and her husband, who deals with criminal matters on behalf of the Crown (their romance takes place in the earlier novels) become embroiled in a mystery at the same time an anonymous crusader has taken to splashing the houses of prominent high society families with red paint, then leaking their darkest secrets. Of course, chaos ensues. The novel will keep you guessing at the identities of the murderer and the painter until the end -- or are they the same person?

All of Tasha Alexander's Lady Emily books are delightful reads that paint a fascinating picture of Victorian society through the eyes of an increasingly modern woman, and any fan of historial fiction or mysteries should enjoy them. Happy reading!

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Orange Julius Recipe

The sun is out! This wouldn't typically be news here in Hawaii, but it's been dreary and gloomy and rainy for the past several days. We don't have seasons in Hawaii, but it suddenly feels kind of like the beginning of spring does in a regular place -- the pleasure of the warm sunshine on your face, admiring the flowers for sale at Lowes or Home Depot, wearing shorts for the first time after months in pants. I was in such a springtime mood -- so much so that "Here Comes the Sun" by the Beatles is playing on repeat in my head -- that I just had to whip up a cool drink for myself this afternoon.

I absolutely love homemade Orange Juliuses, and after I learned the easy recipe I've never really gone back to buying them at the mall. The best thing about making these refreshing half-smoothie, half-drink beverages at home is that they're fully customizable. You control the consistency, the sweetness, the orange component, and you can add in whatever else you want -- a banana, some frozen mango pieces, whatever strikes your fancy.

P.S. I just want to let you know that we were drinking out of Mason jars long before Pinterest made it fashionable! After we moved in together, my husband's mom gave us a bunch of amazingly delicious canned green beans and dill pickles. Jarrod -- who is very Southern indeed --insisted we use the empty Mason jars as glasses and I loved the idea -- so quaint, and FREE! Now, though, I see Mason jars everywhere. Guess the secret is out!

Homemade Orange Julius

Serves 2

3-4 ounces frozen orange juice concentrate (just eyeball it)

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup water

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/4ish cup sugar (to taste)

8 to 12 ice cubes (depending on desired thickness)

Put everything in a blender and give it a whirl. You're now the proud owner of two better-than-mall-quality Orange Juliuses!

Book Review: "Then Came You"

"Then Came You" by Jennifer Weiner
First published in 2011
My rating: 4 out of 5

I tried to read one of Jennifer Weiner's books when I was in late high school, or maybe early college. And I did something I seldom do -- I put it down because I just couldn't get into it. Now I'm 26 and, after reading a couple more of Jennifer's books in the last few years, I understand perfectly what the problem was. These novels are about women, for women, and dealing -- with an enviable finesse -- with all the myriad issues women face today, right now in 2012. The keyword here is women. I was a girl when I attempted my first Jennifer Weiner novel, and the themes and plot just didn't apply to me.

"Then Came You" deals with the delicate issue of babies -- particularly, egg donation and surragacy -- and we become intimately acquainted with the four women invovled in the making of one baby. There's Jules, the Princeton senior who donated her eggs so she could use the money to send her addict father to rehab. Annie, the surrogate who will be carrying and delivering the baby, is a young housewife and mother who feels her life lacks both purpose and financial stability. India is a PR executive with a mysterious past who marries a super-wealthy older man, Marcus Croft. After several failed in vitro attempts, the couple decides to go the egg donor/surragacy route. And Bettina is Marcus's 20-something daughter. She's convinced India is a gold digger with her eyes on Marcus's fortune and sets out to uncover the secrets of India's past.

Each of the four women in the novel is completely different from the others. They have totally different lives, backgrounds and socio-economic classes. But they're all connected to the baby, and they all have issues that they're dealing with, mental roadblocks that they're trying to overcome. Together, they make a masterful portrait of America's women.

Happy reading!

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Book Review: "The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner: An Eclipse Novella"

"The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner" by Stephenie Meyer
First published in 2010
My rating: 3.5 out of 5

Spending a couple hours reading "TSSLOBT" would be worth it for any Twilight Saga fan, even though it's not anywhere close to the four main novels in writing style, plot caliber or character development. But it's a good supplementary piece that gives a newborn vampire's perspective to "Eclipse."

Bree Tanner is one of the army of the newborn vampires created by Riley and Victoria for their attack against the Cullens. She's suspicious of Riley's motives, but there's really no mystery involved because the reader already knows what Riley's up to, the outcome of the battle is, and Bree's ultimate fate. It's nice to have a little backstory on Bree, whom we meet briefly in "Eclipse," but since it's just a novella there's not enough to make us really feel invested in her as a character.

The ideal time to read "TSSLOBT" would be during a re-read of the entire series, directly after reading "Eclipse." Reading it on its own was ok, but the novella would definitely have more of an impact on the reader if picked up at the right time. Happy reading!

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Book Review: "1Q84"

"1Q84" by Haruki Murakami
First published in 2011
My rating: 3 out of 5

Japanese author Haruki Murakami's "1Q84" is one of the most bizzare books I've ever read. It features strange and wondrous things, like the pivotal apperance of not one but two moons hanging in the sky. It's also one of the most meticulously plotted and choreographed books I've ever read. Even the location of the page numbers has been thought out.

The novel takes place in Tokyo in 1984 -- or rather, an alternate Tokyo in "1Q84." The characters gradually realize they've been transported to the year 1Q84, where there are subtle changes from 1984 and where events often defy rational thinking. Why are they there? How did they get there? Who are the mysterious Little People they (and we) keep hearing about?

The novel has two protagonists -- Aomame, a 30-year-old female fitness instructor with a surprising private life, and Tengo, a 30-year old male math teacher and aspiring novelist. They're on separate paths in the 1Q84 world, but those paths are destined to come together in spite of -- or maybe because of -- the trials, heartbreak and illogical happenings they must first endure. Things begin to take a turn for the weird when Tengo's editor asks him to do a ghost re-write of a gripping, fantastical but awkwardly written novel submitted for a literary competition. As soon as the author, a beautiful, ethereal 17-year-old girl named Fuka-Eri, appears in Tengo's life, things begin to sprial out of control.

Murakami has a very distinct writing style. In a nice contrast to the intricacy of the plot, his sentences and word choice are clear, concise and simple. But the writing itself is often slow moving, repetitive and full of so much non-critical information that it becomes hard to read at times. It took about 250 pages for me to become invested enough in the story to read the novel through to the end no matter how much I didn't want to. I did quite a bit of skimming through the sometimes monotonous writing, but that can risky because the big reveals of critical plot points are occasionally buried in long paragraphs of character background information or soul-searching.

I didn't really enjoy "1Q84," but the plot was so unique, so outlandish that I had to keep reading (i.e. skimming) to the end. I nicknamed it "the brick" -- and at over 900 pages it probably weighs just as much or more than a brick! If you don't have endless free time on your hands, I'd recommend passing on "1Q84." Unfortunately, double the moons means double the length, but not necessarily double the pleasure.

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Book Review: "Love in a Nutshell"

"Love in a Nutshell" by Janet Evanovich and Dorien Kelly
First published in 2012
My rating: 3.5 out of 5

It's very fitting that I'm finally getting around to reviewing "Love in a Nutshell" on Valentine's Day because it's the perfect book for the holiday of love -- a cutesy romance with a bit of humor and mystery thrown in for good measure. Basically it follows the same format as most of Janet Evanovich's other novels. I found, though, that the writing style in "Nutshell" wasn't quite up to par with Janet's typical firecracker wit, and I can only imagine that it's because she co-wrote the book with another author (Dorien Kelly, whose books I've never read or, to be quite honest, seen. Have you?).

Despite the slightly lackluster writing, the story was still fun, cute, quick and easy. The main character, Kate Appleton, has just moved into her family's dilapidated summer home in a small tourst town on the shores of Lake Michigan. Kate's had bad luck in love and life and hopes to turn things around by transforming the cottage into a B&B. Unfortuantely for Kate, she's behind on her mortgage payments, the house is quickly becoming a money pit, and she's just lost her bartending job because of some faulty beer. Kate does the only thing she can think of and puts on her determined face, marches into the local brewing company whose beer got her fired, and demands a job.

Enter hot-stuff eligible bachelor Matt Culhane, owner of the brewpub, who's having a problem of his own -- someone is out to sabotage the brewery and Matt fears it might be one of his own employees. Equally intrigued and mystified by Kate, Matt hires her to flesh out the sabouteur in exchange for $20,000 -- enough money to pay Kate's debts on the house. As the danger builds, so does the chemistry between Matt and Kate.

Bonus: You'll learn some interesting tidbits about brewing beer!

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