Book Information: Plum Gorgeous
Plum Gorgeous
Recipes and Memories from the Orchard
by Romney Steele
Price: $25.00
ISBN-13: 9781449402402
ISBN-10: 1449402402
Format: Hardcover
Size: 7 3/8 X 8 1/4 in.
Page Count: 192 pages
Book Information: My Nepenthe
My Nepenthe
Bohemian Tales of Food, Family, and Big Sur
by Romney Steele
Price: $35.00
ISBN-13: 978-0-7407-7914-5
ISBN-10: 0-7407-7914-1
Format: Hardcover
Size: 7 3/8 X 9 5/8 in.
Page Count: 352 pages
Plum Gorgeous Reviews
“Beautifully designed and adorned with glorious food photography, this cookbook is packed with recipes and memories from the author’s time spent living surrounded with fruit trees. Stelle is the granddaughter of Bill and Lolly Fassett, the creators of the iconic Nepenthe Restaurant in Big Sur.” ––The Orange County Register http://bit.ly/tevSXH
“In her new book, Plum Gorgeous, a collection of 62 fruit-centric recipes, Oakland-based writer Romney Steele expresses a sentimental longing for days spent living with her children in an orchard at Big Sur. The text shows both a child’s enjoyment of and an adult’s passion for a place, a lifestyle, and a way of eating. Steele is often cryptic about those memories, but she’s transparent with the recipes, and wildly inspiring as she guides the reader through the fruits of each season and how to savor them in simple recipes for appetizers, salads, main dishes, condiments, sauces, and of course, desserts. In Sara Remington’s glowing photographs and added graphics, there is so much textural emphasis that we can almost imagine picking up the fork for a taste of what’s on the plate or plucking a fruit and popping it into our mouths. The book is stunningly designed to resemble a scrapbook of memories, but it might just as easily be an artist’s (or cook’s) idea journal filled with intentions to return to the orchard again and again to rediscover the treasures each season has to offer.” ––Edible East Bay http://bit.ly/ubpfLT
Celebrate the Romance of Fruit
Return to Big Sur and sink your teeth into Plum Gorgeous: Recipes and Memories from the Orchard, the latest cookbook from My Nepenthe author Romney Steele.
In Plum Gorgeous, Romney recognizes the gorgeousness that food—and particularly fruit—can be all on its own. Plum Gorgeous celebrates seasonal fruit, encouraging cooks to use different recipes depending on their local fruit selection. Each of the 60 seasonally inspired, sweet and savory recipes is fruit-filled and fantastically flavorful.
Luscious recipes such as Raspberry Rhubarb Rose Petal Jam, Blueberry Lemon Thyme Risotto, Herb-roasted Salmon with Wild Huckleberry Sauce, and Plum Soup with Basil Ice Cream are intertwined with Sara Remington’s breathtaking photographs, flooding the pages of Plum Gorgeous with stunning color.
This visual and flavorful work of art is inspired by Romney’s time living in orchards, working in professional kitchens, and by her favorite books, destinations, and chefs. With each turn of the page, Plum Gorgeous celebrates the sensuous and enchanting nature of fruit, as well as the pleasures and joys of the table.
About Romney Steele
Romney “Nani” Steele is a writer, cook, visual artist, and food stylist. As the granddaughter of Bill and Lolly Fassett, creators of Nepenthe Restaurant, she grew up at the family business and opened Cafe Kevah, located on the grounds of Nepenthe. She lives in Oakland, CA, with her two children, Trevor and Nicoya.
Fig Relish and Ham Sandwiches (panini)
—From Plum Gorgeous/Andrews McMeel Publishing
A comforting grilled ham and cheese sandwich turns divine with a figgy relish and other quality ingredients. You can interpret this sandwich any way you like, but I am fond of it with thin slices of prosciutto and buttery Toma cheese, a semi-hard cow’s milk cheese from the Aosta region of Italy. Sprinkle with a dusting of Parmesan just before serving. The relish can be made ahead and kept in the refrigerator, and makes more than you will need. Reserve any extra to enjoy with cheese and wine in the afternoon. It will keep for several months in the refrigerator.
Makes 2 sandwiches, serving 2 to 4
2 artisanal rolls, or 4 slices ciabatta bread
Sweet butter
Toma cheese, sliced or grated
Several thin slices prosciutto
Basil leaves
Arugula
Fig Relish (recipe follows)
Olive oil or butter
Grated Parmesan cheese, for garnish
Cherry Clafoutis
—From Plum Gorgeous
Sweet black cherries baked in custard is a specialty of the Limousin region of France; it’s a popular no-fuss dessert served warm or cold, dusted with a little sugar. Traditionally the cherries are left whole so the pits imbue a little of their almond flavor. This is how I’ve always done it too, though you can surely pit them (and my daughter thinks I should); in fact most people do. Try making the clafoutis with other stone fruit like plums and peaches or, in the fall, fresh figs or dried prunes soaked first in brandy for a twist.
Serves 6 to 8
4 cups sweet cherries
½ cup turbinado or Demerara sugar
1 to 2 tablespoons kirsch
6 eggs
1 cup whole milk
2/3 cup crème fraîche
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
6 tablespoons flour
Pinch salt
1/3 cup sliced almonds, lightly toasted
Confectioners’ sugar (optional)
Wash and stem the cherries and pit if you prefer; pat dry. In a bowl, toss the cherries with 2 tablespoons of the sugar and the kirsch, more or less as you like to taste. Set aside at room temperature for at least 20 minutes, allowing the flavors to meld.
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Generously butter a 9-inch cast-iron skillet or earthenware dish. Scatter the cherries in the bottom of the dish.
Combine the remaining 6 tablespoons sugar, the eggs, milk, crème fraîche, vanilla, flour, and salt in a blender. Blend to combine thoroughly; strain if necessary to remove any lumps of flour, then whisk back in by hand.
Pour the custard over the cherries. Bake the clafoutis for 35 to 40 minutes, until puffy and golden and just set in the middle. Sprinkle with the toasted almonds and dust with confectioners’ sugar, if you like, before serving.
My Nepenthe Reviews
“[My Nepenthe is] the memoir of a very special place, Nepenthe, a restaurant perched on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean in California’s Big Sur area. It’s also a cookbook, with recipes from the restaurant and the family of author Romney Steele, whose grandparents opened the restaurant in 1949 and ran it until their deaths in the 1980s, when their children and grandchildren took it over. … With its fabulous stories and fun recipes, I promise that you will be enchanted.” ––Canning Across America http://bit.ly/a98E2z
“There are many famous restaurants in California but Nepenthe which is perched on the majestic cliffs of Big Sur is somehow even more special. … Then as now, it was a favorite gathering place for writers, travelers, actors, dancers, and people who enjoyed both good company and good food. Romney Steele’s new cookbook is more than just a collection of recipes. It is more like a scrapbook which is filled with old family photographs, memories, and fragments of the legendary restaurant’s past. Since Romney grew up in the restaurant, her collection is as personal as a love letter and in some ways that’s exactly what it is, a love letter to both a place and time.” ––Tucson Citizen http://bit.ly/93lV6K
My Nepenthe: Bohemian Tales of Food, Family, and Big Sur
My Nepenthe weaves together stories and tales about the famous California restaurant perched on the majestic cliffs of Big Sur. It celebrates the magic and history of place through food and the Fassett family who started Nepenthe.
In 2009 Nepenthe commemorates sixty years of bringing writers, artists, dancers, travelers, actors, and cooks together around the table. Today about 250,000 people visit Nepenthe every year.
A lyrical feast written by the owners’ granddaughter, Romney Steele, who grew up at the restaurant, My Nepenthe is as much about a family enterprise as it is about the Fassett family and their legacy. It recounts stories about the family’s more than sixty-year history on the coast, the arts and architecture, and the colorful people who were the genesis of this legendary restaurant.
My Nepenthe marks the restaurant’s vibrant past as a gathering place and noted bohemian haunt, and its foray into the film industry during the shooting of The Sandpiper, featuring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. It also explores the lively scene that played out into the ’70s, and onward through the current decade where it showcases Nepenthe’s unique relationship with Pisoni Vineyards, owned by the renowned winemaker family. My Nepenthe includes more than seventy-five special recipes from the Fassetts, the restaurant, and the café, along with spectacular photography that completes the tale.
Ultimately, My Nepenthe is a story about food, family, and the culture of place, and how it all unfolds around the table and why that matters.
