February 2008

Booklava!

This is a picture taken way back last August. I am holding my ARCs (Advanced Reading Copies) moments after they arrived in the mail. What an exciting moment! After so many years of writing and editing and imagining my book in its final form, I was finally holding it. And not just one copy, but five!

In this picture, I think I appear to be on the brink of taking a bite out of my books. They looked that delicious. Now, if I was going to cook them up and eat them, how would I do it?

A Recipe for Booklava, by Chef Stephanie

Ingredients
1 Elvis & Olive Advanced Reading Copy
1 pound chopped nuts
1 cup butter
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup water
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup honey

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter the bottoms and sides of a 9x13 inch pan.

2. Chop nuts and toss with cinnamon. Set aside. Gently tear pages from book. Butter two pages thoroughly and place in bottom of pan. Repeat until you have 8 sheets layered.

3. Sprinkle 2 - 3 tablespoons of nut mixture on top. Top with two pages, butter, nuts, layering as you go. The top layer should be about 6 - 8 sheets deep.

4. Using a sharp knife, cut into diamond or square shapes all the way to the bottom of the pan. Bake for about 50 minutes, or until your booklava is golden and crisp.

5. Make sauce while booklava is baking. Boil sugar and water until sugar is melted. Add vanilla and honey. Simmer for about 20 minutes.

6. Remove booklava from oven and immediately spoon sauce over it. Let cool. Serve in cupcake papers. This freezes well. Leave it uncovered as it gets soggy if it is wrapped up. Eat, read and enjoy.

P.S.: If you have indigestion after consuming booklava, a dose of sad poetry may settle your tum.
P.P.S. This recipe is just a joke! Don’t really make it. Books belong in your lap and opened to your favorite page, not in the oven, slathered in honey.