Sara Gruen

illustration

Jerry Bauer

SELECTED WOEKS

illustration Ape House (2010)

illustration Water for Elephants (2006)

illustration Flying Changes (2004)

illustration Riding Lessons (2004)

Inspiration I draw inspiration from everywhere: all the books I've read over the course of my lifetime, snippets of conversation I overhear in restaurants or on the street, things I see on the news or read about in magazines, and, of course, things I've experienced personally. My fiction is a crazy quilt of everything I've encountered in life magnified through the lens of an overactive imagination.

Readers Should Know I wrote half of Water for Elephants in a walk-in closet. I had stalled out about halfway through writing the book and realized I was employing all my favorite writing-avoidance techniques. I painted the walls of our family room five times and was spending altogether too much time on eBay. I didn't have a wireless Inter-net connection at the time, so I asked my husband to move my desk into our unwired closet and went in there each morning with my laptop, the dog, and a cup of tea. I opened my file on the theory that if I stared at it long enough without any other distractions, something would happen. Fortunately, I was right, and I staggered forth with a finished book four-and-a-half months later.

Readers Frequently Ask People often ask how I manage to write with three children. The answer is that I make the most of school hours, have a very helpful husband, and a high tolerance for mess.

Influences on My Writing — Too Many to Count! Every book I've ever loved. Every short story I've ever loved. Margaret Atwood, Ernest Hemingway, James Herriot, Anna Sewell, E. L. Doctorow, Alice Munro, Elizabeth Strout, Jane Austen, all of the Brontës (except the no-good brother), Yann Martel, and Jonathan Franzen; I could go on for days.

The novelist in my novel Ape House, Amanda Thigpen, taught herself how to cook after accidentally giving herself and her husband food poisoning through improvisations with canned soup. Amanda is passionate about cooking, and her novel, Recipe For Disaster, prominently features the preparation and consumption of food. Because of her unfortunate last name, Amanda is forced by her (fictional) editor to publish under the pseudonym Amanda LaRue.

AMANDA THIGPEN'S SALMON EN CROûTE

Makes 4–5 servings

While my own method of administering food poisoning involved summer squash (I'm still not sure how I achieved that), I taught myself to cook the same way Amanda did, by joining the Church of Julia (Child). I pored over her books and followed every direction, even if it involved peeling broccoli. This foundation gave me the courage to adapt and experiment, and I now carry a notepad with me at all times so I can deconstruct and record new and unusual combinations of flavors I encounter at restaurants. The following recipe for salmon is inspired by recipes for vegetarian strudel, Jacques Pepin's sautéed salmon, and, of course, Julia Child's Hollandaise.

This is a perennial family favorite, and definitely not diet food. Leftovers can be brought back to life using 40–60 percent power in the microwave, but we rarely have any.

Note: To switch things up, use puff pastry instead of filo (if you do, skip the sesame seeds and instead decorate with carved and scored pastry leaves, using an egg white as glue and glaze).

The fat-free, high-heat method of sautéing the salmon is adapted from one of Jacque Pepin's recipes. Make sure the skin has been scaled and use salmon skin (cracklings) as a garnish, if you have any left. Ours almost never make it to the table.

To prepare ahead of time, you can sauté the capers and fish, and steam the spinach earlier in the day.

Serve with a mixture of white long grain and wild rice (see recipe) and steamed asparagus, or fiddleheads, if you're lucky enough to find them (both of which present another opportunity to enjoy the hollandaise). Or serve with a simple and lightly dressed mesclun mix salad.

12 ounces prewashed baby spinach

Sea salt, for sprinkling

1 pound side of salmon, preferably wild, skin on and scaled (see note)

½ cup (1 stick) melted butter (melt more as needed)

Approximately ¼ pound filo dough (thawed for a few hours at room temperature, or in the refrigerator overnight)

1½ tablespoons sesame seeds, for sprinkling

¼ cup drained capers

Hollandaise Sauce (see recipe)

1 Steam the spinach lightly, using as little water as possible. I do it in a Pyrex dish sealed with plastic wrap in the microwave, adding about a teaspoon of water, for approximately 3–5 minutes. If cooking on the stove, sauté spinach in a small amount of butter on medium for 4–5 minutes or until wilted. Line a colander with paper towels and turn the spinach into it. Spread it out and pat the top with other paper towels, drying the spinach as much as possible. While you're making the rest of the dish, periodically flip and daub the spinach, replacing the paper towels as necessary.

2 Set an unoiled nonstick pan on high heat for about one minute, until very hot. Sprinkle sea salt on the skin of the salmon and set it skin side down in the pan (it will hiss dramatically and the edges will contract). Cover, reduce the heat to medium-high, and cook until the center is rare (about 5 minutes). Flip the salmon out onto a plate, skin side up. Remove the skin using a spatula and scrape off any flesh that is stuck to it. Salt the underside of the crisp skin (known as “salmon potato chips” in my house), chop or slice, and set aside for use as a garnish.

3 Assembling the Masterpiece: Preheat the oven to 415°F. Brush a rimmed baking sheet with melted butter and place a sheet of filo on it. Brush the sheet with melted butter, place another sheet on top, and repeat until you've used all the filo. Use 8–12 sheets of filo, depending on your preference.

4 Lay the steamed spinach lengthwise along the dough, and top with the salmon. Depending on the size and length of the fish, you may need to slice pieces from the thin end and lay them across the rest of the piece. Try to make a rectangle of even thickness that can be folded within the dough.

5 Fold the filo so that it encases the fish and spinach (you will probably need a spatula). Fold both ends up, and then flip the whole thing over so that the presenting side is seamless (the spinach will be on top after you've flipped it). Brush with the remaining butter, and sprinkle sesame seeds on top. Bake for 25 minutes, or until golden and crisp.

6 Sauté the drained capers over moderately high heat until crisp, 3–5 minutes. Set aside half of the capers to mix into the hollandaise, and garnish the salmon with the other half. Garnish with skin cracklings if desired.

7 Presentation: Bring the Thing to the table, slice, and serve. Top with a dollop of hollandaise (see recipe).

HOLLANDAISE SAUCE

Makes ¾ cup

Giving credit where credit is due, this hollandaise is Julia Child's because, frankly, there is no other.

Note: This is the stage I call playing chicken with the egg. You want to heat the egg yolks without scrambling them, so whisk constantly over low heat. Do NOT use a nonstick sauce pan. Use copper if you have it, but do not use nonstick. If you scramble the eggs by accident, you can unscramble them through elbow grease by whisking with tiny bits of lemon juice away from the heat. But you won't scramble them in the first place, right?

3 egg yolks

Juice from half a lemon (about 2 tablespoons)

4 tablespoons cold butter, divided

10 tablespoons melted (but not hot) butter

1 Whisk egg yolks in a sauce pan until creamy. Whisk in lemon juice. Set the pan on the lowest heat, impale the first 2 tablespoons of butter on the end of your whisk, and swirl it constantly around the bottom. (You want to heat the egg yolks enough to cook them but not enough to scramble them. The cold butter gives you a bit of control. Be ready to grab the pan and remove it from the heat and whisk, whisk, whisk if it threatens to scramble, but do not leave it for even an instant during this stage.)

2 When the mixture is thick enough to see to the bottom of the pan each time you whisk, turn off the heat, whisk in the other 2 tablespoons of cold butter to cool the mixture, and then add the melted (but not hot!) butter in dribbles.

LONG GRAIN AND WILD RICE

Makes 5 servings

I can't remember where I learned to do rice this way — I think I was served it at someone's house and asked the hostess — but I can tell you that I've never cooked it any way since (unless, of course, I'm using a completely different type of rice for curry, etc.).

Note: The leftovers microwave up beautifully.

1 cup long grain white rice

1/3 cup wild rice

2 2/3 cups chicken broth

3–4 garlic cloves, crushed (more or less as desired)

A generous pat of butter (about 2 tablespoons)

Juice of half a lemon

2 tablespoons coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley

Sea salt to taste

Freshly ground pepper to taste

1 Place long grain and wild rice, broth, garlic, butter, and lemon juice in a medium sauce pan. Bring to a rolling boil, then reduce heat to the lowest setting, cover, and simmer for about 20 minutes.

2 When dimples appear on the surface of the rice, add parsley, stir, and remove from heat. Allow to rest while you finish up the rest of the dinner. Add salt and pepper to taste.

MERRAN NEVILLE'S PAVLOVA

Makes 8–10 servings

The recipe for pavlova comes from Merran Neville, a dear family friend, and the first time she served this to me I thought I had died and gone to heaven. It is my favorite dessert of all time, and so easy to make. All my children ask for pavlova instead of birthday cake and I oblige, sticking a single candle in the middle of the whipped cream. The only caveat is that the berries must be ripe. I try to combine as many types of ripe berries as are available, but another good combination is sliced ripe peaches and blueberries.

FOR THE PAVLOVA

4 large egg whites

Pinch of salt

½ teaspoon cream of tartar

1 cup sugar, divided

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon cider vinegar

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

FOR THE TOPPING

1 cup whipping cream

1 tablespoon sugar

½ teaspoon vanilla extract or liqueur (Gran Marnier is especially good)

Ripe berries (a mixture of raspberries, blueberries, and sliced strawberries is good)

1 Preheat oven to 285°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2 To make the pavlovas: In electric mixer's large bowl, use the whisk attachment to beat the egg whites with salt and cream of tartar until stiff but not dry. Beat in ½ cup sugar, until the mixture is thick and holds shiny peaks.

3 Mix the cornstarch with the remaining ½ cup sugar. Fold this gently into the egg whites with a rubber spatula.

4 Add the cider vinegar and vanilla extract, and fold them gently into the egg whites until just mixed.

5 Pile the mixture in an 8-inch mound on the baking sheet. Bake for about one hour, until the outside crust is firm but the inside is still soft. The peaks will start to turn golden.

6 Let cool for ten minutes on a wire rack, and then invert gently onto a second rack and let cool thoroughly. Remove the parchment as soon as it will let you (use a spatula and patience). The pavlova will shrink and crack a little, but will look fine when decorated. Just before serving, invert the pavlova onto a serving dish.

7 To make the topping: Whip the cream until thick, and then fold in the sugar and the vanilla or liqueur. Spread the whipped cream on the pavlova, pile the berries on top, and serve.