Never Go Back: A Jack Reacher Novel by Lee Child

Never Go Back
A Jack Reacher Novel
by Lee Child
Hardcover, 416 pages

This is the eighteenth book in Lee Child's Jack Reacher series and the most personal one to date. We get to know a little more about our favourite ex military man when he heads back to his old unit to ask the mysterious woman on the phone for dinner.

But, as they say, you can't go home again. Jack finds himself in a tangled mess as soon as he hits town and he needs all of his wits and even his heart to sort out just what the hell is going on.

Our giant of the roads gets a little sentimental in this book and I love it. He doesn't break character, of course, we just get to see a bit more of his soft and chewy core underneath the hardened shell.

Reacher fans will love this new installment in the series. New fans will love this look into Reacher's life. Some of us might even develop a wee crush on the man. Not saying who....


From the Back Flap:

Former military cop Jack Reacher makes it all the way from snowbound South Dakota to his destination in northeastern Virginia, near Washington, D.C.: the headquarters of his old unit, the 110th MP. The old stone building is the closest thing to a home he ever had.

Reacher is there to meet—in person—the new commanding officer, Major Susan Turner, so far just a warm, intriguing voice on the phone.

But it isn’t Turner behind the CO’s desk. And Reacher is hit with two pieces of shocking news, one with serious criminal consequences, and one too personal to even think about.

When threatened, you can run or fight.

Reacher fights, aiming to find Turner and clear his name, barely a step ahead of the army, and the FBI, and the D.C. Metro police, and four unidentified thugs. 

Combining an intricate puzzle of a plot and an exciting chase for truth and justice, Lee Child puts Reacher through his paces—and makes him question who he is, what he’s done, and the very future of his untethered life on the open road.

Photo credit: Sigrid Estrada

Lee Child

Lee Child is the author of seventeen previous Jack Reacher thrillers, including the New York Times bestsellers Persuader, The Enemy, One Shot, and The Hard Way, and the #1 bestsellers The Affair, Worth Dying For, 61 Hours, Gone Tomorrow, Bad Luck and Trouble, and Nothing to Lose, as well as the short stories “Second Son” and “Deep Down.” His debut, Killing Floor, won both the Anthony and the Barry awards for Best First Mystery, and The Enemy won both the Barry and Nero awards for Best Novel. Foreign rights in the Reacher series have sold in more than forty territories. All titles have been optioned for major motion pictures, the first of which - “Jack Reacher” - was released in December.
 A native of England and a former television director, Child lives in New York City.

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Fishing With Dynamite: The Bomb in Manhattan Beach

Manhattan Beach dining scene is blowing up. Following his success at M. B. Post, Chef David Lefevre opened up Fishing with Dynamite just a few doors down, this time focusing on seafood.

Not to miss at Fishing with Dynamite is their raw bar selection, including (of course) a great selection of eight different oysters. My recent favorite is the Sweet Petite (Cape Cod, MA). Like the name suggests, it's one of the sweetest oysters out there!

Think you know scallops? Hold that thought until you try the Peruvian Scallops ($22/dozen), perhaps the most unique item on the raw bar menu. Small yet succulent and sweet, perfectly accented by the grapefruit.

We also had Littleneck clams ($26/dozen) and Atlantic Lobster ($20 for half), both excellent.

Uni lovers (that would be me) shouldn't miss the special and aptly named Bomb.com: hand harvested Santa Barbara sea urchin ($15)

You can choose two of these sauces: mignonette, cocktail, ponzu, pico de gallo, yuzu kosho mayo, saffron aioli, remoulade. Which one you should get depends on what raw items you're getting!

Cocktails are also great here and designed to go with the seafood dishes and there are options for all palates from martini lovers to those who like richer, sweeter cocktails like flips. If you want something spicier, try the Regalo de Dios (Hacienda de Chihuahua sotol, Combier, strawberry-rhubarb puree, serrano, rhubarb bitters).

Those who prefer more aromatic drinks should opt for Through the Looking Glass (No. 3 gin, Tio Pepe fino sherry, Cocchi Americano, orange bitters, Dolin dry vermouth rinse).

There were also a couple of specials on the menu that day:
Hamachi, avocado, ponzu, radish, serrano, shiso ($16)

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The Bread Baking Babes make Crunchy Crackers!

Crackers. Easy to make. You just have to have faith in rolling them thin and baking them til crisp, which is more about using your own discretion than obeying the times on a recipe.

You can whip these up in an afternoon and have something special to pair with your wine and cheese when people stop by.

Bread Baking Babe Tanna challenged us to bake these fun crackers for a late summer hurrah, perfect for snacking on on deck or in the kitchen.

I made mine to the recipe, the lower amount of water and more whole wheat flour for rolling and shaping. My toppings are sesame seeds, flax seeds and Hawaiian rock salt for crunch. See below for the recipe and try your hand at homemade crackers.

Delicious!

Crunchy Crackers
Recipe By: KAF
Yield: 2 cookie sheets

Summary:

This recipe mimics an extra-crunchy, seed-topped whole-gain cracker you may find at your supermarket. These are great for spreads and dips of all kinds.

Ingredients:

198 to 227g lukewarm water
170 g King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour
120 g King Arthur Whole Wheat/Spelt
2 tablespoons non-diastatic malt powder or sugar - I used malt syrup
1 teaspoon instant yeast
1 teaspoon salt
30 g whole ground flax
14 g sesame seeds
*Substitute 28g golden flax seeds for the flax and sesame, if desired.

Topping
71 g sunflower seeds, midget preferred*
28 g sesame seeds*
28 g whole flax seeds,* golden preferred
sea salt or your favorite flavored salt, if desired
*Substitute 3/4 cup artisan bread topping + 1/4 cup whole flax seeds for the sunflower, sesame, and flax seeds, if desired.

Directions:

1) To make the dough: Mix and knead together all of the cracker ingredients (except the seeds) to a smooth, fairly stiff dough. Add 1-2 more tablespoons of water if the dough is dry.

2) Knead in the seeds.

3) Let the dough rise, covered, for 60 to 90 minutes, until it's expanded a bit.

4) Divide the dough in half. Working with one piece at a time, roll it into a rectangle approximately 14" x 9", a generous 1/8" thick. This will probably require you to roll the dough until it fights back; give it a 10-minute rest, then come back and roll some more. It may need two rest periods to allow you to roll it thin enough.

5) For easiest handling, turn the dough onto a piece of parchment paper. Spritz the dough with water. Sprinkle with 1/4 of the topping seeds, lay a piece of parchment on top, and press the seeds in with a rolling pin. Turn the dough over, peel off the parchment, and repeat. Set the seeded crackers on a baking sheet, and repeat with the remaining piece of dough.

6) If you don't have parchment, roll on a rolling mat or on a very lightly floured or lightly greased work surface; and transfer the seeded crackers to a lightly greased baking sheet. Sprinkle each sheet of crackers with some sea salt or flavored salt, if desired. Crush the sea salt between your fingers or grind it in a salt mill if it's very coarse.

7) Prick the dough over with a fork, and cut it into rectangles, whatever size you like. Pull the crackers apart just a bit; you don't need to separate them completely. Let the crackers rise for 30 to 45 minutes. while you preheat your oven to 350°F; they'll get just a bit puffy.

8) Bake for 20 minutes, until the crackers are a medium brown. Turn off the heat, wait 15 minutes, then open the oven door a couple of inches and let the crackers cool completely in the turned-off oven. When they're completely cool, break apart, if necessary, and store airtight.

The Bread Baking Babes

• Bake My Day - Karen
• Bitchin' Bread Baking Babe Bibliothécaire - Katie
• blog from OUR kitchen - Elizabeth
• Feeding my enthusiasms - Pat
• girlichef - Heather
• Life's A Feast - Jamie
• Living in the Kitchen with Puppies - Natashya
• Lucullian Delights - Ilva
• My Kitchen In Half Cups - Tanna
• Notitie Van Lien - Lien
• Paulchens Foodblog - Astrid
• Provecho Peru - Gretchen

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Discover Ways To Prepare Creative Home-Made Cupcakes, Desserts, Home Decorations and Fashioned Stuff

Discover new ways on preparing home and self-stuffs artistically online! Baking cupcakes, cooking delicious recipes and creating artistic home decorations and even jiving to new trends of fashion stuffs like of nail arts and hair styles can be very easy for you with the help of this site. This site will be your helpmate to do out of this world creative creation. Also, offers a step-by-step tutorial demonstration of activities. It would be very helpful for you to have varieties of creations. The LIKE IT SHORT site has its updated advertisements of new recipes and trends which will definitely help you discover and try new possessions. Moreover, this site will teach you on how to be creative, resourceful and initiative in many ways that could make complex ideas of arts from scratch.And, will lead you not to be dependent on ready-mades instead let yourself to be the one to create and design. So let's get started!

When talk about foods and desserts! Creative evolution of cooking recipes and baking cakes dominates the nation rapidly. We can see and appreciate those stuffs at parties like birthdays, weddings, anniversaries and more. Through this site, you don't need to hire caterers or even buy expensive ready-made foods and desserts for party servings;you can now make it by yourselfdeliciously and creatively. This site offers you a detailed ways on how to prepare cupcakes, healthy dishes and more from ingredients up to plating.

What about having gifts and souvenirs? There is no need to buy expensive ready-made gifts and souvenirs because you can actually have it home-made. You can now customize simple presents to make extraordinary offerings. Even a simple thing can become complex with the use of imaginative skills. Try to check out some available wedding souvenirs and birthday gifts in this site and you can have it in your most creative and convenient way. Remember that hand-made is greatly appreciable. However, following this site will teach you new ideas of inspired gifts.

How to make house a sweet home? Hmmmm...You may think that having an attractive house is expensive, you may think it wrong. Other than having luxurious furniture and decorations, make your own styles to make home utensils attractive and appreciable in to the eyes of others. Make use of old stuffs that can revamp a new one. This site has various challenging ways that will make you fun while altering the old ones.

Lastly, Be on the trend! Indeed, fashion moves rapidly. Affording the new trends every after another might be a ridiculous to have. This site will help you to have customized yet elegant bracelets, necklace, bags and other fashion stuffs. You don't need to spend more time and money to get out and buy new fashioned trends, with the available tutorials that this site offers, you can have it all.

Just follow the steps that the site offers and you'll be experiencing a simple yet creative masterpiece and feel like a master. There's no need for you to contact experts or even spend big money to be on trend. Try to check out every new updates that this site have and you'll be having a standout of arts that you never thought. It's never too late to start, so why start now? THINK, DISCOVER, FOLLOW and creativity will follow.

Click Here for more exciting blogs and recipes. Do not miss the chance to visit the website. You can also share it to your friends. So check it out now.
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"Naanstrami" And Comfort Food at The Belmont (West Hollywood)

The Belmont on La Cienega has a long history but now there's a new ownership and a new chef in charge, and things are looking pretty fun. Sports fans can sit inside with the large screen TV and enjoy some beers, or you can sit outside for a quieter dinner. Either way, these days the beer selections are getting more interesting and so is the food.

They now have items like the Naanstrami (pastrami, swiss cheese, spicy chipotle slaw, naan bread - $14) - yes, that is a pastrami sandwich on naan bread!

The naan makes a pretty good vehicle, as you can taste more of the pastrami, but there's still that nice char. I liked the little kick from the spicy slaw here also.

It's not all new menu items here, they kept the popular Original Belmont Mac n Cheese (crab, scallion, bacon, tomato, cheese - $13)

I mean, it's crab mac and cheese with crispy, crumbly top. I don't think I have to say too much about it, do I? It's rich but so good!

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Restaurant Review: Gordo's in Norwood

A friend and I decided to stop in Gordo's, a pub and sports bar in Norwood close to Xavier University, for our lunch break between clinicals one Saturday. It was opened by and named after Norwood-native Raymond Gordo, who was a Chef de Cuisine for the Jean-Robert Restaurant Group. 

It's pretty small, with a bar area and counters on the right as you enter, some tall tables lined up along the left side, and some larger tables a little further back once you enter. They do have a back patio area as well, but we didn't go back there. I usually am prepared to be unsatisfied with the food at most bars, so I had the same mentality when we sat down at the table. Don't get my hopes up. It's just gonna be sports bar food. But then I saw who the chef was and that he had worked at a Jean-Robert restaurant and figured the food had to be pretty good!

Our waitress wasn't the friendliest, and we felt a bit rushed to put in our order. Sandwiches, tacos, salads, and appetizers but I was immediately drawn to their gourmet burgers. I was about to find out just how gourmet they were. 

 
  























































My friend ordered their Gordo Burger ($10). It looked so good! I mean, this burger has roasted poblanos, mushrooms, onions, smoked bacon, boursin cheese and mayo. She liked it... well not the bacon. It was a bit flimsy and soggy. Other than that she liked it. I'd definitely try this next time!

I ordered the Sunrise Burger ($12), mainly because I saw that it had pork belly. Along with a fried egg, bearnaise, and spring mix. These burgers are fat and plump like a true homemade patty should be. I could tell these weren't frozen, pre-made patties. I really liked the flavor of my burger with the egg and it was cooked nicely, but I wasn't a fan of the pork belly. I was expecting crispy, kinda like bacon, but it was flimsy and fatty. I took that part off! And it could have used more sauce. But I did love the burger itself. One of my fave burgers so far.

Burgers come with a side of steak fries and a pickle.

Next time, and there will be a next time, I want to try their Surf and Turf Burger, Mexican Burger, Jean-Robert Burger, and their PBJ Burger also sounds quite interesting. I'll have to muster up enough courage to order that one day. 

Only downside was that we had to wait quite a bit for our burgers, and we were on our lunch break between classes, and ended up being 15 minutes late back to class. And it wasn't really that busy. Not sure if that's a regular thing, but maybe just don't expect to get in and out.

So the quest for Cincinnati's best burger continues. Gordo's, for me, is near the top of that list.

Update: I've been back since, and I tried their Gordo Burger. Didn't like the boursin with the burger. And my burger was so burnt, I couldn't eat it :(



Peace, and bacon grease!

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Patina Toasts 10th Anniversary With Build-Your-Own Tastings For $10/Dish

On October 10th, Patina Restaurant in downtown LA will be celebrating their tenth anniversary in a big way. On that day only, guests can design their own tasting menu for just $10 per dish. For Patina, that's an amazing deal!

I was lucky enough to taste a few of the dishes that will be served on October 10th during a lunch preview.

The man behind the food at Patina now is Executive Chef Charles Olalia who was previously Chef de Cuisine, with experience at French Laundry and Guy Savoy.

My lunch started with an Amuse bouche duo of Paradise Cove oyster topped with caviar and vichyssoise, and a Scallop and potato chip sandwich

What a decadent start to a weekday lunch! The scallop "sandwich" was a unique combination.

Bread service: olive bread

Big Eye Tuna Tower, soya onion, avocado, oven dried tomato, yuzu granite.

Paired with Albarino from Galicia, Spain.

I thought this tuna and avocado combination would be like any other tuna tartar-like dish, but I was wrong. The flavors here were surprising and delightful and the tuna was fresh and almost melted in my mouth. The Albariño was a great wine, crisp, lightly sweet. This was my favorite pairing and wine of the day.

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