Winter Stroll

Synopsis: Elin Hilderbrand takes us back to Nantucket and the Quinn family for another Christmas. Kelley Quinn, the proprietor of the Winter Street Inn, is preparing for his first Christmas without his wife Mitzi who left him last year for the Inn’s Santa Clause. His oldest son Patrick is now in prison for insider trading, wife Jennifer has developed a pill problem. Kevin is preparing for the baptism of his baby daughter and Ava still can’t make up her mind between two suitors. His youngest son Bart joined the Marines at the end of the last book and went missing in the first 24 hours of his tour of duty, leaving the whole family to fret and worry. Phew, it’s a lot of drama!

Review: Predictable. Average writing, with a lot of “said Kelley,” and “said Ava.” Events that seem a bit soap opera-ish with exaggerated emotional reactions, or simply unbelievable. I mean, you discover your wife has had a 12 year affair with George (aka Santa Claus), she leaves for a year, and comes back the next Christmas and moves right back in like nothing happened? I don’t think so! And yet…. I liked it? That surprises even me! The Quinns definitely drink a lot, and have complicated lives, so maybe that makes me feel better by comparison. It’s like a Hallmark Channel Christmas movie: not high art, but it gets you in the holiday mood. There are two more books in this series, so I’ll probably plan book #3 for next Christmas.

Rating: 3/5

Recipe: It’s Nantucket, so of course the family goes out to lunch to a seafood restaurant after the baptism of baby Genevieve. Apparently, Kelley is quite the fan of the lobster bisque and reminds the entire family of it regularly.

Ingredients:

Two 2 lb steamed lobsters

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 cup dry sherry

1/2 cup chopped celery

3 cloves garlic, smashed

2 bay leaves

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

kosher salt

1 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped button mushrooms

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 cup dry white wine

3/4 cup whole milk

3/4 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons chopped chives

1) Remove meat from the lobsters, reserve the shells. Coarsely chop the meat to measure about 2 1/2 cups, transfer to a bowl, cover and chill.

2) Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a dutch oven. Add shells and cook until brown, about 8 minutes. Stir in the sherry and cook 2 minutes, add the celery, garlic, bay leaves, peppercorns, 4 cups water and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer until reduced to about 2 1/2 cups, about 15 minutes. Pour lobster stock through a fine mesh sieve and discard the solids.

3) Meanwhile, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a medium skillet over medium. Add onions, carrots, mushrooms, tomato paste, cayenne and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Add the wine and bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium low and add reserved lobster stock. Simmer until reduced to about 2 cups, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat.

4) Puree with an immersion blender. Stir in milk and cream and bring to a simmer. Add the lobster meat, reserving 1/4 cup for garnish.

5) To serve, ladle the bisque into bowls and top with reserved lobster meat and chives.