This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
If the heroine goes out for a meal in the novel I'm reading, I need to know what she's eating. It is not enough to say starter, main or pudding. I need detail. Food descriptions are an incredible way of transferring the reader from her settee (or next to the smelly man on the tube), right bang slap into the middle of the novel. Not only can we see and hear what the heroine is doing, but we can also taste what she tastes. And it feels good.
The Foster Husband opens with Kate, a woman who is trying to escape her recent past by running away to Lyme Regis, her childhood town. The first thing she does is to visit the bakery and eat a warm, buttery croissant. A croissant that becomes stuck in her throat when she realises the two old, gossiping women are actually talking about her. The woman who walked out on her marriage.
Kate makes herself busy by walking her dog, decorating her late Granny's bungalow and, secretly, training her sister's soon to be husband. She also meets up with Dready Eddy, her childhood friend. When Kate enters a restaurant to have a meal with Eddy, I'm thinking: Oooh, this sounds like a lovely restaurant. I wonder what they're going to eat? I am food obsessed, as you might have guessed. Fortunately, the book's author, Pippa Wright, does not disappoint.
For their main meal, they have fish with a buttery samphire that has tiny pink shrimp in the branches. I had to look samphire up – it is a plant that grows on rocks and cliffs around the sea. For pudding, they share a bowl of vanilla ice cream with a warm, salted caramel sauce. Kate enjoyed this so much, she expected to see it again in her dreams. It all sounds delicious and, in that moment, I was deeply envious of Kate for eating such a delicious meal.
But, in true Feasting on Romantic Comedy style, I can recreate the meal. Not sure about the samphire; I'll leave that to someone who knows what they're doing, but homemade vanilla ice cream? I can do that.
To start I used Nigella's salted caramel sauce. It is easy and quick to make. Just as she instructs, I bought proper salt. So worth it. Make this, then put it to one side (no cheating and tucking in early, now).
Then the vanilla ice cream. I have always thought you'd need an ice cream maker to make ice cream. Not so. As long as you remember to stir every thirty minutes or so whilst it is freezing. We can do that for homemade ice cream, can't we?
Equipment
Saucepan (non stick is good), wooden spoon, whisk, bowls, cling film, sieve, freezer-proof container with lid.
Ingredients
500ml full fat milk
300ml pot double cream
vanilla – either a pod with the seeds scraped out or 1tsp vanilla powder or essence
5 egg yolks
125g caster sugar
Method
- Measure out the milk and cream into your saucepan along with the vanilla (or if you are using the seeds from the pod, chuck the pod in too) and bring to a simmer.
- Remove from the heat and allow to infuse. I left mine for about 40 minutes.
- Separate your eggs (you could use the whites to make a pavlova or freeze them for another time) and whisk with the sugar.
- Once the creamy milk has infused, discard the pod and pour the liquid over the yolks slowly. Whisk.
- Wipe out your pan, then return the mixture to it. Heat gently, stirring all the time (make sure you stir the bottom) until it starts to thicken slightly. I had mine on a medium heat for about ten minutes. DO NOT attempt to rush this otherwise you'll get sweet scrambled eggs!
- Remove from heat and pour into a bowl through a sieve. You could then place this bowl into a larger one containing cold water and/or ice cubes to speed up the cooling down process.
- Cover the mixture with cling film. Make sure it touches the surface of the mixture so a skin doesn't form. Allow to cool.
- Once cool, pour into a freezer-proof container with a lid and place in the freezer.
- Stir every 30 minutes or so for a few hours.
- When the ice cream is nearly set, drizzle in some of the salted caramel sauce to create a ripple effect.
- Serve. With more caramel sauce over the top, of course!