Thursday, February 3, 2011

Those Bachelor Brothers Made me Cook

Hector and Virgil are two eccentric, middle aged twins who run The Bachelor Brothers' Bed and Breakfast on an island off British Columbia for their "clientele of slightly confused and gentle bookish people". They live with Mrs. Rochester, a parrot who is as likely to spout a Bible passage as a curse, Waffle the cat, Caedmon the absent-minded handyman, a bassoon, and frequent overnight visits from Hector's beauty products saleswoman and journalist girlfriend Altona.

Would that there were such a wonderful B&B, but alas, this bibliophilic retreat is a fictional one, from the pen of author Bill Richardson. His first book, "The Bachelor Brothers' Bed and Breakfast" is a charming treat, and so is the sequel, "The Bachelor Brothers' Bed and Breakfast Pillow Book", a continuation of the adventures of Hector, Virgil and their circle of friends, punctuated by recipes, recommended book lists, many verses of bad poetry and letters from guests who have stayed at their B&B.



It is one such letter in the book that intrigued me and set me on the path of some culinary research. One satisfied customer sends on his mother's recipe for Bread and Butter Pickles and relates how he spent time visiting his parents and copying out childhood favorites from his mother's recipe cards and cookbooks.

They all had such interesting names: Bully Pudding (a cake with chopped dates and nuts baked in), Cheese Dreams (open-faced melted cheese sandwiches, Self-Saucing Fudge Cake (sounds like a Hogwarts dish) and Double Snackers. I never did find out what Double Snackers are, but I kept imagining that they'd be some sort of delicious thing paired with yet another bit of deliciousness and melded together.

I decided that I would create my own Double Snackers and got to thinking about making a savory kind of sandwich cookie. It should be salty, crispy, but also gooey. And cheesy, since the author had gotten me salivating about what Cheese Dreams might be. I decided to make a double batch of my Southern Cheese Crisps and then make a small bit of Herbed Cream Cheese to cement two Crisps together into one delicious Double Snacker.



They are mighty tasty. A bit rich, but that's what double snacking is about. Two of these babies were perfect as an appetizer, washed down with a glass of dry, red Chianti. Yum yum.

This book-inspired cooking post is going to wend its way over to Simona at Briciole who is hosting another one of her delightful Novel Food blog event. Novel Food is cohosted with Lisa of A Champaign Taste and celebrates the love of reading with the love of cooking and there are always intriguing new book selections to seek out when reading each of the Novel Food roundups. If you are interested in joining Novel Food, the deadline is Feb. 13.

7 comments:

Simona said...

I had not heard about these books, Rachel. The characters sound adorable. I think your rendition of Double Snackers fits perfectly with the name. Thank you so much for contributing to Novel Food!

Eliotseats said...

I love all foodie books! You had me at the first paragraph. I will have to get my hands on a copy and add it to my "Foodie Reads" page: http://eliotseats.com/?page_id=176
Thanks for sharing! Enjoyed!

Eliotseats said...

I love all foodie books! You had me at the first paragraph. I will have to get my hands on a copy and add it to my "Foodie Reads" page: http://eliotseats.com/?page_id=176
Thanks for sharing! Enjoyed!

Anonymous said...

Oh, I love blaming others for my decadence. You made me want to read these books and do a little double snacking.

Heather S-G said...

This sounds like such a fun book! I'm going to have to look for it =)

librariane said...

Oo, nifty concoction (and kudos to the HP reference)! And it seems natural to pair good food with a fun B&B. We've stayed in a few that had quirky charm and delicious eats.

Susan said...

At first, when I saw the photo, I was fascinated (and hungry for) your recipe. Now, I want to read the novels, too.

Thanks for this post, Rachel. My sister-in-law loves lit w/ recipes. You've made my gift-giving much easier.