Typically, reading is a quiet and fascinating process, which is accompanied by a cozy home environment or pleasant background music (on the street or on public transport it is convenient to use headphones so that nothing distracts you from immersing yourself in reading). But, at the same time, there are special establishments where book lovers like to gather. They have fun, communicate with like-minded people, recommend books to each other, discuss latest news literature and new authors. In some of these places you can even have a tasty meal. We will tell you about one of these institutions for true book lovers in our article today. We will talk about an unusual cafe. Its unusualness lies in the fact that the owners decided to rely on the format of holding unusual themed dinners.
The cafe organizes themed dinners based on famous books
In appearance, The Bookish Banquet restaurant (in Russian the name of the establishment sounds like “Book Banquet”), located in Amsterdam, Holland, is no different from hundreds of others. Here too beautiful interior, lots of tables, menus and great dishes from the chef. It seems like nothing out of the ordinary. But one detail makes book lovers from all over the city flock here.
This restaurant hosts unusual events every two months. Namely - (or a series of novels from one author). The book to which the next banquet will be dedicated is announced in advance. This is necessary so that everyone who wants to come to dinner can prepare for this event.
What is the preparation?
Firstly, it is advisable to become thoroughly familiar with the hero work of the theme evening. Agree, it will be completely uninteresting if you find yourself among those who simply came to gawk at the event, and are completely unfamiliar with the book and its author. You will feel out of place. And the evening is unlikely to be to your liking.
It’s a completely different matter if all participants in such a themed evening are, as they say, on the same wavelength. Communication will be lively and interesting, and the evening will remain in the memory for a long time. And you might want to attend this event again.
Second, (optional, but recommended) dress appropriately for the theme of the dinner. Imagine an evening dedicated to stories about Sherlock Holmes, and all the guests are dressed in the manner of the inhabitants of the second half of the nineteenth century. This event will be remembered by absolutely everyone.
How did the idea for such an unusual restaurant come about?
The fact is that the founder and current owner of The Bookish Banquet, Chantal Hintze, is both a writer and an excellent chef. During her life, she wrote many stories and cooked hundreds of dishes, working in restaurants in London and Marrakech. The idea of holding themed dinners based on books was born in 2011. Then Mrs. Hintze held a themed costume banquet dedicated to the wonderful work of Lewis Carroll “Alice in Wonderland”. This event was the beginning of the amazing startup The Bookish Banquet.
The first book banquet was held in September 2013. The main theme of the evening was the book “Momo” by the German writer Michael Ende. Two months later, in November, a themed dinner was dedicated to the stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle about the famous detective Sherlock Holmes. The next book banquet, which was held in February 2014, was dedicated to the novel “Nights at the Circus” by American writer Angela Carter. And the last evening, held in March, the owners of The Bookish Banquet dedicated Yann Martel’s book “Life of Pi” (which, by the way, was successfully filmed not so long ago). The next topic (the banquet will be held in May) will be Douglas Adams’ book “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.”
The cost of participation in any themed dinner at the Book Banquet will cost the client 35 euros (less than two thousand rubles). For this money the visitor gets five unusual dishes, which, one way or another, reflect the essence of the work. If some kind of feast scene plays an important role in the book, then the menu may contain dishes that appeared in the book. If there were no such scenes, then the dishes were simply their own appearance, colors or composition will resemble this or that book. Like this interesting idea, which was realized thanks to the love of literature and the ability to cook.
Moldavian cuisine developed under the influence of Greek, Turkish, Balkan, Western European, and later Ukrainian and Russian, as well as Jewish and German cuisines, but at the same time it formed into a very integral, original cuisine, with its own distinct characteristics.
The largest number of dishes are prepared in Moldova from vegetables - they are eaten fresh, boiled, fried, baked, stuffed, stewed, salted. Traditional for it are dishes made from corn, beans, chickpeas, vegetables - eggplants, zucchini, peppers, gogoshars, leeks, tomatoes, white and cauliflower, as well as pumpkins.
Of the spicy vegetables and herbs, leek (prazh), celery (tseline), thyme (chimbru), lovage (leushtyan), parsley and dill are mainly used as seasonings. Spices such as black and allspice, hot red pepper, coriander, cloves are also added to food. bay leaf, nutmeg etc. Garlic is widely used.
Brynza, a brine cheese made from sheep or cow milk, is very popular in Moldova.
Moldavian cuisine uses all types of meat products: pork, lamb, beef and poultry. Many meat and fish dishes are fried on a grater, a wide grate located over hot coals.
One of the characteristic dishes of Moldova. cuisine is hominy. It is cooked from corn flour, served with feta cheese, sour cream or as a side dish for meat or fish dishes.
Various fruit trees grow in Moldova, so there are fresh fruit- apples, pears, peaches, apricots, cherries, cherries, grapes, walnuts.
Winemaking is developed. A good owner had more than one barrel of his own homemade wine in the cellar.
Bean snack:
Soak a glass of beans overnight in cold water. Boil until tender (add salt 10 minutes beforehand). Puree with a blender along with the remaining liquid. Finely chop one small onion and fry until golden brown. Place the beans on a plate, top with onion and finely chopped parsley (dill) and garlic.
Kostitsa with new potatoes.
Cut the pork loin into pieces about 2cm thick, along with the rib bone. Lightly beat, pepper and salt. Fry on a grill (a thick grate located over burning coals) (I did this on a grill pan).
Peel young potatoes and boil until tender. Drain the water, place the potatoes on plates, season with oil, finely chopped garlic and herbs.
Husband's sauce.
Served with almost all non-sweet dishes)
Finely chop a couple of cloves of garlic (or pass through a garlic press), place in a small but deep bowl, add salt, pepper and grind well (I did this with a potato masher), dilute with broth and sprinkle with herbs (dill, parsley)
Wine jelly.
A glass of semi-sweet wine (you can take dry wine) diluted with 1/2 glass of water, put on fire, add sugar to taste. Dilute 1 tablespoon of starch (the amount of starch depends on the desired thickness) with cold water and add to the wine. Bring to a boil, stirring continuously, remove from heat and pour into bowls. Serve with whipped cream.
Good day to everyone!!!
I’m writing a post today “according to plan”... The month of February is ending, and the task within the framework of the Culinary Project of Nadya the Inventor still seems to have not been completed. That's why I'm correcting myself.
I’ll be honest - for the first half of the month I wasn’t particularly interested in the themed dinner and everything connected with it, but then I became so interested in preparing this post that I got carried away and prepared not just one themed dinner, but several. At the same time, I changed the design of the dining area in the kitchen, which my family also liked.
Previously, if you remember, it was like this -
Now it has become like this -
As they say, find 5 differences :))
You probably already guessed that the theme of my themed dinners, and at the same time lunches), was Ukrainian cuisine, beloved, close and dear in spirit... Probably, I’m just not “ripe” yet to prepare a post about a themed dinner of another country, but If I had this task again, I might try it...
Many dishes Ukrainian cuisine I cook regularly (it’s not for nothing that I’ve been eating these dishes since childhood and learned to cook by watching my mother), but I cooked some of them for the first time using a wonderful book that my son gave me - I’ve already shown it in my ""
One of the themed dinners is in front of you:
Traditional Dumplings with potatoes , generously sprinkled with fried onions - in a black pot;
Traditional Cabbage rolls with meat, rice and soup
- Potato casserole with mushrooms and cheese in a red baking dish
Well, about dumplings I won’t tell you much, dumplings are like dumplings, we love them with cabbage, with potatoes, with meat, with cottage cheese, with cherries, with raspberries... These are with potatoes.
A little about cabbage rolls, or rather about sauce for cabbage rolls: I fry a little flour in butter until golden brown, pour in warm vegetable or meat broth (what you have in the refrigerator), add a spoonful of sour cream, salt, ground pepper and cook for 5 minutes, then add carrots pre-fried in a frying pan (rubber it) on a Korean grater) and pour in tomato juice; you can add paste instead of juice. I boil it all together and pour over the fried cabbage rolls. You can simmer the cabbage rolls over low heat in a saucepan, or you can put the cabbage rolls in a baking dish in the oven at a temperature of 230 degrees...
Now about vegetable casserole ...Lent is approaching, and this dish can be prepared like a Lenten dish, just do not sprinkle it with cheese. I recommend it.
So, rub the baking dish well with a cut clove of garlic and grease it with sunflower oil.
Place a layer of thinly sliced potatoes into the mold, add salt, then a layer of champignons cut into slices, sprinkle with sunflower oil, then I added my own carrots, grated on a Korean grater (I love bright colors, as you noticed)) and again - a layer of potatoes with slices, Add some salt again, you can pepper, sprinkle generously with oil. Sprinkle the casserole breadcrumbs and bake for 40-50 minutes in the oven at 180 degrees. Before serving, I added green peas and sprinkled with finely grated cheese.
Lately I’ve noticed that our family is very good at salads, but not so good at canned food. That’s why something like this often appears on the table:
salad of canned tomatoes and cucumbers , sprinkled with onions and flavored with sunflower oil. Try it - it's delicious! The only clarification is that we cover the tomatoes according to the “recipe with vodka”, they turn out sweet and sour, very tasty just for this salad, many friends who have tried them ask: “Where is the vodka?”)))
And I also peel the skins of tomatoes before cutting them into salad...
The next dish to be prepared will be
"Cartoon Curler" or simply Potato roll
I give the recipe, as in the book:
1. Peel 1 kg of potatoes, boil, mash, cool slightly.
2. Cut 250 grams of meat into cubes, fry a little in sunflower oil, add 0.5 cups of warm water and simmer until done.
Then pass through a meat grinder along with onions fried in the same oil, add pepper and salt.
3. Add 1 egg and 3 teaspoons of starch to the potato mixture, add salt and stir.
Place it in a rectangle on a damp towel or napkin; I laid it out on a silicone mat.
4. Place the filling on the potato mixture, smooth it out, use a mat to roll it up, place it on a greased deco sheet, seam side down.
5. Pierce the surface of the roll several times, brush with sour cream, sprinkle with breadcrumbs and bake until golden brown.
Served "Zavivanets" with beet caviar and pickled mushrooms.
This roll was enough for almost two meals for our family of 4.
Our favorite Ukrainian dish has become - Clear broth with pies ...
The recipe is also from the book, but creatively revised by me)) I prepared this dish for February 3 times! What’s good is that I ate liquid and snacked on baked goods, not dry...
Preparing choux yeast dough:
1. Mix 1 teaspoon of salt, 3 tablespoons of flour, 1 tablespoon of sugar and 1 packet of Saf-Moment dry yeast in a bowl.
2. Pour 3 tablespoons of sunflower oil into 1 glass of boiling water, let it sit for 10 minutes and cool slightly.
3. Pour another glass into the third container hot water from the kettle.
4. Sift 500 grams of flour.
5. When 10 minutes have passed, pour dry mixture No. 1 with liquid mixture No. 2, mix thoroughly. We begin adding flour, kneading the dough and adding water from container No. 3. Gradually mix in the flour, achieving a soft, elastic dough that does not stick to your hands.
Preparing the filling and broth:
Salt and pepper the minced meat, add finely chopped onion, mix.
Place the prepared minced meat into boiling water in a small saucepan and cook for 10 minutes. Place the cooked minced meat in a colander and cover the drained broth with a lid - we will need it later.
We begin to roll out the dough, cut out small circles, add minced meat and pinch the pies.
We fry in large quantities sunflower oil. The dough is choux yeast, the pies turn out unusually airy and just melt.
Serve the pies with hot broth.
Well, for dessert - " Pukhkeniki"- another traditional dish of Ukrainian cuisine.
This recipe caused mixed opinions among us. My mother and I decided that after indulging once, we wouldn’t cook this again. And an hour later, my eldest son Andrei sat down to dinner and came to me with a question and amazement in his voice: “What is this?” To be honest, I thought that he didn’t like it at all, but it turned out to be the opposite. No matter how many different baked goods my son tried, it turns out that he liked this one almost the most. Well, there is no arguing about tastes....
Well recipe "Puhkenikiv" for those who decide to try it for themselves:
Bring 1.5 cups of water along with 1 tablespoon of butter and 0.25 cups of sugar to a boil, add 1.5 cups of sifted flour and, warming the mixture over low heat, stir until it stops sticking to the walls of the pan. . It took me about two minutes.
Cool the dough to 60-70 degrees, add 6 egg yolks one at a time, kneading the dough until smooth, then gradually add the whipped whites of these 6 eggs. Knead.
Use a teaspoon to separate a small amount of dough and place it in the heated sunflower oil(there should be a lot of oil so that the puffies literally swim in it) and fry until golden brown.
Sprinkle the finished “pukhkeniki” with powdered sugar and serve hot with jam...
By the way, regarding questions about breakfast... in our family we all eat different breakfasts, and it is very difficult to do something about such a situation.)) Dima is the very first to have breakfast, and his priority is mainly oatmeal, wheat, buckwheat porridge“with milk”, sometimes milk noodles...
I take him to school or my eldest son takes him (we work in our store every other day), and therefore my breakfast comes later, mostly it’s coffee and a sandwich or coffee and a bun with butter... Yes, yes, that’s it. I’m such a bad mother)), there is no one to set an example for the children!))
My mother really likes vinaigrette or some light salad for breakfast, sometimes it’s porridge with sauerkraut, but she has breakfast even later than me, because in the mornings on an empty stomach she drinks herbal infusions and teas. She's a great guy with us, she's passionate about recipes. traditional medicine, reading a newspaper" Healthy image life", and takes notes from many recipes from there. Sometimes he joins me in his breakfast, if I’m not at work that day... This month we celebrated my Mom’s 73rd birthday, and I literally pray to God that He will give she is still decades old without any illnesses... Well, Andrei, the eldest, most often has breakfast with an omelet or poached eggs, and he always tries to diversify his menu with vegetables. He loves eggs very much, but it is very difficult to persuade the younger one to eat omelettes, dishes that contain them. eat eggs, immediately make a face - don’t even suggest it. We are such an “unfriendly” family in terms of breakfast, but this is partly due to our rhythm of life, partly due to individual preferences...
Themed dinners are not just about eating dishes of a certain national cuisine, it is also about getting to know the culture of the country.
Themed dinners can be different: related to a certain national cuisine, regarding a certain color or some type of product.
What to do:
First: choose a theme, for example, any cuisine in the world.
Let's take Italian cuisine as an example.
Second, table decoration - style. It is necessary to think and decide what this or that country is associated with. You can ask this question to any family member. I associate Italy with the Caperese salad, which in turn conveys the three colors of the flag: green. white, red.
Now let's figure out how to guess/understand to your family or friends that you are having an Italian-style dinner, with the exception of cooked dishes. You can print and attach mini-flags of this country to canapes or cocktails; buy or sew stylized napkins; you can make napkin rings yourself. For an Italian lunch, I made napkin rings from satin ribbons and placed a cute bowl of apples: 
For an oriental dinner, you can choose the appropriate dishes, tablecloth, etc.: 
Third: menu. The menu is the most difficult, because you need to take into account the taste preferences of the whole family. First, we make a list of categories of dishes that you plan to cook. Do not oversaturate the menu, because a themed lunch is not New Year so that the table is “laden” with treats, this is a cultural and educational lunch, so that everyone is full and happy and can dream a little!
So: we decided that we would prepare a main course, salad, appetizer and dessert.
Now we select suitable recipes for each category, for example, the main dish is lasagna. But what exactly and with what, we take into account the tastes of our family. And so with all dishes.
Fourth: the selected recipes should not “strain” the family budget. Therefore, we think and decide how and with what we can replace some product without violating the authenticity of the dish itself, i.e. its belonging to the country.
For example, you cannot replace mozzarella, but fresh basil can be freely replaced with dried. Or cook something in portions so that everything is eaten during lunch.
Fifth: having solved all the tasks, we choose the day and date of our lunch.
Now we prepare the dishes, set the table, decorate and invite the family to the table. I think your relatives will appreciate your efforts and will be pleasantly surprised!!!
I hope the tips and ideas for themed dinners will be useful and will also please your loved ones.
This is how we had our Spanish lunch: 
And this is an oriental dinner - Uzbek cuisine: 
The plans... the plans are huge, but for now I’m at the third stage of dinner at white-red colors and menu by the way too!!!
To maintain love, interest and passion in a relationship, it is very important to fill your life together with pleasant little things, common hobbies and, of course, soulful romantic evenings. Romance is not only Paris, dinner in a luxurious restaurant or walks along the azure coast of a seaside resort... Sometimes for a soulful evening, your own cozy home or apartment is enough, where you can also enjoy the romantic atmosphere and give all your attention to your other half.
Romantic dinner - a classic of the genre
The most obvious option for an evening for two is a romantic dinner. To make the time spent together memorable for a long time, organize it in a special way - creative imagination and a touch of creativity will be very helpful. Dim lighting, pleasant soulful music, beautiful table setting will certainly create the appropriate atmosphere. But besides this, try to surprise your other half: prepare an original symbolic gift (perhaps made with your own hands), which will then remind you of your best moments every time, and if you have culinary talents, prepare something special, think about an unusual presentation of dishes. But if haute cuisine is not your thing, it doesn’t matter, because you can always order food in a restaurant.
And of course, decor plays an important role here. Of course, candles and rose petals are what we usually expect from a romantic pastime.
However, you can always add some personality to your familiar surroundings. A great idea is to have an evening with a hint of Japanese style. So, instead of a regular table, you can organize everything on the floor: trays, a special mini-table (which is usually used for breakfast in bed), soft pillows and blankets - just what will add more warmth, allow you to relax as much as possible and feel at ease. 
Evening in the yard
If you live in a private house with a terrace and a beautiful courtyard, then an evening in nature is an excellent opportunity to realize your plans in the fresh air without leaving home. There are a lot of ideas for locations, so choose according to the situation, as well as based on your own preferences:
- picnic on the lawn - great option for warmer weather;
- If you want a more thorough serving, have dinner at a table near the grill;
- Cool weather is not a reason to give up the atmosphere of wildlife around. Spread a blanket on the floor, place pots of flowers around, a picnic basket, light herbal-scented candles to make the idea as realistic as possible.
If possible, have an evening on the rooftop with amazing views of the city. Such an environment will certainly heighten emotions and feelings and, undoubtedly, will be in the “treasury” of your best memories.
Cinema for two
Instead of a banal trip to the cinema, you can spend a much more interesting evening watching an exciting film in your cozy room, especially if you have a home theater at home. After all, we create romance ourselves: with desire and great anticipation of beauty, we can organize a spiritual atmosphere even in the most ordinary place at first glance.
It’s better to give up melancholic melodramas or films with intricate plots in favor of adventures and romantic comedies, so that it can be fun and interesting together.
Hot bath
Perhaps one of the most romantic moments is an evening spent in lush, aromatic foam. Despite its apparent simplicity, the benefits of such joint relaxation are obvious: nothing will bring you closer together than a luxurious bath for two.
The implementation of the idea does not require large expenses and a lot of time for preparation, because champagne along with fruit for the menu in this case will be more than enough. You also don't have to buy an expensive bouquet of roses. A few petals for the bath, candles and your romantic mood are what you need for a better rest. By the way, flower shops sell ready-made petals for such cases.
Fill your space with a gorgeous scent by adding your favorite essential oil into the aroma lamp. And don’t forget about relaxing, calm music, which will be the best complement to a sensual evening.
- Plan a romantic dinner together for a day unencumbered by important matters and worries the day before. It is best to spend the evening together before the weekend, which will allow you not to think about work and upcoming plans;
- Avoid too strong alcohol. To make your evening magnificent, sensual and tender, choose good wine or champagne. If you wish, you can prepare original cocktails yourself, beautifully decorating them with fruit;
- An important aspect is the design of the table. It is advisable to follow the dinner style by choosing the right menu. Do not overdo it with filling and decor - everything should be in moderation;
- together with others decorative elements Lighting plays an important role. Subdued light light is ideal for creating a romantic atmosphere. Lighted candles, garlands, flames from an aroma lamp - all this will allow you to completely relax and immerse yourself in the trembling atmosphere of a romantic holiday;
- The musical accompaniment deserves special attention. Stylish jazz, instrumental tracks or unobtrusive lounge - all these are win-win and time-tested options for sharing a dinner with your significant other.
Treasure each other, trying to bring more pleasant moments and romantic evenings into your relationship. This is the only way you can better express your feelings, be frank and strengthen the union for a long time.
