Category: Book of the Month Recipes

Very Hungry Caterpillar Fruit Salsa with Cinnamon Tortilla Chips

Posted July 29, 2021 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments

As you may recall, the Very Hungry Caterpillar LOVES fruit. When he eats his week-long feast, fruit makes up most of his diet, so today we’re making a recipe that includes every fruit he ate Monday-Friday. Say hello to my 5 Fruit Salsa!

This salsa is composed of finely diced apples, pears, plums, and strawberries generously drizzled with a refreshing clementine white balsamic vinaigrette (the clementine is the 5th fruit). Of course, every salsa needs something to dip in it, so I baked up some flower-shaped cinnamon sugar tortilla chips.

This has to be of the easiest recipes I’ve ever made. Perfect to throw together before a party or as a snack! Munch on, little caterpillars! 😀

A Very Hungry Hot Dog Bar

Posted July 15, 2021 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 1 Comment

Running a blog can be a lot of work. Sometimes I sit down to type and my brain just won’t do words, or a recipe I planned doesn’t work, leaving me scrambling to make something else at the last minute. But other times a recipe is pure fun at every step of the process, from early development to editing the final post. That’s the kind of recipe we’re making today. It was just such a joy to work on. It reminded me why I love what I do! 😀

Very Hungry Caterpillar Sandwiches

Posted July 1, 2021 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments

I was planning to do a Very Hungry Caterpillar menu next year, but after Eric Carle’s recent passing, I really wanted to do it now. It’s been comforting to spend the past month working on recipes inspired by his most famous character. It’s also given me an opportunity to talk with my 4-year-old about the Carle books we’ve read. I grew up with his books myself, and it fills me with warmth to know I’m passing on his legacy to another generation.

This Very Hungry Caterpillar menu is going to have a children’s party vibe, similar to last month’s Stuart Little menu. I know lots of people like to use Very Hungry Caterpillar as a birthday or baby shower theme, so I’m keeping that in mind as I plan.

Today’s super simple appetizer is just right for any kid who’s ever loved lunchables–we’re making Very Hungry Caterpillar sandwiches! I used spinach tortillas for the bread (don’t worry, you can’t really taste the spinach–at least I can’t). For the filling, I used American cheese and Genoa salami, but you can pick whatever meat/cheese combo your kids enjoy most. It took me less than 5 minutes to cut everything out, and the results were SO. FREAKING. CUTE. 😀

It’s super easy to scale the recipe up or down depending on how many you’re serving. There are about 5 sandwiches per hump in the caterpillar, so if you’re serving a small group, you can made individual caterpillars with one hump (just keep in mind you’ll need extra tomatoes for the heads). If you’ve got a large group and a big enough plate, you can add as many humps to the caterpillar as you want. A giant one would be lots of fun!

P.S. If your kids won’t touch anything spinach related (my 4-year-old is going through a no-green-things phase), you can make the same design using fruit or vegetables. For example, you could make a kiwi, watermelon, and mango body with blackberry feet and half an apple for a head. Or go the Caprese salad route with a cucumber, tomato, fresh mozzarella body and tiny basil leaves for feet. Have fun with it!

Stuart Little Roadster Cupcakes

Posted June 17, 2021 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments

I know what you’re thinking. “But, Ali, you already made a recipe inspired by Stuart Little’s car.”

Yes, I was thinking that too. But hear me out:

That was savory, and this is sweet!
Plus these cupcakes have flavors inspired by rocky road ice cream.
And they’re topped with a car with a little “S” on the hood and a wee mouse in the driver’s seat. UNBEARABLY CUTE.
And I really REALLY wanted to make them.

These Stuart Little cupcakes are perfect for a birthday party or baby shower. I made them using my favorite, super-moist chocolate cake batter, marshmallow frosting from a recipe by Lil Luna, and the cutest little marzipan toppers. I loved the idea of developing a recipe with a chocolate/marshmallow/almond flavor combo reminiscent of rocky road, given the car theme. Plus, you can serve them with rocky road ice cream! Too perfect. 😀

My 4-year-old LOVED these. He’s been obsessed with cars since he was a baby, and he got hooked on marzipan after taste-testing the decorations when I made rüeblitorte. Plus, we read Stuart Little together not long before I started this menu (our first chapter book read-aloud! 😭 ), so he loved that he could connect the food to something he knew. Do I sense a theme for his next birthday party?

P.S. My 5-year-old nephew saw me working on this and pointed out you could also make Mario characters to put in the cars. So it turns out these work for a Mario Kart birthday too! Whodathunk? 😀

1940s-Style Slow Cooker Applesauce

Posted June 3, 2021 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments

Remember earlier this year when I made a historically accurate JANE EYRE menu? Today I’m adding a historically accurate recipe to my STEWART LITTLE menu too! Although the story is set in a fictional New York and no time period is given, the book was published in the 1940s, and the clothing and speech styles of the characters give that vibe. So let’s make some 1940s food!

Mouse on the Go: Stuart’s Hummus Deviled Egg Boats and Mini Pepper Roadsters

Posted May 20, 2021 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments

Hold onto your hat’s, folks! Today we’re gettin’ whimsical! 😀

Lately I’ve been trying to make a lot of historically accurate blog recipes, like Rustic Brown Bread from JANE EYRE and Rüeblitorte from HEIDI. I planned to stick with that theme through this menu too, but the only entree in STUART LITTLE is lamb stew. Since I already shared my go-to lamb stew recipe in my HUNGER GAMES MENU, I decided to have some fun and make something silly instead. Plus, I’m unofficially trying to make everything on this menu work for a birthday party just because I think STUART LITTLE would make such a cute party theme, and I’ve never seen lamb stew served at a birthday.

For my focus, I chose Stuart’s favorite modes of transportation: his car and boat. I made deviled egg boats for a WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE menu a few years ago, and the one’s I’m sharing today are a slight variation on that. I made homemade hummus from Gimme Some Oven, mixed it into the filling, dyed the egg white blue to match the boat in the story, and topped it all with a pita chip sail. The rest of the hummus went to fill the roadsters: mini peppers I cut in half and fitted with tomato wheels, pretzel steering wheels, and chive seat backs.

These were SUPER simple and so fun to make. If you’ve got kids, I highly recommend getting them involved with this one. My 4-year-old loved putting the sails on the boats and driving the little cars around his plate!

Mrs. Little’s Seed-Topped Banana Muffins

Posted May 6, 2021 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments

Happy May, folks! I’m appreciating these few sunny spring days before there’s enough pollen to absolutely allergy-adle my brain. All the brightness and life outside has me in the mood for a fun new cooking project, so today we’re starting a menu inspired by STUART LITTLE! I just finished reading it with my 4-year-old as our first read-aloud chapter book, and he loved it (especially the roadster and Margalo). A light-hearted, kid-friendly menu would pair perfectly with the great weather. So let’s get started!

Rüeblitorte: Mini Swiss Carrot Cakes with Homemade Marzipan Carrots

Posted April 15, 2021 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments

Dessert time! And I am SO ready. Though to be honest, I’m always ready to dessert. 😉

Given the carrot-y theme of today’s recipe, I was hoping to have this published by Easter, but alas, twas not to be. It seemed like to no matter how hard I tried, I could NOT make it to the store soon enough! But that’s ok, because this is fun to make for Mother’s Day too, especially if your mom is as big a fan of marzipan as mine is. 😀

While planning what to make for today’s HEIDI recipe, I took my inspiration from the tiny cakes Clara sends for Grannie to have with her coffee. The book gives no description as to the flavor of the cake, which left lots of room to get creative. I decided to make a mini version of traditional Swiss rüeblitorte, lightly sweetened carrot cake topped with little marzipan carrots.

In terms of taste and texture, the cake itself is more reminiscent of a breakfast bread. It’s the sweetness of the marzipan that really pushes it into the realm of dessert. I love the versatility of it!

The recipe I’m using today is a muffin-sized version of one by Thahn from Eat, Little Bird (the marzipan recipe comes from The Spruce Eats). My 4-year-old helped me mix the batter, a testament to the ease of the recipe, and also faithfully taste tested the results. Turns out he has something in common with my mom—he loves marzipan too! 🙂

Swiss Potato Rosti with Goat Cheese and Leeks

Posted April 1, 2021 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments

When planning my HEIDI menu, it was very important to me that at least one recipe include goat cheese. Heidi and her grandfather are always drinking goat’s milk and eating cheese, and, along with soft white rolls, these are the foods mentioned most frequently in the book.

I toyed with the idea of making my own goat cheese, but most stores carry ultra-pastuerized, which is no good for making cheese. Instead I decided to incorporate store bought cheese into my side dish. I already knew I wanted to make a potato/cheese side dish, since Heidi eats them in the winter in Dörfli, so I started researching and discovered potato rosti.

Potato rosti are a traditional Swiss side dish (Heidi lives in the Swiss Alps). They’re essentially hash brown patties, sometimes made with fillings or toppings. I don’t need much of an excuse to make fried potatoes, and I was extra pleased when I found a potato rosti recipe with goat cheese and leeks by Serena from Domesticate Me. The only big change I made was swapping out the thyme for oregano, since I had some leftover from making baked walleye. It turned out amaaazing! I loved how the oniony sweetness of the leeks and creaminess of the warm cheese offset the oil of the fried potatoes.

With a few key tips, this recipe is really easy to make:

If using cast iron, make sure it’s very well-seasoned. Otherwise your potatoes will fuse to the pan, and there’s NO WAY you’re flipping that thing in one piece.
When adding your layers, move fast. Each side only needs to cook for a few minutes. You don’t want it to burn while you’re arranging leeks.

Enjoy!

Lemon Garlic Baked Fish with Oregano

Posted March 18, 2021 by Alison's Wonderland Recipes in Book of the Month Recipes / 0 Comments

Did you know baked fish is the only entree mentioned by name in the book HEIDI? That’s lucky for me, since right now it’s the middle of Lent. Talk about a perfect time to test out fish recipes!

Heidi eats this dish while staying in Frankfurt with the Sessemans. Although they’re an affluent family who could afford to make this dish super fancy if they wanted, the Sessemans’ kind, down-to-earth demeanor made me feel like they’d appreciate a simple recipe that let quality ingredients shine. I used walleye, which is genetically similar to zander, a fish native to Germany (and Heidi’s home country of Switzerland!). Fresh lemon, oregano, and garlic were all the dressing it needed to create a refined dish celebrating delicate, tender fish. Also, I found out “oregano” means “the brightness of the mountain,” which is perfect for this book!

I enjoyed the simplicity of the flavors in this dish. Everything was fresh and light, a perfect reminder of the “the brightness of the mountain.” Enjoy! Read More