28 Summers by Elin Hilderbrand—A Review with a Recipe!

on

I absolutely loved 28 Summers by Elin Hilderbrand. I have to say that it is now my favorite book by the author. 28 Summers is set in Nantucket, of course, in a cottage on the beach. Main character, Mallory Blessing, inherits the cottage from her Aunt Greta. On Labor Day weekend 1993, Mallory is hosting a bachelor weekend for her brother, Cooper, and his buddies to celebrate his upcoming marriage. Things don’t go as planned, and the weekend ends up being a disaster. The only ray of sunshine is that Jake McCloud, Cooper’s best man, ends up staying with Mallory the whole weekend. This is when they decide to have a “same time next year” every Labor Day, no matter what. 

Mallory Blessing is the type of character that becomes your best friend. She is kind, generous, a terrific teacher, and a great cook. I loved the relationship that developed between Jake and Mallory, even though it ends up being complicated. Elin Hilderbrand organizes the book into “28 summers” and introduces each summer with the important news of each year. It really helped me, as a reader, to put myself back in time to that particular summer. 

The photo below will make more sense after you read 28 Summers. The fortune cookies and sand dollars have a special meaning. Also, the Blue Cheese and Bacon Dip from Elizabeth Heiskell is an appetizer Elin Hilderbrand made this summer and featured on her Instagram page. It is definitely an appetizer that Mallory Blessing would have made during a Labor Day weekend. 

Blue Cheese and Bacon Dip—8 servings
Note: This recipe does not following the Candida plan.

Ingredients:
  • 4 slices bacon
  • One 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
  • 1/2 cup blue cheese, softened
  • 5 tablespoons heavy cream 
  • 2 teaspoons chopped fresh chives
  • 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 cup chopped roasted smoked almonds 
Instructions:
  1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Fit a rimmed baking sheet with a cooling rack.
  2. Lay the slices of bacon on the rack and place in the oven. Cook until crisp and done, usually between 11-13 minutes. Remove and reserve about 1 teaspoon of the bacon drippings from the skillet. Crumble the bacon.
  3. In a bowl, beat the cheeses and heavy cream with an electric mixer on low speed u til smooth. Gently stir in the crumbled bacon, reserved bacon drippings, chives, Worcestershire sauce and pepper. Spoon into a lightly greased 1- to 1-1/2 quart baking dish.
  4. Bake in a 350°F  preheated oven until the cheeses are melted and the mixture is heated through, about 20 minutes. Sprinkle the top with the smoked almonds, and serve with sliced pears, crackers, and/or crostini.
This dip was delicious! I served it with gluten-free crackers. It is very easy to make, too! You can find it in Elizabeth Heiskell’s cookbook, What Can I Bring? Southern Food for Any Occasion Life Serves Up. Also, in 28 Summers, Mallory cooks from Sarah Leah Chase’s Nantucket Open-House Cookbook.




 I highly recommend 28 Summers! Enjoy reading while having some blue cheese and bacon dip!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Comments

Post a Comment