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Author: Romney Steele | Website

Romney "Nani" Steele is a writer, a cook, a visual artist, and the author of My Nepenthe and Plum Gorgeous. As the granddaughter of Bill and Lolly Fassett, creators of Nepenthe Restaurant in Big Sur, she grew up at the family business and opened Café Kevah, located on the grounds of Nepenthe. She lives in Oakland, California, with her two children, Trevor and Nicoya. 


Published Works & Book Reviews

Plum Gorgeous

Inside Plum Gorgeous, Romney "Nani" Steele follows her successful cookbook-memoir My Nepenthe with 60 seasonally inspired recipes that celebrate the "romance of fruit." Capturing the essence, beauty, and deliciousness of cooking with seasonal fruits, Steele offers simple and seductive recipes that intertwine with the seasons in which each fruit is harvested.

Savory recipes like Coriander Steak with Blackberry Vinaigrette and Kumquat Couscous Salad with Fried Haloumi Cheese are presented alongside sweet treats like Passionfruit Chocolate Truffles and Plum Soup with Basil Ice Cream. Interspersed throughout Plum Gorgeous are beautiful, full-color photographs by Sara Remington and reminiscences from the year that Steele spent living in an orchard in Big Sur, along with fruit lore and select notes on handling and preserving fruit.

In an accessible but imaginative way, Plum Gorgeous beautifully reveals the many layers and flavor profiles of fruit while celebrating the memories inspired by each season's beauty and bounty.

Reviewer: Lilyraines
Review: Aug 24, 2011
Genre(s): Cooking / Food and Beverage
I liked everything about Plum Gorgeous - the recipes, the photographs, the stories, and the notes. The recipes are seasonal by the types of fruit that can be found throughout the year and easy to follow. In essence, they go back to basics. The recipes that I tried from this cookbook are: Wild Strawberry Tartlets (consisting of sweet dough, pastry cream, and wild strawberries (although I did substitute regu

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