Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult – Book Review

A review of the book Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult and a plea for a chocolate cake recipe.

I usually save this type of posting for my family blog, Dishing it up Family Style, but there is a tiny bit of food related stuff at the end and I am hoping that my fellow recipe hounds might be able to help me out.

To start off with, Monday evening was a fantastic night. Three of my girlfriends and I all went down to the Plaza to a forum and book signing by my favorite fiction author, Jodi Picoult. If you like to read, you must pick up some of Jodi’s books. She is a phenomenal author. My favorite book of hers is My Sister’s Keeper but I truly love all of her books. I really enjoyed hearing her read from her newest novel, Nineteen Minutes. After the chilling reading, she opened up the forum to questions from the audience. She spoke a lot about the research that goes into each of her books, which I found to be fascinating. I also enjoyed listening to her talk about her writing schedule (one book a year) and her theory on writer’s block (which is for people who have the luxury of time on their sides).

 

I absolutely loved the book Nineteen Minutes (about a mass school shooting that took place in a span of nineteen minutes). It was a book that hit close to home as I had a cousin who had to hide during the Columbine shooting. I’m sure to any child involved in a school shooting, the time span feels like a lifetime of not knowing whether you will live or die. Picoult did a fantastic job of capturing the feelings and fear of the characters, so much so that you felt as if you were experiencing the nineteen minutes along with them.

Now, on with our night…

We waited in line to get our picture taken with her and to get our books signed. After getting our books signed and photos taken with Jodi, we headed over to McCormick & Schmick’s across the street for dessert. We sat outside overlooking the plaza and enjoyed some wine and some very entertaining guests at another table serenading each other. It was a lovely evening…right down to the dessert.

Now, you all know I have a fondness for the Chocolate Bags at McCormick & Schmick’s. Without a second of hesitation, that is what I chose off the menu. Kathy ordered a Chocolate Bag as well. Sara chose a layered chocolate cake and Amy chose the apple pie.  We all decided that we would each share our dessert which was fine by me. I have a huge weakness for layered chocolate cake as well (I bet you didn’t know that!), so I was excited to get to taste something new off the McCormick & Schmick’s menu. When the desserts arrived we all dug in. I tasted my own first and then I took a spoonful of Sara’s chocolate cake.

STOP RIGHT THERE…… could it be?? Is there something better at McCormick and Schmick’s than the chocolate bag?

Ladies and Gentlemen… I have found the epitome of layered chocolate cake. The chocolate cake to end all chocolate cakes. The McCormick & Schmick’s chocolate cake is five layers of rich chocolate cake with layers of white chocolate mousse in between. It is then topped with a light whipped chocolate frosting and drizzled with a creamy chocolate sauce.  I kept taking taste after taste trying to blend the flavors together in my mind…trying to picture what the recipe for this amazing cake would look like. I have an idea, but an idea is not good enough for me. I want the REAL thing! I want to be able to recreate this amazing cake in all of its glory. So…my dear readers…if any of you have a recipe similar to what this cake sounds like, would you share it with me? If you have an Uncle/Brother/Sister/Mother who works at McCormick’s, would you try to squeeze this recipe out of them? If you are successful, you will be my favorite reader of all time!