November Book Club: Truly Madly Guilty

Our book club never misses a Liane Moriarty book and since Ella was going to be joining us it was the perfect time to read her new one, Truly, Madly, Guilty. While we did not love this book as much as some of Moriarty’s others, such as What Alice Forgot and Big Little Lies, it was a page turner and cleverly written.  So happy to have past members join us and Skylar put on a wonderful dinner as usual!

The Drinks

Keeping the cocktails simple Skylar served fresh squeezed grapefruit juice and vodka along with a cranberry infused vodka Ella brought all the way from Texas with a splash of sparkling water.

The Appetizers

Skylar served a variety of cheeses and spicy pickled asparagus alongside of pumpkin hummus. 

The Menu

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Roasted Beet Salad with Feta and Greens

Curried Butternut Squash Soup

Pulled Pork Sliders

The beet salad was a delicious surprise to everyone.  It had the most wonderful citrus vinaigrette. The pulled pork was done in the crockpot so it stayed warm until it was ready to serve.

Book Club: Three Wishes

Cindy’s pick was Three Wishes by Liane Moriarty.  We love to read Liane’s books.  They lend themselves to animated conversation. 

This one was no exception with tales of family dynamics, cheating and many types of romantic relationships past and present.

The Lovely Host

A Round of Salty Dogs

Salty Dogs by the Pitcher

·      5 Cups Good Vodka

·      2.5 Liters Grapefruit Juice (Not from Concentrate)

or

·      10 Cups Fresh Squeezed Grapefruit Juice

Stir and serve in salt rimmed glasses over ice!

A Tour of the Garden

The Menu

Humus with Pita and Apple

Basque Salad

Asparagus Fries with Aoli

Baked Herbed Salmon

This is a menu we have featured before but is a huge favorite. The above link will take you to our post featuring the Basque dressing recipe.  For our salmon we always choose wild caught Alaskan salmon, and our favorite time of year is Coho season!

Cindy’s Amazing Floral Creations!

Fondue Dessert 

Chocolate Fondue

In a small sauce pan, over low heat, warm ¾ cup heavy cream (no substitutions here) and 16 ounces of chocolate chips.  We like dark chocolate but any flavor would work. Stir continuously until the chocolate melts. Transfer into a fondue serving bowl that you have warmed.  Ours stays warm with a tea light candle.

Serve with sliced strawberries, chilled cheese cake pieces, pound cake and sliced bananas.

Our next installment will feature tips we find helpful when we are planning our get togethers!

Big Little Lies

Our book club members are HUGE fans of Liane Moriarty.  She is the author of Husband's Secret and What Alice Forgot. Her newest book Big Little Lies did not disappoint. Now, we realize that these books are more of a fun read rather than intellectual giants but we believe you need balance in life and book club! These books also allow a temporary escape from day to day life and lend themselves to lively discussion.

The Appetizer 

To start Cindy served Pea Pesto Crostini with Prosciutto.  This is a recipe from Cooking Light magazine.  We love the recipes from Cooking Light because they involve the use of real food rather than processed low-fat ingredients. However, we used whole milk ricotta.

The Cocktail

The book focused on events that occurred during a school function and the catalyst for these events was a “pink fizzy drink”. We recreated this cocktail by making a strawberry simple syrup, adding one ounce of vodka and topping with sparkling wine.  The amount of syrup you use per drink varies depending on how sweet you want it. As a caution: these are dangerous!

To make the strawberry syrup bring 1 cup water and one cup cane sugar to a boil, once the sugar is dissolved add one cup strawberries and simmer for about ten minutes.  Let the mixture cool and blend in your food processor.  Chill for at least an hour before serving.

The Meal

For the meal we served a sandwich that is always a surprisingly big hit: A Rueben.  The sandwich is comprised of sliced corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and Thousand Island dressing on Rye bread.  We are big corned beef enthusiasts.  In March we stock up at Whole Foods and put the extras in the freezer.  If you cannot find corned beef you can use thick sliced deli pastrami. To make the sandwich:

·      Toast the bread in the oven for a few minutes
·      Flip the bread over and place a slice of  Swiss cheese on each piece
·      Top with the sliced corned beef that was cooked according to package directions
·      Toast for a few more minutes so the cheese melts

·       Remove from oven then top with sauerkraut and Thousand Island
·      Done!

We always choose Bubbies sauerkraut and Litehouse Thousand Island, which is from an Idaho company! We served the sandwiches with kettle chips. 

Look for our 90’s Rock album out next year.

Such a good time! Really! Read this book and try the Pink Fizzy. Next up The Three Weissmanns of Westport  by Cathleen Schine.