The Elegance of the Hedgehog: November Book Club

Abbie hosted November’s book club. Her book selection, The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery, can be difficult to get through. She may have known it was going to be a tough one before we even started because she offered a prize to anyone that finished. Of course the best part of book club a lot of time is not the book but the food and drink.

Abbie made delicious Pomegranate Martinis and while not everyone finished the book everyone finished off their martini. 

Dinner was a salad with homemade French dressing and a cassoulet. No dinner is complete without dessert! The dessert was tarte aux pommes (which is just an apple tart in French) served with French press coffee.

If you manage to make it through the book the ending of the novel really is beautiful and worth the struggle.

Abbie also provided Thankful journals at the beginning of November so everyone could write down a few things they were thankful for. It is always important to remember all the things we have to be thankful for.

The FCM Book Club: Wedding Night

We love to read Sophie Kinsella's books so when it was Skylar's turn to host book club she chose the author's latest novel, Wedding Night. While not everyone loved the book the food Skylar served, keeping with the book's Greek setting, got great reviews!

We started out the evening in the back yard since it was unseasonably warm for fall.

Ice cold Ouzo accompanied a variety of appetizers including dolmas,humus, garlic stuffed olives, and a fresh cucumber and mint Tzatziki sauce with toasted pita. Dolmas are stuffed grape leaves.

The star of dinner was the Spanakopita which is a delicious layering of phyllo dough, spinach and feta. A Greek salad was served alongside that consisted of fresh greens, feta, and vinaigrette.

Spanakopita

Never to be out done Skylar made a dessert that left everyone speechless and not just because they could not pronounce the name! Galaktoboureko. A creamy custard baked in flaky phyllo dough and topped with a lemon and orange infused syrup. AMAZING!

Galaktoboureko

Flowers provided by Cindy from her garden!

We would also recommend other books by Sophie Kinsella including I've Got Your Number and Twenties Girl. These are easy reads when you just want to laugh and enjoy a book.




The youngest members of the group did not want to cooperate.

Reconstructing Amelia Book Club

Ella's  selection for her last book club was Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight and it was a doozie! The novel was filled with suspense and readers didn’t want to put it down.

Ella was not only preparing for a big move but had also undergone foot surgery so the other members helped prepare the food and drinks.

The book takes place in New York and often times the cocktail that comes to mind (thanks to Sex and the City) is a classic Comso. The food was homemade calzones, salad, breadsticks and for dessert- a berry cobbler.   

It is always sad when one of our book club members leaves us. We really miss having Ella in our group. We welcome her back anytime she can make it! Virginia isn't really that far is it...

Katie is missing but not by choice!

Right before Poppy was born.

FCM Book Club: Angela's Ashes

Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt is a heart wrenching memoir that tells a story that will haunt you long after you have read the last page. Our gathering was hosted by Jamie McDaniel. She had the difficult task of creating a menu based on a book where the central themes were starvation and suffering. Her choices were to serve watery tea and dry bread or actual food that young Frank only dreamed of.  We were all happy she chose the latter.

Appetizers included garlic stuffed olives, pickled asparagus, and whole grain crackers topped with swiss cheese and apples and a drizzle of honey.

The beverage was Guinness.  The beer appeared throughout the book as many fathers purchased that instead of food for their hungry children.

The main course was an Irish potato soup served alongside a cranberry spinach salad with balsamic vinaigrette

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It was a wonderful evening spent discussing a book that everyone should read.  Thank you Jamie!

Next up is The Stupidest Angel by Christopher Moore. An interesting tale of Christmas horror hosted by Abbie.

FCM Bump Tracker..Yep two of us now!

FCM Book Club: The Shadow of the Wind

September’s book club was centered on the novel The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. This book is hard to describe as one genre because it has a little of everything- love, mystery, drama, and friendship. The book is set in Barcelona, so Skylar decided to host a Spanish style tapas party. 

The evening started with Estrella Damm, a beer brewed in Barcelona and a cheese plate filled with a selection of Spanish style cheeses including, Manchego, Idiazabel, Garrotxa, and Murcia al Vino. Skylar was able to find all of these cheese at the Boise Co-Op. 

This was followed by several bottles of red and white Spanish wines and a variety of tapas including, olives, paella, bocadillos, sauteed garlic mushrooms, and garlic shrimp. We couldn't forget a Spanish style dessert of flan!

Oh and of course lots of discussion about the novel...

Yet another successful book club for us! We were so glad that everyone could make it. 

Book Club Baby Tracker

See you later for Cindy's book club - Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. 

Olive Tapenade Recipe to Come....

Way Down in the Swamp

We wrestled alligators, spoke with ghosts, and journeyed deep into the Florida swamp.  All this and more in FCM's book for July, Swamplandia!, by Karen Russell. Ella Wilkerson, our newest member, hosted and she put out quite a spread. Crawfish dip, tostones, spicy gumbo, crawfish pie, and seafood nachos were washed down with rum punch!

Nachos with Crawfish and Shrimp

All of us were pleasantly surprised by the crawfish dishes.  If you are not up for dealing with whole crawfish you can purchase shelled meat from Reel Foods Fish Market in Boise, ID.

Rum Punch



Dinner was followed up by a fresh baked Key Lime pie made by Skylar and a specialty cake that looked great and was delicious.

Thanks for the great time Ella! Next up is Little Bee by Chris Cleave hosted by Katie Ashby.



FCM Book Club

FCM Book Club: The Help

The FCM book club was hosted by Cindy Jett in March.  The book we discussed was The Help.  Book club, for this group at least, is a reason to get together, eat good food, have cocktails and, if we can fit it in, talk about the book.  The meeting in March was a first for the FCM book club in the fact that everyone who attended, excluding our youngest member, had read the book in it's entirety!

Fried Chicken

The Menu

Cindy wanted to serve traditional Southern comfort food.  The menu consisted of homemade fried chicken, brussle sprouts with bacon, corn puddin', and corn pone.  The cocktail Skylar served was a Sazerac, a must have at any Southern themed get together!

Brussle Sprouts

Dinner was, of course, followed by a chocolate pie.

The Table

Cindy set the table using fresh flowers from her garden.

So far the FCM book club has been hosted by Katie Ashby, Skylar Jett, and Cindy Jett.  All of the meetings were  very wonderful. Up next is Amanda Balderrama and The Glass Castle.

No Surprise Ingredients Here!