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.
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Look for our 90’s Rock album out next year.
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Such a good time! Really! Read this book and try the
Pink Fizzy. Next up The Three Weissmanns of Westport by Cathleen Schine.
