You know you hosted book club when…

There were a lot of other titles swirling in my head but I wanted to keep things PG on this family-friendly blog.

Last night I hosted book club.  As you know, we’re not that “serious” of a book club.  As in, usually only 2 or 3 of us have actually opened the book we’re “reading.”  Not this time around.

Only one person had not finished the book…some of us got through the trilogy.  I chose “50 Shades of Grey” as our “academic” reading material.  Mom, I don’t recommend you read this.  It’s a rather “graphic” book with not the best writing but it kept my attention.  I won’t go into any more detail – but I can assure you that book club wasn’t dull last night.

My contributions to the spread (if you follow me on instagram, I apologize – you’ve seen this).  Trust me…much more was added to the table once the ladies began to arrive.

Pioneer Woman’s Lemon Basil Chicken Salad

The chicken salad was a hit.  I used a rotisserie chicken I had picked up at HT and shredded and simply mixed in 1/2 cup frozen peas (they defrosted before all the girls arrived), about 1/2 cup mayo (I used the light olive oil variety), juice and zest of 2 lemons, 1 tablespoon of pesto (plus a drizzle of the oil on top), salt, pepper and fresh basil confetti (about 10 leaves).  It called for pine nuts – which I left off this time around – I think next time I’ll add some cashews for a nutty crunch.  I loved the peas in this chicken salad and the lemon zest added so much flavor!

A perfect bite.

These little babies got demolished.  And they’re so simple!  Dried apricots (TJs has the best), a dollop of creamy, tangy goat cheese (I mix the goat cheese with about 1 tablespoon of skim milk), a salty almond for crunch and a drizzle of sweet, local honey as a final touch.  Book club success.

Laters, baby.

HappyweekendgopiratesTGIF

1.  Cold weather is coming.  Boohiss.

2.  I just finished reading One Day.  Now I need to see the movie.

3.  Speaking of movies, I really want to see Bridesmaids.  I’m determined to make this happen on Sunday.

  4.  Other things on the agenda for Sunday…carving pumpkins!

5.  Big Guy loves carving pumpkins.

6.  Big Guy also loves these muffins.  Sour Cream Chocolate Chip muffins. They were super simple to make.  According to Big Guy, they’re best when served warm.

7.  Speaking of treats, I think I’m going to make these for the tailgate tomorrow.

8.  More sweet talk…there’s a new fro-yo place in town!  I went with a few of the girls Wednesday night and had fro-yo for dinner.  Yum.

9.  See, we do more than “read” books and drink wine.

10.  I just started Sarah’s Key. 

11.  HappyweekendgopiratesTGIF!!!!!!!!!

Pin it, take two.

1.  I need this scarf for Pirate football.

2.  I can’t deny this…

3.  I’m so making this the next time I’m home on a Saturday.

Honeycrisp Sangria

4.  I really wish I had an endless amount of money to spend on clothes.

5.  These chocolate covered potato chips were made for me.  Don’t try to tell me otherwise.

 

All of these photos were found on Pinterest.  Do it.

What have you been pinning lately?

Girl in Translation

Book club was wonderful, as always, last night.  The book that we read:  Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok.  And by “we” I mean three of us.  Three out of ten.  Love it.  Let’s be honest, book club is really just about the wine, the appetizers and the girl talk.

I really enjoyed this book.  I think I loved it more because I read it on my nookcolor.  (Thanks Momma, Dadom and Big Guy! – I’m hooked!)  It was an easy read – it took me about 3 days.  This book read like a memoir telling the story of a young Chinese girl who comes over to America with her Mother.  By day she goes to school and at night she works with her Mother at a Chinatown sweatshop.  I got wrapped up in the characters and the ending wasn’t what I expected – but in a good way.

So back to the real point of book club:  girl time.  For this months get-together I made Spicy Black Bean Dip.  Except it wasn’t spicy.  But it was delicious.

Next time I’ll just use the Hot Mexican Chili Powder – not a mix of that and regular.  Or perhaps I’ll leave a few jalapeno seeds in the mix.  A little heat never hurt anyone.  (I did double the recipe.)

The best part about this recipe – the food processor does most of the work.  Simply throw all your ingredients in the food processor and whirl until smooth.  Let it hang out in the fridge until serving time.

Serve with veggies and tortilla chips.  These soy and flaxseed chips from TJ’s are awesome!  Super crunchy and just the right amount of salt.

What’s holding up those chips?  Ohhhh, you know…just some roses that Big Guy got me (they didn’t have any tulips)…Big Guy must want something…(a ribeye?!?!)

 

Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang

Not the most thought-provoking, serious book but it’s absolutely hilarious (as I expected).

CHELSEA HANDLER ON…

 

Being unpopular: “My parents couldn’t have been more unreasonable when it came to fads or clothes that weren’t purchased at a pharmacy.”

 

Living with her boyfriend: “He’s similar to a large toddler, the only difference being he doesn’t cry when he wakes up.”

 

Appreciating her brother: “He’s a certified public accountant, and I have a real life.”

 

Arm-wrestling a maid of honor: ”It wasn’t her strength that intimidated me. It was the starry way her eyes focused on me, like Mike Tyson getting ready to feed.” (taken from bn.com)

If you’re easily offended, this book probably isn’t for you.  But if you enjoy laughing at inappropriate moments, like me, you’ll thoroughly enjoy this easy read.  Seriously, it’ll take you a few hours at most.  I also wouldn’t recommend this book to your grandparents, just saying.

So much fun last night, Ladies!  Guess who crashed the par-tay…

Maggie and Watermelon Seed are in town!!!!  Brad (my BIL) is arriving today and their spending the whole weekend with me and Big Guy.  I’m suppppper excited to have her in town.

Of course I didn’t go to book club empty-handed.  I took notes from the book-loving Jenna and made a quinoa salad she made for her book club a month or so ago.

Black Bean, Quinoa and Citrus Salad.  It’s fantastic.  I was too busy chatting and laughing to worry about taking more pictures.  There is a lot of dicing involved in this recipe but it’s worth it.  Trust me.  I doubled everything in the recipe except the black beans (still only used 2 cans) and the cilantro (I used 1 bunch).

Every bite was BURSTING with flavor.  The crispness of the fresh corn off the cob, the buttery smooth avocado, the tartness from the grapefruit, the crunch from the red and yellow peppers and the spicy bite from the cilantro made you kept going back for more.

And since I doubled the recipe, I think I’ll be eating this salad for the next few days.  And that’s okay with me.

I can only imagine what we’re reading next….

 

Another “single-girl” dinner.

I finally snapped a picture of one of my latest “single-girl” dinners.  And this one is actually worth making for yourself and someone else, if you so please.  Or you can be like me and eat this “single-girl” dinner while watching The Real Housewives of Orange County (or New Jersey).  I can’t hide it – those two shows are my guilty pleasure when Big Guy’s out-and-about.

A plate of deliciousness.  Bottom layer:  arugula (home-grown, might I add).  On top of that:  quinoa (1/4 cup dry cooked with 1/2 cup agua).  Then a layer of red peppers.  Lots of red peppers.  I sauteed the red peps with a little onion.  I also love onion.  Feel free to leave out of the onion if you’re scared.  Then we have a sprinkle of Parmesan.  Nice and salty.  Oops – I forgot to mention the fresh cilantro I threw on this plate.  Finally we have guacamole.  My new obsession.  I lied – the finally touch was fresh cracked black pepper.  This was super filling, super fresh and super yum-worthy.

Another thing I like to do when Big Guy’s away?  Read.  I just finished Nora Roberts’ The Bride Quartet.   I really enjoyed this series.  Very easy to read and I want Vows (their business) to plan my wedding some day.

penguingroup.com

And up next, Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang.  I can guarantee this will be highly inappropriate yet highly amusing.  Just what our book club needs.

bn.com

Weekend excitement:  Smokey and BQ are going on a little road trip!!!!

What books are you currently reading?

Sing You Home

Remember how I’m in a book club?  Well last night was our gathering about the book “Sing You Home” by Jodi Picoult.  (I was unable to attend the gathering after we read Jay-Z’s autobiography.)

First of all, I love Jodi Picoult’s books.  She’s a brilliant writer.  I think my absolute favorite book of hers is “Nineteen Minutes.”  But the most popular is probably “My Sister’s Keeper” that was made into a major motion picture.  Her books pull me in and I feel as though I’m there experiencing what the characters experience.  This particular book, “Sing You Home” could be described in one word as “controversial.”  But I liked that about this book.  I thought some of it dragged on, but I really wanted to know what happened so I kept reading.  This book made me question my personal beliefs about certain issues (gay rights/adoption/what makes a family).  It’s a “sad” book but not near as tear-jerking as some of her other books.

So I gotta be honest – we only really talk about the book for 10 minutes at book club.  But last night was just what I needed – I sometime forget how important “girl nights” are – just sitting around with a glass of wine, chatting and laughing about whatever random topics arise.

And there’s always food at book club.  Duh.  Well, wine comes first, then the food.

I had my mind set on making Mexican Cherry Tomato Salad but I didn’t really read the whole recipe (novice mistake) and well, it was a little more involved than I had time for, so I ended up throwing the recipe away and just doing what I wanted.

Here’s what you do for my “quickie” version:
Halve 1 pint of grape tomatoes.  Sprinkle with about 1/2 teaspoon of sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.  While that’s hanging out, drain and rinse one can of black beans and one can of corn.  Add to the tomatoes.  Dice up some red onion to taste (about 1/4-1/2 of the onion) and add it to the mix.  Add in some cilantro (about 1/4 cup) and some pepper.  Also add about 1/2 the juice of a lemon, 1/2 tablespoon of cider vinegar and 1 tablespoon EVOO.  Cover and let it chill until you’re ready to serve.  Right before serving, add in about 1/2 a cup of grated pepper-jack cheese and some freshly cracked black pepper.  Done and done.

This salad was served with baked chips and Zesty Guac Tortillaz.  Holy addicting.  These guac chips are crazy delicious.

This was an impulse buy that I don’t regret.  5 out of 5 stars.  A little spicy kick and a lovely crunch.

And I also made a sweet treat!  I know, it’s not Sunday.  But the book club girls are worth it.

Lemon Bars! 

I was very sad I couldn’t eat this sweet treat.  You see, Lemon Bars are one of my all-time favorite treats.  I love the tang and the sweetness of the lemon and sugar.  I must say that the crust of these bars got high marks.  Very flaky and light.  A winning recipe if you ask me – well, it’d be more winning if I could indulge.

Instead of a lemon bar I had an extra 1/2 glass wine.  I know – on a Wednesday night.  I like to live on the edge.  (wink wink)

I wonder what we’ll read next….

p.s. I read three books in St. Thomas – THREE!!!  South of Broad (this was suggested by Big Guy who read it during a previous flight – it kept my interest but it wasn’t the most fascinating book ever), My Horizontal Life by Chelsea Handler (hilarious – that’s all I can say – oh and that I finished it in one afternoon) and finally Night Road (loved this book, couldn’t put it down, love Kristin Hannah – Firefly Lane is also a fabulous book of hers).

Orange is the New Black

image from http://www.piperkerman.com

I’ve always wanted to be in a book club (nerd alert).  When all the other kids were rough housing outside and running around the neighborhood, I was upstairs reading.  I would read anything I could get my hands on.  I loved escaping into another world for a few minutes, thirty minutes or hours.  Through college, I’d read any chance I could…between classes and friends it became harder to fit reading in…especially when there were textbooks that needed my attention.  Now that I’m in the real world, I find it even more difficult to fit reading into my day.  Sometimes I’ll sneak a few chapters in during lunch or right before bed but this past Sunday I took an hour to finish the book of the month (or two months).  Some people don’t like book clubs because they don’t want to be forced to read.  I like book clubs because it opens my eyes to a book I probably wouldn’t have chosen myself.

Orange is the New Black is an easy read.  It’s a true story which I love.  I’ve always been drawn to memoirs and biographies.  It’s interesting, eye-opening, and gave me a glimpse into a world I will never know.  I highly recommend this read. 

Of course I had to take snackage to the book club gathering last night.  Had I been thinking ahead, I would have taken a no-bake cheesecake (if you’ve read the book, you understand).  But I did not think ahead (gasp!) so I made a Warm White Bean Dip with Goat Cheese and Roasted Red Peppers (that’s a mouthful).  I love white bean dip.  I love goat cheese.  I love roasted red peps (even though I used the jarred variety this time).  Why not combine them all?  And if you do – it’s love times three.  Next time I’ll add more red peppers (I’ll also roast it myself) and more garlic (duh!).  This was perfect for a cold winter night.  I served Triscuits, carrots and mushroom slices with this dip. 

warm white bean dip

What book should we read next?  It’s been suggested we read more of a romance novel next…maybe a little scandalous, too.