Yummy Book Club Menu, Plus Tips on How to Get This Party Started

Have you ever thrown a book club party? Well, I’ve hosted my fair share. If you’re just launching a book club, determined to send everyone home from the first meeting well fed and excited over what books you’ve laid out for the next 12 months, there are a few tried and true guidelines that make for a successful literary nosh-fest.

First, you need between 4 to 8 pals who share your passion for books. Second, you need a reading list, with 6 books on it—to complete one full year of page-turning bliss. Translation? Your group meets at your place (or you rotate hosts) every two months.

Where do you find a great list of novels that appeal to a wide range of readers? In a word: Oprah. Her Books to Pick Up in September 2010 had me so intrigued in the synopses offered, I wasted more time than I dare admit reading first chapters on Amazon. When you click on the September books link, you’ll see a Readers Guide for every novel that gets Oprah’s seal of approval; using these questions lends your book party shape and coherence, so that you remember the whole point of congregating and enjoying excellent food & drink : )!!

Okay, so once you have in mind who you want to invite, it’s time to chat with them either in person, via Facebook or on the phone, feel them out for the best possible date, and hop on Evite for an apropos book club invitation.

This is the menu I recommend for the big day:

Peel and Eat Shrimp with Chipotle Cocktail Sauce
Asparagus Bundles Wrapped in Prosciutto
Cherry Tomatoes Stuffed with Green Olive Tapenade
Crustless Southwestern Quiche
Maple Cake Donuts

Now, to drink…?

Over Labor Day I did a post on 10 kicked up cocktails, any of which are a welcome libation at a rollicking fun book club party; however, I recommend providing an iced-down cooler with diet soda and a pitcher of sparkling water for those who want to take it easy. My Menu du book club has a dessert suggestion, which means that you absolutely must serve coffee!

If the food and wine are good enough, it won’t be long before your book club’s the talk of the town, and members grow into the big leagues (expert hostesses recommend no more than 11 guests for book clubs). From personal experience, hosting every kind of party, featuring every kind of theme, I recommend starting the party at 7:30pm, with the understanding that things are likely to run until at least 10.

Before I leave you to your shopping list (you have to get busy procuring savory veggies, prosciutto and maple-y sweetness), I want to invite anyone contemplating a book pick like, say, Memoirs of a Geisha, to write to me for dishes inspired by the ethnicity featured in the novel. If we’re reading a romance that takes place in the British Countryside, I’ve got minced pies for your banquet table you’ll never forget.

Happy hosting!

MAPLE CAKE DOUGHNUTS

It’s way too easy to eat warm doughnuts in your own kitchen. These remind me of the ones my Grandma used to make on “Fat Tuesday”, the day before Ash Wednesday.

Note: Change the flavor of these doughnuts by substituting with your favorite spices.

Makes about 12 doughnuts and a whole bunch of dough nut holes
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes for all of the doughnuts

3 ½ cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 cup all natural sugar
2 large eggs
Zest of ½ medium orange (about 1 tablespoon)
1 teaspoon maple extract
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 cup sour cream
Canola oil for frying
Confectioners’ sugar for dusting

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and baking soda in a small bowl.

In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar and eggs until fluffy and thick. Whisk in the orange zest, maple extract and butter. Whisk in the sour cream. Use a rubber spatula to gently fold in the flour mixture. The dough will be sticky. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 1 hour.

Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper (or layout 2 Silpat liners). Dust work surface with flour. Dredge a rolling pin, 2 ½-inch diameter round cutter, and 1-inch diameter cutter in flour. Roll out 1/3 of the dough to ½-inch thickness. Cut large rounds and place onto prepared baking sheets. Use the small cutter for doughnut holes, and to cut additional holes from scraps. Continue until all of the dough has been used.

Pour enough canola oil in a deep pot to come to 1 ½-inches. Heat to 365 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with several layers of paper towels. Use a slotted spoon to place the doughnut holes into the oil in batches. Do not crowd. Watch as they drop to the bottom of the pot. When they bob to the surface, gently turn over to evenly brown. Remove to baking sheets. Repeat until all of the holes and doughnuts have been fried. The hole will brown in 2 to 3 minutes. Doughnuts will take a minute or two more.

Dust the doughnuts with confectioners’ sugar while still warm.

Crustless Southwestern Quiche

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 30 to 40 minutes
Serves: 6
Serving Size: 1 wedge

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large red onion, thinly sliced (about 1 cup)
1 medium jalapeno pepper, seeded and thinly sliced (about 2 tablespoons)
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
8 ounces fresh spinach leaves, washed, dried and chopped (about 2 cups)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
5 large eggs
1 cup fat free half and half
½ teaspoon dried mustard
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon corn meal
6 ounces grated reduced fat Monterey Jack cheese (about 1 ½ cups)
2 ounces shredded reduced fat Mozzarella cheese (about 1/2 cup)
2 large roasted red bell peppers, seeded and cut into thin strips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add the onion and jalapeno pepper and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Add the spinach and cook until just wilted, about 3 minutes more. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat.

Whisk together the eggs, cream, dry mustard and parsley in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper.

Coat a baking dish or quiche dish with vegetable oil spray. Sprinkle the bottom with cornmeal.

Sprinkle the cheeses on the bottom of the dish. Layer the top of the cheese with red pepper strips. Spoon the spinach mixture on top of the peppers. Pour the egg mixture over all.

Bake until the quiche is set and the top is golden, about 30 to 40 minutes. Let sit for 10 minutes. Cut into 6 wedges.

Cherry Tomatoes Stuffed with Green Olive Tapenade

Prep time: 25 minutes
Cook time:
Yield: about 2 dozen tomatoes
Serving Size: 4 stuffed tomatoes

1 cup Spanish olives with pimento
4 anchovy fillets
1 teaspoon capers
1 tablespoon olive oil
Freshly ground pepper
1 pint cherry tomatoes

Place the olives, anchovies and capers into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse to combine. With the machine running, slowly pour in the olive oil. Season with ground pepper.

Use a sharp knife to remove the top of the cherry tomatoes. Use a small melon ball scooper to scoop out some of the flesh. Place a dollop of the tapenade into the bowl created in the tomato.

Asparagus Bundles Wrapped in Prosciutto

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Serves: 6
Serving Size: 1 bundle

6 thin slices prosciutto
1 pound fresh asparagus spears
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Lay the prosciutto slices onto your work surface.

Trim the tough ends from the asparagus. Divide into 6 bundles. Place each bundle onto a slice of prosciutto. Wrap the prosciutto around the bundle of asparagus. Season with salt and pepper and place onto a baking sheet with a lip. Drizzle with olive oil. Roast the bundles until heated through, about 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Peel and Eat Shrimp with Chipotle Cocktail Sauce

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 5 minutes
Yield: 18 shrimp and 1 cup sauce
Serving Size: 3 to 4 shrimp and 2 tablespoons sauce

1 pounds large uncooked shrimp, (about 18)
Juice of 1 medium lemons (about 2 tablespoons)
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon diced chipotle chili packed in adobo sauce
1 teaspoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon Balsamic vinegar
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Cook the shrimp in boiling water with lemon until they turn pink and opaque, about 4 minutes. Place the shrimp in ice water to stop the cooking process.

Place the diced tomatoes, chili, tomato paste and Balsamic vinegar into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse to combine. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve the shrimp with the dipping sauce on the side.

Here’s Lookin’ at You, Kid: 10 kicked up cocktails, perfect for Labor Day Weekend

This is a great time of year to enjoy the tinkle of ice cubes in a glass, and revel in the chilled class of a carefully concocted drink. If you’re not the hostess and attending somebody else’s Labor Day shindig, the recipes included here travel well. Just jot down the ingredients and slip them in your pocket; whoever is manning cocktail hour will appreciate your little love-note as you hand it over the bar.

But before I dive in, let me remind my readers that they must take care over the holiday weekend and drink responsibly—designate a driver if you plan on partying hard, or borrow the nearest couch or guestroom. Now that my public service announcement is taken care of, I’d like to introduce 10 of my wildest, tastiest Kicked Up cocktails, legendary in my own soiree circles—sometimes we even put our signature on the drink. If your name is Doreen, I look forward to toasting you with a custom blended dirty martini. “Here’s lookin’ at you, kid.”

You’ll see from these recipes that when champagne meets the Sex & The City Girls’ favorite drink (Champagne Cosmo Cocktail) and your cherry colored sangria takes on a paler shade, in the form of a thirst quenching White Sangria, you’ve got yourself a kicked up version of a classic. I’ve also pumped up the tang on lots of other favorites; a simple Bloody Mary gets converted into a “Hair of the Dog” you’ll lap right up, and dirty martinis get edgier, thanks to my best friend’s aforementioned personal recipe…and so much more! Get ready to drink and be merry. I’ve got more tricks up my sleeve than Isaac had elixirs at The Love Boat Bar.

You’re about to indulge in a happy hour no one will soon forget.

Champagne Cosmo Cocktail

12 ounces pomegranate juice
2 ounces Chambord raspberry liqueur
Juice of 1 large lime, about 2 tablespoons
1 (750-ml) bottle Champagne
Fresh pitted cherries

Stir together the pomegranate juice, Chambord and lime juice in a pitcher. Pour about 1 ounce of this mixture into the bottom of a champagne flute. Top off the glass with Champagne. Garnish with fresh cherries.

White Sangria
1 (750-ml) bottle of red wine (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Rioja reds, Zinfandel, Shiraz)
1 whole orange, cut into pinwheels
1 whole lemon, cut into pinwheels
1 whole lime, cut into pinwheels
2 tablespoons all natural sugar
2 ounces Cointreau Orange Liqueur
8 ounces Prosecco wine or Champagne

Pour the wine into a pitcher. Add the fruit, sugar and Cointreau. Stir and refrigerate for several hours to combine the flavors. Add the Prosecco to the pitcher just before serving. Pour into glasses filled with ice cubes.

Lemon Sugar Rush Drop

1 ounce citrus flavored vodka
1 teaspoon super-fine sugar, plus more for rimming the glass
Juice of ½ large lemon, about 2 tablespoons
Lemon twist

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice cubes. Pour in the vodka, sugar and lemon juice. Shake well and set aside. Run a lemon twist around the rim of a martini glass. Dip the rim into superfine sugar. Strain and pour the mixture into the glass and plop the twist in the glass.

Doreen’s Dirty Martini

2 ounces vodka
½ ounce olive juice
Whiff of dry vermouth
2 to 3 colossal size olives

Fill a cocktail shaker half full of ice. Pour in the vodka and the olive juice. Shake well and set aside. Add a touch of vermouth to a martini glass. Strain and pour the mixture into the glass. Garnish with olives.

That’s Mr. Tom Collins to you!

2 ounces gin
Juice of ½ large lemon, about 2 tablespoons
1 teaspoon super fine confectioner’s sugar
Club soda
Lemon wedge

Fill a cocktail shaker half full of ice. Pour in the gin, lemon juice and sugar. Shake well and set aside. Fill a cocktail glass with ice cubes. Strain and pour the mixture over the ice. Top it off with club soda. Garnish with a lemon wedge.

Old Fashioned Bourbon

3 maraschino cherries
Orange pinwheel
1 tablespoon super fine sugar
2 ounces bourbon
Club soda

Place two cherries and orange slice into the bottom of a cocktail glass. Sprinkle with sugar and stir with the back of a wooden spoon to blend flavors. Pour the bourbon over top. Fill the glass with ice. Top it off with club soda. Garnish with the third cherry.

White Wine Spritzer

2 ounces white wine
Club soda
Lemon wedge

Fill a wine glass with ice. Pour in the wine. Top it off with club soda. Garnish with lemon wedge.

Light as Air Daiquiri

1 ½ ounces light rum
Juice of 1 large lime, about 2 tablespoons
1 teaspoon super fine sugar

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Pour in the light rum, lime juice and sugar. Shake well and set aside. Fill a cocktail glass with ice cubes. Strain and pour the mixture into the glass.

Gimee a Gimlet

2 ounces gin
1 ½ ounce Rose's lime juice

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice cubes. Pour in the gin and lime juice. Shake well and strain into a cocktail glass filled with ice cubes

Hair of the Dog

12 ounces tomato juice
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
½ teaspoon prepared horseradish
2 to 4 drops (or more) hot pepper sauce
1 whole lemon, cut into wedges
1 tablespoon celery salt
2 (12-ounce bottles) beer
Celery stalks with leaves

In a pitcher, stir together the tomato juice, Worcestershire sauce, horseradish and hot pepper sauce. Rub the rims of the cocktail glasses with lemon wedges. Dip the rims into a saucer containing the celery salt. Fill each glass with ice cubes.
Fill half the glass with beer and top it off with the tomato juice mixture. Garnish with celery stalks.