February 2009 Host: Colleen

My Antonia by Willa Cather

Summary

This is the story of Antonia, a Bohemian immigrant, as told by Jim Burden. Jim and Antonia meet by chance on a train when Jim is ten years old and Antonia is fourteen. Having been recently orphaned, Jim is moving to Nebraska to be with his grandparents while Antonia and her family are emigrating to the Great Plains from Bohemia. Woven throughout this tale of their friendship and love is the harshness and occasional beauty of living on the prairie. The story follows Jim and Antonia through their hard yet happy childhoods through their teen years. Jim eventually leaves for the big city and Antonia marries. They meet again twenty years later. This story combines history and American tradition and the pioneers’ need to both live in harmony with the plains and at times, conquering the land. My Antonia is a reflection on the author’s past experiences, the American pioneer spirit, and the immigrant experience.

Discussion

-This was a true piece of literature and we all enjoyed it. There seemed to be no end to the points that could (and did!) be brought up for discussion.

-The author’s description of life on the prairie was rich and descriptive enough so that you felt that you were on the prairie-the imagery the author was able to invoke was impressive. She took it one step further in that the prairie was almost treated as a main character with many parallels to Antonia.

-The story was told by one of the main characters in the story and it was noted that the author could have used this method of telling the story to selectively choose what parts of the story to focus on - it does add an element of realism.

-The women in the novel are all strong and complex - Antonia can work the land as hard as any man. The background information given on the author includes a bit about her own personal life such as her having never been married and having close relationships with other women. We felt the strength she had to have had to live her life so unconventionally in the early 1900s was poured into Antonia’s character.

-Although the prairie, Jim, and Antonia are constants in the novel, the author incorporates darker parts of life such as death, suicide, salaciousness, and mental illness into the story.

Menu

Bread and Spinach Dip Appetizer

Green Beans and Broccoli

Potato Pie

Roast Chicken

Cheesecake and Cookies

Bread and Spinach Dip Appetizer

Roast Chicken

Ingredients

1 3-5 pound chicken
Fresh herbs to include rosemary, sage, and thyme
Salt
2 lemons

Wash chicken, take out gizzards and pat dry. Salt the outside of the chicken. Put freshly chopped herbs underneath skin on the breast, thighs, and any other desired areas. Squeeze juice from the lemons all over chicken and then insert lemons into cavity. Cook chicken at 350 degrees F until meat thermometer reads 160 degrees inserted into meat (be sure not to touch bone) or about 2 hours.

Broccoli

Potato Pie

Ingredients

3-4 pounds russet potatoes
½ to 1 cup milk
½ stick of butter plus additional 2 tablespoons
¼ cup unseasoned dry bread crumbs
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
1 large egg, lightly beaten
8 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese
4 slices chopped salami (¼ lb prosciutto may be substituted)
2 ½ oz finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (1 cup plus 2 tablespoons)

Peel potatoes, wash and cut into chunks. Put into saucepan, cover with water, add ½ teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon garlic powder. Bring to boil and cook until potatoes are tender. Pour potatoes into a colander. Slice ½ stick butter and put into saucepan to melt. Add ½ cup milk. Add pepper and nutmeg. Return potatoes back into saucepan and mash them until everything is well combined and almost smooth. More salt and milk may be added to taste and desired consistency. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Butter a 2 to 21/2 quart shallow baking dish and sprinkle with bread crumbs. Stir in egg, mozzarella, salami, and 1 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano. Spread potato mixture evenly in baking dish, sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons Parmigiano-Reggiano and dot with remaining tablespoons of butter. Bake until top is browned, about 35-45 minutes.

Let potato pie stand 5 minutes before serving.

January 2009 Host: Jennie

Beside A Burning Sea by John Shors

Summary

This story of romance, passion, and adventure takes place on an island in the South Pacific in 1942. A United States hospital ship is sunk by a Japanese torpedo with nine survivors able to swim to a deserted island. The survivors include the captain of the ship, his wife and her sister who are both nurses, an officer, a Japanese prisoner who cannot help but recall the horrors of fighting for the Japanese, Jake a black farmer who befriends Ratu, a young Fijian stowaway boy, another nurse, and Roger - the villain. The author did an excellent job of developing the majority of the characters’ complex and differing personalities and each of their introspections of the horrors of World War II. During the eighteen days they spend on the island, we are privy to the forming of romantic as well as platonic relationships among the nine survivors. Roger, the novel’s antagonist, is evil through and through and somewhat predictably, his inherent malevolence is explained by a few childhood incidents. He is the one who betrays all of the other survivors. This is a very entertaining novel and the author even incorporates his own haikus at the beginning of each chapter.

Discussion

-Everyone enjoyed this novel although we did agree that a lot of it was…well…a bit sappy, e.g. the love story between Annie and Akira - only the Lifetime channel would be interested in a movie based on this book.

-The author painted a vivid picture of both the island and the hospital ship which pulls the reader in and makes them feel as if they were there.

-Two of the characters, Scarlet and Nate, were never really developed and operated at the periphery of the novel.

-None of us really connected with any of the women portrayed in the novel - the two nurses that were sisters were fairly opposite - one was strong and had a stoic personality while the other was fearful of everything. The third female nurse developed an unusual affinity with the birds on the island - which was just plain weird.

-Roger was a very effective villain. He spent most of the time imagining how he would unmercilessly kill everyone on the island.

-We thought the author was trying to set something up when he didn’t immediately reveal that Jake was African-American - but nothing ever came of it. We enjoyed Jake and Ratu’s father-son relationship more than any other relationship that developed in the story.

Menu

Margaritas

Mexican Layered Dip

Mexican Stack

Chocolate Cupcakes

Chocolate Cupcakes

Margaritas

1 can frozen limeade concentrate
(fill the frozen limeade can with 1 can of water then 1 can of tequila)
1 12 oz. Bud light or light beer of your preference
1/3 cup of seven-up or sprite
1 6 ounce can of pineapple juice

Mix all ingredients, makes ½ pitcher.

Mexican Stack

A buffet of Mexican favorites such as taco fillings, rice, etc. Yum!

Mexican Layered Dip

Ingredients

2 (16 ounce) can refried beans
2 (1.25 ounce) packages taco seasoning mix
2 (14.5 ounce) cans drained diced tomatoes
2 cups guacamole
2 cups sour cream
2 cups shredded sharp shredded cheese
1 cup chopped green onions
½ cup chopped black olives
Optional- 2 cups shredded lettuce

Line bottom of a 2 quart shallow serving dish with lettuce if you are including it in the recipe. Mix refried beans with 1 package taco seasoning mix. Spread beans over lettuce. Spread guacamole over beans. Mix 1 package taco seasoning mix with sour cream and layer over the guacamole. Spread cheese over guacamole. Spread tomatoes over the cheese. Sprinkle with green onion and finally top with black olives. Refrigerate for at least two hours before serving. Makes approximately 20 servings.