August 2007 Hostess Cynthia

Brunch Menu:



Spinach Quiche and Ham and Cheese Quiche

Blueberry Stuffed French Toast


Blueberry Stuffed French Toast
12 slices French bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, chilled and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 C fresh blueberries, rinsed and drained
12 large eggs
1/3 C maple syrup
C milk
Blueberry Syrup
1 C sugar
2 T cornstarch
1 C water
1 C fresh blueberries, rinsed and drained
1 T unsalted butter
Grease 13x9-inch baking pan. Place half of the bread cubes evenly in prepared pan. Scatter cream cheese cubes over bread and sprinkle with 1 C blueberries. Arrange remaining bread cubes over blueberries. In large bowl combine eggs, syrup, and milk and whisk to blend. Pour evenly over reserved bread mixture. Cover with foil and chill overnight.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake, covered with foil, in middle of oven 30 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking 30 minutes, or until puffed and golden brown.
In small saucepan combine sugar, cornstarch, and water over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes or until thickened. Stir in 1 C blueberries and simmer, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes, or until most berries burst. Add butter and stir until melted. (May be prepared up to 1 day in advance. Chill and reheat gently.) Transfer to serving bowl.




Yogurt

Orange Yogurt

The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

4 cups (2 pints) plain yogurt

1/4 cup raisins

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/4 cup good honey

1 orange, zest grated

1/2 to 1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

Orange, orange zest, raisins and walnuts, for garnish (optional)

Line a sieve with cheesecloth or paper towels and suspend it over a bowl. Pour the yogurt into the sieve and allow it to drain, refrigerated, for 3 hours or overnight. Place the thickened yogurt into a medium bowl and stir in the raisins, walnuts, vanilla, honey, and orange zest. Thin with orange juice until it is a desirable consistency. Garnish with sections of orange, orange zest, raisins, or walnuts and serve.

Green salad with mandarin oranges

Amy's Peach Pie



Mimosa's and Coffee served as well.

Recipes to be added later.







"Pride & Prejudice" by Jane Austen


Review from Amazon.com:
Jane Austen's perfect comedy of manners--one of the most popular novels of all time--features splendidly civilized sparring between the proud Mr. Darcy and the prejudiced Elizabeth Bennet as they play out their spirited courtship in a series of eighteenth-century drawing-room intrigues. "Pride and Prejudice seems as vital today as ever," writes Anna Quindlen in her introduction to this Modern Library edition. "It is a pure joy to read." Eudora Welty agrees: "The gaiety is unextinguished, the irony has kept its bite, the reasoning is still sweet, the sparkle undiminished. [It is] irresistible and as nearly flawless as any fiction could be."



This book was Cynthia's pick as we have changed the format of how we pick the next book. The hostess gets to choose--no ifs ands or buts.


Only about half of us had actually read this classic novel. For the most part we all liked this book. The writing style is hard to get through and some felt that the middle of the book was a little slow. We talked about how famous the first line of the novel is. Cynthia ran into a boy at the airport who was very taken with Jane Austen. Colleen's mom rattled off the first line on the phone when she learned that the book club was reading this book. How popular this novel is!


Our best discussions revolved around whether or not there were still classes in our society. We all agreed that there are still gaps between the middle class and the high society class.


One question was posed: What kind of marraiges did Jane idealize in this book? We agreed that she idealized the romantic marraiges like Darcy and Elizabeth and not marraiges for the sake of convenience like Collins and Charlotte's marraige.


We speculated about Jane's life and lovers. We even met to see "Becoming Jane" after our book club meeting. We were all teary-eyed coming out of the theatre.

July 2007 Host: Angela

Angela making mojitos.


Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons by Lorna Landvik

Summary

This is the story of a friendship spanning more than thirty years among five diverse women who live in the same neighborhood. Their friendships begins after the formation of a book club called Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons (AHEB). The name is derived from a snide comment made by one of the husbands. The women all come from different backgrounds and their ages vary. Faith is ashamed of her past which includes an alcoholic mother who frequently abandons her. Audrey is full figured and flirtatious. Slip is a tiny woman with strong opinions and is an involved activist. Kari is an elderly widow who wants nothing more than to raise a child. Merit is shy, beautiful, and suffers in silence. Their lives and the lives of their children are told through the book club meetings which are held every month. Each chapter in the book begins with the title and author of the book they are reading (a definite bonus for booklovers). There are many different subplots in the book which are narrated by the five characters, and then a sixth character in the latter part of the book Although humor is weaved throughout the book, many serious subjects are touched upon such as spousal abuse, postwar depression, homosexuality, HIV, cancer, and alcoholism.

Discussion

-This was a fun and light read, overall, an enjoyable book.

-The book at times seemed contrived. The characters were stereotypical (e.g. battered wife, sexpot, widow) and didn’t have much depth. The problems they encountered were almost too neatly taken care of and put in the past.

-Did anyone notice how perfect and talented the kids were?

-A homosexual named Grant was thrown into the mix in the latter part of the book and he eventually joined the book club. It was not understood why the author even included this character in the book, except perhaps to incorporate the issues of AIDS and HIV in the story line.

-The ending of the book was a disappointment. We are left to assume that one of the women died. It would have been interesting to read how the other women coped with the death of one of their friends - and how if affected future book club meetings and their friendship.


The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien

Summary

Reality and fiction are blended in this collection of interrelated short stories that depicts both the mental and actual things that soldiers carried during the Vietnam war. They carried guilt, fear, pantyhose, letters, bibles, guns, ammunition, and the additional burdens that remained even after the end of the war: those burdens of horrifying memories of fear and death. Each chapter describes the experiences of various soldiers and their subsequent effects. One of the stories depicts a character who drove to Canada and stayed for six days while wrestling with the decision as to whether or not he should dodge the draft. Although the character eventually does go to war, he continues feeling shamed during and after the war by his act of cowardice. Another character kills a young boy and every aspect of that kill is seared into his mind. He realizes the victim’s full potential and creates fantasies for him. Ironically, the beauty of life is depicted in this chapter. After a kill, the soldiers revel in the fact that they themselves are still alive, and this is when they feel most alive. One soldier manages to bring his girlfriend out to Vietnam. She begins to exhibit disturbing characteristics and becomes a completely different person due to her exposure to the war and a foreign land. Metaphors and symbolism are apparent in the stories such as the soldier who fantasizes about death. He shoots a water buffalo repeatedly in a very deliberate way so as not kill it. Death can occur by a land mine or in a field of human waste. The author blends characters and various incidents that truly renders the experience of the nightmarish Vietnam war. This book of war literature was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize.

Discussion

-One potential metaphor for the water buffalo story was that the psyche, or pride of a soldier being slowly killed but refusing to die. The author who served in Vietnam may have seen this done to a viet cong soldier.

-More to be added.

Menu

Drink: Mojito

Appetizer: Chips and Mango Salsa

Salad: To Be Added

Entrée: Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Coleslaw

Side: Potato Salad

Dessert: Chocolate Ice Cream Cake

Drink: Mojito

Ingredients
1 tablespoon simple syrup
(1 part sugar, 1 part water, bring to a boil to dissolve)
10 mint leaves
2 lime quarters
1.5 ounces rum
soda water
sugar cane

Muddle together syrup, mint leaves, lime quarters.
Add 1.5 ounces of rum. Top with soda water. Add one stick of sugar cane to each drink

Appetizer: Mango Salsa and Chips

Salad: Recipe to be added

Entrée: Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Ingredients

5 pound pork shoulder, trimmed

Rub

3 tablespoons smoked paprika
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon dry mustard
2 tablespoons coarse salt

Mix ingredients for rub and rub onto pork roast. Cook in crockpot 10 hours on low or 6 hours on high. Pull the pork out of the juices, skim fat off juices, shred meat and return to pot to rewarm. Leftovers freeze well. Serve with coleslaw.

Side: Potato Salad

Ingredients

8 large baking potatoes
6 hard boiled eggs
1 cucumber
2 cups real mayonnaise
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon paprika
Optional: 1 small minced onion

Boil whole baking potatoes until done - about an hour. Completely cool in refrigerator.
Peel potatoes and chop into bite sized pieces into a large bowl.
Shell hardboiled eggs and chop finely, add to potatoes.
Peel cucumber, slice in half, and remove seeds with a tablespoon.
Dice cucumber and add to potatoes and eggs.
Add 2 cups real mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and optional minced onion. Mix together thoroughly and sprinkle paprika on top. Note: I never follow an exact recipe for this potato salad, some of the ingredients such as the mayonnaise, mustard, garlic powder, and salt may need to be adjusted to taste and consistency.