I wish I was a member of an “IRL” (In Real Life) book club.  If I lived in, or near, a major metropolitan area that also has a large deaf population (such as Washington, D.C., home of Gallaudet University), chances are pretty good I would be able to find, or form, a book club that I could participate in.  And, I know I certainly would like my book club to serve good food and drinks !  The next best thing, I suppose, to being part of an IRL book club would be to have “The Book Club Cookbook: Recipes and Food for Thought From Your Book Club’s Favorite Books and Authors”, by Judy Gelman and Vicki Levy Krupp. 

Published in 2004 by Tarcher/Penguin, I first discovered this cookbook from our local library.  There was so much that I liked about this cookbook that I soon after bought my own copy.  Then we moved twice.  To Pennsylvania in 2006, and then to Colorado in 2008.  Therefore, after only actually making one recipe from this cookbook (before our moves), it languished –but it shared the same fate with most of my other cookbooks.  This weekend, I got re-acquainted with “The Book Club Cookbook”.

First of all, this book is a wealth of resources for books to read — either on your own or as part of a book club.   This is a book about books; not just a cookbook.  At over 500 pages long, there is a diverse selection of about 100 books (and more that are mentioned in passing). Many are books I’ve either actually read, or are currently in my To Be Read Pile, or (especially since re-reading the cookbook) in my to-add-to-the-TBR list.  Both fiction and non-fiction books are represented.  Some classics are here: for “Anna Karenina”, there is Wild Mushrooms on Toast.  Older books, such as “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn” (Charlotte Russe) , are here.  Many multi-cultural books are included, such as Rohinton Mistry’s “A Fine Balance” (chicken biryani); or Naguib Mahfouz’s “Palace Walk” (Mrs. Mahfouz’s Mulukhiya (Green Soup) ).

Recipes are either submitted by the various book clubs covered in this book, or by the authors themselves (for example, Jhumpa Lahiri provided an recipe for “Mrs. Lahiri’s Hard-Boiled-Egg Curry in Mustard Sauce”).  There are also food-related essays written by select authors especially for this cookbook.  Recipes range from appetizers to main dishes to drinks (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic) to desserts.

So, what recipes have I actually tried so far?  Back when I first got this cookbook, I made (and have made again and again),  Pumpkin Biscuits.  This recipe is paired with “Seabiscuit: An American Legend” by Laura Hillenbrand; one of my all-time favorites for non-fiction.  The book group featured in the cookbook that discussed “Seabiscuit” chose this recipe for their book discussion, because Seabiscuit had a cow pony stable-mate that helped keep him calm.   His friend’s name was Pumpkin. 

This weekend, I wanted to try a recipe that would be perfect for summer-time, and avoid having to use the oven.  This recipe is based on a dessert that William Clark had of cherries, plums, raspberries, currants, and grapes.  He enjoyed this dessert on his 34th birthday on August 1, 1804, and Meriwether Lewis recorded in his journal that he ordered this dessert made for his friend– along with a meal of venison, elk, and beavertail.  This source is from the book “Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West”, by Stephen Ambrose.

Here is a picture of “Macedoine of Red Fruits”. 

I modified it somewhat – not being able to find satisfactorily fresh raspberries, I substituted strawberries.  The idea is that all the fruits are red, but the plums I bought weren’t all that red inside.  I’d say the amount of each fruit is a guideline.  This fruit salad was very good, and my kids enjoyed it.  I’d like to get a cherry pitter before next time!

Macedoine of Red Fruits

1 1/2 cup pitted, sliced red plums

1 1/2 cups seedless red grapes, halved

3/4 cup pitted cherries or 1/2 cup currants

1 1/2 cup fresh raspberries

1 tablespoon sugar

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I left this out, since my daughter doesn’t like cinnamon)

2 tablespoons good quality balsamic vinegar

Sweetened Sour Cream or Sweetened Whipped Cream (recipes follow after the directions; I used the whipped cream recipe)

1. Place the plums, grapes, cherries or currants, and raspberries in a serving bowl.

2. Combine the sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle over the fruit mixture.  Drizzle with the vinegar.

3.  Mix gently and let stand for 20 minutes.  Serve with Sweetened Sour Cream or Sweetened Whipped Cream.

Yield: 8 to 10 servings (I used less fruit over all, so my serving size was less)

Sweetened Sour Cream

4 Tablespoons light brown sugar

2 cups sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Stir together the sugar and sour cream until the sugar is dissolved, then add vanilla.

Sweetened Whipped Cream

1 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

NOTE: For best results, chill a medium size metal bowl and beaters from electric mixer for at least one hour before using (I didn’t do this, and it turned out allright).

With mixer, beat together cream, sugar, and vanilla in bowl until stiff peaks form.  Do not overbeat.  Serve immediately.

I enjoyed also the passages in this book about various featured book clubs across the country — what they read and discussed (and the food they’ve shared), and how different they all are.  There are all-male book clubs, African-American book clubs, book clubs that focus on only one type of book (i.e. South Asian books).  I lived voraciously vicariously through these book clubs in this book!

There is a list of resources in the back of the cookbook for finding certain ingredients (such as Lyle’s Golden Syrup for ANZAC cookies, based on “The Road from Coorain” by Jill Ker Conway).  International readers interested in this cookbook will have to figure out metric measurements themselves — there are no charts or equivalents included.  Additionally, there are no photographs — not a detriment for me; especially since this cookbook is already good-sized.   I’s say most of these recipes are ideal for potlucks, and yes of course book clubs.  It’s not an all-purpose “family” or “home-cooking” cookbook.

Now, maybe I’ll try the recipe for Mint Juleps, based on “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald.   This hot weather seems to call for it!

Does this cookbook and its’ concept sound good to you?  If you are actually not yet convinced, you can check out The Book Club Cookbook’s website, where there are even more recipes.  This website seems to be a good resource for book clubs in general, not just for additional recipes.

This entry was posted on Monday, July 19th, 2010 at 6:36 PM and is filed under authors, book review, books, cookbooks, cooking, recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.