Book (And Drinking And Eating And Gossiping) Club

A long, long time ago, in like, 1996, Oprah launched her official Book Club, finally giving women the world over an acceptable excuse to gather to stuff their faces with tea sandwiches, get drunk off of wine and punch, and gossip about their husbands/boyfriends. And so, in something of an ode to Oprah, that’s exactly what I did with a few of my best lady friends this weekend.

{White flowers in the name of Daisy. I mean, I wanted daisies, but when they didn't have any, I just got these}

I was planning to re-read The Great Gatsby before seeing the remake this Christmas next summer(!!!!), so when we started talking about a book club selection, I was quick to force my preference upon my unsuspecting friends. I was surprised but entirely excited when they took the bait. So, we read the first half of the book and got together to chat about Nick’s reliability as a narrator, whether Gatsby really is who we think is, and what in the HELL is Daisy’s deal, even?!!? And then after those 5 minutes, we just got crunk, y’all.The champagne punch I made was laughably easy to make and served with a pretty straw helped set the tone for what would inevitably morph from a classy gathering to a hot, hot mess. 

In the vein of classy lady gatherings, I made two varieties of tea sandwiches: I bought chicken salad from Whole Foods because it’s really effing good but added red grapes to it because that’s how I like it and served it on thinly sliced wheat bread and I put a new twist on cucumber sandwiches by tossing diced mint and a pinch of salt into the cream cheese spread. I don’t know about you, but in my opinion, you’re not having a party if you’re not serving/eating cheese. Cue these caprese bites drizzled with balsamic and brie and smoked gouda cheese plate!!

If dairy doesn’t get your digestive system working the right way, there was also a corn and black bean salad (recipe below) to amp up the gastrointestinal excitement!And like, duh, there were definitely desserts! I made lemon cake pops (recipe coming tomorrow)…

…Laura brought these dark chocolate sea salt caramels…

…and Ashlee made some incredible mini desserts that I apparently was to inebriated to take pictures of—mango panna cotta and mini peanut butter pies!I don’t care what Oprah says, book clubs have little to nothing to do with reading and far more to do with gluttony!

Black Bean and Corn Salad 

• 2 cans black beans, drained
• 2 cups frozen corn, thawed
• 2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
• Juice from 1 lime
• 1 small shallot, diced
• 2 Tbsp chopped cilantro
• 2 tsp. olive oil
• 2 tsp. salt
• (you can also add tomato, bell pepper, avocado, red onion…it’s a very versatile recipe)

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients until well incorporated (add more salt if need be). Cover and refrigerate for a at least 3 hours before serving to allow flavors to develop.

Do you have a book club? What are you reading?? What do you serve at your book club??