HOSTING BOOK CLUB

I 'get' the opportunity to host my book club luncheon once a year, thank goodness it's only once a year, I stress big time when it's my turn.
There were ten of us that attended.  The book for the month was The Dot And The Line, by Norton Juster.  It was a fun and quick read that generated lots of interesting comments.

Here is the menu:

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Chicken Salad Sandwiches

Layered Salad (recipe below)

Pineapple/Apricot Salad (recipe below)

Banana Split Brownie with Strawberries

Here are the recipes for a couple of the items.

Layered Salad

1/2 head iceberg lettuce

1 cup chopped baby carrots

6 green onions, chopped

1 zucchini, sliced

1 cup sugar snap peas

2 medium tomato's, chopped

3 hard boiled eggs, chopped

1 cup mayonnaise

1 cup sour cream

1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

Prepare vegetables and layer in a pedestal bowl ending with the eggs.  Mix mayonnaise, sour cream and Parmesan cheese together and spread over salad.  Top with bacon.

This was the only picture I got of the food.  (I was little busy).

And this is the only other photo I took.  I don't own a lot of fancy dishes or glassware so I went pretty plain.

Pineapple/Apricot Salad

1- 20 oz. can crushed pineapple

1- 3 oz. package apricot or peach jello

1/2 cup sugar

1- 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese

2 jars apricot baby food or 3/4 cup pureed canned apricots

1 small container whipped topping

1/4 cut chopped pecans

Simmer pineapple (do not drain), jello and sugar in a sauce pan to dissolve;  let cool to room temperature.

Mix together softened cream cheese and apricots until smooth.  Add cooled pineapple mixture to cream cheese mixture until blended.  Fold in whipped topping and add pecans.  Pour into serving bowl and refrigerate 2-3 hours.

This is just a little information on how we do our book club.
 We started out with ten women and felt like that was a good number to start with, any more than that would be difficult to host a meal for.  We have lost a couple of gals to moves and other obligations but have picked up a couple along the way.  Shawn, our organizer, originally came up with the idea of having it limited to ten women so that we would each have a turn hosting once a year.  We usually take July and August off because of vacations but for those who can make it we will meet at a restaurant in July for lunch and have a barbecue in August where we invite our husbands to join us.  Sometimes we choose a book for all to read (including husbands) for the barbecue that both men and women might enjoy.
We always have a good time enjoying one another's company, discussing the book, and more often than not we end up talking about lots of other things too.