by Vicki Tierney
For as long as I can remember, I have loved books. I fondly remember snuggling up with my sweet dad as he read picture books aloud, getting lost in the adventures of Laura Ingalls as a school-age reader, and staying up way too late immersed in a novel as a bit of escape as a young mother of our two girls. With my love of reading, how could it possibly be that it took me until well into middle age to experience the pleasure of belonging to a book club with fellow bibliophiles? Book club is the perfect intersection of friendship, robust conversation, thought provoking books, and a lot of laughter.
We meet monthly, and our time together consists of a fun beverage, book discussion, and then dessert time. However, a couple times a year we pull out all the stops and have what we affectionately refer to as a “Cook the Book”. Whether you belong to a book club or not, a “Cook the Book” gathering is a warm and nourishing way to break up the darkness, loneliness, and isolation that can accompany a Minnesota winter. So, here are some ideas for hosting your own literary and culinary gathering.
The first step is choosing a food memoir. These books are often autobiographical in nature and usually tell about a particular season in the author’s life with a heavy emphasis on the role food and cooking play. Most times there are recipes interspersed throughout the memoir. We have read and cooked through Ruth Reichl’s Tender at the Bone, Alissa Wilkinson’s Salty: Lessons on Eating, Drinking, and Living from Revolutionary Women, and Stanley Tucci’s, Taste: My Life Through Food. There are so many interesting food memoirs and your local librarians would be great resources for finding one that suits your “taste”. We then divide up the recipes among the group, seeking to make sure that all courses are represented, although there could be worse things than an entire meal of desserts.
The day of the gathering our gracious hostess has a lovely table set. Most of the ladies complete the recipes entirely at home, but depending on what is required, the hostess opens up her kitchen for finishing things up. A side benefit of cooking new recipes is there is very little pressure – everything is a bit of an experiment and this is freeing! Also, the recipes vary in complexity so if time or skill is an issue, you don’t need to be a Michelin chef to pull them off. When the meal begins, we truly dine, moving through the courses with each lady explaining how the particular recipe was prepared and how it was referenced in the memoir. Our hostess also has fun questions to enrich dinner conversation such as,
~ What was the most memorable meal you’ve eaten?
~ What is a kitchen disaster you’ve had?
~ Did you have hot or cold school lunch and what did you usually eat?
~ Do you have a family “heirloom” recipe?
Our “Cook the Book” evenings have been such a highlight for each woman in our book club. We all leave feeling sated and nourished in body, heart and mind. I highly encourage this fun and delicious time of relationship building!
Vicki Tierney is married to Matt and mom to two young adult daughters and two furry golden retrievers. Together Vicki and Matt own Flapdoodles ice cream. She is involved in co-leading the Renovaré Precepts study at Calvary.