Article: What to Eat at a...
I believe in spreading the word about good books and promoting literacy, but I also strongly believe in eating. In fact, a covered dish is just about mandatory for our monthly Pulpwood Queens book club meetings. We mean business when it comes to books but also when it comes to eating good food.
Here in the south we prefer fried food or any sort of anything smothered in cheese, butter, or chocolate. What first comes to mind is fried chicken, which is great finger food. (It's hard to juggle silverware of any sort when you're busy balancing a plate on your lap with a drink in hand). Make sure you pick foods that don't require utensils - a simple toothpick will suffice. Just stab those little suckers!
Thematic treats rule! For example, bacon-wrapped anything is perfect for discussions about Charlotte's Web by E.B. White, or Chocolate Spiders (chocolate covered Chinese noodles) work great while discussing this classic, too.
In our group, when we read Down from the Dog Star by Daniel Glover, whose book was set in Alabama, the author told me nothing else should be served but Moon Pies and RC colas. (A staple here in the south and dee-lish!).
Reading Look Homeward Angel by Thomas Wolfe? Have angel food cake. School of Dreams by Edward Hume? Serve your food on borrowed cafeteria trays!
Serving food for The Tender Bar by J.R. Moehringer is easy as a to-go box from your local dive bar (ours is Auntie Skinner's Riverboat Club). Have popcorn chicken with honey mustard sauce, deep fried pickles, Armadillo eggs (jalapeños stuffed with cream cheese, breaded and fried), Onion Blossoms with horseradish ranch sauce, hot chicken wings, peanuts in the shell, and every kind of beer you could ever dream of, imported and domestic.
That's the fun thing about food for book club meetings. It does not need to require loads of effort and preparation. All my book club members applaud when I serve my Turtle Cheesecake from Brookshire's grocery store. Somehow I can always make it fit into any book theme.
Now you're getting the idea!
What not to eat at book club meetings? Rice cakes, protein bars, protein shakes, anything South Beach diet, Weight Watchers, or anything made with Splenda (unless your book club selection is The Ultimate Weight Loss Solution). The list could go on! So use this as a rule: "If it doesn't taste good, don't bring it to a book club meeting."
Tomorrow, after your book club meeting, you can go on that Atkins diet, or hit the treadmill, but tonight at book club, you are given a "Get out of Jail" food free card. Enjoy your next meeting with all your senses. Spread the word, thicker than cream cheese on a homemade piece of pumpkin bread, that reading is fun when you leave your diets at the door. And just remember to wear your elastic waist pants!
Copyright © 2007 by Kathy L. Patrick