Tonight I’m hosting Book Club. Other members do this effortlessly; I do not.
I make a list of the food I’ll serve. I’m expecting seven women. I buy four bottles of wine: two red and two
white. The 90-year-old owner (at least
that’s what he looks) of my local wine store promises I can return what I don’t
use. But not before adding, “Though we
can’t take any wine back if the bottle has been opened.” I try to picture myself bringing in a half-empty
bottle and saying, “Okay, we didn’t finish this bottle. We drank only about half, so can I get a
refund on half?” I mean really!
I decide to make a brie en croute that
Kathleen, another member, served a few months ago. Hers was delicious, and it looks easy enough
to make. The only ingredients are 8
ounces of Brie, 1 sheet of Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry, and ½ cup of seedless
raspberry jam.
The rest of my menu consists of shrimp
cocktail, grapes, a couple of baguettes, prosciutto, duck pate, red grapes, and
a beautiful fruit tart from Agata, along with some chocolate chip cookies.
The food seems to be a success, as most
everything is eaten. The brie en croute
is excellent, but it, like the fruit tart, is difficult to cut, and the serving
slices look like something that shouldn't be offered to guests .
The discussion, as always, is lively and
engaging. Because the book, Ménage by
Alix Kates Shulman, is universally disliked, discussion of it is brief. Someone takes a bathroom break and almost
misses the entire book conversation.
Atypical for this group, no one drinks tonight. Tomorrow I’ll return four bottles of
wine.
All unopened.
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| Ruth |
 |
| Penny and Lynn |
 |
| Andrea |
 |
| Melanie and Kathleen |
 |
| Laurie, me and Andrea |
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| Laurie, me and Andrea |
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