The Rules of Civility by Amor Towles - Book Club #4

BOOK:  The Rules of Civility by Amor Towles

ATTENDED:  Shelley, Cris,  Erin, Dorothy, Lisa

SERVED:  Lisa served a delicious meal of shrimp cocktail, wedge salad (yum!), club sandwiches and prime rib / horseradish / bleu cheese pizza squares.  The coup d’état was key lime meringue pie for desert.  There’s a reason why this woman has a food blog! Champagne, wine and classic cocktails quenched our thirst.

REVIEW:  Everyone enjoyed the book and the story.  Many were surprised early on by the turn of events the plotline took, and we loved Katey’s resilience, strength and overall attitude.  Her character will definitely be a strong contender for “Favorite Female Character” come time for the year-end meeting.  Everyone had a good time asking one another the three questions mentioned in the book that the main characters ask one another on their fateful night. 

BOOK RATING: 

Cris:  ½ a point higher than the last  :P  (“Loved the language, the setting, the quippy dialog. Many, many life quotables.”

Dorothy:  4.5  (“Only rated it low-ish because of the slow start, but enjoyed it more than the last book.”)

Erin:  4.75 (“I appreciated the main character’s ‘chutzspa’! Was equally p!ssed off and love it that the story didn’t wrap up perfectly”)

Shelley:  4.5 (“ I fell in love with the main character after ½ way through the book.  She reminded me of my mom back in the day.”)

Lisa:  4.5  (“I thought a lot of the ‘chance happenings’ of the book. Loved it’s descriptiveness.  It had a slow start which was a negative, but once it started going, it WENT!”

Menu:

Smoked Almonds

Shrimp Cocktail

Blue Cheese and Bacon Wedge Salad

Prime Rib Pizza Squares

Mini Italian Club Sandwiches

Key Lime Meringue Pie

Vodka

Gin

Marker's Mark

Sweet and Dry Vermouth

Cream Soda

Tonic

Maraschino Cherries

Lemons and Limes

Pearl Onions

Red and White Wine

Champagne

Blue Cheese and Bacon Wedge Salad

Iceberg Lettuce

Red Onion

Tomatoes

Bacon

Gorgonzola cheese

Blue Cheese Dressing

Slice a head of lettuce into six wedges.  Arrange on a platter.  Dice a red onion in small pieces.  Sprinkle over lettuce.  Dice a good, firm tomato into chunks.  Sprinkle over lettuce and onion.  In the microwave, arrange bacon on a plate with paper towels. Top with another paper towel.   Cook one minute per slices.  Let cool and crumble over salad.  Top with .  I served a bowl of good blue cheese dressing (available in the produce section of grocery store) on a bowl in the center.  

Prime Rib Pizza Squares

Small Pot Roast

Package of Onion Soup Mix

Onion

Mushrooms

Beef Broth

Pillsbury Thin Pizza Crust

Boar's Head Horseradish Sauce

Provolone Cheese, sliced

Gorgonzola Cheese, crumbles

Spring Onions, diced

The morning of the party, add the pot roast, soup mix, onion, mushrooms, beef broth, and a can full of water to the crock pot.  Cool on low for 6-8 hours.  To prepare pizza, roll out the dough onto a cookie sheet.  Preheat oven to 400.  Cook the dough for about 10 minutes, until slightly golden and firm.  Pull and shred about one cup of the pot roast.  Remove about 1 cup of caramelized onions and mushrooms from the broth and let drain.  Top the pizza crust with a thin layer of the horseradish sauce.  Top with 4-6 slices of provolone cheese.  Evenly scatter the shredded pot roast, onions and mushrooms on top if the cheese.  Add the Gorgonzola cheese and spring onions.  Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes.  Let cool slightly and cut into squares.

Mini Italian Club Sandwiches

Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

3 large eggs

2 tablespoons whipping cream

• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon (about) unsalted butter
• 10 slices bacon
• 2 (8-ounce) round loaves focaccia bread (7-inch diameter)
• 1 cup purchased pesto
• 8 ounces thinly sliced turkey
• 4 ounces thinly sliced provolone cheese

Directions

Whisk the eggs, cream, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl until well blended. Heat a 6-inch-diameter nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Brush the skillet with some butter. Pour 1/4 cup of the egg mixture into the pan, swirling to coat the bottom of the pan evenly. Cover and cook until the egg crepe is just set, about 1 minute and 30 seconds. Invert the skillet over a plate, and allow the egg crepe to drop onto the plate. Repeat to make 4 crepes total, brushing the skillet with melted butter as needed and stacking crepes on the plate.

Cook the bacon in a heavy large frying pan until crisp. Transfer the bacon to paper towels to drain.

Preheat a griddle or grill pan over medium-high heat. Cut the focaccia horizontally in half. Place the focaccia cut side down on the griddle and cook until the focaccia is heated through and golden brown on the bottom, about 2 minutes. Spread the pesto over the toasted sides of each halved focaccia. Cover the bottom halves of the focaccia with the egg crepes, turkey, provolone and bacon, dividing equally. Cover with the top halves of focaccia, pesto side down. Cut the sandwich into bite-size wedges. Arrange the sandwiches on a platter and serve.