Book Clubbing It

I really love that my living room looked like that last night! I’m always a bit nervous when hosting something but this was one of the most fun book clubs we’ve had in awhile. I think it’s partly because the book was a light read and more fun than some others we’ve read in the past. Of course, it was “Maine” by J. Courtney Sullivan, which I already reviewed, but it was nice to hear what others thought. There was a general consensus that things weren’t fully resolved with every character and some of us thought there was no major climax (though others disagreed!).

I made eggplant parmesan for the entree, since it turned out so delicious last time I made it. I actually had to cheat and make it a day early, then bake in the oven to warm up last night. I don’t think anyone minded though! It’s certainly not a healthy dish: basically deepfried slices of eggplant loaded down with two kinds of cheese. Though I am a healthy eater, so far in my cooking experiments I’ve just gone with the good stuff. And, really, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that though I wouldn’t eat fried food every day of the week!

More on Book Club BELOW!

We have a packed house for club, even though a few people couldn’t make it. If everyone had shown up, I would have been forced to give up my food. Even with the group we had, I was lacking two big plates so Ginger and I ended up eating off the mini-plates. I do lack severely for nice “things” in the kitchen but we made do.

Now, my photos from last night are not terrific, as we were inside and I didn’t want to be the crazy photo lady while everyone else was enjoying the evening. The wine was a plenty (and I had more than I should have!) and there was even a homemade blueberry poundcake that was to die for! I had to stop myself from having a second piece. Talk about a weighty meal! But, good friends, good conversation, good food? You can’t beat it.

Melinda’s awesome salad:

Eggplant Parm:

Alfredo pasta:

Ladies: 

Vino next to my slowly dying boyfriend flowers :):

Didn’t get any really good ones but oh well: