Book Club: It’s About the Friends and the Food

I have a confession to make: My book club has never really been about the book. It’s about getting together with friends. It’s about an intimate gathering of women, which would never be complete without wine and food (in that order).

When my book club started meeting 10 years ago (it’s hard to believe it’s been that long!), the woman hosting would set out some appetizers–cheese and crackers, maybe some grapes, veggies with hummus, some nuts–and we would actually talk about the book. Not the whole time, but enough to do it justice and call it a book club.

Over the course of time, it evolved into a much loved and much savored evening of sharing and bonding. It also evolved into dinner. This was an impromptu decision by one of the women, who is known to to be the foodiest among us. One night the 5 of us arrive at her city pad expecting a spread of munchies but instead are greeted by a pasta feast of spaghetti and meatballs.

And the bar kept rising, month after month. We would comment each time, “Oh no, how am I going to top this?” and think to ourselves “How am I going to not embarrass myself or look like a slacker?”

Years later, the woman who had her take-out menus organized rather than her recipes surprised us with a beef tenderloin and asparagus on the grill–invoking excitement mixed with fear and trepidation at the expectation of providing a meal of that caliber once our turn came around.

When it has been my turn to host the group of 6, I have tried a few menus, but the common theme is really good food that impresses but is surprisingly simple to prepare. After all, we’d rather spend our time chatting with friends, not tending to food.

I’ll make a big salad in the summer, a stew in the winter. In fact, a nicoise salad on a pretty platter worked so well I have served it more than once. Last winter I made a hearty and healthy stew and served it with bread and green salad.

It doesn’t need to be anything fancy. While we always enjoy the food and wine, what we enjoy most is laughing with friends. We’re over trying to impress each other. We still like to fool everyone into thinking it’s actually an in-depth discussion about the book.