The Book Club

This month's book club selection was The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd. I think this was my favorite book since joining the book club. I like history based books. I like books that I can google people's name and find photos of them.

Tonight the book club met at Kate's house. The invitation said to be prepared for a Charleston Dinner. I was not sure what to expect. What was served was a delicious meal.

We started with some apps. A Hot Crab Dip.

Red Pepper and Artichoke Heart Bruschetta. I need this recipe!

Cream Cheese with Orange Sage Marmalade. Oh my God, the Marmalade was so good!

For dinner we had a lot of things I have never had before. Collard Greens with bacon and onion cooked in chicken stock.  I think my  mom made something with Collard Greens but at that time greens were not at the top of my food favorites list. Oh but I loved these! And Pickled Watermelon! My friend, Heidi, always says how good they are and I had never tasted them. I now love Pickled Watermelon!

I loved this dish that the sides were served in!

Charleston Red Rice which was served with the Gumbo. Yeah Gumbo.

Charleston Gumbo. I have been afraid of Gumbo because of the okra. I made a soup with okra once. It did not turn out good at all. I have never had okra since then. Tonight's okra was cooked perfectly. (Note to self, ask Kate how to cook okra). The shrimp, the meat, the sauce was such a wonderful blend of flavors. There was talk of gumbo file powder which is the powdered leaves of the sassafras tree. Kate could not find this so she used powdered sassafras bark. Honestly I was so amazed by the textured of the okra that the other flavors were in perfect harmony.

Then there were the desserts. 

Macaroons!

Peanut Butter Cupcakes!

And Doreen's Amazing Lemon Pound Cake!

What an amazing meal. The book discussion was good and we were started to talk about the quilt that was in the book. Kate then showed us a couple of quilts which were handed down in her family. There was a beautiful log cabin quilt but then she brought out a quilt with women in flowing gowns holding bouquets of flowers.

The bouquets were done in French Knots. The quilt was breath-taking to say the least. The patterns in the dresses were timeless but not anything you could hope to find today. What an amazing piece of history.

Wow! Thank you Kate for a dinner that I will not forget.