Sunday, March 06, 2011

Book Club Meeting March

Beth's kitchen

Discussing the issues

Getting food and drink together
Beth D. welcomed us all to her home this month. Our book selection was Bill Bryson's At Home:A Short History of Private Life.

As usual there was a great spread to eat and drink.  We started with a British draught Ale, Tetley's - "Yorkshires famous pub ale" which comes with a "widget" inside; the widget mixes nitrogen into the beer, which makes the poured flavor taste like the genuine draught beer.

Sticking with the British theme (Bill lives in England in an old rectory), we had mini Shepherd's pies with a particularly delicious short crust. Lobster macaroni and cheese was generously contributed by our hostess who was inspired by this observation in the book:

Lobsters bred in such abundance around Britains' coastline that they were fed to prisoners and orphans or ground up for fertilizer; servants sought written agreements from their employers that they would not be served lobster more than twice a week. 

We had a soup made from French Lentils, Kale cooked with prosciutto, a Chicken Salad, Mushroom Lasagne, Lemon Pound Cake, an assortment of cakes from the Sweet Sicilian and plenty of wine.

We all enjoyed reading the vast compilation of intriguing facts such as the origin of the term "room and board". In medieval times, in humble dwellings, the dining table was a plain board called by that name. It was hung on the wall when not in use and was perched on the diner's knees when food was served. Over time, the word board came to signify not just the dining surface but the meal itself, which is where the board comes from in room and board. It also explains why lodgers are called boarders and why an honest person - someone who keeps his hands visible at all times - is said to be above board.

As usual, a good time was had by all.




Books

Lobster Macaroni and Cheese

The Tetley's with widget

No comments:

Post a Comment