My favorite night each month hadn’t happened since February due to Covid. I am thrilled to report that we are back in action and better than ever! I was supposed to host back in the spring, but ‘Rona happend. We picked up where we left off and I hosted last Thursday. My pick was An Unwanted Guest by Shari Lapena. Shari Lapena is my current favorite author. I’ve read quite a few of her novels and they’re all wonderful. Someone We Know is definitely in my top five books of 2019 and An Unwanted Guest may be in my top five for 2020. Ms. Lapena’s books keep me guessing and her descriptive writing makes me feel as if I’m in the setting with the characters. In preparation for our get together, I found some questions online to get the ball rolling. An Unwanted Guest made for plenty of lively discussions.
Time is tight with homeschooling Bodie four days per week, so I tried to do as much as I could ahead of time. My favorite part of any dinner party is setting the table. Not sure why, but I love getting out the good stuff. I set the table Wednesday morning in between helping Bodie. My sweet friend, Dana, made me this table runner several months ago and I finally got to use it. How perfect is it for a book club gathering!?!?! And the colors work so well in my bold dining room.
Book Club Table Setting
My china is Kilbarry Platinum by Waterford. The crystal is Waterford’s Lismore Tall. Sterling is Strasbourg by Gorham. Chargers are from Target, I believe.
For the menu, I recreated the dinner served at Mitchell’s Inn at the beginning of the book, which is roasted beef tenderloin, scalloped potatoes and asparagus. As always, I turned to Ina Garten for the main course and prepared her beef tenderloin with balsamic and mustard. Recipe below. FYI, I doubled it and we had plenty for twelve ladies.
- 2½ pounds filet of beef, trimmed and tied
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon aged balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoons coarsely cracked black pepper
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil.
Place the beef on the sheet pan. Combine the mustard, vinegar, and salt in a small bowl. Spread the mixture on the filet and brush it evenly over the top and sides. Sprinkle the cracked pepper evenly all over the meat.Roast the filet for 30 minutes exactly for medium-rare (25 minutes for rare and 35 minutes for medium). Remove the pan from the oven, cover tightly with aluminum foil, and allow the beef to rest on the pan for 10 minutes. Slice and serve hot or warm.
Unrelated to Book B*tches, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that my dad’s birthday was yesterday. The kids and I headed down to Atlanta to celebrate with my family and also help my sister and her family move into their beautiful new home. My dad (Opa to the grands) is the best of the best. Truly. I am so thankful we got to be together on his special day. Bodie has taken to wearing at Stetson, just like my dad. You can take the boy out of Texas, but you can’t take the Texas out of the boy.
Opa and Grandchildren
Have a great week!
