Book Club: Before Ever After

I have always loved book clubs. As a student I loved weekly discussions and as a teacher it was my favourite part of working with 6th grade last year. I've tried to join others a few times but the dates never worked out. My friend, NE, and I tried to have a little book club between us, too. She lives in Arizona and we were successful for one book (The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett - loved it!) by meeting on Skype but didn't pursue it after completing that epic novel.

I finally decided to start my own book club. Many of my friends read similar books as me so why not? I used the book club my mom is a part of (filled with other moms of my childhood and high school friends) as a model. We meet once a month, share about the book we all chose to read, eat delicious food, and choose the next book. The idea to do this came to me while with two of my awesome coworkers, LM and VY, so the 3 of us just picked a book we thought would be good. I made a Facebook group and invited other girlfriends I thought would be interested.

Due to the quick notice of our first meeting, only the 3 of us were able to attend, only 2 of us read the book, and only 1 of us liked the book! But we still had a lot of fun! (Just so you know, next month is looking a lot more successful!)

July 2012 Book Club: Before Ever After by Samantha Sotto

Here is the Amazon description: "Three years after her husband Max's death, Shelley feels no more adjusted to being a widow than she did that first terrible day. That is, until the doorbell rings. Standing on her front step is a young man who looks so much like Max–same smile, same eyes, same age, same adorable bump in his nose–he could be Max's long-lost relation. He introduces himself as Paolo, an Italian editor of American coffee table books, and shows Shelley some childhood photos. Paolo tells her that the man in the photos, the bearded man who Paolo says is his grandfather though he never seems to age, is Max. Her Max. And he is alive and well.

As outrageous as Paolo's claims seem–how could her husband be alive? And if he is, why hasn't he looked her up? – Shelley desperately wants to know the truth. She and Paolo jet across the globe to track Max down–if it is really Max– and along the way, Shelley recounts the European package tour where they had met. As she relives Max's stories of bloody Parisian barricades, medieval Austrian kitchens, and buried Roman boathouses, Shelley begins to piece together the story of who her husband was and what these new revelations mean for her "happily ever after." And as she and Paolo get closer to the truth, Shelley discovers that not all stories end where they are supposed to."

 In case you didn't guess it, I was the one who liked the book. I enjoy a good sappy romance. It was easy to tell that this was Sotto's first book and it was quite difficult to get through. What kept me going was the story. I loved the idea she had even if the writing itself did not flow well together. It jumps all over between different time periods and characters but I eventually got the hang of it. I loved trying to figure out who Max was in each reflection of the past. Overall, I thought it was an interesting story but not high on my recommendation list.

What this book really made me want was baked eggs. The character, Max, makes egg dishes all throughout the story so when figuring out what I would make, the answer was obvious. I actually found a recipe from the author for baked eggs and fortunately, Mike opted to be my test dummy. I have to say, they were delectable. Especially when you took a bite with the flavours of cream and truffle oil! I found the recipes here and below is the one I fell in love with.

Four Cheese Baked Eggs

- 1 tablespoon heavy cream
- 2 eggs
- A few drops of white truffle oil
- ½ tablespoon sharp Cheddar cheese, grated
- ½ tablespoon mozzarella cheese, grated
- 1 teaspoon Parmesan cheese, grated
- 1 teaspoon feta, crumbled
- Chopped basil for garnish (optional)

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 450F. Pour cream into small ramekin. Crack eggs over cream. Drizzle eggs with truffle oil. Sprinkle Cheddar, mozzarella, Parmesan, and feta over eggs. Bake for 7 to 12 minutes, depending on how runny you like your eggs. Garnish with basil

The other item frequently mentioned in the book is jasmine tea. VY is a fantastic baker and made incredible cakes using jasmine tea for dessert though you can make it with any tea you like! She found the recipe here and says 3 tablespoons of tea leaves was around 9 tea bags for her.

Chamomile Cupcakes with Honey Glaze

recipe from Joy the Baker Cookbook

For the Cupcakes:

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

pinch of salt

3 tablespoons dried chamomile (I got mine from tea bags)

1/2 cup milk (I used two percent)

1 large egg

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the Glaze:

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 tablespoon honey

about 5 tablespoons heavy cream

pinch of salt

Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  Line a cupcake pan with paper or foil liners and set aside.

To make the cakes:  in the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream together butter, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, pinch of salt, and chamomile leaves.  Mix on medium speed until the mixture is slightly coarse and sandy.  This takes about 5 minutes.

While the mixture beats, in a small bowl, whisk together milk, egg, and vanilla extract.

Pour half of the milk mixture into the flour mixture.  Beat until just incorporated.  Pour in the remaining milk mixture, turn the mixer up to medium-high speed and beat for 1 minutes, until well blended.

Divide the batter between the prepared cups.  There isn’t a lot of batter so you’ll only fill the cups up half way.  You’ll also need to scrape the bowl for remaining batter.  This recipe doesn’t waste a drop.

Bake the cupcakes for 17 to 20 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes.  Remove the cupcakes from the pan to cool completely before frosting.

To make the glaze: in a medium bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, honey, cream, and salt.  Whisk until smooth.  Use a butter knife to generously spread the frosting atop the cooled cupcakes.  Sprinkle with just a bit of chamomile tea leaves and arrange on a pretty plate.  Cakes will last, well wrapped, at room temperature for up to three days.

Overall successful first book club meeting and I'm already looking forward to August!

"Shelley had fallen in love with Max’s baked eggs and cheese almost as soon as she had fallen in love with Max himself.  They were in Paris when he first made the dish for her and the tour group she had hastily joined.  Since then each forkful tasted like that morning—warm, buttery, and bursting with full-fat promise." ~ Before Ever After