The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

January 1946: Writer Juliet Ashton receives a letter from a stranger, a founding member of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. And so begins a remarkable tale of the island of Guernsey during the German occupation, and a society as extraordinary as its name.

From Amazon.com: "I wonder how the book got to Guernsey? Perhaps there is some sort of secret homing instinct in books that brings them to their perfect readers." January 1946: London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man she’s never met, a native of the island of Guernsey, who has come across her name written inside a book by Charles Lamb...

As Juliet and her new correspondent exchange letters, Juliet is drawn into the world of this man and his friends—and what a wonderfully eccentric world it is. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society—born as a spur-of-the-moment alibi when its members were discovered breaking curfew by the Germans occupying their island—boasts a charming, funny, deeply human cast of characters, from pig farmers to phrenologists, literature lovers all.

Juliet begins a remarkable correspondence with the society’s members, learning about their island, their taste in books, and the impact the recent German occupation has had on their lives. Captivated by their stories, she sets sail for Guernsey, and what she finds will change her forever.
Written with warmth and humor as a series of letters, this novel is a celebration of the written word in all its guises, and of finding connection in the most surprising ways.
Next meeting date: March 11 @ 1:00 pm
Location: Jade's House

The Dante Club

The pick this month is The Dante Club by Matthew Pearl. Provided by the author's web page, found here, below is a summary of our next book:

1865 Boston, a small group of literary geniuses puts the finishing touches on America’s first translation of The Divine Comedy and prepares to unveil the remarkable visions of Dante to the New World. The powerful old guard of Harvard College wants to keep Dante out—believing that the infiltration of such foreign superstitions onto our bookshelves would prove as corrupting as the foreign immigrants invading Boston harbor. The members of the Dante Club—poets and Harvard professors Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, James Russell Lowell and publisher J. T. Fields —endure the intimidation of their fellow Boston Brahmins for a sacred literary cause, an endeavor that has sustained Longfellow in the hellish aftermath of his wife’s tragic death by fire.
But the plans of the Dante Club come to a screeching halt when a series of murders erupts through Boston and Cambridge. Only the members of the Dante Club realize that the style and form of the killings are stolen directly from Dante’s Inferno and its singular account of Hell’s punishments. With the police baffled, lives endangered and Dante’s literary future at stake, the Dante Club must shed its sheltered literary existence and find a way to stop the killer.
The brunt of the burden falls to Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, whose unique literacy in both poetry and medicine continues to pull him into the center of the struggle. An outcast policeman, Nicholas Rey, the first and only black member of the Boston police department, places his future on the line after discovering the secrets of the Dante Club. Together, they find the key to the murders where they least expect it: closer than they could have imagined.

Next meeting date: August 21 @6:30 pm
Location: Jessica's House

Gods Behaving Badly

Author: Marie Phillips
Dinner Prepared By: Sarah

Greek Salad
Ingredients:

• 1 lb Tomatoes (Roma and cherry)
• 1 large cucumber
• 8 oz Feta cheese (Sarah used reduced fat)
• 1/2 cup kalamata olives
• 1 red onion (diced)

Salad Dressing:

• 6 Tbsp EVOO
• 3 Tbsp white wine vinegar
• 2 Tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 bunch cilantro (finely chopped)
• 2 crushed garlic cloves
• salt and pepper

Pesto & Ricotta Stuffed Chicken

Ingredients:

• 2-4 Tbsp pesto sauce
• 1/2 cup ricotta cheese (Sarah used reduced fat)
• capers
• greek olives
• sundried tomatoes
• oregano
• 4 chicken breasts
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• pepper

Directions:

Make deeps slits in the side of each chicken breast. Mix pesto, ricotta, capers, olives and oregano together and stuff into each chicken breast. Re-seal each breast, place on a plate and chill for 30 minutes. (Work on vinegrette while waiting)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees farenheight.

Brush chicken with olive oil and season with pepper. Bake for 25-35 minutes or until chicken is cooked. Spoon vinegrette on top and serve.

Tomato Vinegrette

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 bunch fresh chives
• 1 lb roma tomatoes (seeded and cubed)
• 1 lime (squeezed and zested)
• salt & pepper

Directions:

Mix olive oil and chives in a food processor until smooth. Pour into bowl and add tomatoes, lime juice and rind. Season with salt & pepper.

Easy Greek Yogurt

Ingredients:

• Non-fat greek yogurt
• Dried apricots
• Dried figs
• Slivered almonds
• Pistacios
• Honey

Directions:

Broil nuts in oven until toasted (Note: they cook fast so watch them carefully!)

Top yogurt with dried figs and nuts.

Drizzle with honey.