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The Illinois Random Readers have recently noticed some interesting new red dots on our Cluster map! We'd love to hear from you.

What's everyone reading and recommending in your neck of the woods?

Pat Conroy's South Carolina Recipes

Thanks Pat, Marti, Charlotte and Kay!!!!

SHRIMP SALAD

serves 4 as a first course or sandwich filling, 2 as a light lunch

1 pound large (21-25 count) shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons sour cream
1 tablespoon finely minced fresh tarragon
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon tarragon vinegar
1/4 cup finely diced celery
1/4 cup finely minced scallions
1 teaspoon coarse or kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper

In a medium stockpot over high heat, bring 4 quarts abundantly salted water to a rolling boil. Add the shrimp and cook until just pink, about 3 minutes. Immediately transfer to a colander and run under cool water to stop the shrimp from cooking any further (only takes several seconds; shrimp should still be slightly warm when dressed). Shake the colander to drain any excess water.

In a small bowl, mix together mayonnaise, sour cream, and tarragon. Set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, toss the warm shrimp with the lemon juice and vinegar. Stir in the celery and scallions. Add the mayonnaise mixture, salt, and pepper and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Taste to correct seasoning.

Miss Charlotte severed this lovely salad on ever so good party sized brown bread.

COCKTAIL PECANS

It is a lucky yard that hosts a pecan tree.
There are several things better than a pecan pie, but not many. There are
several things better than roasted, salted, and buttered pecans, but not by
much. In my youth I would irritate my mother by pronouncing this as pee-can, which she considered redneck, and she would correct me with puh-cahn, which she thought more genteel.

MAKES 1 POUND

1 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon cumin
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon coarse or kosher salt 2 large egg whites
1 pound pecan halves

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F
2. In a small bowl, stir together the sugar, nutmeg, cumin, black pepper, cayenne, and salt.
3. In another, larger bowl, whisk the egg whites until barely frothy. Add the nuts to the egg whites and turn to coat. Pour the sugar and spice mixture over the pecans and stir to coat.
4. Spread the pecans on a baking sheet and place in oven until browned, about 1 hour. Stir occasionally to prevent clumping.
5 :Place the baking sheet on a rack to cool. Transfer the room temperature nuts to an airtight container.

Warm and crisp the nuts in a preheated 350°F oven for 10 minutes before serving, if desired

Beautiful Day in July

Stay tuned for another year......

Our next meeting :

September 11, 2007

Our Book Selections:
Prince of Tides PatConroy (which is available for your listening pleasure though Net Library)
and
Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons Lorna Landvik

Member Suggestions

Sin in the Second City by Karen Abbott

Attention Philippa Gregory Fans

The following Philippa Gregory books are now available in the LHS library:

The Constant Princess
The Queen's Fool
A Respectable Trade
The Virgin's Lover

The Boleyn Inheritance is due back on May 1st.

Productive Meeting!

Titles decided upon:

The Coast Of Chicago Sturt Dybek
The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog by John Grogan
Prince of Tides by Author Conroy
Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons Lorna Landvik
The Great Influenza by John M. Barry
Birds Without Wings by Louis De Bernieres
Unbowed by Wangari Maathai

Still in the Hopper

Monkey Bridge by Lan Cao
The Hot Zone by Richard Preston
The Tango Singer by Tomas Eloy Martinez
The Professor and the Madman: by Simon Winchester
The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolaño
In the Shadow of Man by Jane Goodall
Life on the Color Line: by Gregory Williams
Her Majesty’s spymaster: Budiansky
Flight of Passage: A Memoir Rinker Buck

Okay so we eat and discuss......

Sausage, Chili and Cheese Tartlets

¾ LB sweet Italian sausage casing removed
½ cup medium hot bottled salsa (do not use chunky style)
½ cup loosely packed shredded Monterey jack cheese (about 2 ounces)
½ cup loosely packed shredded sharp cheddar cheese (about 2 ounces
½ of a 4 ounce can of diced green chilies
Olive oil
24 purchased wanton wrappers
Sour cream
Green Onions


Cook sausage, breaking up with fork, drain off fat. Add salsa, cheeses and green chilies to skillet and simmer until mixture thickens about 5 minutes. Cool completely.

Preheat oven to 350.
Brush mini muffin cups with olive oil.
Press wonton wrapper into each muffin cup. (Wrapper will extend beyond the top of cup)
Fill each wrapper with generous tablespoon sausage mixture. (Can be prepared 3 hours ahead) Cover and refrigerate.

Bake until wonton wrapper edge begins to brown, about 10 minutes.
Transfer pastries from muffin cups to baking sheet.
Bake pasties until bottoms are crisp, about 10 minutes.
Place dollop of sour cream on each. Sprinkle with green onions.

Makes 24
Appetizers from Bon Appettit

Manchego Cheese and Catalan Tomato Bread

Serves 4
2 large ripe tomatoes
4 slices rustic sourdough bread toasted
Spanish olive oil to taste
4 slices (2oz) manchego cheese

Traditional way:
Cut tomatoes in half rub open face of tomato into the toast until flesh is absorbed, throw away skin. Drizzle tomato rubbed bread with olive oil. Salt and pepper to taste. Top with a slice of cheese and drizzle again with oil

Modern Way:
Cut tomatoes in half onto the grater until flesh is grated and mix with olive oil. Throw away the skin. Spoon the Olive oil and tomato mixture over the bread. Salt and pepper to taste. Top with a slice of cheese and drizzle again with oil

Unbowed by Wangari Maathai

The Great Influenza by John M. Barry

Life on the Color Line: The True Story of a White Boy Who Discovered He Was Black by Gregory Williams

Her Majesty’s spymaster: Eliz I, Walsingham and the birth of Modern Espionage Budiansky

Flight of Passage: A Memoir Rinker Buck