Cookbook Club - Comfort Food Make Overs: All Your Favorites Made Lighter

In February, the Cookbook Club read and cooked from Comfort Food Makeovers: All Your Favorites Made Lighter by America's Test Kitchen. This book was no one's favorite of our selections so far. The general consensus seemed to be, if you're going to treat yourself to some comfort food, then have the real thing. Another point the group made was, that while the book gave how many calories were in the original versus the makeover dish, the original recipe was not included and it would be helpful to see what was being substituted for what. A few members were a bit disappointed with their dishes this time, but they were far from unenjoyable.

We tried the following recipes:
7 Layer Dip
Oatmeal Fudge
Lemon Squares
Pad Thai
Spinach Salad
Cheeseburger Pie
Tomato Soup

Next Book:
Home Cooking with Trisha Yearwood by Trisha Yearwood

Copies can be picked up at the "Ask Here" desk.
Next Meeting: Sunday, March 13th at 1:00pm

Cookbook Club selections from "Comfort Food Makeovers" by America's Test Kitchen. #bpldbookgroup #cookbookclub

A photo posted by BPLD (@bartlettpublib) on Feb 14, 2016 at 1:45pm PST

#GIRLBOSS by Sophia Amoruso

#GIRLBOSS is Sophia Amoruso's memoir/advice book on how she went from being a dumpster diver to the founder and CEO (which she stepped down from in January of 2015) of Nasty Gal (a multi million dollar company). Sophia includes the terrible jobs she's had, her (at times cringe worthy) past anti capitalism and anti establishment rebellion (not that there is necessarily anything wrong with a little rebellion, but when your "feminist" response to a guy opening a door for you is "I'd refuse, taking insult" that's cringe worthy, which Amoruso acknowledges), and how her experiences impact how she runs her business and deals with others in the business world. While I occasionally found the #GIRLBOSS thing gimmicky (it would be fine as just the title, but whenever she uses the word or calls the reader girlboss she does it in all caps with a hashtag). However, I was entertained and found Amoruso's unconventional rise to a high powered business woman quite interesting.
Lisa

Secret Sisters by Jayne Ann Krentz

      Over 18 years ago, an event takes place in the lives of best friends Daphne & Madeline that is never spoken of again. That is, until a death occurs. Madeline’s grandmother has just died, leaving her the hotel that she vacated on that awful night so long ago. Now she has received an unusual message from the caretaker, asking her to return to Cooper’s Island. Things just keep getting worse as another death occurs, and Madeline realizes she needs Daphne’s help to solve the mystery of not only what happened to her grandmother but to try and explain what happened to the two of them on that night so long ago. With the help of the head of her hotel security and his brother, the four of them try to piece together the buried secrets of the island’s residents.

I have always felt that Jayne Ann Krentz was very good at writing romantic suspense, and Secret Sisters is no exception. Quite the page turner!

Karen

Read alike author: Erica Spindler

Delicious Foods by James Hannaham

The novel Delicious Foods opens with Eddie, a seventeen year old African-American man whose hands have been recently amputated, steering a car with his gauze-covered stumps. He’s trying to find his aunt, and his quest takes him from the south all the way up to Minnesota. What exactly happened to him and Darlene, his mother, takes up the rest of the book. It’s a shocking opening that definitely drew me in. Author James Hannaham wastes no time getting his story going, and much of it reads more like a mystery or thriller than the literary fiction designation the book has been given.

It turns out that Darlene, Eddie’s mother, is really the main character. Hannaham weaves the book’s various plots around the events that led up to Eddie losing his hands. Darlene meets Nat, a leader in the African-American community, in college. Later in the book her life spirals out of control due to a drug problem, mainly crack. When she has just about bottomed out, she gets tricked into going to a rural farm called Delicious Foods. While the farm claims to be legitimate, it really traps Darlene and the farm’s other employees in a situation close to slavery.

Even with the book’s heavy themes such as racism and the devastating effects of drugs on communities, Delicious Foods manages to still be, if not a super fun read, at least a memorable, well-paced one with oodles of great characters. Hannaham even has chapters of the book narrated by the crack that Darlene and many of the other characters can’t break free from. It’s hard to explain how these crack-narrated sections work but somehow they do. Delicious Foods would be a great choice for a book club wanting to read something a little heavier but not at all dull or anyone interested in a unique and adventurous novel.

John

The Guest Room by Chris Bohjalian

Chris Bohjalian isn’t afraid of tackling social issues in his books, and The Guest Room is no exception. His latest novel deals with sex slavery. Richard Chapman hosts a bachelor party for his brother, but after one of the “entertainers” kills her handler, things go from bad to worse. Richard’s life is completely turned upside down. Told from multiple points of view, readers get to see how this tragedy affects Richard, his wife, and one of the entertainers.

I am a huge fan of Chris Bohjalian’s books, and his newest didn’t disappoint. The ending was completely unexpected, and left me reeling. I couldn’t put this book down until I read the very last page. 

If you liked this book, you should also try The Stolen Ones by Owen Laukkanen.

Carrie