Tag Archives: jonathan franzen

Book Club: Dill & Egg Potato Salad and Spring Vegetable Potato Salad

I hosted my Book Club at our house a couple of weeks ago, there were 8 of us here to talk about The Corrections, and catch up on what’s going on in our lives.  Check out what else was on the Book Club menu!

I almost forgot to post the potato salad recipes from when I hosted Book Club.  Since summer is here, these are the perfect dishes to bring over to a friends BBQ, or for a picnic.  I wasn’t sure what kind of potato salad everyone liked, so I decided to make 2 different ones, hopefully satisfying everyone’s taste buds.

I ended up cooking all of the potatoes together to save time, and just divided them amongst the two salads.  Both can be made the day before, just don’t add the vinaigrette until the last minute, or else the salad will get soggy!

Dill & Egg Potato Salad
Adapted from: So Good and Tasty

6-8 baby red potatoes, washed
1/4 cup chives, minced
1/4 cup dill, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp whole grain mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 red pepper flakes (optional)
2 hard boiled eggs, chopped

Add potatoes to a large pot, pour water over them.  Turn on the heat and bring water to a boil, cook the potatoes until they are soft in the middle so a knife can easily pierce through (the time will depend on the size of the potatoes).  When the potatoes are done, rinse them under cold water.  Then chop them into quarters or smaller pieces.

To make the dressing add all of these ingredients into a small bowl, then whisk them together: chives, dill, garlic, vinegar, olive oil, Dijon mustard, whole grain mustard, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes.

Toss the potatoes, eggs and dressing together- then serve.

Spring Vegetable Potato Salad
Adapted from: Smitten Kitchen

8-10 fingerling potatoes
1 lb asparagus, chopped into 1 inch pieces
2 cups sugar snap peas, cut into halves
4 radishes, thinly sliced
4 spring onions, chopped (or green onions)
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp whole grain mustard
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Add potatoes to a large pot, pour water over them.  Turn on the heat and bring water to a boil, cook the potatoes until they are soft in the middle so a knife can easily pierce through (the time will depend on the size of the potatoes).  When the potatoes are done, rinse them under cold water.  Then chop them into quarters or smaller pieces, add them to a large bowl.

Bring water to a boil in a small pot.  Add in the asparagus and cook it for 2-3 minutes.  Drain it and place it in a bowl of ice cold water for 3 minutes.  Drain it again, and add it into the bowl filled with potatoes.

To the potatoes and asparagus, add the: sugar snap peas, radishes, spring onions and garlic.

In a small bowl whisk together the ingredients for the dressing: olive oil, whole grain mustard, Dijon mustard, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper.

Finally, toss the dressing with the vegetables and serve.

Book Club: The Corrections

This month was my turn to host our book club.  With a group of girls coming over, I thought about a meal that would be linked with the book we had just read.

The book was The Corrections, by Jonathan Franzen.  The story revolves around a Midwestern family, who now lives in different states.  The book is told from all points of view- the parents and the children.  All three children have fled from home to settle on the East Coast, and separate themselves from their parents.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t too much mention of food through the book, so I decided to think about “all-american” meals which I could serve.  Since we don’t have a grill, I decided to take a bit of a spin on some of the foods.

Be on the lookout for all of these recipes throughout this week!

The Corrections Book Club Menu

Drink:
Cantaloupe Agua Fresca

Appetizer:
Artichoke-Spinach Dip
Peasant Bread
veggies (peppers, cucumbers, celery)

Sides:
Vegetable Potato Salad
Potato Salad with Dill and Chives

Main:
Corn & Black Bean Burger
Vegetarian Sloppy Joes

Dessert:
S’More Bars
fruit (watermelon & grapes)

These are other recipes which I have done for our book club: Samosa Casserole, Apple Cake with Cinnamon Crumble Top, Beef in Tomato Sauce, Spicy Peanut Brittle, Beef & Rice Stuffed Zucchini, Golden Red Lentil Soup, and Coconut Macaroons with Chocolate!