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It was my turn to host book club yesterday. I enjoy hosting book club but with a couple of busy weeks I hadn’t given it much thought and as of this weekend I hadn’t finished the book yet either!
We were reading Obsessive Genius – The Inner World of Marie Curie by Barbara Goldsmith. I enjoyed learning about Marie Curie but admit I did skim parts of the book as it felt like I was reading a science textbook a lot of the time.
Marie, though born in Poland, lived and worked in France.
Although not a requirement, I like to match the refreshments to the book so I figured some type of French food was in order.
Since I waited until Monday (book club was Tuesday) to figure out what I was making I needed to keep it fairly simple. I grabbed my Barefoot Contessa cookbook to look for ideas.
It would have been fun to make a lovely French Apple Tart…..
photo from www.find.myrecipes.com
…but I didn’t have that kind of time as it was already 6:00 p.m. Monday night and I had a meeting until 8:30 p.m. and book club was the next morning at 9:30 a.m. and I still had to clean my house.
Then I thought about some yummy cream puffs or maybe profiteroles…..
photo by www.mykitch3n.blogspot.com
…but since I had never made either I thought it might be too risky.
My next choice was Brioche. Since we meet in the morning I thought this might be nice with some fruit and cheese – very French! But then I realized I didn’t have a Brioche pan. After a call to a neighbor and a run to Target (what made me think Target would have a Brioche pan!) I crossed that one off the list!
photo by www.imagineannie.wordpress.com
I was now really out of time so I drove over to Trader Joe’s. Trader Joe’s to the rescue!
My neighbor told me about these amazing frozen croissants that they carry. All you have to do is put them on the cookie sheet, let them rise overnight, add an egg wash and bake. She said they were amazing and she was right. What’s more French than a croissant!
So here is my version of French Food Fast.
Grapes, strawberries, crisp green apples, French brie cheese, croissants, meringue cookies and some French Market Sparkling Lemonade (O.K. – so it’s made in California but it says French on the label)
It is amazing what a pretty table can do for simple food.
Although the fare was simple I think Marie Curie would have loved it.
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{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
You’re amazing!! Thanks for the fun & practical ideas!!
Trader Joe’s also has frozen Chocolate Croissants that are amazing.
I think I would like to join a book club (as long as it includes food, too!)
I also think it would be nice to have a Trader Joe’s here
That looks like one of our regular summer dinners; fruit, cheese and bread. Love it!
Book Club reminded me that you’ve read The Book Thief, as have I. I wonder if you have also read The Boy in the Striped Pajamas? I ran across it on amazon.com, bought it for a gift for a teen granddaughter, but decided I should read it first. A small book with a powerful story!
Fun! Fun! Fun! One of the highlights of my day is reading all your fun ideas. . . . .Keep them coming! Now that I will be married soon, I’m keeping track of all these fun ideas to try out on my sweetheart. . . ..See you soon!
Trader Joe’s is the best. And what a beautiful table you set
All of these pictures are making me hungry and your table looked great!
I’ve always wanted to try those croissants but haven’t for fear I’d eat them all. I love that lemonade, it’s really good!