My friend Sarah invited me to join her book club and of course I graciously accepted. The first meeting was Friday night and the book for that meeting was Stone Butch Blues by Leslie Feinberg. Not normally a book I would pick up on my own but I'm an open-minded person, so why not, right? I'm actually not done with it yet. It was a little hard to get into at first, but now it's got my interest. In a nutshell, it's about a woman who is transgender, although she hasn't had the surgery, it's more about her identity. She really goes through a lot in her life and it's really terrible the way transgendered people are treated. Although this is a work of fiction, it really is quite obviously a memoir.
The other women in the book club are really cool and the hostess's husband was an absolute riot, so I had a great time!
For the book club we are all to bring a dish or dessert and wine. I decided to bring my "famous" Sugared Walnuts. They were a big hit! (Further proving the Italian's theory that I am a golosa!) So I'm going to post the recipe here for you all. These are great for the holidays or sporting events like the Superbowl, or even just to munch on while watching a good flick. NOTE: You can use any kind of nut you like, as long as it's not a nut that burns easily, i.e. pecans.
SUGARED WALNUTS
Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
4 cups shelled walnuts (approx. 1 bag)
2 tablespoons of cinnamon
1/4 of a stick of butter
2 tablespoons of vanilla (if you can, use the Mexican kind, it's just better!)
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. In a medium size pot over medium heat, combine the sugar, water, cinnamon, butter, vanilla and dissolve.
Add the walnuts and continue cooking,
Stirring frequently until the walnuts are completely sugar coated and the sugar is crystallized and there is no syrup left.
Pour the mixture onto an ungreased cookie sheet, spreading and separating the walnuts as much as possible.
Bake until the walnuts are golden, about 12 to 15 minutes, stirring at 5 minute intervals.
Let them sit for a few minutes to allow them to harden.
And voila'! The finished product! They are so good while they are still warm...yum!
Please note that I doubled the recipe, so it looks like a lot in the pics but you won't have as much if you stick to the recipe I posted.
Our next meeting for the book club is on December 5th and the book is Flight by Sherman Alexie. I'm so looking forward to it!
Are you a member of a book club? What are you reading?
