Matching the food to the book (novel, book club, romance, stephen king)

[SATXUsername]

When our book club met previously, we've had fun matching the snacks/meals to the book. For example, after reading Joy Luck Club, we had Chinese food.
So, does anyone have any sugestions of specific books and food that would be a good tie-in (maybe even food that's seved in the book) ?

[RDSLOTS]

My book club liked doing things like that too. When we read Nectar in a Sieve, we went to an Indian restaurant, and I know when I taught HS English, I often let the students do food-related projects -- if nothing else, find recipes for the foods mentioned.

I've often thought it'd be fun to find recipes for things mentioned, and have a pot luck dinner of sorts -- someone bring one dish, others another. I put together a Southern-style supper for a book club once when we read Celia Rivenbark's Just Like You, Only Prettier which was a lot of fun for both the 'grits' and the gals from other places across the US.

I'll try to think of some titles for you, SATX.

[RDSLOTS]

For the month of February, Laura Esquivel's Like Water for Chocolate might be a lot of fun -- both for the romance story and the chocolates. You could do a taste test along the lines of say, Godiva v. Lindt, etc. Isn't there a cake the antagonist creates? You might even watch the film version the night you get together and compare/contrast the two medium.

You could eat a lot of different shrimp recipes along with Forrest Gump, or try some exotic dishes with the Harry Potter series -- maybe just stage a traditional high tea? I used to do that with HS SRs when we read Oscar Wilde's play, The Importance of Being Earnest. We used nice table linens and fancy dishes and tea sets, and served things like cucumber sandwiches and scones (or as close as we could get to them).

Halloween might be a fun time to do something like an Anne Rice book, and some foods suitable to a haunted house. Oh, lol -- peeled grapes for eyeballs and chittlin's.

[Lillietta]

If you read The Godfather, you will be rushing to make homemade Italian sauce/gravy!

[nanannie]

Originally Posted by Lillietta

If you read The Godfather, you will be rushing to make homemade Italian sauce/gravy!

And red wine and cannolis for dessert.

[lolagranola]

I'm out here in Utah (which I love) and would KILL for a good cannoli!! Oh, and someone to drink that wine with!!

My book club has done this a bit... I made a noodle kugle when we read a book about a Jewish comminty (can't remember the title). Can't wait to see if anyone came up with something creative for Great Expectations!

[RDSLOTS]

Great Expectations -- I suppose you could have stale wedding cake and flat champagne for Miss Haversham. Prison food maybe for Pip's real Dad? And that Shepherd's Pie recipe I posted on the Food and Drinks forum is fairly traditional English fare.

[eevee]

this reminds me of that "Dinner and a Movie" thing they used to do on TNT where they paired a certain dished w/ a particular movie

well, any discussion on any Stephen King novel MUST be paired with succulent lobster and other seafood (granted, I doubt any character in a SK novel as ever eaten lobster, but come on, these stories are set in Maine!). you could eat honeycombs while discussing "The Secret Life of Bees", horrifically flavored jelly beans for "Harry Potter", steak and kidney pie for "My Sister's Keeper", liver w/ fava beans and Chianti for any of the Hannibal Lector books.

if you are TRULY morbid and have a wicked dark sense of humor like I do, you could have roasted rabbit for "Of Mice and Men" or "Watership Down" venison for "The Yearling", and roast duck while discussing "Make Way for Ducklings" (I know the last two aren't a typical book club selection, but work w/ me here!)

[Prince of Lombards]

Fried green tomatoes go well with War and Peace.

[RDSLOTS]

I'm not following the 'fried green tomatoes?' Maybe for War and Peace, whirled peas?