On Monday, my sister, our friend Anna, and I got together for our first book club meeting. We wanted to encourage each other to read, have a reliable schedule for our get-togethers, and get into some real talk, so our book club was born.
I picked our first book, Sisters in Law: How Sandra Day O’Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg Went to the Supreme Court and Changed the World by Linda Hirshman, which is a dual biography of the first two women to serve as Supreme Court justices. As far as books go, it was disappointing: great concept, poor execution. But our first meeting was a success!
I’m a sucker for a good theme, so I decided to plan for a dinner bar (you know, bar, like the law)! That idea could have gone in a ton of different directions — taco bar, yogurt bar, baked potato bar — but we went with a bagel bar as an ode to Ginsburg’s New York roots.
I went with plain bagels so that we could go crazy with spreads and topping options. Here’s what was on the menu:
Spreads: hummus, cream cheese, Trader Joe’s Mixed Nut Butter, local clover honey
Toppings: sliced tomatoes, slice red onion, radishes, cucumbers, capers, assorted salami, sliced Gouda, sliced Muenster
Extras: Blueberries, blackberries, cherries, pineapple, red grapes, Trader Joe’s Everything But The Bagel Sesame Seasoning, red pepper flakes, Hawaiian black salt
Sips: Mbali Chenin Blanc-Viognier and Josh Cellars Rosé, both picked up at Trader Joe’s
Before sitting down and diving into our book discussion (and its resulting tangents), we each crafted our bagels. Anna split hers three ways: nut butter and honey; Muenster with red onions and radishes; and cream cheese with tomatoes, cucumbers, and capers. My sister kept it pretty traditional with cream cheese, red onions, and capers on the bagel, with a tomato slice, cucumbers, and salami on the side. I went half-and-half: Muenster and salami on one side, cream cheese and capers on the other, plus sides of tomato slices and salami.
We all went back for seconds before moving on to fruit and chocolate-covered almonds.
I highly recommend a bagel bar as an easy dinner party option, but we wouldn’t recommend Sisters in Law, so we’re hoping for more success on the book front next time. We’ve chosen Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty for our next meeting, just in case you want to read along with us.
L is for Lucy 