Lets start with the food since it was so amazing! We had so many delicious new things. First is the taco dip with special pumpkin chips. The pumpkin chips were interesting to try, but they were sweeter than we expected and tasted like cinnamon. We also had jalapeno cheese and a variety of crackers. We also had another dip that was hot, cheesy, and rich with flavor. It is a Swiss artichoke and sun dried tomato dip served with french bread. It was definitely the favorite and was decided a definite keeper recipe.
The desserts were not only beautiful, but perfectly sweet and fall-ish. We had a pumpkin cake with caramel icing and pumpkin truffles which were divine! Definitely the favorite for desserts. We also had a Halloween dessert wine which was apple cider pumpkin wine. We were excited to try it but it turned out to be a little too weird. It had an unusual aftertaste and it did not go over well.
Speaking of wine we had a lot of deliciousness to go around! Aside from the apple and pumpkin combination every wine was a smashing success. We had a Riesling from Aldi that was $4.99 and absolutely perfect. It was crisp, sweet, and full of flavor. The next was definitely the happy surprise of the night. A white Merlot made by Beringer, ever heard of it? We hadn't either. It was wonderful. It was light, not dry and semi-sweet. Everyone really liked it. The other favorite of the night was the Halloween sweet red which was incredibly tasty. All were perfect for October and perfect for all of us and to accommodate our new under 21 member we had a special pumpkin apple cider. It was different but overall well liked.Now onto the book...It was crazy town! Once I got to the end I had to sleep with the light on because of how crazy it was. Most of us found it interesting, but hard to get into at first. Some people thought it was predictable, but others (like me) were totally shocked by the ending. I had a lot of ideas of what I thought was happening, but all were wrong. We discussed a lot of things about relationships and self identity. One of the main topics we discussed was how memories form our own identity and whether or not memories or lack their of change who we are as individuals. Lots of interesting talk surrounding topics in the book. Post-book questions are posted in the books section. It was definitely a psychological thriller and the movie which also looks good comes out on Halloween! We had a really hard time choosing a new book for November--there's just too many to choose from! Eventually we chose Unbroken by Lauren Hillenbrand. It is a new type for us and we are excited to try something new as usual.
One of my favorite things to talk about at book and wine night is how all of us feel like we are trying something new each time; whether its new food, new wines, or new books we are all trying new things and finding we like them more than we thought. That's what it's really about and I'm so glad we all can enjoy trying new things together. Have a great rest of October! Can't believe November is coming so quick! If you enjoy reading the blog and following along with what we do Please feel free to follow as long as you enjoy wining and not whining. :) I will be updating the Recipes, Books, and Wine pages shortly with all the detailed info from this amazing October!
