Brrr Brownies and Beer

Despite the bitter cold we all did make it to the November edition of Book and Wine night! As per usual we had a great time chatting about our book, Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, the food, and of course the upcoming frozen holidays. It was Cheri's turn so it is beer night again! We had some amazing new recipes, tasty beers, and enjoyed each others company!

The conversation about our book started with "Well I didn't hate it!" We had a good laugh because come to find out we all had a little bit of trouble with the beginning of the book. In the end we all agreed that it truly is a good read and although most of us didn't necessarily "finish" the book yet we are all planning on getting through it. There are so many things we did not know about the war and about our nation's history that were uncovered by reading this book. It was very interesting to learn new things about something we have all learned and heard so much about over the years. One of the other things we realized when reading is that we all kind of understood the generational stereotypes a little bit more. The racial stereotypes some of us have heard from veterans or family members from that generation make a little bit more sense due to the insight from this book. 

Now onto the delicious food! I can say one thing about our book club--even though we try new things every time--the food is consistently delicious! Tonight we had a creamy shrimp dip, a blend of cheese and crackers, caramel brownies, and dark chocolate wafers. The shrimp dip was perfectly creamy but the cocktail sauce gave it a nice burst of flavor. We had a blend of Swiss, Colby Jack, and smoked Gouda cheeses with an assortment of crackers. Now onto dessert! The brownies were absolutely divine! We all loved them and even took some home ;) The brownies were layered with caramel and therefore not as rich as brownies tend to be. Dangerously Delicious! 

After enjoying all of the food we started talking about how excited we all are for the holidays. We talked about family traditions and things that are special to just us for Thanksgiving and Christmas. It was really fun to start talking about the holidays and hearing everyone's special traditions. I am very happy to announce that we will be reading a Christmas themed book! We also discussed doing a white elephant gift exchange and we will each be bringing a dish to share for December. 

Our December book is titled, The Shepherd, the Angel, and Walter the Christmas Miracle Dog by Dave Barry and we are all hoping it will be a light holiday novel that will be perfect for the craziness around the holidays. I for one, am very excited for everything that comes with the holidays and am greatly looking forward to the December book and wine night. The book information and recipes for this month can be found on their respective pages. If you would like to share your holiday traditions or special family or friend memories please feel free to share! And as usual, especially during the holiday season, remember to drink wine and try to lay off the whine!