City of Thieves by David Benioff

Heather hosted another fabulous Book Club last night with a special surprise guest! It was so fun catching up with Stefanie - what a treat! The food, as always was amazing and almost everybody read the book (except me but it seemed like a page turner)!  In attendance was Hostess Heather, Stef, Liesel, Bianca, AmyR, Suzy, Courtney and me. Ann had her baby boy, Riley on Dec.1st so didn't make it but Heather and I took up space with our bellies! It's getting harder and harder for me to stay up late but it's so hard to tear myself away from the girl talk! Sorry Heather for keeping you up so late and sorry to John for more ball talk. We just can't help ourselves.

I'm going to host the next BC in February while I still can! The book is The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides. Here's the NYTimes review: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/16/books/review/the-marriage-plot-by-jeffrey-eugenides-book-review.html?pagewanted=all

   
The Fab Recipes:
PENNE ALLA VODKA: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Penne-alla-Vodka-106042 and a delicious chopped salad...

NANCY'S CHOPPED SALAD (from the new Mozza cookbook):  Ingredients For the salad: Half of a small red onion (halved through the core) 1 small head iceberg lettuce 1 medium head radicchio 1 pint small sweet cherry tomatoes (such as Sun Golds or Sweet 100s), halved through the stem ends, or cherry tomatoes, quartered Kosher salt 1 1⁄2 cups cooked ceci 4 ounces aged provolone, sliced 1⁄8-inch thick and cut into 1⁄4-inch-wide strips 4 ounces Genoa salami, sliced 1⁄8-inch thick and cut into 1⁄4-inch-wide strips 5 peperoncini, stems cut off and discarded, thinly sliced (about 1⁄4 cup) 1⁄2 cup oregano vinaigrette, plus more to taste (Recipe follows) Juice of 1⁄2 lemon, plus more to taste Dried oregano, for sprinkling (preferably Sicilian oregano on the branch) For the oregano vinaigrette: 2 1⁄2 tablespoons red wine vinegar 2 tablespoons dried oregano 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, plus more to taste 2 garlic cloves, 1 smashed and 1 grated or minced 1⁄2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste 1⁄4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste 1 1⁄2 cups extra-virgin olive oil Preparation To prepare the salad:Separate the layers of the onion, stack two or three layers on top of one another, and slice them lengthwise 1/16-inch thick. Repeat with the remaining onion layers. Place the onion slices in a small bowl of ice water and set them aside while you prepare the rest of the ingredients for the salad. Drain the onion and pat dry with paper towels before adding them to the salad. Cut the iceberg in half through the core. Remove and discard the outer leaves from the head and remove and discard the core. Separate the lettuce leaves, stack two or three leaves on top of one another, and slice them lengthwise 1/4-inch thick. Repeat with the remaining leaves and thinly slice the radicchio in the same way. Cut the tomatoes in half, season them with salt, and toss gently to distribute the salt. Combine the lettuce, radicchio, tomatoes, ceci, provolone, salami, peperoncini, and onion slices in a large, wide bowl. Season with salt and toss to thoroughly combine the ingredients. Drizzle 1/2 cup of the vinaigrette and squeeze the lemon juice over the salad, then toss gently to coat the salad with the dressing. Taste for seasoning and add more salt, lemon juice or vinaigrette if desired. Pile the salad on a large platter or divide it among individual plates, piling it like a mountain. Sprinkle the dried oregano on top and serve. To make the oregano vinaigrette:Combine the vinegar, oregano, lemon juice, smashed garlic, grated garlic, salt and pepper in a medium bowl and whisk to combine the ingredients. Set the vinaigrette aside to rest for 5 minutes to marinate the oregano. Add the olive oil in a slow, thin stream, whisking constantly to combine. Taste for seasoning and add more salt, pepper, or lemon juice, if desired. Use the vinaigrette or transfer it to an airtight container and refrigerate it for up to three days. Bring the vinaigrette to room temperature, whisk to recombine the ingredients, and taste again for seasoning before using. Makes a little more than a cup. Serving Size Serves 4 as a starter or 2 as a main course.