This story follows Rachel Beck from Florida, where she just lost her job at a high class resort following her rebuff of a guests unwanted advances, to a small island in Ohio.
Kelley's Island is off of Sandusky, Ohio and can be reached by ferry from Port Clinton, Ohio. I have never been to Kelley's Island but have visited the neighboring Island, Put in Bay, numerous times. Now that I have read this book I am going to plan a trip to Kelley's Island. It sounds just like my kind of laid back, relaxing place.
Sometimes, you just need a read that has no bad guys, no serious drama, and a lot of feel good, happy moments. This is that kind of read. I finished it in one day while lounging in the pool. It is the perfect book to take with you to the beach, on vacation, or out on the boat when you are lucky enough to have a day just to relax and want absolutely no stress in your life.
When Rachel moves to the island, she is immediately welcomed and invited to join in Yoga classes and Book Club to which some of the residents belong. Book Club is relaxed and chill....small bites, wine, beer, cocktails and laughter where, maybe, the book is discussed. This sounds like my kind of book club.
When Rachel and her boss/beau have a 4th of July gathering there are more appetizers brought by the guests that arrive. This made me think about our 4th of July celebration at Frank's sister's house. I brought appetizers with me.
I shared the Marinated Asparagus, also inspired by a novel, with you a couple of days ago. I will be sharing my Zucchini Bruschetta with you next month when we celebrate National Zucchini Day. That left me with one more appetizer to share and this novel was a perfect segue for it.
I had made a trip to the Farmer's Market in a neighboring town and spied this wonderful assortment of mushrooms. They were labeled "soup mushrooms". I didn't use them for soup but I did make a delicous appetizer of Mushroom packets with half and the rest went into an Instant Pot Chicken and Rice that I will be sharing with you next week.
I seasoned those mushrooms with salt, pepper and thyme and then sauteed them in a little butter and white wine before giving them a whirr in the food processor. Once I had a nice, chunky paste I portioned it out onto phyllo dough and made little packets of mushroom goodness.
Then I baked them to a gorgeous golden brown and plated them up to be served room temperature. They were a perfect addition to the appetizer buffet at Roz's and would have been perfect for Book Club or 4th of July on Kelley's Island as well.
They would also be great to nibble on while you read this novel or to serve up to your book club when discussing this novel.
I am sharing this post over at Foodies Read. Stop by and get more book and food inspiration for your summer reading pleasure.
Appetizers, Mushrooms, Finger Foods, Phyllo
Appetizers
American
Yield: 12 servings
Author: Wendy Klik
Mushroom Packets
Savory sauteed mushrooms wrapped in phyllo dough and baked to crispy golden brown layers.
1 package frozen phyllo dough, thawed, from 2 pkg. box.
1 lb. assorted mushrooms, cleaned and chopped
1 stick butter, divided
salt and pepper, to taste
1 t. dried thyme
1/2 c. white wine
Instructions
Place 2 T. of the butter into a large skillet over med high heat. Add the mushrooms, season with salt, pepper and thyme and saute until the mushrooms start to soften and release liquid.
Add the wine and cook, stirring occasionally until all the liquid has evaporated.
Transfer to the bowl of a food processor and allow to cool before pulsing several times until a chunky paste is formed.
Place the thawed phyllo sheets onto a counter and cover with plastic wrap and a damp towel to prevent them from drying out.
Melt the remaining butter, place one sheet of phyllo onto the counter and brush with the butter, lay a second phyllo sheet on top of the first. Brush butter onto 1/4 of the sheet and fold it over, continue in this manner until you have a rectangle.
Place some of the mushroom mixture onto the short side of the rectangle closest to you. Fold this over and continue folding until a triangle is formed. Brush the edges with butter to seal and place onto a parchment lined baking sheet.
Repeat these steps until all phyllo and mushroom paste is used.
Bake in a preheated 375* oven for 12-15 minutes, until golden brown and crisp.
I've lived near Lake Erie for most of my life and I've never been to the islands. I really need to do that some day. I'm also going to look for this book. Low stress sounds good to me
I enjoy getting comments and feedback from my audience. Please let me know what you think, keeping in mind that we are all entitled to our own beliefs and opinions. I am happy to hear yours as long as they are stated nicely.
Look delicious !
ReplyDeleteI do not know where my name went. Cathy Almeter. Will figure it out.
ReplyDeleteThis sometimes happens if you are commenting from your phone Cathy instead of computer. I don't know why that is.
DeleteI've lived near Lake Erie for most of my life and I've never been to the islands. I really need to do that some day. I'm also going to look for this book. Low stress sounds good to me
ReplyDeleteIt's fun to read books set in locales with which you are familiar.
Delete