W3 Book Club-“Whiskey in a Teacup” by Reese Witherspoon
by Teri E. Popp & Laura Chin, Tastemakers in Residence
Well, this was bound to happen: once one or two ladies in book club start celebrating “significant” birthdays, the others follow suit. Not that W3 Book Club members are all the same age, mind you, as we actually have a 25 year age span, chronologically speaking; but, it seems we’re clumped together when it comes to truly milestone birthdays!
And our significant birthday-girl du jour, totally fits the bill of a “Southern Lady,” even though, we live in a climate where -31 degrees Fahrenheit is an actual winter temperature (and, amazingly, occurred the night we held this particular party)! So, we celebrated our Southern Lady of the North in true style with all of the pomp and circumstance necessary with “Whiskey in a Teacup,” written by none other than, a southern belle herself, actress Reese Witherspoon. It simply fit our birthday girl, Renée, to a tee!!
Reese shares her love of all things southern, and her grandmother in particular, in this delightful recipe book/memoir. From garden parties with girl friends, to holidays with family, to Reese’s love of all things monogrammed, this wonderful book includes her grandmother’s recipes (with a few of her own thrown in for embellishment). Our host, Laura S, wanted to focus on magnolias, pink, frilly-girly decor, and good ole’ southern cooking to fete our birthday gal! (Special thanks go to our decor committee of Sussan, Laurie and Stacy!)
When it came to the menu, our food committee went all out and “cooked up” the following magnificent menu (thank you Laura S, Laura C, Dorothy & Debbie!!): Note - Recipes with an asterisk are from the Nook Book copy of Reese’s book
Appetizers
*Confetti Betty’s Champagne and Ginger Ale Cocktail - Reese’s mom’s recipe
*Baked Brie
*Crab Puffs
*Paprika Dusted Deviled Eggs
Salad
*Strawberry Fields Salad
*Mama’s Biscuits
Dinner
*The Mockingbird: Sorghum Old-Fashioned Cocktail
*Assorted Red and White Wines
*Baked Ham
*Sweet Potato Casserole with Candied Pecan Crust (so good I could swear I was eating dessert during dinner!!)
*Asparagus with Mock Hollandaise Sauce
Dessert (thank you Kate!)
*Floral, Pink-Iced, Chocolate Birthday Cake (Lunds/Byerly’s Bakery)
Final thanks for this fantastic evening go to Jodene and Mary (the “drinks” committee), and Wendy for all things monogrammed (à la Reese)!!! And we’ll see ya’ll here on the Spirited Table next month for another W3 Book Club meeting!!!
