Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Hosted by Dutchbaby
7 pm
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Artichoke Arugula Pizza
Move the oven rack to the lowest level for a crisp crust on the pizza.
Ingredients
Cooking spray
1 tablespoon cornmeal
1 (13.8-ounce) can refrigerated pizza crust dough
2 tablespoons commercial pesto
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1 (9-ounce) package frozen artichoke hearts, thawed and drained
1 ounce thinly sliced prosciutto
2 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 cups arugula leaves
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Preparation
Position oven rack to lowest setting. Preheat oven to 500° (425° if convection oven)
Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray; sprinkle with cornmeal.
Unroll dough onto prepared baking sheet, and pat into a 14 x 10-inch rectangle.
Spread the pesto evenly over dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border.
Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over pesto.
Place baking sheet on the bottom oven rack; bake at 500° for 5 minutes.
Remove pizza from oven. Leave oven on.
Coarsely chop artichokes.
Arrange artichokes on pizza; top with sliced prosciutto.
Sprinkle with Parmesan.
Return pizza to the bottom oven rack; bake an additional 6 minutes or until crust is browned.
Place arugula in a bowl.
Drizzle juice over arugula; toss gently.
Top the pizza with arugula mixture.
Cut the pizza into 4 (7 x 5-inch) rectangles; cut each rectangle diagonally into 2 wedges.
Nutritional Information
| Calories | 419 (28% from fat) |
| Fat | 13g (sat 4.4g,mono 6.4g,poly 0.6g) |
| Protein | 20.1g |
| Carbohydrate | 55.3g |
| Fiber | 5.7g |
| Cholesterol | 20mg |
| Iron | 3.6mg |
| Sodium | 1001mg |
| Calcium | 265mg |
Kate Washington, Cooking Light, JANUARY 2007
Herbed Greek Chicken Salad
Serve with toasted pita wedges.
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 teaspoon black pepper, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
Cooking spray
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch cubes
5 teaspoons fresh lemon juice, divided
1 cup plain fat-free yogurt
2 teaspoons tahini (sesame-seed paste)
1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic
8 cups chopped romaine lettuce
1 cup peeled chopped English cucumber
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
6 pitted kalamata olives, halved
1/4 cup (1 ounce) crumbled feta cheese
Preparation
Combine oregano, garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a bowl.
Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
Coat pan with cooking spray.
Add chicken and spice mixture; sauté until chicken is done.
Drizzle with 1 tablespoon juice; stir.
Remove from pan.
Combine remaining 2 teaspoons juice, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, remaining 1/4 teaspoon pepper, yogurt, tahini, and garlic in a small bowl; stir well.
Combine lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes, and olives. Place 2 1/2 cups of lettuce mixture on each of 4 plates. Top each serving with 1/2 cup chicken mixture and 1 tablespoon cheese.
Drizzle each serving with 3 tablespoons yogurt mixture.
Nutritional Information
| Calories | 243 (29% from fat) |
| Fat | 7.7g (sat 2.3g,mono 2.9g,poly 1.6g) |
| Protein | 29.7g |
| Carbohydrate | 13.4g |
| Calories | 243 (29% from fat) |
| Fiber | 3.5g |
| Cholesterol | 70 mg |
| Fat | 7.7g (sat 2.3g,mono 2.9g,poly 1.6g) |
| Calories | 243 (29% from fat) |
| Iron | 2.5mg |
| Sodium | 578mg |
| Calcium | 216mg |
Michelle Powers, Cooking Light, JULY 2007
Thursday, May 20, 2010
The Lake Shore Limited
May Book Club Meeting
Thursday, May 27, 2010
7 pm
Dakota Angel's
Reader's Guide
1. Have you read any of Sue Miller’s other books? If so, does The Lake Shore Limited share any themes?
2. What do we learn from the first sentence of this novel? Now that you know the character Leslie, what does it mean to you?
3. Who did you assume was the main character when you first started reading? Did you change your mind?
4. Do you consider this to be a 9/11 novel? Why?
5. On page 7, Leslie wonders, “But was [possibility] necessary? . . . Weren’t there people, everywhere, who lived without it? Who didn’t imagine anything other than what was?” Ultimately, which of the characters are open to possibility, and which aren’t?
6. Discuss the marriages in the novel. What do they have in common? In what ways are they different? Which seems healthiest to you?
7. On page 41, Leslie realizes that “she had been asking [Pierce] whether he would come with her into what she thought of as this new life—and that he was telling her no.” How does Leslie react to this? Why?
8. In the play, Gabriel says to Anita, “It’s what we all feel. We want. Then we want more. It’s the human condition” (page 44). Is this true for Leslie, Rafe, Billy, and Sam?
9. What do you think Miller is trying to say about the creation of art and its reflection of real life?
10. The notion of playing a role is a recurrent theme in the novel. Who is most true to his or her authentic self? Who has mastered his or her role? Whose changes most drastically?
11. Why is the Henry James reference in the play (page 45) so important? What was Billy trying to say?
12. When Rafe asks Billy if the play is based on her own life, she insists it isn’t autobiographical (page 77). Is she intentionally lying, or is there something else going on here?
13. Why does sleeping with Billy affect Rafe’s performance in the play?
14. Both Rafe and Sam see themselves in Gabriel. Which man do you think is more like him? Why?
15. What does Gus represent to Billy? To Leslie? What role does grief play in the novel?
16. Over the course of the novel, various characters note that Billy looks like a child. What does this signify?
17. Why do Sam and Leslie stop at just a kiss (page 188)? What do you think would have happened if they had had an affair?
18. What is the purpose of the scene between Sam and Jerry (pages 206–212)? How does it affect Sam?
19. Why is Billy so frosty when Sam brings his son to see the play (page 221)?
20. On page 232, Leslie thinks, “But that’s what the play was about. . . . At least in part. The wish to imagine what life could be, how it could change, if you were unencumbered.” What do you think the play was about? Which of the four main characters most wishes for an unencumbered life?
21. Reread the alternate endings Billy considered for the play (page 251). Why do you think she chose to end the play the way she did?
22. On page 267, Miller writes, “Now as Sam sits in his living room, holding the Christmas letter from Emma, thinking of Melanie Gruber, he realizes that he’s called her up in part because he feels the same way about Billy, about the accident of Billy’s arrival in his life—exactly that surprised.” Why does he feel this way? How does it change him?
23. Discuss the ending. Was it satisfying? What do you imagine happens next?