Beth Ann and the Secret Fan

The Underground Bookclub met at Beth's house, last night, a few days later than usual.  Our book for September was "Snow Flower and The Secret Fan" by Lisa See.  For those who haven't read it, it's a novel about a Chinese girl-then-woman's life, with emphasis on the hideous footbinding practices of the time and a secret language of the women; set in the mid-1800's.  Because a main theme of the book was the oppression of women at that time in that culture, the theme of the meal was "It's a Man's World". Funny, hmm?!

So, the menu was:
(Unbutton the top button of your pants, before reading and imagining the meal...)

Steaks, marinated and grilled, topped with fresh mushrooms sauteed in real butter,
Shrimp cream-cheese wontons, with a homemade sweet and sour dipping sauce,
Tortellini salad, with lemon marinade, fresh vegetables and grated parmesan
Pretzel-cream cheese-raspberry JELL-O salad...THAT SET UP AND HELD TOGETHER!!!! (And we didn't have to cut it with the steak knives, either!!!!) Praise be to God!
Homemade New York Cheesecake with choice of raspberries or strawberries to top,
Wine (Cabernet Sauvignon or Moscato), Beer (Bud Light or Amber Boch), dark Starbucks coffee (made from beans hidden away from Beth's husband...in a cottage cheese container! She's so smart.)

Oh, and we talked about the book, too.  But let me say a word about the menu, here. You have GOT to love a meal that includes three dishes with cream cheese as a main ingredient, and more steak than you could get around in one try. I haven't talked to all the bookclubbers, today, but the ones I DID visit with were still in their elastic waist pajamas at 10:00 a.m., yours truly included. I can't decide if it's because we were still that full, or if there really was nothing in the closet that could encompass our girth, yet. 

We were missing Thelma, especially in the discussion.  The book brought up all sorts of things...manipulation, dishonesty for gain, friendships, mutilation of bodies for beauty, war, miscarriage, anaphylactic shock and subsequent death, embroidery, weddings, and secrets. It was a cheery little read! I'm not going to get into the points of conversation any further than that, but I will say that when I called Beth this morning, we spent another 45 minutes in discussion about it. Of course, we can spend 45 minutes in discussion over what brand of toothbrush to buy, so that's hardly remarkable.

The next book is:
"A Town Like Alice" by Nevil Shute, and we will be meeting at Thelma's.  I hope she can make it.