Sometimes the food accompanying the book club discussion is better than the book.  Although some book clubs serve wine, I have never been to one.  One of my favorite women, however, always served champagne when it was her turn to host; I don’t remember any of the books we discussed, but I remember the champagne.

If you are ambitious or just want to impress, books with suggestions for food to enhance the discussion have ideas from casseroles to desserts:  Judy Gelman’s The Book Club Cookbook and Table of Contents are two of my favorites.  The My Recipe website  has a list of book with links to recipes.

I might like a book club focusing on the food first, and then the book.

Here are my suggestions for easing the discussion by pairing food with books. The recipes are on my other site – Potpourri with Rosemarie – just click on Recipes.

• for J. Ryan Stradal’s Kitchens of the Great Midwest, Pat Prager’s chocolate peanut butter bars
• for Alice Hoffman’s The Rules of Magic, Aunt Isabelle’s Chocolate Tipsy Cake
• for Robin Sloan’s Sourdough,  Christmas tree buns
• for Isabel Allende’s In the Midst of Winter, Chilean cazuela
• for Antsley Harris’ Goodbye, Paris, Grandma Elsie’s Mandel Bread
• for any book – chocolate popcorn

What are your ideas for good food with good books?