Novel Inspired Dinners for Book Clubs!

Book clubs are a great way stay motivated to read both current and classic novels. They are also a way to get friends together once a month for social time. I’ve noticed that many of the books read have themes that include dining experiences, food descriptions or locations/cultures where a specific cuisine is mentioned.

A fun way to celebrate any book club book is to have a meal prepared using food discussed in the book or cultural cuisine from the location the book takes place. I recently had the opportunity to cook a delicious taste of Latvia for a book club that read “A Gentleman from Moscow” by Amor Towles. In the novel, there is a dining experience where the main character, Count Alexander Rostov, is eating in a restaurant and orders Latvian stew. This stew is comprised of tender bites of pork shoulder, caramelized onions, dried apricots and prunes, a touch of red wine vinegar and sugar, all cooked down with some tomato paste and water. It’s served with small salted boiled potatoes and garnished with parsley.

The members of the book club enjoyed eating the stew while discussing the book - what a great way to immerse yourself into the story. I’ll be looking for similar examples and experiences, so if you have any or would like to learn more about how Perfectly Seasoned Chef can help at your next book club please comment below or using the contact information on the website.