Book Club Treats

I had the pleasure of hosting book club last month and made some fun treats that were gobbled up. My goal was to make simple/quick items that had very few ingredients but still packed a lot of punch in the flavor department. Oh, and I had a very small budget, so the ingredients had to be fairly inexpensive.

I started with a recipe that I had tried at a wine tasting party I had attended earlier this year: Parmesan Stuffed, Bacon Wrapped Dates. I could not get enough of these when I was at the party, and the same went for book club. I will admit, they aren’t the prettiest to look at, but with only three ingredients (parmesan, bacon and dates), they were so worth making. The flavors are complex and addicting – smoky, sweet and salty. Perfect!

Still on the savory side of things, I decided to make a dip, but one that was a little less expected than normal. I am a big fan of stinky cheese, especially all different varieties of blue cheese so I was won over by this Blue Cheese and Caramelized Shallot Dip. Again, few ingredients with big payoff. I served them with black pepper kettle chips and a mix of sliced veggies.

I was looking for a reason to make this Strawberry Almond Cream Tart and book club was the perfect excuse. Such a beautiful presentation for such little work. I love making desserts like this! I was completely addicted to this tart – I could have eaten the whole thing by myself! 🙂 Perfect for entertaining.

I made a few other little snacks – tea sandwiches, spiced popcorn, (and Ellie brought mini chocolate pudding pies), but I would say that these items were the stars of the evening!