Books and Booze Club

Hi all:

So hopefully those of you who have chosen to join in enjoyed November's reading.  Marco Pierre White lives with such an incredible intensity -- one that I can find inspiring (in a very romanticized way) but ultimately find very disturbing.  I do, however, love his drive for perfection...more than perfection.  His is really a drive to create the dining experience.  Pierre White understands that a dining experience should function like a well choreographed dance, replete with the appropriate setting.  It should allow the guest a suspension of disbelief and a reprieve from the ordinary.

I want to suggest a drink for each book we read.  For this one, I feel compelled to suggest espresso.  We all have our preferred method of caffeine induction and generally the process through which that induction occurs borders on ritualistic.  I will, therefore, not suggest the form that this espresso ingestion takes place, beyond saying that a single shot of dark roasted, Italian style espresso (rich, slightly acidic, balanced with some richer chocolate notes) finished with a lemon twist and downed in two or three sips, seems appropriate.

For our December reading, I want to suggest The Gastronomical Me, by MFK Fischer -- a beautiful collection of essays on learning to cook, to eat, to live and to love well.  Given that Mary Frances liked to drink, and drink well (some said, like a man), expect a cocktail recipe or two for this month.

Happy Reading and Drinking,

Mikha