Gone Girl

Thanks to Ms. K for jumping in to host August's BC, featuring, full details below, one of the all-time great BC meals.  (Hint:  it did not come in a pizza box!)  We started out with grilled corn, crema Mexicana and cilantro crostini, and if anyone thought it couldn't get better than that, drum roll please:  build-you-own chicken salad sandwiches.  Sounds deceivingly simple, but El Jefe must linger just a moment to relish the memory.  Fresh cibatta rolls, topped with home made chicken salad chock full of pecans and walnuts and flavored with tarragon, with your choice of garnishes, accompanied by heirloom tomato caprese with a balsamic reduction, and... sigh, ruffled potato chips.  Heavenly.  El Jefe rushed straight to Trader Joes (not actually that night, but the next morning) and the balsamic glaze was out of stock.  But perseverence pays off, and it's now in the pantry Chez Jefe.  This just may be one of those rare discoveries--like cubed pancetta (thank you, Blondie)--that could revolutionize la cocina Jefe.  And then the mixed berry pie a la mode that tasted like it was straight out of the oven--from Whole Foods!  Ah, what a lucky time and place in which we live.  Can't wait to chow down tomorrow!

Grilled corn, crema Mexicana and cilantro crostini

On to the book, Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.  This book scored a perfect 7, to the decimal.  Big points for the entertainment and shock value.  This story kept reinventing itself with unexpected plot twists up until the last page.  Part One set up Nick and Amy's characters:  him, the hunky, flirty New York party guy, her, the sappy, frail wife who would take solace in her diary when Nick bailed on their wedding anniversary to hang with his guy friends.  Some even thought that the book got off to a slow start.  It was hard to tell what was going on or what to make of Nick's behavior in the wake of Amy disappearing.  After all, is there a "right way" to act when one's spouse may have been murdered?  Part Two addressed the question of whether there's a "right way" to act 100% psycho?  Apparently there is.  As the story unfolded, all the expectations from the beginning were turned upside down.  Part Three dealt with what happens to a totally creepy high school ex-boyfriend who thinks he can control the psycho.  Oops.  Whether this was great literature is debatable (not really), but it certainly was a fun summer read that didn't require too much discussion and left us ample opportunity for our other favorite BC pastimes, namely eating and trying on jewelry!

Tomorrow's meeting is at Logan's Run's house, and we are reading (hopefully have read) Open City by Teju Cole.  If you haven't gotten to page 75, you don't know what you're missing!  Bring your LOD suggestions!  xoej

Not seeing it...

Nope, can't see it.

Still no.

Ah, yes, now that's more like it.