Book Club in a Rut? Try the Bison Surprise.

Something old, something new, something fictional, something true.

This is the homey formula that guides reading selection for my book club, a group that has been together for over seven years. We're not the most organized group, but there is one thing we do well: eat. So that formula for book selection should probably add this step ....and don't forget to bring something delicious.

Like pairing a wine with a meal, finding the right combination of food and book for a night at book club is an art. Some novels easily inspire accompanying noshes, but others are a stretch. If you are looking for a book to inspire a literary potluck (and lively discussion) try out latest choice: American

Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America by Colin Woodard. The title is a mouthful, but it inspired one of the club’s best feasts yet.

For this, our "something true" nonfiction book, we gathered a potluck that was big, even by our standards. This book club feast almost beat The Great Downton Abbey Party of 2012.

There isn’t just one America, Woodard argues, but rather several Americas. The original North American colonies were settled by people from distinct regions of Great Britain, France, the Netherlands, and Spain. Each group had unique characteristics. Forget the fifty states. Woodard thinks the United States is actually comprised of eleven American nations. The mystery is how these American nations have stuck together in one grand experiment. The book is a thought- (and recipe-) provoking read.

Each member brought a dish inspired by their assigned "nation": Yankeedom, New France, First Nations, New Netherlands, Tidewater, Deep South, El Norte, Midlands, Borderlands, the Far West, and the Left Coast. We enjoyed dishes from the Far West's Cowboy Chili, to El Norte’s enchiladas, to Left Coast Kale Salad. Deb essayed pimiento cheese, a Southern specialty, and Karen brought a traditional French carrot salad. Barbara brought the cheese and rye bread favored by early settlers of New Netherlands. Borderlands girl Martha even brought her special recipe Dr. G’s moonshine. The lesson learned from the more traditional dishes is that early Americans were too busy working to worry about calories. Hearty was the word of the evening.

What region was I assigned? Yankeedom. What did I bring? That traditional New England specialty - a box of Dunkin Donuts. In my defense, Dunkin Donuts is modern New England cuisine. There’s one on every corner from New Haven to Bar Harbor. (If you invite me to dinner, I’ll be happy to bring something…but I probably won't make it myself. Except for my lemon cake. My lemon cake is amazing.)

If you’d like to try a dish inspired by Woodard’s book, try Janet’s First Nations Baked Stuffed Pumpkin. My daughter calls it Bison Surprise. Delicious, beautiful, and easy – just the thing for hungry readers.

Baked Stuffed Pumpkin AKA Bison Surprise

A visually appealing and tasty supper dish.

1	6 lb pumpkin (or try several halved acorn squash)
1 lb	ground meat (bison works well)
1	medium onion, chopped
1 cup	cranberries
1 lb	Granny Smith apples, chopped
½ cup	walnuts or pecans, crushed
1	egg, beaten
½ tsp	ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp	ground cloves
1/8 tsp	ground nutmeg
¼ tsp	ground ginger
1/8 tsp	ground cumin
1/8 tsp	ground cardamom

Wash the pumpkin.  Cut out a lid and scrape out the seeds until the pumpkin cavity is clean.  Saute onion until softened, add ground meat.  Stir until meat is browned.  Stir in spices.  Remove from heat and stir in cranberries and nuts.  Mix in apples.  Bind with egg.  Spoon filling into pumpkin cavity and replace lid.  Set on a baking sheet and bake in a 350F oven about 1 ½ hours or until pumpkin is soft.  Slice and serve. Enjoy!