“Stick this directly into my mouth.”
When I lived in New York I was a member of a book club for over six years. It was a great way to keep me reading and also helped me discover some of my now favorite authors like Cormac McCarthy. A few friends here in San Francisco decided we wanted to start one up so we had an impromptu potluck to discuss. I was in charge of the appetizer. I brought a delicious baked cheese that I assembled and baked at my friend's apartment.
RECIPE | It was simple. Just cubed about 16 oz of a good melting cheese (I used Fontina), chopped up some sage and rosemary, and added 10 super thin slices of garlic. I combined it all in cast iron skillet, sprinkled with salt and pepper and drizzled with olive oil. I popped the whole thing into a 425 degree oven for about ten minutes (until bubbly and starting to brown). I served with some crackers my friend had in her pantry and paired with a cold glass of white wine.
We. Ate. The. Shit. Out. Of. It.
This is going to be go-to appetizer moving forward.
After gorging ourselves on cheese and the other nom noms prepared by the group we decided on the format of our book club. We will meet once a month, the person who chooses the book will host and feed everyone, and we all bring booze. Seems like a fair deal. I am excited to get back to reading again, it's hard when there is so much Instagram that needs checking. My friend Rachel (who was a member with me in my NY book club) chose our first book - Toni Morrison's "The Bluest Eye" (which I mentioned in my last Obsessed column). I hope it's as delicious as this baked cheese, god knows we couldn't put it down.