October Book Club: Carly’s Gift
The votes are finally in, and the October Sutter Home and HarperCollins Book Club pick is Carly’s Gift, by Georgia Bockoven. We couldn’t ask for a better novel to cozy up on a couch with on a crisp autumn night!
Pair this love story with a glass of Sutter Home Merlot, a wine perfectly suited for long weekends and lengthy chats with friends!
If you’re looking for something yummy to serve during Book Club, check out author Georgia Bockoven’s delicious and “ridiculously easy” recipe for pasta sauce. And it pairs perfectly with our Merlot, for a dinner that will be sure to please all of your guests. This simple recipe calls for “a little bit of this and a whole lot of that,” but Georgia assured us that no matter how you adjust the ingredients, it will turn out as if it was exactly what you had planned all along.
Do you have a favorite pasta sauce recipe? If so, tell us in the comments!
Ridiculously Easy Pasta Sauce
Ingredients
Tomatoes – absolutely any kind will work, including a mixture of sizes and colors. You need enough, cut in half with the cut side up, to tightly fill a glass 9×13 inch pan.
Garlic – two to twenty cloves, completely dependent on your love and tolerance.
Basil – fresh, minimum twenty medium leaves, maximum dependent on your love and tolerance.
Olive Oil – 1/3 cup, more or less dependent on how much garlic and basil used.
Instructions
Finely chop the garlic and basil by hand or in a food processor (be careful not to over-process into a paste). Add olive oil and spoon the combination over tomatoes, adding more olive oil if needed. Bake at 375 degrees, uncovered for forty-five minutes. Mash with a fork for a rustic sauce, or pour into a heat-proof bowl and use an immersion blender for a smoother sauce. Pour over pasta. Serve.
Variations
Just before serving, add shrimp or ground beef that you’ve cooked separately.
The sauce freezes well, so consider doubling the recipe and freezing half for later.
Serve with a green salad and crusty artisan bread. Be prepared for the shower of compliments from your dinner guests!
