It's Book Club Night! Fab Recipe Follows

And I hosted.  We have one of those seemingly rare book clubs who actually gather once a month to talk about the book.  We also eat good food and have a glass of wine, but the books are our raison d'etre.

Tonight discussed The Elegance of the Hedgehog, by Muriel Barbery, which I read and enjoyed over the summer.  In fact, I reviewed it here on my blog.  Everyone who'd read the book (we had one or two who came for food and conversation only but plan to actually finish the book) really liked it.

I served an autumnal menu: chicken tortilla soup, creamy corn muffins, and pumpkin crisp for dessert.  We drank some of both red and white wines.  Everyone enjoyed the food, and the pumpkin crisp was an especial delight.  The recipe was in high demand.  This is good news, since I'm in the habit of serving to guests recipes I've never tried before.  Yes, it's a tad risky, and I've had a few flops (which one would think would cure me of this particular failing, but no).  Happily, tonight was a night of successes.

I wanted to take a photo prior to serving; but the fact that we ate 2/3 of the dish attests to its deliciousness. (If that's a word.) 

The soup was delectable as well.  I'd post the recipe, but I started with one and then made a change here and a change there. . . . 

The creamy corn muffins were fabulous! But they are NOT a low-fat food.  And that's why they are good.

Here's the recipe for the to-die-for Pumpkin Crisp (and thanks to Shelley for sharing the recipe!)

Ingredients
1 (15 oz) can pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
1 cup evaporated milk
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 package (box) butter-flavored cake mix
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup butter, melted

Stir together first five ingredients. Pour into lightly greased/sprayed 9x13 baking dish.  Sprinkle cake mix evenly over pumpkin mixture; then sprinkle with pecans.  Drizzle butter evenly over pecans.

Bake at 350 degrees for 60-65 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove from oven and let sit 10 minutes before serving.  Serve warm or at room temperature.  serve with nutmeg-sprinkled whipped cream, if desired.

Note: I omitted the whipped cream because I thought it would be gilding the lily.  My friends concurred.