by Ashton Lee
These are the drinks and appetizers that Periwinkle Place served at her sip ’n’ see in the novel. They could also be used for general entertaining purposes.
Periwinkle Lattimore’s Sip ’N’ See Knockout Punch
Ingredients you will need:
1 12-fluid-ounce can of frozen orange juice concentrate
3 cups water
1 46-fluid-ounce can of pineapple juice
1 liter ginger ale
In a punch bowl, combine orange juice, water, and pineapple juice; chill. Stir in ginger ale just before serving.
—Courtesy Leslie Price Burrell,
Traveler’s Rest, South Carolina
Periwinkle Place’s Blush Punch or Pink Beeritas
Ingredients you will need:
1 12-ounce can of frozen pink lemonade concentrate, thawed
3 12-ounce bottles of light beer (NOT DARK), chilled
¾ cup vodka, chilled
Ice
Fresh cranberries, strawberries, or other fruit (optional)
Combine all ingredients; garnish with fresh cranberries, strawberries, or fruit of your choice.
—Courtesy Kate Barron Rosson, Oxford, Mississippi
Periwinkle Place’s Cucumber Tea Sammies
Ingredients you will need:
2 cucumbers
½ cup ranch dip (premade is fine)
cup cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon Greek seasoning
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon dill
1 loaf of white bread
Using a mandolin, slice the cucumbers thin and place each slice flat on a paper towel to drain excess water. Place paper towel on topside of cucumbers to also drain top excess water. While cucumbers are drying, mix ranch dip and cream cheese, seasoning, garlic powder, and dill until smooth.
Using a biscuit cutter (or knife if you don’t have one), cut out bread into round, square, or triangle shapes. Layer spread on both pieces of bread, then place cucumbers on bread. (Make sure to use a little of the spread in between the cucumbers to help “glue” the cucumbers and keep them from sliding.) Close the sammie. Serve right away, or it can be made ahead of time and placed overnight in an airtight container with a dry paper towel to absorb moisture.
—Courtesy Kate Barron Rosson, Oxford, Mississippi
Periwinkle Place’s Pimento Cheese
Ingredients you will need:
2 cups white sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
¼ cup Parmesan cheese
1 cup Duke’s mayonnaise (or other favorite mayo)
6 ounces roasted red peppers or pimentos, diced
¼ cup chopped green onions
¼ teaspoon hot sauce
¼ teaspoon Cajun seasoning
¼ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Combine all ingredients. Serve with Wheat Thins.
—Courtesy Kate Barron Rosson, Oxford, Mississippi
Periwinkle Place’s Zucchini Squares
Ingredients you will need:
4 eggs, beaten
½ cup oil
1 cup Bisquick
½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
½ cup chopped onion
3 cups zucchini, sliced thinly with skin on
½ clove garlic chopped
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon seasoned salt
½ teaspoon oregano
10 dashes Tabasco sauce
Beat eggs; add oil, Bisquick, Parmesan cheese, and onion. Mix well. Add remainder of ingredients and stir together. Pour into a 9-by-13-inch greased baking pan and bake uncovered at 375 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes until golden brown. Cut into squares and serve either hot or at room temperature.
—Courtesy Marion Good, Oxford, Mississippi
A READING GROUP GUIDE
BOOK CLUB
BABIES
Ashton Lee
ABOUT THIS GUIDE
The suggested questions are included to enhance your group’s reading of Ashton Lee’s
Book Club Babies!
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Do you think Elise and Alex will eventually get together and bring up Celice together?
2. Do you think Periwinkle’s mother, Mama Kohlmeyer, will ever come around and accept her grandchild and her daughter’s marriage to Parker Place?
3. What did you enjoy most about Maura Beth’s development as a woman and librarian throughout the series?
4. Is Councilman Sparks still the character you “love to hate,” or has your perception of him shifted?
5. For women: How did your pregnancy compare with those of the women in this novel? Discuss similarities and differences.
6. For men: How did your wife’s pregnancy and your experience as a “pregnant father” compare with Maura Beth’s and Jeremy’s?
7. Some readers have indicated that they would like to live in a town like Cherico. Would you? If so, why? If no, why not?
8. How is the place you live like or unlike Cherico?
9. How do you picture Maura Beth and Jeremy ten years from the ending of this novel?
10. Is the racism depicted in this novel getting better or worse in the world?