The Glass Lake

Debbie H picked a good book for September, 2003- The Glass Lake by Maeve Binchy. Since I am part Irish, I especially enjoyed the story.
Barnes and Noble gives us a peek into the book:

Synopsis

Night after night the beautiful woman walked beside the serene waters of Lough Glass. Until the day she disappeared, leaving only a boat drifting upside down on the unfathomable lake that gave the town its name. Ravishing Helen McMahon, the Dubliner with film-star looks and unfulfilled dreams, never belonged in Lough Glass, not the way her genial pharmacist-husband Martin belonged, or their spirited daughter Kit. Suddenly, she is gone and Kit is haunted by the memory of her mother, seen through a window, alone at the kitchen table, tears streaming down her face. Now Kit, too, has secrets: of the night she discovered a letter on Martin’s pillow and burned it, unopened. The night her mother was lost. The night everything changed forever…

For the centerpiece of the table, Debbie had a large glass bowl filled with blue marbles on the bottom, water, and a boat floating on the top. Debbie lived on a lake, so she also had several boats docked to take us for a moonlight ride to discuss the book. That was hilarious, as none of us were good rowers and the boats spun around and hit each other several times. But fun was had , and the book was discussed- finally!

Debbie H and Donna served Irish pot roast, twice baked potatoes, and steamed vegetables. Smoked salmon was our appetizer, and chocolate trifle was our dessert.

Debbie's Pot Roast
( I make this all the time- best ever pot roast!)

1 3-4 pound boneless chuck beef roast
1 tsp seasoned salt, 1/2 tsp regular salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, and 1/4 tsp garlic salt
2 Tbsp canola or vegetable oil
1 Tbsp beef Better Than Bouillon
1 thinly sliced onion
3 cloves garlic, crushed
2 bay leaves
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/4 cup red wine (any kind that you would drink, not cooking wine!)
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine seasonings and rub the roast with them. Heat the oil in Dutch oven and brown, searing on both sides. Spread the bouillon paste over the meat, cover with onions, garlic and bay leaves. Combine the soup, wine, Worcestershire sauce and half a soup can of water and pour over roast. Cover and bake for 2-2 1/2 hours, until tender. Remove bay leaves. (You can also add small carrots, potatoes and onions the last 45 minutes if desired).

Donna's Chocolate Trifle

1 pckg of chocolate fudge cake mix

1 pkg. (6 oz) instant chocolate pudding mix

1/2 cup of strong coffee

1 carton (12 oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed

6 heath bars (1.4 oz each) crushed

Directions:  Bake cake according to package directions. Cool. Prepare pudding according to package directions; set aside. Crumble cake; reserve 1/2 cup. Place half of the remaining cake crumbs in the bottom of a 4-1/2 or 5 qt trifle dish or decorative glass bowl (duh, we use the decorative glass bowl!). Layer with half coffee, half of the pudding, half of the whipped topping and half of the crushed candy bars. Repeat the layers and combine remaining crushed candy bars with reserved cake crumbs; sprinkle over top. Refrigerate 4-5 hours before serving.

 

The door prize for the evening was a good-luck necklace made of Connemara marble, a framed picture of our beautiful Chastain Lake, a book of Irish wit, and Irish scarf and Bailey's Irish Cream...

To close this blog entry, I would like to include one of my favorite Irish blessings:

 

 

 

May joy and peace surround you,
Contentment latch your door,
And happiness be with you now
And bless you evermore.

 

Next month we changed it up from Irish shamrocks to vicious vampires...