The Guestbook (28 page)
Authors: Andrea Hurst
Created by Michaelene McElroy
½ cup unsalted butter–room temperature
¼ cup white sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
¾ cup flour, plus 1 Tbs. - separated
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. salt (omit if salted butter is used)
1½ cups oatmeal (not instant)
1 cup toasted coconut
½ cup toffee bits
½ cup raisins
½ cup bittersweet chocolate pieces
½ cup chopped pecans
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a pan, over low heat, toast coconut until golden (approximately 10 minutes). Let cool. In a bowl, toss together toasted coconut, toffee bits, raisins, bittersweet chocolate pieces, and chopped pecans with 1 tablespoon flour. Set aside. Sift together flour, salt, cinnamon, and baking soda.
Beat butter until softened. Add white sugar and beat until blended, then add brown sugar and beat until light and fluffy (approximately 2 minutes). Add egg and vanilla, and beat until incorporated. Add dry ingredients and beat on low speed until blended. Add oatmeal and coconut mixture and blend well.
Lily likes big cookies. Place a ¼ cup of mixture (a ¼ cup ice cream scoop is perfect for this job) for each cookie, on a well greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-17 minutes. Check at 15 minutes. Makes approximately 18 mouthwatering cookies.
Created by Michaelene McElroy
Filling:
1 cup peanut butter (strictly peanuts, no fillers)
2 Tbs. caramel sauce (store bought is fine as long as it’s high quality)
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
Mix peanut butter with caramel sauce, add powdered sugar, and mix until smooth. Shape into one inch balls. Freeze.
Cookie Dough:
12 oz. bittersweet chocolate
2 Tbs. butter
2 Tbs. caramel sauce
1 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
¼ tsp. salt
Melt bittersweet chocolate and butter in microwave at 50% power until chocolate is melted. Stir until smooth. In a mixing bowl, add caramel sauce and sweetened condensed milk to chocolate mixture and beat on low speed until incorporated. Sift flour and salt and add to mixture. Mix on low speed. Dough will be firm.
Assembly:
Break off pieces of the cookie dough and wrap around the frozen peanut butter filling. Make sure the filling is well sealed within the dough.
Baking:
Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Time varies based on size and accuracy of oven temperature. Let cool. Once cool, roll in powdered sugar.
Egg Mixture:
1 loaf egg bread (Challah works great)
10 eggs
½ cup of half and half
1 Tbs. sugar
½ tsp. cinnamon
2 Tbs. orange zest
1/8 tsp. culinary lavender
1 tsp. vanilla
Whisk 10 eggs in a bowl and beat in half and half, sugar, cinnamon, orange zest, culinary lavender, and vanilla. Prepare filling.
Filling:
1 Tbs. fresh orange juice
2 8-oz packages of cream cheese
½ tsp culinary lavender
4 heaping Tbs. orange marmalade
Take 1 slice of bread. Spread generously with cream cheese mix and put another slice on top. Then soak in egg mixture. Grill on medium heat in skillet with generous amounts of butter. Grill both sides. Smother in syrup.
Syrup Mixture:
1 cup real maple syrup
2 tsp. orange zest
1 tsp. fresh orange juice
½ tsp. culinary lavender
Heat syrup before serving then add other ingredients, stir and serve.
Created by Andrea Hurst & Carol Reaf
2 Tbs. butter
½ lb. Chicken Sausage
8 oz. can artichoke hearts
¼ cup olive oil
2 cups onion, chopped
3 cloves minced garlic
2 cups portabella mushrooms
2 cups chopped fresh fennel
¼ tsp. salt
6 large eggs
1 tsp. basil
½ tsp. pepper
2 tsp. oregano
1 cup parmesan cheese grated
½ cup provolone grated
On a high flame, sauté chopped sausage and half of the vegetables except for the mushrooms in ¼ cup oil and 1 Tbs. butter in frying pan until translucent. Repeat with the rest of vegetables, oil, and butter. Place in flat low casserole dish (9x9). Preheat oven: 350 degrees. Sauté mushrooms on medium high in 1 Tbs. butter until brown. Add to casserole.
Drain canned artichokes, quar
ter and add to casserole dish.
In blender, mix together 6 eggs, cheeses, salt, pepper and other seasonings and pour over casserole. Squeeze garlic through press over ingredients. Bake approximately 25-30 minutes until knife in center comes out dry. Cut and serve hot or cold. Four to Six servings.
Cover Designer: Audrey Mackaman with Justin Hurst
Cover Photo – Used with permission from Auberge on the Vineyard Bed and Breakfast – www.sonomabedbreakfastinnwinecountry.com
Copy Editor: Audrey Mackaman www.audreyedits.com
Interior Layout: Brian C. Short bit.ly/bcsportfolio
Just like Lily had wonderful people helping her on her journey, I’ve had many supporters who have helped me on my journey with this book.
I’d like to thank Barbara Scharf, whose friendship and love for reading guestbooks inspired me to tell this story. To my expert editor, Lisa Siegel, I couldn’t have done this without you. For her undying support and reading multiple versions, Jean Galiana’s input has been invaluable. Cate Perry, writer, friend and extraordinary manuscript critiquer, I appreciate all you have done and continue to do. Audrey Mackaman has been an irreplaceable colleague both technically and with her exquisite cover design.
Gratitude goes to my fellow writers at Just Write for their encouragement and for showing up to write. Rowena Williamson and Mare Chapman, I thank you for your unwavering support, ideas, and friendship. And to William Bell at Local Grown Coffee, for giving us a place to write. Thank you Cherise Hensley and Cindy Hurn for proofreading.
To the expert readers and editors along the way, Dick Magnuson, Marie de Haan, Hanna Rhys Barnes, Lexi Hughes-Wooton, Julia Ringo, and Kelsi Lindus, your feedback helped shape this story. Acknowledgement goes to my original critique group, Rex Browning and Jan Carpenter, Judy Petersen, Shannon Thompson, and Tesia Lund who read the very first draft and encouraged me to continue.
Special thanks to amazing author, Anjali Banerjee for not only endorsing the book but helping me more than she knows.
I am grateful to my family for instilling in me the love of books at a very early age. To my children, Justin and Geneva, thanks for believing in me.
Lastly I would like to acknowledge the Farmhouse Bed and Breakfast in Clinton, WA, where I got the idea for this book, and the Inn at Barnum Point (Camano Island, WA), and the Flower Farm Inn (Loomis, CA), where I spent many hours writing and gained ideas for my setting. To Auberge on the Vineyard (Cloverdale, CA), who graciously offered the cover photo, I can’t wait to visit. www.sonomabedbreakfastinnwinecountry.com
Recipes –
Mt. Rainier and Inn Style Cookies created by Michaelene McElroy
.
Grandma Maggie’s Brownies created by Carol Reaf and Andrea Hurst, Sausage Frittata created by Carol Reaf and Andrea Hurst
.
The Guestbook
www.theguestbooknovel.com
1.
Why do you think Lily stayed in an unhappy marriage for so long? Do you agree with her decision to give up everything she knew–including a life of financial security–in order to brave the waters of the unknown?
2.
Do you feel Lily was right in leaving Brad for good? What do you think Brad would have needed to truly change his ways–or was it possible at all? Under what circumstances do you feel a cheating spouse deserves a second chance?
3.
Discuss the role of food in
The Guestbook
. How did it play into Lily’s childhood memories? How did it bring people together? How was it used as a source of comfort? As a sign of turbulence?
4.
Friendship is a major theme in
The Guestbook.
Discuss the various friendships Lily develops on Madrona Island. How do these new friends help care for Lily and assist her in building her business and her self-worth? Do you have friends that have made a difference in these ways in your life?
5.
Lily develops a “surrogate family” on Madrona Island. Who does her new family consist of? Has anyone ever adopted you as a “surrogate” mother, sister, or daughter? Do you have people in your life who are “surrogate” family members to you?
6.
In Lily’s family, three generations of women have made choices based largely around the men in their lives. How has each woman’s decision impacted her and those around her?
7.
There are several generational parallels through
The Guestbook
, including Lily and her mother both being abandoned for other women; Lily and her grandmother’s passion with food and care-taking; and Lily and Ian finding the same second chance at love their grandparents had enjoyed years before. Why might a younger generation parallel their parentage? Has your life paralleled your parents’ or grandparents’ lives in any way?
8.
While Lily’s grandmother wasn’t physically present for most of
The Guestbook
, her presence was often felt. How did Lily’s grandmother guide her using the guestbook as a medium? Have you ever felt someone from the other side guiding you in your life?
9.
Because of Brad’s infidelity, Lily has had difficulty trusting Ian not to hurt her in the same way. By the end of the book, do you feel Lily can truly trust Ian?
10.
How has Lily grown by the end of
The Guestbook
? What other characters have shown growth in this book? How so?
11.
Was Kyla right in keeping her illness from her friends? Why or why not?
12.
Jude feels an immediate attraction to her new employee, Chef Ryan. How would you handle romantic feelings for someone you had to work with on a daily basis?
13.
At the beginning of this story, when Lily “takes the wheel” of her Honda to leave Brad, she is essentially taking the wheel of her life. Symbols emerge throughout
The Guestbook
, from nature imagery to the soul-warming cooking of food. What symbols emerged for you and how did they deepen the meaning of the story?
14.
In
The Guestbook
, John and Grandma Maggie–as well as Lily and Ian–get a second chance at love. Do you believe each person has one soul mate, or is it possible to find another love? Share the stories of people you know.
15.
Is it possible to have it all–your job, your talent, your passion, your love,
and
your dreams? Or is sacrifice inevitable? To what extent should a person sacrifice him/herself in the name of love, if at all?
16.
How does setting play an important role in this story? Is Madrona Island a place you would like to visit?
Please visit Madrona Island at
http://www.madronaislandBandB.com
or
