Not only did I just enjoy this book in general, I especially appreciated Harper's love of food, especially of the junk food variety. With all the references to things like pizza, burgers, and french fries, it felt like the perfect book to kick off my "Dinner and a Book Club" series.
What's "Dinner and a Book Club" you ask? "Dinner and a Book Club" is where I develop a menu fit for a dinner party, full of dishes from and inspired by a particular book. In this case, I took Harper's love of food and created a menu fit for a sports (or really any kind of) gathering with your family and friends. In our house, Sunday football is usually watched with a plate of homemade chicken wings for the two of us, but sometimes (even in these COVID-19 times) we invite a friend or two over to watch with us.
Whether you're hanging out with your family or a group of friends, these Rage and Ruin inspired dishes are certain to be a hit!
Homemade Pizza Rolls
Ingredients:
-spring roll or wonton wrappers
-mozzarella (I used fresh, but I think shredded might work better)
-pizza toppings of your choosing (I stuck with pepperoni)
-pizza or a red pasta sauce for dipping
Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 400°F/190°C.
1) Line a baking sheet with a nonstick silicone mat or parchment paper (basically anything that will help them not stick).
2) Take spring roll (or wonton) wrapper and lay it out tilted in a diamond shape.
3) Add a little cheese and the pizza toppings you chose towards the center.
4) To roll: roll the bottom diamond corner up, firmly rolling until about halfway rolled. Fold in sides and finish rolling. Place on the baking sheet, seam side down.
5) Once all pizza rolls have been put together, brush the tops with vegetable oil, and place the tray in the oven.
6) Bake for 15 minutes. At that point, check pizza rolls and flip and/or increase the heat slightly, as needed, and continue to bake until they are golden brown. Some cheese leakage may occur, but they still end up tasting delicious.
7) Serve with a warm red sauce for dipping.
Cheeseburger Sliders
Ingredients:
-ground meat or meat substitute (I used ground beef)
-seasoning for ground meat (I used salt, pepper, garlic, and a little paprika)
-cheese (if desired)
-slider buns or bread cut to slider size
-any additional burger toppings
*I kept these sliders simple, but you could get fancy and add any number of your favorite burger toppings!*
Directions:
1) Heat a pan on the stove on medium to medium-high heat. Add a little vegetable oil into the pan to keep patties from sticking.
2) Season your ground meat or meat substitute of choice and form into small patties.
3) Add patties to the pan, being careful not to crowd them too much. I also smushed them down to try and stop them from shrinking too much.
4) Since they are smaller in size than a normal burger the cook quickly, so after a couple of minutes check and flip. After I flipped them, I topped with cheese and put a lid on top so the cheese would melt while the sliders finished cooking.
5) But your sliders onto their buns and either top with any remaining ingredients or leave ingredients in small bowls so your family and/or guests can add their own.
Falafel Plate
Ingredients:
-falafel (there are a lot of easy to use boxed mixes to make your own, but I bought these already made)
-hummus
-vegetables (cucumbers, bell peppers, carrots, anything you like really)
*Harper's first experience with falafel was stealing a bite of Zayne's so I knew I wanted to include it in my menu, but I was worried about how much bread I was already serving. Making it into a falafel platter took care of that worry.*
Directions:
1) If you're making your own falafel, follow the recipe from the mix or wherever you got your recipe from. If you're like me and bought your falafel already made, toss them onto a tray and pop them into the oven to reheat.
2) While the falafel are cooking/reheating, cut all the veggies, and arrange on the platter/plate with the hummus.
3) Once the falafel are cooked/heated through, carefully add them to the platter with the hummus and veggies.
Pigs in a Blanket
Ingredients:
-co*cktail sausages (or you could just cut hotdogs or sausages into smaller sizes)
-bacon and/or crescent roll dough
-dipping sauce (ketchup, bbq, mustard, etc.)
Admittedly, these are really easy to buy (and I did), but they are also easy to make yourself.
*At one point Harper downs several hotdogs, among other things, in one sitting so again I thought this would fit in well on the menu. I couldn't find crescent roll dough here in my local grocery store, but I'll walk you through what to if you want to use it for yours.*
Directions:
1) If you're like me and bought them, heat in the oven according to directions. Make sure to watch closely so the bacon gets crisp, but not super burnt. If you want to make them yourself, continue to step 2.
2) Preheat the oven to 375°F/190°C.
3) Take the co*cktail sausages and wrap in either small sections of bacon or a small piece of crescent roll dough (or get crazy and do both!).
4) Place on a baking tray and bake in the oven for about 11-13 minutes, paying attention to when they are just golden brown.
5) Arrange on a plate with dipping sauces of your choice (mustard, bbq, ketchup, etc.).
There were only three of us, but if you needed to feed more people and wanted to stick with the Rage and Ruin theme you could also add any of the following:
-french fries - specifically Harper's beloved cheese fries
-countless amounts of chips (crisps for any U.K. friends)
-make some mini chicken sliders to go with your burger sliders (a nod to Zayne)
-include your favorite kind(s) of cookies
-don't forget the soda!
I would love to see any of your Rage and Ruin "Dinner and a Book Club" events! Tag me on Instagram using:
@another_chapter_another_dish
#anotherchapteranotherdish
#dinnerandabookclub
Thanks for stopping by!
-Kim
