Maria Pages and Lourdes host

It was so nice to have you all at my house to discuss The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo! Lourdes and I had a lot fun preparing for our meeting and tried to give it a Swedish flavor by serving sandwiches (as eaten in the story), Swedish meatballs (as per the name), and listening to ABBA music (a Swedish group, did you know that?) As always, our discussion was interesting, stimulating, and thought-provoking. I'm glad that most of us enjoyed the book. Reflecting on all our past meetings, I realized that what makes our meetings so special and exciting is not the food we serve, where we meet, or what book we read. What makes our club reunions so fantastic is the combination of our colorful personalities, our appreciation for literature, and the simple enjoyment of spending time with people that enrich our lives by just being themselves.

Thank you Diana for raffling the two sequels and giving us a heads up on their content.

Thank you Lourdes for being my co-hostess and for doing all the research. You're the best!

Thank you all for a wonderful year!

I wish you all a restful and blessed summer filled with adventure and many great books!

Love, Maria Pages

About the Author: Steig Larsson, a financial crime investigator and journalist, wrote this first of three manuscripts while on an island holiday with Eva, his longtime companion of 32 years. Did you know? He died of a heart attack 6 months after handing in the manuscripts to the publisher? Did you know? Eva is not able to inherit the royalties from his three international bestsellers?

About the Book: If child abuse, financial crime, modern European history, whodunit mysteries, romance, computer hacking, violence against women, and investigative reporting are areas of interest to you, then this is the book for you! It's a slow first 100 pages, but after that...you can't put the book down!! This was our club members' experience. We are all looking forward to reading the next 2 books--now all referred to as "The Millennium Trilogy".

Did you know? The book's original title was, and still, is in Swedish--Men Who Hate Women?

Did you know? There's a rumor that Eva is holding onto a 4th manuscript, hidden in Steig's computer????

Happy reading to all! Happy summer! --Lourdes

SWEDISH MEATBALLS

By Lourdes

Ingredients:

1 2/3 cups evaporated milk 2 tsp. butter

2/3 cup chopped onion 2 beef bouillon cubes

1/4 cup fine dry bread crumbs 1 cup boiling water

1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 cup cold water

1/2 tsp. allspice 2 tbs. all-purpose flour

Dash pepper 1 cup evaporated milk

1 pound ground round 1 tbs. lemon juice

Directions: Combine 2/3 cup evaporated milk, onion, crumbs, salt, allspice and pepper. Add meat; mix well, chill. (Be sure to chill in freezer for about 10 minutes before attempting to form balls. I covered with plastic wrap and placed in freezer. Makes it easier to shape balls) Shape meat mixture into 1-in. balls. In large skillet, brown meatballs in butter. Dissolve bouillon cubes in boiling water; pour over meatballs and bring to boil over medium heat. Cover; simmer for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, blend together cold water and flour. Remove meatballs from skillet, skim fat from pan juices and reserve juices. Stir 1 cup evaporated milk and flour/water mixture into pan juices in skillet; cook, uncovered, over low heat, stirring until sauce thickens. Return meatballs to skillet. Stir in lemon juice. Serve with cooked noodles that have been tossed with poppy seeds and butter.

Note from Lourdes: This recipe for "kottbullar" came from a "Svenskaflicka" (Swedish girl). I was told by a chef that I should add dill to both the meatballs and the gravy. I think I added too much dill to mine. Also, I added a little wine and a tablespoon of sour cream to the gravy instead of lemon juice. Enjoy!