*If you are new here, WELCOME! For The Book of Lost Friends, I provide your book club with food ideas, a recipe, and discussion questions in that order!

The Book of Lost Friends Book Club Questions and Recipe

In The Book of Lost Friends, Lisa Wingate conquers another fascinating, yet obscure, piece of American history. Not to be confused with The Book of Lost Names, which came out around the same time and centers on a WWII story (and is also fascinating), The Book of Lost Friends is a post-Civil War era novel.

This is another dual-timeline novel by Wingate. It follows Hannie, a freed slave, as she travels through post-war Texas in search of her people and attempts to return home to Louisiana, and Benny, a modern-day teacher, struggling to inspire her students until she unearths a history that links them to Hannie and much more.

I have to say that as much as I enjoyed Before We Were Yours, Wingate’s last book, I almost enjoyed The Book of Lost Friends more.

I really loved the post-Civil War timeline (Civil War era is one of my personal favorites), coupled with the struggling teacher timeline. If you are or have ever been a teacher, I think you will love Benny’s story.

It echoes the teacher-trying-to-inspire-underprivileged-kids theme that we’ve seen in many movies, but I thought the tie-in to the Civil War timeline made it fresh. Plus, I’m a sucker for those movies anyway.

This novel wasn’t as dark as Before We Were Yours was (due to its subject). And, while there was still adventure and drama and not every character got a complete happily-ever-after, it was overall an upbeat novel.

So, if you’re looking for something inspiring and positive to read as a group, I think you will enjoy this novel.

Beyond that, there is plenty to discuss in The Book of Lost Friends and it will make for a lively book club meeting. On that note, I’ve provided book club questions and a recipe for The Book of Lost Friends, so if you are looking for food ideas and more, keep reading!

Check out these fun bookish gadgets…

Here’s a brief summary of The Book of Lost Friends:

In 1875, during the Civil War Reconstruction, Hannie, a freed slave, finds herself thrust into a journey with her prior mistress, Lavinia, and Lavinia’s Creole half-sister, Juneau Jane. Each woman is clinging to her heritage and the hope of a brighter future as they travel to the wild frontier of Texas in search of the man who can secure their livelihoods. And, each is carrying her own wounds and secrets, but, for Hannie, who was torn from her mother and siblings before the war, the journey dredges up the old hope that her long-lost family could still be out there.

In 1987, Benedetta Silva finds her first job as a teacher in the poverty-stricken Mississippi River town of Augustine, Louisiana. Struggling to connect with her less-than-enthusiastic students, Benny discovers a story that might just ignite their interest when she stumbles across a century-old history of three women on a journey and their book of lost friends.

For The Book of Lost Friends recipe:

This is a book set in Louisiana, so needless to say, there are plenty of references to Louisiana fare. Well, I should say that there are plenty mentioned in Benny’s timeline. Food mentioned in Hannie’s timeline is more scarce, but that is to be expected.

While I was tempted to conquer the Doberge cake mentioned in Chapter 18, I decided that boudin balls were a better choice. If you aren’t familiar with boudin, it’s pronounced boo-dan. And, it’s a type of sausage, only it isn’t really. It’s more of a mix of pork and chicken livers and rice, which is stuffed into a sausage casing.

To make boudin balls, you remove the boudin from the casing, form it into balls with your hands, roll it in breading, and fry it up until the outside is crispy and the inside is, well, delicious.

If boudin balls don’t sound like your thing, here are a few suggestions from the pages of The Book of Lost Friends:

Chapter 4 – Benny visits the Cluck and Oink for the first time – Smoked sausages and meats, rotisserie chicken, hot bread, and boudin balls
Chapter 8 – Granny T brings Benny pooperoos for the students and Benny is no longer the Ding Dong Lady – Pooperoos and Ding Dongs – cookies made with oatmeal, butter, flour, raisin, old brown bananas, and just enough sugar to make them edible but not too sweet
Chapter 14 – Benny visits Aunt Dicey and Sarge and is invited to stay for fried okra, fried green tomatoes and roast and ham but declines
Chapter 18 – Nathan brings a Doberge cake over for his first meeting with Benny and they also grab some barbecue and iced tea
Chapter 19 – Hannie makes a stew of rice, salted ham, and beans. They also eat biscuits with peaches as they travel to Fort Worth.
Chapter 22 – Nathan and Benny eat dinner at the Cluck and Oink – corn muffins, breadsticks, jalapeno cornbread and rolls with butter and honey butter
Also mentioned throughout Hannie’s story – corn pone

If none of these are sounding like your thing, check out this delicious shrimp and grits casserole I created for Lisa Wingate’s last book, Before We Were Yours.

After doing some research, I came across a restaurant in Louisiana who adds pepper jack cheese to their boudin balls and I couldn’t resist.

One thing to note is that boudin is naturally crumbly when removed from the casing because of the rice. However, if your boudin is too dry and you just can’t form it into balls, you can mix in one egg to help things stick together. Just make sure you cook them at the proper temperature until done. You can also try compacting them into balls with a meatball scoop if you have one.

These delicious appetizers are sure to be a hit with your book club!

So, if you are looking for food suggestions for The Book of Lost Friends, I think your book club will be happy to try Boudin Balls!

Boudin Balls with Cheese:

Boudin Balls Stuffed with Pepper Jack Cheese

Boudin balls are a twist on a Louisiana classic, Boudin sausage. Try these delicious Boudin balls stuffed with Pepper Jack Cheese!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 4

Refrigeration 30

Total Time 44

Course Appetizer, Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 15

Calories 180 kcal

Ingredients

1 lb boudin sausage
4 oz pepper jack cheese cubed
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp Cajun seasoning
1 egg plus 1 additional egg, if needed*
½ cup milk
1 cup bread crumbs
Creole or Spicy Mustard for serving
Canola or Peanut Oil

Instructions

Remove the boudin sausage from its casing and place in a medium bowl. Break apart any large clumps with your fingers.
Taking a handful of boudin sausage, place one 1/2 inch cube of pepper jack in middle and form the sausage around the cheese into a golf ball sized ball by pressing the boudin sausage tightly in your palms or by using a meatball scoop. *If the boudin is too dry and crumbly and will not form into balls, then mix an egg into the mixture to help. Place the balls onto a parchment lined baking sheet.
In three shallow and separate dishes, place the flour mixed with Cajun seasoning, the egg mixed with milk, and the bread crumbs. See the photo above.
Prepare another parchment lined baking sheet and place beside dish of bread crumbs.
Take one boudin ball at a time and dredge in the flour mix followed by the egg mix and then the bread crumbs. Place the covered boudin ball on the baking sheet and continue until all balls are coated.
Place the baking sheet in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
In a large saute pan, heat canola or peanut oil to 350˚F over medium heat.
In a single layer, fry the boudin balls for 3-4 minutes, flipping half-way through if your oil is not deep enough to cover the entire ball. When the boudin balls are golden brown, remove from the oil and place on a wire rack. Continue until all of the boudin balls are cooked.
Serve immediately with creole or spicy mustard.

Keyword Alcohol, Appetizer, boudin and pepperjack, boudin balls, boudin balls with pepperjack, Louisiana boudin balls, Louisiana recipe, main course, the book of lost friends recipe