The Recipe Club

The King and Us

We started our West coast tour in a regal way: as guests on Seattle’s King 5 Morning News. Although the set was big, the mood was surprisingly intimate. Click here to take a look.

Nancy and Andrea on Seattle’s King 5 Morning News

All Signings Point to Senility (But in a Good Way…)

Here’s the thing about book tours and book signings: the second someone hands over the book to be signed (usually accompanied by a happy, expectant look, as though something good will come of this), the signer’s brain just goes blank. Like milk on snow blank…just blankety-blank. (more…)

Lots of small publishers draw hard and fast lines between indie bookstores and the great-big mega-chains, like Barnes and Noble. But we’re delighted to report that our local B&N in Park Slope, Brooklyn, has been as nurturing and friendly as any local store on Main Street, USA. Recently they sponsored a very special Recipe Club meeting. It was warm and genuine, filled with surprising intimacies and lots of laughs. Here’s just some of what we talked about:

Scary Foods

Philippa told the story of traveling in Cambodia, where she was greeted–as an honored guest–by having live scorpions placed on her by two local girls. Quickly realizing that people around her were actually eating the critters (the scorpions, not the girls, and fried in hot oil, thank you) she somehow managed to not completely freak out. In a way, she knew, it was nothing more than an extreme case of “meet your food”–like picking the lobster out of the tank at an American seafood restaurant. Although Philippa confessed she resisted the generous offer of these…ummm…savory snacks, we were still all very impressed at how she kept her cool!

This led to a lively conversation about the “revulsion impulse” of encountering strange or exotic foods…from hot, buttered yak tea in Bhutan to a first-time childhood encounter with a (really scary) artichoke. Talking about our personal food boundaries (ie, for some people eating cow is okay, but eating Thumper or Bambi can be unsettling) further led to a story about:

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A few months ago, we had the amazing opportunity to have our book and our Recipe Clubs featured on Good Morning America. Taryn Brill from GMA reported on our Brooklyn Recipe Club meeting, during which we shared our stories in an intimate gathering:

Laughter was a main ingredient during the GMA Recipe Club meeting with Taryn Brill.

We were honored when Diane Sawyer spoke enthusiastically about our book and the Recipe Clubs. (more…)

Sometimes our Recipe Clubs are small and intimate. But when they’re larger, we’re so clearly reminded that everybody has a story that starts with food…but ends with truth-telling, intimate revelation, or humor.

That’s what happened at our Piedmont Recipe Club, when eleven women gathered with a “we are the world” collective background: Arabic, Eastern-European, Scottish, Japanese, Southern American, Latina, Indian.

Candles flickered...memories burned bright.

Our host’s intention was to see if the eclectic backgrounds of her Recipe Club guests would flavor their recipes and stories. But, interestingly, it turned out that the stories we heard had less to do with heritage and more to do with parental relationships and emotions—common ground no matter where your family hails from, or how connected you are to those roots. (more…)

If you’ve been actually reading these blogs you must realize we have not slowed down for more than two seconds in the last many months. We decided it was high time we had some touristy fun in a new city.

So…when in Minneapolis, what’s a girl to do? Obviously, it’s to go to the Mall of America.

We heard rumor that Sarah Palin did her campaign wardrobe shopping at one of the big stores inside the Mall of America...but when we first laid eyes on the imposing 2.5 million square feet of retail shopping space, we had to wonder: were we mavericks enough to hunt down the perfect pair of jeans?

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We were depending on the kindness of strangers, and had not rented a car. Our hotel was near the airport and far from everything else. And we had a burning need to sign books at the legendary Bookcase bookstore in Wayzata, Minnesota. Located on the placid shores of Lake Minnetonka, we’d been told it was only 11 miles away from Minneapolis as the crow flies.

As native New Yorkers, the solution was obvious: call a cab. And like magic, one appeared, along with its driver, Sam. (more…)

When we were invited to do a reading and signing at the Woman’s Club of Minneapolis, we had no idea we’d be stepping back in time into a gracious, spacious, rather bodacious Roaring Twenties landmark building!

We were informed that by entering this building, we were following in the footsteps of Thomas Friedman and Garrison Keillor, both of whom had presented lectures at The Woman's Club of Minneapolis.

But obviously it’s not all that hard to get used to palatial, 16th-century fireplace mantels and burnished mahogany bookcases. (more…)

The Recipe Club: A Tale of Food and Friendship had its name in lights for a one-night-only performance just outside Minneapolis, at the beautiful new Burnsville Performing Arts Center.

We are proud to have been invited to this new state-of-the-art performing arts center.

Produced by Joe Skelly of On-Site Authors, the event featured a reading of the play by two talented actors, Shelly Reed (Val) and Jennifer Steiskal Johnsen (Lilly), who literally gave voice to our characters–and brought them to life! (more…)

We don’t mean to gobble up your time, squash your interest, or God-forbid be corny, but really…it is Thanksgiving, the national holiday of food and friendship, and for The Recipe club to ignore this occasion would just make us look like turkeys. (Wattle’d you say? We can’t hear you.)

So we wish you the most delicious, friendly, and joyous Thanksgiving ever! Here’s an idea to make your celebration special: when you’re sitting around the table with those you love (or like, or can barely tolerate) think about using the occasion to start an impromptu Recipe Club meeting.

Start by sharing your favorite food-related story, and then ask everyone around the table to share theirs. We promise: before long you’ll all be laughing, bonding, and relaxing…and deeply thankful to not be talking about politics or religion.

We truly give thanks to all of you who buy our book, visit our site, and share your Recipe Club stories with us! Love from us to you.

They look familiar…

We were surprised to be greeted at the Borders in the Time Warner Building at Columbus Circle by two women: ourselves.

Or rather, photos of us, front and center in the doorway of the mega bookstore.

When we entered, the book was beautifully displayed on the New Fiction table. We admired it, nostalgically remembering the days and months–and years–of dreaming this might happen.

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