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?

But within seconds we were both stricken with near-fatal Mall Malaise.

Thankfully, our survival instinct kicked in and we crawled into the cushy oblivion of Nordstrums. There we spent a miserable hour unsuccessfully trying to cram our aging asses into unkind denim.

But then the MOA gods smiled on us: we met Annie. Hip, cool, unflappable, a fashion angel with x-ray vision and a savant-like knowledge of Nordstrum’s jeans inventory.

One look at us, fully dressed, and she sized up the whole mess. “These might be freakishly perfect,” she said, handing over a pair that looked exactly like the 53 pairs we had just tried on. “Try them on, then come out and show me your booty, Girlfriend.”

We shamelessly followed her instructions. “Nice, Woman. Now try these, Sister.” By this point, SisterWomanGirlfriend owned us. Truth be told: she had us at “freakishly.”

The moral of the story: when in San Francisco, lose your heart. When in Minneapolis, save your booty. Girlfriend.

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

Here’s what you need to know about our adventure:

• Never trust Mapquest.
• Never drive that far on a running meter.
• Never imagine that a taxi can fly like a crow.
• Never miss the opportunity to interview your driver. Ours was from Sudan. He was divorced, had a daughter, did not like Boston where people were “not nice,” liked Minneapolis where the people “were nice,” loved snow though he’d grown tired of it, and was non-judgmental about lesbian life. His favorite food was hummos.
• Never underestimate the nauseous feeling you get paying $140 in round-trip cab fare.
• Never miss the opportunity to visit the Bookcase. Really. It’s the oldest independently-owned community bookstore in the area, and it’s clearly survived because of its warmth, charm, individualism, and dedication to all people and things book-related. We signed books, hung out with Charlie, the store’s very nice owner (see? Sam was right), and admired a fabulous Lake Minnetonka sunset. All-in-all, a worthy journey.

Bookcase's window celebrated a long list of distinguished authors who have newly released books...including two familiar faces on the front door!

As we signed books inside the bookstore, the sun set on the lake across the road. We looked out the window and had one of those blissful communing-with-nature moments you rarely get on a tour.

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.

Not a bad club house for The Recipe Club.

So after pumping each other up with assurances that we probably wouldn’t spill our drinks on the priceless rugs, we took our place at the podium, and let it rip.

Given that the mean age of our audience was probably 75 or so, you can’t blame the ladies for being a little sleepy after their big lunch. Which is why that one lady snoozing in the third row didn’t hurt our feelings at all. If anything, we envied and admired her.

As for the others in the audience—those kind women who valiantly fought off the post-prandial Sandman—they provided an eager ear and a warm reception. We were truly happy to spend the afternoon with them.

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!

We had a brief rehearsal in the dressing room before heading out into the black box theater.

Joe immortalizes the authors who check to see if they have food in their teeth.

For us it was a thrill, and for the audience (we are told) it was a deeply satisfying theatrical/literary experience.

Jennifer Steiskal Johnsen (Lilly) and Shelly Reed (Val)

Following the reading we answered questions about the book and ran an impromptu Recipe Club meeting with audience members, who shared their own stories of food, family, and friendship.

A Recipe Club meeting followed the staged reading of the book.

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.

The Recipe Club: A Tale of Food & Friendship

It was a blissful moment, until all of a sudden man’s voice boomed over a loudspeaker.

“Andrea Israel and Nancy Garfinkel,” he bellowed. We immediately looked at each other with guilty, horrified expressions…oh no, we’re BUSTED!

It was as if we’d been caught smoking in the junior high school bathroom and were being called to the principal’s office. We shared a complete moment of panic.

But what had we done wrong? The voice continued: “…will be reading from their book, The Recipe Club: A Tale of Food and Friendship. Please join the authors.”

So we picked ourselves off the floor, and proceeded to the events area, where we did precisely that. In fact, joining those authors is becoming sort of a hobby around here.

First stop: The Village Bookstore, in Pleasantville, New York. Though it was miserably gray and rainy outside, inside the store could not have been warmer and cozier. Roy and Yvonne Solomon greeted us with the most delicious homemade rugelach, made with peach jam. Yvonne told us she rescues the bruised fruit at the end of the day from the local farmer’s market, and cans as much of the stuff as she can to last her through a gloomy winter.

We were so happy to eat these tender, sweet morsels, and even happier to share Yvonne’s recipe with you! (The reading was great also, but hey, we have our priorities.)

Next stop: The Merritt Bookstore in Millbrook, NY. This is another charming indie bookstore, managed by the warm and lovely Eileen Charbonneau. Eileen welcomed us by baking Better-Late-Than-Never Zucchini Quickbread from the book! It’s a great recipe that she made perfectly. And once again, our reading was intimate and fun!

Well, we write together...so why not sign together?