What's Gaby Cooking: Meeting Gaby Dalkin

I was a wonderful to meet Gaby, author of Take It Easy: Recipes for Zero Stress Deliciousness, but the cookbook signing event itself could have been so much more fun. When you decide to go to an event, you want things to be great and this event was lacking the extras that become the talking points you tell people after a great outing. I know that they didn't plan on having Gabi cook or talk to the crowd, but I would have loved to shop a table of her favorite kitchen products. They could have had little place card markers with Gabi quotes "I've had a similar Crate & Barrel bowl set since I got married" or "I actually keep 3 sets of these measuring spoons in my kitchen to keep up with my big batch cooking." Something personal and unique to Gabi/Crate & Barrel and that we hadn't seen before.

I have followed What's Gaby Cooking for about 2 years now, ever since my cousin Carol served her oh-so delicious Avocado Peach Summer Salad. I read her Instagram posts and try her recipes all the time. It was big news when she announced Seattle's University Village as one of the few stops on her book tour. My friend Darcie and I made plans to go and then I found out that the Junior League of Seattle Sustainer group was going to attend this event as a social night. Fun! 

I knew people all over the enormous line of Gabi's fans, which was great, but why did we have to wait outside the store for 2 hours, instead of shopping as we waited (maybe with a number?) inside the store loaded with new holiday merchandise? It was puzzling to all of us.

It was great to meet Gaby. She was so kind and relaxed. My friends and I shared a few moments talking with her and she was wonderful.  

It was fine, but it could have been so much more fun if we could have had the store's new holiday product to admire and discuss while we waited. The cookbook looks great and I can't wait to try out her new recipes. 

And guess what was just announced? Gabi is going to have her own tv cooking show called My Best Friend's Kitchen! The promo was released on her social media channels, and it looks very well done. I can't wait. Good luck, Gabi!

Alison Roman: Dining In to Celebrate at London Plane in Seattle

I was really happy I could support Alison Roman when her first cookbook, Dining In, came out in 2017. I like her point of view in the kitchen and have watched short New York Times cooking video clips of her for years. She is a casual, lemon-forward cook who loves ingredients and friends and eating and I admire her non-nonchalance. She has a new cookbook now called Nothing Fancy and I know it will be a great success.

My friend Amy bought tickets with me and we had a really beautiful dinner at The London Plane in Seattle. Alison was there and did her best to wander and chat with the guests. The food was delicious and the combination of the grand glass windows and lights strung in the trees in the plaza outside made everything feel special. I think of this night as the beginning of many great times in Seattle.  

Amy moved to Seattle from Washington, D.C. right about the same time I arrived from Michigan. This dinner was a great time for us to talk about what it was like to leave our lives and move across the country with our husbands. We met through our work with the Junior League and are thankful for it.

We ate family style at long tables and started with preserved lemons chopped on labneh with fresh bread, olives and nuts. 

Most were enjoying wine with dinner, but I appreciated the waitress making me a shrub - a non-alcoholic concoction of fruited vinegar & rosemary that was cold and light.  

These vegetable course was cumin-roasted cauliflower with caramelized dates and tahini. Why aren't I using cumin in more recipes? Why are dates destined to sit in half-empty boxes in my pantry? This side dish was a star.    

It's blurry, but you needed to see the succulent spiced chicken that kept us going. She was fragrant and delicious.

Dessert was a rich Chocolate-tahini tart with Jacobsen sea salt. As someone who collects salt, I am glad that Alison Roman gave a shout out to the brand (from Portland, OR!) because sometimes details matter...a lot.   

I often flip through her cookbook and feel inspired. I like her how she insists you try things. I like how she is sure you'll find your way. I like how she wants the world to invite people over...even if it takes ages to pull a meal together and you end up eating late. I like her and she makes it seem like I might actually use the anchovy paste I bought. Good luck to you, Alison Roman! 

#alisonroman #cookbooks #seattleblogger #londonplane 

Pasta Pretty Please: Salty Seattle Shares Her Colorful Pasta Process at Book Larder

Have I told you about the book store in Seattle that is only cookbooks? Can you think of anything more perfect for me? The store is called the Book Larder and it is a dream. Many cookbook authors that come into town, stop at the Book Larder to sign their inventory and if we're lucky, they do a demonstration. 

I attended one of their author nights in November and heard Linda of Salty Seattle talk about her success dyeing pasta with natural items like vegetables, herbs and flowers and the Instagram sensation that is rainbow pasta. 

When she does a demonstrations, she brings a variety of solid colored pasta dough balls with her so that she is ready to layer them together into stripes. She uses a small amount of vegetables pulverized with the eggs in a Vita-mix to incorporate the color into the dough. Have you ever heard of butterfly pea flowers? That is how Linda makes her dynamite shade of blue.

Linda sends the dough through a pasta sheeter to get each shade of pasta a uniform thickness. Then she cuts and lays down stripes of colors in a row and sends it through the sheeter again to create the pasta sheet itself. It is a relaxing process to watch and if you are interested in trying this yourself, be sure to buy her book, Pasta Pretty Please.

Cutting with a fluted pastry cutter creates the zigzag edge on each pasta square.

Practice makes perfect for making the perfect pinch in the center of each pasta square! This bow tie pasta is so cute and would charm any of your guests. The thinner you sheet the pasta (thin pasta cooks faster) and the sooner you cook it after making the dough, the brighter the colors will appear after cooking. 

If you're at all intrigued, you should try it! Thanks, Salty Seattle for the inspiration and thank you Book Larder for hosting this great evening. 

And remember, when you are browsing the incredible selection of cookbooks, be sure to check inside the cover. Your heart might just skip a beat when you see a famous signature.

#saltyseattle #pastaparty #pastaprettyplease #homemadepasta #naturaldyes #booklarder #cookbookcollector #cookbooks #seattle #seattleblogger

Cookbook Edition: Our Sorority Book Club Branches Out

My sorority, Kappa Alpha Theta, has a pretty active alumnae group in Seattle and I transferred my alumnae membership the moment I moved, with high hopes of making friends out West.

I famously arrived at this Theta book club from the airport the night I moved here and now when we all introduce ourselves, one of the girls invariably remembers meeting me when I first arrived in Seattle...and tells everyone "and I mean when she first arrived!" It's fun and it tells the girls that connecting and showing up when I say I will is important to me. 

It was November 2015 and I had just flown in for my first extended stay in Seattle. The plan was that I'd be in our apartment with Dan from November to April, and then I'd fly back to Michigan with my mom to start packing and selling both of our houses over the summer.

It feels like just yesterday, but now we've built our house, are completely moved in and can start making big plans.

I have always loved to cook and I was particularly excited to hear that the book club was dedicating our August meeting to the love of cookbooks. The leaders suggested we check out fellow Theta and Seattleite, Heather Christo's blog for our recipes. Heather was the guest speaker at our holiday luncheon. We did and had a lovely meal. 

I think it is so interesting that most members went to different colleges in different parts of the country, but we all ended up in Seattle and have our sorority to help us connect. (finger snaps) Making friends as an adult is challenging, but leaning on your affiliations (school, church, volunteer) can really help you get a leg up.

I made Heather's Blueberry Maple Mustard Grilled Shrimp and a bowl of cheddar biscuit nibbles called Cheese Wookies (from a different cookbook). The sauce was simple and flavorful - win/win! and everyone ate their fill.

My friend Clara made this magnificent Quinoa Salad with Roasted Vegetables. 

Our hostess, Kristen made this satisfying Grilled Garlic, Rosemary and Mustard Shrimp and some gluten free cupcakes to satisfy our sweet tooth.

It was such a nice night! We were able to try new recipes and eat a lovely meal out on the patio. We even talked about the possibility of making an all cookbook book club, because we all like to cook and really enjoyed having a real meal at our gathering. Who knows, it just might happen! I look forward to whatever these women cook up.

#seattle #cookbookclub #bookclub #heatherchristo #finddelight