Canice - how was the Sara Moulton dinner?

[Kjente2]

Just that..how was the Sara Moulton thingy you were going to at the book store? Is that one of those things that I should get on my list to do? better yet..is it field trip material?

[SusanMac]

just bumping this up before it drops off to page 2. i *love* sara moulton. would love any good stories from your event.

[Kjente2]

okay canice..fess up...did you leave t o go on the remainder of the book tour the Sara?

[Canice]

Yes, I'm a roadie now!! Carry her whisks and off-set spatulas! :D :D ;)
(Haven't been on the boards in a while, but I'll tell you about it tomorrow night.)

[Chiffonade]

Can't wait... I really miss Cooking Live but they just about burned out that little spitfire. I imagine she felt like a stranger in her own home with two nightly shows on TVFN. Glad they took her off "overexpose" or she may have suffered the same fate as Emeril.

[Kjente2]

WOW!!! Whisks and offset spatulas??!! I can see you working your way up to woodenspoons and powertools in no time flat!! Can't wait to hear how it was.................from whereever you will be reporting!
Chiff were you in NY when it Cooking Live was a call in show? It had to have been on longer than an hour unless it was edited.

[Canice]

Finally – the dinner w/Sara Moulton!! First, for anyone who doesn't know what we're talking about here: A month or two ago, I noted that a local bookstore was doing a series called "Cooks & Books" or such. It was a series with celebrity chefs who'd recently published cookbooks, and instead of having a book signing in the store, there was a series of restaurant events: They were held at a restaurant called The Left Bank in the suburban town of Larkspur, and in each case the cookbook author worked with the restaurant chef to prepare a special meal. The idea was that the featured author/chef would present her or his book and talk about it, then the dinner would be based on recipes from the book and everyone would sit down to dinner together and get to meet the featured guest. My generous DBF bought me two seats for the Sara Moulton event as a birthday present.

Unfortunately it was, as I’d feared, a pretty large group (40 people?). Here's how it worked: The event was in two connected banquet rooms in the rear of the restaurant (which was fine, but it would have been nicer if we were all together in one room). When we entered the space there was a line of people waiting to collect their cookbooks (included in the ticket price was a copy of her book, Sara Moulton Cooks at Home) which Sara autographed personally for each guest --- asking each recipient a question about her/his cooking habits/interests first. Sounds dopey, but I thought I'd be nervous meeting her. No way! She was so nice and casual and comfortable with everyone! She asked me about what I like to cook, favorite dishes, etc., and signed my book -- and took time with everyone who wanted to chat with her. She also shared the scoop that she hadn’t wanted to cancel "Cooking Live!" but that the network had pulled the plug on it. She said she’s more involved with "Sara’s Secrets" than she had been with the other show, but she didn’t sound all that convincing.
As I said, the menu was all taken from her book: During the preliminaries they served Tonnato-stuffed eggs and managed the seating chart. There were some tables for 2 or 4, but I was glad to be at a round table (with my guest and neighbor Tanya) that was set for 6. I liked the community feel of sitting and eating with other people who loved Sara’s shows, had a passion for food/cooking, and were familiar with various Food TV shows – and chatting with them about it all. I mean, otherwise I could just have dinner at that restaurant another time, right.
After the book-signings and before dinner, Sara talked about her book, the process of collecting recipes, her family, and writing the book, etc. As others here have said, she’s just as nice and warm and authentic as you’d expect her to be; so friendly and tactful and engaged that it wouldn’t even be worth the effort to get nervous meeting her.
After her comments came dinner - all the recipes from her book, as I said, and had been worked out with the chef. The Left Bank is an acclaimed restaurant, so I was curious how they would meld the chef’s ideas with recipes from Sara’s book. But apparently he just added a few touches to "dress up" some elements, and Sara was so gracious, asking him to come out and say a few words about how he’d "adapted" the main course. Then she told the group what a joy he’d been to work with – so easy-going, yet innovative. He looked very bashful, then, of course, said that it was no work at all, because he’d had such a great chef and recipes to work with. Very nice and sweet --- and he couldn’t scuttle back to the kitchen fast enough!! ? Later, at mid-meal, Sara came ‘round and said hello to everyone, answered questions, etc. All in all, it was a fun evening’s outing – and the meal really was delicious. I’ll list the recipes prepared that night, but I almost want to start a separate thread about her book (even though I haven’t yet made anything from it!) because it’s been such a great read and appears to be just the cookbook I’ve been looking for for the past six months or so: Warm and friendly, straight-forward dishes, lots of basics and comfort food; traditional and innovative twists, etc.… but more on that later. Here's Thursday's dinner...:

Menu:
The passed hor d’oeuvres was
Tonnato-stuffed eggs

First Course
Butternut Squash Soup with Gruyere Pesto

Entrée
Rosemary-Scallion Crusted Rack of Lamb with Quick Sautéed Shredded Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta and Balsamic Vinegar and Roasted Lemon Potatoes.

Dessert
Butterscotch Bread Pudding with Coffee Sauce

PS: I OD'd on Sara's Secrets while DBF was in Boston the other day (thank you Ti-Vo!!) and noticed that she's now taking not just email, but phone calls on that show. Is there some kind of consumer revolt going on???

[Canice]

Finally – the dinner w/Sara Moulton!! First, for anyone who doesn't know what we're talking about here: A month or two ago, I noted that a local bookstore was doing a series called "Cooks & Books" or such. It was a series with celebrity chefs who'd recently published cookbooks, and instead of having a book signing in the store, there was a series of restaurant events: They were held at a restaurant called The Left Bank in the suburban town of Larkspur, and in each case the cookbook author worked with the restaurant chef to prepare a special meal. The idea was that the featured author/chef would present her or his book and talk about it, then the dinner would be based on recipes from the book and everyone would sit down to dinner together and get to meet the featured guest. My generous DBF bought me two seats for the Sara Moulton event as a birthday present.

Unfortunately it was, as I’d feared, a pretty large group (40 people?). Here's how it worked: The event was in two connected banquet rooms in the rear of the restaurant (which was fine, but it would have been nicer if we were all together in one room). When we entered the space there was a line of people waiting to collect their cookbooks (included in the ticket price was a copy of her book, Sara Moulton Cooks at Home) which Sara autographed personally for each guest --- asking each recipient a question about her/his cooking habits/interests first. Sounds dopey, but I thought I'd be nervous meeting her. No way! She was so nice and casual and comfortable with everyone! She asked me about what I like to cook, favorite dishes, etc., and signed my book -- and took time with everyone who wanted to chat with her. She also shared the scoop that she hadn’t wanted to cancel "Cooking Live!" but that the network had pulled the plug on it. She said she’s more involved with "Sara’s Secrets" than she had been with the other show, but she didn’t sound all that convincing.
As I said, the menu was all taken from her book: During the preliminaries they served Tonnato-stuffed eggs and managed the seating chart. There were some tables for 2 or 4, but I was glad to be at a round table (with my guest and neighbor Tanya) that was set for 6. I liked the community feel of sitting and eating with other people who loved Sara’s shows, had a passion for food/cooking, and were familiar with various Food TV shows – and chatting with them about it all. I mean, otherwise I could just have dinner at that restaurant another time, right.
After the book-signings and before dinner, Sara talked about her book, the process of collecting recipes, her family, and writing the book, etc. As others here have said, she’s just as nice and warm and authentic as you’d expect her to be; so friendly and tactful and engaged that it wouldn’t even be worth the effort to get nervous meeting her.
After her comments came dinner - all the recipes from her book, as I said, and had been worked out with the chef. The Left Bank is an acclaimed restaurant, so I was curious how they would meld the chef’s ideas with recipes from Sara’s book. But apparently he just added a few touches to "dress up" some elements, and Sara was so gracious, asking him to come out and say a few words about how he’d "adapted" the main course. Then she told the group what a joy he’d been to work with – so easy-going, yet innovative. He looked very bashful, then, of course, said that it was no work at all, because he’d had such a great chef and recipes to work with. Very nice and sweet --- and he couldn’t scuttle back to the kitchen fast enough!! ? Later, at mid-meal, Sara came ‘round and said hello to everyone, answered questions, etc. All in all, it was a fun evening’s outing – and the meal really was delicious. I’ll list the recipes prepared that night, but I almost want to start a separate thread about her book (even though I haven’t yet made anything from it!) because it’s been such a great read and appears to be just the cookbook I’ve been looking for for the past six months or so… but more on that later.

Menu:
The passed hor d’oeuvres was
Tonnato-stuffed eggs

First Course
Butternut Squash Soup with Gruyere Pesto

Entrée
Rosemary-Scallion Crusted Rack of Lamb with Quick Sautéed Shredded Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta and Balsamic Vinegar and Roasted Lemon Potatoes.

Dessert
[I]Butterscotch Bread Pudding with Coffee Sauce

PS: I OD'd on Cooking Live while DBF was in Boston the other day (thank you Ti-Vo!!) and noticed that she's now taking now just email, but phone calls on Sara's Secrets. Is there some kind of consumer revolt going on???

[Peggy C.]

Canice it sounds wonderful, she sounds exactly like you'd expect her to be. She seems so down to earth! Glad you had a nice time.

[eas11]

What a great evening- fun and delicious! ] miss Cooking Live :(

David Waltuck's cookbook, Staff Meals, is sort of like that. Stories about the history of the recipes, some pictures and little blurbs about his restaurant "family".

Ellyn

[pwrmom]

You are sooo lucky to have a special person in your life who would give you such a fabulous gift! Sounded like a great night...I'm jealous!
Linda

[cas]

How is her new cookbook? I loved her show and was thinking
of treating myself to her book?
Thanks