Negroni! That wonderful, warming concoction of gin, vermouth and Campari with a generous twist of orange peel served in insulated, lidded cups was the drink of the night at Penguin Random House’s Holiday House event at The New School in New York City. And so began an evening of holiday entertaining and self-care tips to help prepare for the season ahead.
The evening started off with Bobby Flay and Michael Symon. Unaided by a moderator, they skillfully questioned each other in a congenial manner about their new books, their love of cooking, and healthy eating and exercise routines --- though never abandoning the comfortable back-and-forth banter that made the talk so much fun for listeners.
“Modern Love” --- the Amazon series based on the weekly New York Times column --- is a must-see binge watch: heartwarming and heart-wrenching all at once. Grace Atwood and Becca Freeman of the podcast “Bad on Paper” talked to Daniel Jones, the column's editor and a consulting producer for the series, about the start of the column and its evolution into a series. He surprisingly shared his own personal and uncomfortable experiences with dating and love. It was a talk we could all relate to!
Holiday Drinks! Aldo Sohm from Le Bernardin and a partner at Aldo Sohm Wine Bar; Grant Reynolds, author of HOW TO DRINK WINE (on sale May 5, 2020); and Brad Thomas Parsons, author of LAST CALL, gave easy, accessible tips to choosing wines for holiday dinners. Best advice: Drink two glasses of water to every glass of wine to make it through those great seasonal parties.
Madeline McIntosh, the CEO of Penguin Random House US, and Abbe Wright of Read It Forward discussed their favorite reads this year and the books they are looking forward to reading over the holidays. Jordan Lee Dooley ended the evening with self-care tips from her book, OWN YOUR EVERYDAY, to help us handle stresses in life.
A great night with Penguin Random House ended with egg nog to usher in the holiday season and a gift bag filled with books, a scented candle, a sippy cup and body cream to make it through the cold weather.
