Archives - Weekly Update

I had another jam-packed week of really lovely events --- and at two of them, Chicken Marbella, of all things, was talked about.

Back when Tom and I were first married, THE SILVER PALATE COOKBOOK, which is the cookbook that taught me how to blend flavors and cook, had a recipe for Chicken Marbella. I think I made it once; my friend Cathy makes it for lots of dinner parties. It’s a great go-to meal. On Tuesday night, I was at Ina Garten’s event at Barnes & Noble where she was interviewed brilliantly by Christina Tosi of Milk Bar, and she talked about how both her latest cookbook, COOK LIKE A PRO, and Yotam Ottolenghi’s new one, SIMPLE, have an updated version of Chicken Marbella; on a quick review, they both have less sugar.

Whew, this has been one action-packed week. It kicked off last Friday night with Tom and I escorting William Kent Krueger and Debbi Michiko Florence, a children’s author, to the spirited keynote presentation of the Morristown Festival of Books, which was given by John Kerry, who was interviewed by Ann Curry. In a moment of pure humor, as we went to pick them up, I was in the lobby talking to Debbi, who I had not met before, but tracked down after a few looks at her author photo. My husband was waiting outside in the car while we waited for Kent in the lobby.

When we left off last weekend, Greg and I were headed to Lisa Scottoline’s Big Book Club Party at her farm in Pennsylvania. This is the 13th year that she and her daughter, Francesca Serritella, have run this event. Wow, what a day! So much happened there that I wrote a blog about it, which you can read here. I tell you, it was one of the most fun days that I have had in the 22 years since I started the company.

What a gorgeous Friday it is here. I have all the windows open as there is no rain or humidity. Finally. Flowers still are blooming like crazy in the garden, which is making me smile. In fact, the large hibiscus are on a second wave, which is lovely. Zinnias clearly require little attention, as Tom and I literally tossed the seeds onto some mulched area in early June and I fluffed them in a bit with my fingers, and they still grew. Next year I want to remember to plant dahlias as I have seen some spectacular ones in friends’ gardens. A nice weekend is predicted as well. Amen!