|
|
Allo,
Fall is almost officially here and as if to remind us our
weather went from the high 80's to the high 60's
overnight. But I guess if summer lasted forever, the
beach wouldn't have quite the same appeal, would it?
So here's to the low humidity and crisp blue skies of
autumn.... to pumpkins and apples and lettuce in the
windowbox... to turning off the air conditioning in the
house and riding in my car (which needs a freon
charge) without sticking to the seat... to football and
soccer.... carpools and school... to FALL!!
 |
|
|
Between the Lines
Reading Recommendations from the Cottage Shelves
It's publishing season! Lots of big names are hitting
the shelves- Alan Greenspan's book, The Age of
Turbulence, seems to be stirring things up; Bill
Clinton's Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the
World is inspiring people; Nicholas Sparks is
back on 9/24 with The Choice (being a North
Carolinian, he's quite popular around here); a day
later on 9/25, John Grisham hits the stands with
Playing for Pizza as does Richard Russo
(Empire Falls) with Bridge of Sighs. There's at
least a dozen more hot titles about to hit the
streets so get ready! It's Fall! Time to read!
Like
so many other people, I am really enjoying Animal,
Vegetable, Miracle (Barbara Kingsolver, see last
article below) and was so inspired I went out and
bought lettuce, kale, and swiss chard plants and am
scouring my yard for a good potential garden site! (not
to mention my friend and I are going to try our hand at
making mozzarella!) AVM is my 'must read' this month.
Keeping with the food vein, I also enjoyed The
Sharper Your Knife,
The Less You Cry (Kathleen Flinn, 10/4).
American Flinn moves to Paris with her boyfriend and
enrolls in the world-famous Cordon Bleu. Having
recently read Julia Child's memoir of her time at the
renowed culinary school, I found it quite interesting to
compare the two experiences. Also enjoyed
Service Included: Four Star Secrets of an
Eavesdropping Waiter (Pheobe Damosh, 10/1).
Damosh was a server at Thomas Keller's NYC
restaurant, Per Se, and recounts her experiences
while working her way up the ranks. Less
technical and more gossipy than Flinn's book, but an
easy, fun foodie fix. Our final book signing of the
summer was for Kitchen Memories: A Legacy of
Family Recipes from Around the World. I was
lucky enough to attend a celebratory dinner party that
night for which co-authors Anne Parsons and
Alexandra Greeley cooked a veritable banquet from
the cookbook. It was stunning and delicious and I
immediately resolved to go home and start reading
their marvelous book. Each recipe (cuisines of 25
countries are represented!) is accompanied by
cooking tips and kitchen table stories from the
recipe's contributor. Get started on your holiday
shopping now and order copies of Kitchen
Memories for all the cooks and food lovers on
your
list!
Several years ago Ann Packer hit bestseller
lists with The Dive from Clausen's Pier. I confess to
never quite finishing that book. I had no such problem
with
her new book, Songs Without Words, which
was a beautiful and compelling story about lifelong
friendship. Two books on my 'to read' list are
Confessions of a Prep School Mommy Handler
(Wade
Rouse) and The Rest of Her Life (Laura
Moriarty).
Confessions is a hilarious account of
Rouse's year as
Director of Publicity at Tate Academy. I read a small
excerpt of this book in a catalog this summer and it
was HYSTERICAL. It's gonna be hot. The Rest of
Her
Life revolves around the relationship between a
mother and daughter and the far reaching effects of a
tragic accident brought on by the teenage daughter
that costs another young girl her life. It has gotten
great reviews. New in paper is When Madeline
was Young (Jane Hamilton) a book I reviewed in
hardback for Bookreporter.com and still recommend.
The story- about a married couple who, along with
several of their own children, are 'raising' the
husband's first wife whose traumatic accident as a
newlywed resulted in brain damage (she has a 7 year
old's mind)- is fresh and fascinating and will have you
asking yourself 'could I do that?' The very popular
Philippa Gregory's latest offering, The Boleyn
Inheritance, is out in paper, too. Continuing on
with the historical chain of events that began in
The Other
Boleyn Girl, this novel focuses on Anne of Cleves,
Katherine Howard and Jane Rochford and is selling
like hotcakes. One of my favorite books from the past
year, The Book Thief (Marcus Zusak), is just
out in paper as well but since the hardback is only
$16.95 I would still recommend getting that version
because you will keep this one forever. Three more
paperbacks to keep in mind- Left Bank (Kate
Muir), The Emperor's Children (Claire
Messud) and The Saffron Kitchen (Yasmin
Crowther). In theatres soon are several movies based
on bestselling books- Emma McLaughlin and Nicola
Kraus' The Nanny Diaries (opened August
24, I personally liked the book); September 21st
brings Karen Joy Fowler's The Jane Austen Book
Club and Into the Wild (I have read this
one at least 3 times; I think author Jon Krakauer is
amazing). November 2nd heralds the Dreamworks'
release of.... drum roll please... The Kite
Runner,
Khaled Hosseini's runaway bestseller. Mark
calendars now for February 9,
2008 for the opening of the big screen version of
Philippa Gregory's The Other Boleyn Girl ,
starring Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson.
Movie rights to Water for Elephants by Sara
Gruen have recently been optioned and Lifetime
Television has committed to a made-for-TV of The
Memory Keeper's Daughter (Kim Edwards).
She's at it again! Oprah announces her
59th Book Club selection on October 5. The
title is always hush-hush but she's been on a string of
hits lately with recent picks likeThe Road
(McCarthy), Middlesex (Eugenides) and Night (Wiesel)
so I'm anxious to see what's next!
Lots
to
read... lots to watch... lots to do... better get busy with a
book!
Start your Christmas shopping- order Kitchen Memories here!
|
|
|
|
|
Foie Gras
Tasty Tidbits from Duck
I was recently asked to write a column for the quarterly
free newspaper of the Northern Outer Banks, the
North Beach Sun. Here are a few highlights
from the article, Foie Gras....
A week out
of college (almost 20 years ago!) I began working in
Duck and have since graced a variety of
establishments- I worked at Tommy's when a Tommy
owned it... worked at R & R when Missy, the village
dog, would walk down the middle of the
road and stop traffic... and back when Barrier Island
was one of two places to get a drink and the Blue
Point still served oysters I was 'lucky' enough one
Christmas to receive a bar napkin drawing of a
demented looking Santa Claus from Doug of Duck...
in the early 90's a favorite OBX rumour was that Tom
Cruise was buying a house here; when asked by
customers where his house was, the favorite
response of Blue Point staffers was 'head west for
3000 miles and take a left'... a few minor celebrities
were spotted more recently: a certain contributor to the
Washington Post was espied in several local
restaurants and was reported to be quite outspoken,
supposedly even informing one kitchen of their
mistakes and misfires... a certain Vice-President's
granddaughter was also out and about although it
was her Secret Service detail attracting all the
attention... earlier this summer and a bit farther south,
many sightings of Richard Gere and Diane Lane were
to be had on Hatteras Island during filming for the
movie Nights in Rodanthe... my favorite item from this
summer's Police Blotter took place at a local
waterfront restaurant. It seems someone was
liberating lobsters from their tank and into the nearby
Currituck Sound. Silly, since lobsters are saltwater
creatures while the Sound is barely brackish so in
releasing them wouldn't one be contributing to their
demise? Regardless of an individual's animal rights
stance, I remind everyone that it is not only bad
manners to play with your food, but inexcusable to play
with someone else's dinner... and what is the charge?
shoplifting shellfish? lobster larceny?... have a
marvelous autumn and remember what my friend Will
Graham likes to say 'Life is good... but it ain't long!'
|
|
|
|
|
Flotsam & Jetsam
Footnotes from life at a coffeeshop
Lots of events coming up on our calendar.... the
First Annual Duck Jazz Festival will be held,
rain or shine, on Sunday, October 7, Noon to 5pm
at the Duck Town Park Stage... featured artists are
the Jimmy Bruno Trio, Ruth Wyand, Laura Martier and
the John Toomey quartet and The Fuzz Band... the
event is free to the public; picnics, beverages and
blankets welcome... on October 20, be sure to check
out the Duck Volunteer Fire Department Fire
Prevention Picnic being held at the firehouse from
11 to 4- grilled chicken and hot dogs! ... on-line
registrations are now being taken for the 12th
Annual Advice 5K Turkey Trot... this 5K race takes
place Thanksgiving morning (November 22) at 9AM
and is a fun way to kick off the holiday... register at
www.advice5.com (look for a link at the top of
the page)... registration is also currently underway for
the Second OBX Marathon/Half-Marathon
being run on Sunday, November 11 at 7AM... use
the link below to pre-register for all 26.2 miles, the
13.1 mile Half or the Fun Run... entrants are limited
and this is a Boston Qualifier... and congratulations to
Doug & Joan Brindley on the birth of Regan
Claire, a long awaited bundle of joy... what we're
watching- Tim Gunn's Guide to Style,
Steeler's football, Caroline playing
with her new Iphone... dish of the week- the
shrimp & scallop pasta dish at Roadside-
YUM!... drink of the week- Peach Detox Tea
(hey, it's Fall! time to turn over a new leaf!)... song of
the week- Irreplaceable; if you think Beyonce's
version is hot, you just haven't heard me belting it out
duet style with my daughter Sarah... by the way,
Happy Birthday Sarah!... we're
headed to see Hairspray on stage as a
birthday treat... Good Morning, Baltimore!!!
Ready to Run? Register today!
|
|
|
|
|
Duck's Cottage Reading Group
The Next Six Months
Twice a year, our Cottage Reading Group chooses
selections for the subsequent six months. Earlier this
summer, we undertook the selection process and
began reading from our new choices last month. In
August we read a short story collection by Kim
Edwards, The Secrets of a Fire King. You may
recognize Edwards name from her current paperback
bestseller, The Memory Keeper's Daughter. We found
this collection, whose stories span both globe
and cultures, to be an interesting discourse on human
nature. More particularly, the seeming inability of
people to find true happiness within themselves
instead of constantly searching for that one last thing
which will bring them nirvana. This month we are
reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara
Kingsolver of The Poisonwood Bible fame. Kingsolver
documents a year in which she and her family resolve
to eat only what they grow themselves or can be
bought from local producers. (The 'localvore'
movement is gathering steam!) Our book for October
is A Thousand Splendid Suns, Khaled
Hosseini's follow-up to The Kite Runner (but
not a sequel). I've been dying to crack open my
copy of this book which has been garnering praise
from everyone I've spoken with. November we read
Sara Gruen's surprise bestseller, Water For
Elephants, another novel that has gathered
unanimous accolades. Something lighter for
December (to balance out the holidays!) is Ruth
Reichl's memoir, Garlic and Sapphires. An
account of her stint as a New York Times food critic, I
have heard this book is hilarious and a wonderful
choice for 'foodies' of which many of our members
are. Our current list ends in January with Whistling
in the Dark by Lesley Kagan. This will be a
very exciting meeting because Lesley will
be joining us via telephone for our discussion!
Our meetings are open to everyone and are held
at 7:15 pm here at Duck's Cottage. Upcoming meeting
dates are September 26, October 24, November 14,
December 19 and January 23. Brewed coffee is
complimentary as is the good company and
stimulating conversation. Please join us!
Learn more about Animal, Vegetable, Miracle
|
|
As I write this, opening kick-offs are happening all
around us- both at the College and Professional level.
As with life in general, there will be highs (did anyone
see that Appalachian/Michigan game?) and lows
(dare I mention Michael Vick?) but hopefully at the end
of the day every team, each player and the multitudes
of fans will remember that it really is just a game,
tomorrow is another day and true champions excel at
the great game of life... exceptions
to this caveat are the Steelers, the W & M Tribe and the
Pirates (my son's team) all of whom better WIN!
WIN! WIN! GET OUT on that field and KICK
some YOU KNOW WHAT! GO for IT or GO home!
There's NO POINTS for SECOND place!!
hmmm, perhaps I need to take my own advice?
Relax and have fun cheering-
|
|
