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Calendar: Friday, April 18, from 6 to 8 p.m. Recipes from A Love Affair with Southern Cooking will be served at the opening reception of the Alabama Book Festival, Old Town Montgomery. Saturday, April 19, at 10 a.m. I’ll address the Alabama Book Festival, Old Town Montgomery. Subject? A Love Affair with Southern Cooking, specifically how I came to write the book, how I researched it, tested the recipes, and put it all together. Monday, May 5, at 7 p.m. Program (with recipe samples from A Love Affair with Southern Cooking) at the Regulator Bookshop, Durham, NC. Future Events: Program (with recipe samples) at Literary Bookpost, Salisbury, NC. Also a reading at the Asheboro, NC Public Library. Dates and times will be posted on the next edition of my website. In Brief: My new cookbook, A Love Affair with Southern Cooking, has been nominated for both a James Beard “best cookbook” award (Americana category) and an IACP (best Regional American cookbook; IACP = International Association of Culinary Professionals). Needless to add, I’m thrilled because I poured heart and soul into researching, recipe-testing, and writing this particular book for nearly four years. She’s Backkkk! Sara Moulton fans, bereft since her Food Network show was reduced to reruns, will be thrilled to learn that she has a new cooking show. PBS, this time. Sara tells me that Sara’s Weeknight Meals will begin airing once a week in April and May (check local listings). “I’m flying solo for 14 of the first 20 shows,” Sara says. The other six feature such celebrated cooks as Madhur Jaffrey and Jasper White. As many of you know, Sara and I have been close friends for nearly 30 years – she wrote the Foreword to my new southern cookbook. Unlike many now “performing” on television, Sara is a dedicated professional, a born teacher, unfailingly generous and eager to share what she knows. She is, quite simply, the best. So, here’s to you, Sara, and to your new show. Long may it fly. Pick up the April issue of More magazine (Helen Mirren cover). On page 124 you’ll find my profile of Frances and Susan Gravely, the two savvy Chapel Hill sisters who founded Vietri 25 years ago on a shoestring. Today this multi-million-dollar corporation is America’s largest importer of hand-crafted Italian earthenware, glassware, flatware, and linens some of which grace the tables of Oprah Winfrey and Mary Tyler Moore. In addition to the Vietri story, the article includes recipes for an Italian dinner: Crostini Rossi; Fusilli with Wild Mushrooms, Pancetta, and Green Peas; Vitello Tonnato; Hazelnut Semifreddo, and more. All are party-perfect because they can be prepared wholly or partially ahead. Most, moreover, are served at room temperature. After seeing the April issue of More, France Gravely e-mailed me: “Wow! A life moment to be in the magazine with Helen Mirren’s pic on the cover.” San Francisco bound? If so, grab a copy of the latest edition of Patricia Unterman’s San Francisco Food Lover’s Pocket Guide, which also covers the East Bay, Marin County, and California Wine Country. For more than 30 years, Unterman has been one of San Francisco’s most respected food critics, writing for both the San Francisco Chronicle and the San Francisco Examiner. One of the more unusual cookbooks to land on my desk recently is Chef’s Table: Mountain Flavors from Asheville’s Most Celebrated Chefs. Jointly produced by the Asheville Citizen-Times and Asheville Independent Restaurant Association, it features more than 120 recipes from 50 of the city’s “hottest chefs.” Upfront is this caveat: “Recipes were tested on a sporadic basis, however, the chef-written recipes may bear some inconsistencies. The Asheville Citizen-Times and the Asheville Independent Restaurant Association are not responsible for errors in the recipes.” For me the value of this culinary anthology is proof that Asheville, a Great Smokies town of less than 100,000, has earned culinary bragging rights. Here you can feast on Fried Green Tomato Napoleon with Blackened Ham at Bistro 1896, on Mahi-Mahi and Lobster Macaroni and Cheese at Horizons, on Elsie’s Shrimp Tempura at Laurey’s, or on Fried Calamari with Olive Salad and Provençale Sauce at the Biltmore Estate. And these are merely a soupçon. Chef’s Table costs $24.99 and can be ordered online: www.Citizen-Times.com/ChefsTable

Q & A

Complaints about the new Crisco continue to roll in. Among the latest:

“This is regarding your comment about the new Crisco creating havoc with tried and true recipes.  Our family has had a Red Velvet Cake obsession for over 40 years now.  It's always been the cake of choice for birthdays, holidays, and special events.  But we noticed after using the new Crisco, that it just isn't the same.  It's greasy, mushy, and leaves a bad taste in the mouth.  And the frosting doesn't fluff up as well. We've tried playing around with the recipe, but nothing seems to work. So a 40-year-old tradition comes to a sad end.  Thanks a lot, Crisco.” -- Dawn, Phoenix, AZ

“I'm afraid the new Crisco has ruined the pound cake I always made with only 1/2 cup.  Just for the hell of it, I decided to try the recipe again, and now the cake falls apart weirdly in pieces.  It tastes fine, but half the crust just crumbles when you turn the cake out, and when you cut a slice, it splits into about 3 pieces.  From now on, it's all butter.” -- James Villas, East Hampton, NY

In addition, a colleague on book tour told me that while doing a demo, she made “the worst pie crust in history.” When I asked if she’d used the new Crisco, she said, “Yes. Could that be the problem?” From what I’m hearing, “yes.” I wonder why Crisco doesn’t offer two choices: the old Crisco that has served us so well over the years plus the new Crisco for those freaking out about trans-fats. When Coca-Cola introduced “the new Coke” some years ago, it didn’t kill “classic Coke.” Of course we know what happened to “the new Coke.”

Please let me hear if you, too, have been having trouble with the new Crisco. I’d like to keep this discussion going.

Autographed Book Plates:

If you’d like an autographed book plate for any of my books, just let me know. Please specify which book and to whom it should be inscribed.