WORD and Applewood: Thanks and a Recommendation

A million thanks, from the bottom of my heart, to everyone who came out to WORD for The Gastronomy of Marriage's big bookstore event!

WORD sold every copy of the book they had in stock (a store record!), the Brooklyn Chowder Surfer Ben Sargent (that's him in the picture above, despite your eyes telling you it's Bruce Springsteen) and I had a great conversation — my favorite part of which was when he described living in a secret nook at his old chowder restaurant, Hurricane Hopeful, and jumping down from the nook in the morning to start the chowder in his pajamas — and I had the time of my life.

It surpassed even my wedding in surreally bringing together people from all aspects of my life. Before, I couldn't have imagined a party in which my nieces, my favorite, grumpy former–New York Times Book Review editor, my wonderful Park Slope neighbor and my aunt's 70-year-old childhood best friend could happily mingle. I also made several new friends, including Jessica Reed, of the Pictures of Cake blog, Cathy Erway, of Not Eating Out in New York, Janah, of Eat It: The Brooklyn Food Blog, and the Los Angeles photographer Guinevere Platt, who was kind enough to take and share the top two photos above.

The cream puff contest — bonanza, if you will — was also a resounding success, with entries as varied as savory watercress, cucumber, and creme fraiche tea sandwiches; raspberry white chocolate puffs; spicy Mexican chocolate puffs; and a late-entry peanut butter–whipped cream puff. My entry was a greek yogurt with honey and raspberry puff, which, as a friend (who didn't know it was my entry) rightly described as being not sweet enough. The honey was a gift from an acquaintance who collected it from the bees at his Tuscan villa, which is surrounded by chestnut trees. It's the best honey I have ever tasted — which was the reason I thought to share it but maybe also the reason I had too stingy a hand with it!

At the end of the night, based on rounds of applause, the winner was determined to be, appropriately, my mother. She contributed her old faithful: instant vanilla pudding with just one cup of milk, and then a healthy wallop of cool-whip. Lesson learned: there is no messing with a classic.

















*A sidenote... Should you find yourself in need of a celebratory cocktail, sidle up to the bar at Applewood, at 11th St. and 7th Ave. in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Above is the most unusual Pea Shoot Martini, comprised of pea shoot–infused vodka and fresh pea shoots. If you are thinking "How pea shoot-y could it possibly be?" the answer is: very. Amazingly. Sort of ridiculously. Also recommended is The Puebla Cocktail (jalapeno-infused tequila, muddled cilantro, agave nectar, and lemon juice), which is not for the heat-averse, and the Sour Cherry Sidecar (cherry–infused bourbon, patron citronage, and lemon juice).

Should these cocktails whet your appetite, you'll be well rewarded to stay for dinner. Applewood is devoted to supporting local farmers and exclusively uses wild fish and hormone- and antibiotic-free meats and poultry. The chefs also butcher whole animals — including lamb, goat, deer, and pigs — on site, for some serious nose-to-tail eating.