Naked Authors in the New York Times and Christmas Dinner

Patty here...

THIS JUST IN

Check out this December 20, 2007 New York Times article by Amy Virshup, in which she displayed her impeccable taste in books by mentioning two upcoming releases written by the Nakeds:

THE CRAZY SCHOOL
By Cornelia Read
328 pages. Grand Central Publishing. $23.99.

At the start of Cornelia Read’s new novel Madeline Dare is teaching at the Santangelo Academy, a “therapeutic boarding school” for troubled teenagers run by the charismatic if more than a bit loony Dr. David Santangelo. Madeline is not without troubles of her own, as she tells readers early on: “I wanted to believe Santangelo could fix me, while he was at it. Who among us does not want to be shriven, to confess all, in the hope of being made clean and whole and new?” But when two of her students reveal their secret to her, Madeline gets drawn into a whole new set of complications.



LAST CALL
By James Grippando
326 pages. Harper. $24.95.

After taking a break from his Jack Swyteck series, James Grippando returns with another tale featuring Swyteck, a defense lawyer in Miami, and his best friend, Theo Knight, a former gang member, falsely convicted death-row inmate and now owner of Sparky’s Tavern (“a true dive, but it was his dive,” as Theo thinks to himself). Theo’s life seems to be on track, until Isaac Reems, one of his former gang compatriots, shows up at Sparky’s, fresh out of prison. (“I put myself on the early-release plan,” he tells Theo in the course of robbing him.) But who is going to believe that Theo had nothing to do with the jailbreak? Certainly not Andie Henning, the F.B.I. agent who just happens to be Jack’s former girlfriend. Both Mr. Grippando and Cornelia Read are members of the Naked Authors blog group.

Yay!!!! Go Team!!!!!! You make us proud. Coming up: Jacqueline Winspear's next Maisie Dobbs novel AN INCOMPLETE REVENGE and James O. Born's BURN ZONE are both set for release in February 2008.

A CREATURE OF HABIT: WHAT I'M SERVING FOR CHRISTMAS DINNER


Every year I throw a dinner party on Christmas day for a group of friends—the same friends. This has been going on for more years than I can count. And every year I waste a good deal of time reviewing recipes and contemplating a menu that I will never serve. This year I seriously thought about spiced crown pork roast with glazed root vegetables, mainly because of an article by Russ Parsons in the Los Angeles Times that began like this:

“It’s late Christmas morning and all of the presents have been unwrapped. Even if just for the moment, the kids are lulled into quiet. Southern California’s bright winter sunshine floods in through the window. Now it’s time for the grown-ups to relax into a long, slow afternoon celebrating their own holiday. And that, of course, means dinner.”

His scenario sounded so much like Walden Two, that it almost lulled me into a butcher shop. But who was I kidding? That doesn’t even come close to describing my household. Relaxed? As if. There's food flying in my kitchen. The floor, not to mention my apron, is crusted with gravy, flour, and olive oil residue. The green food coloring I just added to the frosting on my Christmas ginger cookies has gravitated beneath my fingernails, resembling jolly holiday fungus. Trust me. It's not a pretty sight.

The truth is I always serve turkey with Mrs. Cubbison’s dressing, cranberries, and Minnesota wild rice with mushroom duxelles. I make the gravy from scratch, starting with the stock. The only thing I change from year to year are the vegetables and the dessert. I'm feeling a little green beany this year, and instead of my usual plum pudding with rum sauce, I’m making a traditional pumpkin pie.

Perhaps the reason I never change the menu is that my friends seem to love the food. I'm not a brilliant cook, but I know how to follow a recipe. I find most of mine in Julia Child's book The Way to Cook.



Of course, the positive reviews of my cuisine might be attributed to all that vermouth Julia makes me add to almost every dish. By the time my guests leave the table, they’re so tipsy they can’t remember what they ate, only that they want to eat it again and again. And it's all good.

Wishing you peace, health, and happiness this holiday season and always. And here's hoping you've made your LAST last-minute trip to the grocery store before tomorrow's dinner.

Merry Christmas Eve!