BOOKING AND COOKING!

Hank Phillippi Ryan:

 

First, fanfare fanfare, BOOKING first. The trade paperback of THE HOUSE GUEST is available today! I always wonder how much difference that makes in anyone's lives, but I hope it does!

 

 And I am going on a tiny little whirlwind book tour to make sure everybody knows: tonight I will be at Brookline Booksmith with the superb Shari Lapena!  Whoa. If you have not read her book EVERYONE HERE IS LYING, it is an absolute page turner. Honestly, if I hadn't had to make dinner yesterday, I would not have budged from my chair. (SO fun to have my paperback launch day be with such a superstar--and we get to talk about HER book! Perfect.)

 

Wednesday I go to Jacksonville, Florida to appear at the Jacksonville Public Library.

Thursday off to Atlanta, for the Atlanta Authors series at the Roswell Cultural Arts Center.

Thursday, still in Atlanta, at the Sandy Springs Library.

Saturday, racing back to Massachusetts to appear at the Barnes & Noble Hingham. (With some names you will recognize!)

 And then Sunday, in Plainville, at An Unlikely Story Bookstore, with Patty Callahan Henry to talk about her brilliant THE SECRET BOOK OF FLORA LEA.

And then zooming back home to zoom for The Back Room, with Kathy Reichs, Polly Stewart, Tosca Lee and Don Bentley!

 

Whoa. And you can get all the deets here.

 

But on to COOKING!  Last week we went to get our farm shares, and we got zucchini and eggplant and golden yellow squash, which meant... make something up.

Something Parmesan? Something Ratatouille?

 

 So here's what I did.

 

I sliced the zucchini and eggplant and squash and salted them liberally, and left them for two hours so the water would come out. So much water comes out, and that makes a huge difference.  (I cut the eggplant  and golden like coins,  and the zucchini in strips. Whatever.)

 

Then I roasted the zucchini and eggplant and squash in olive oil till they were brownish around the edges, then I topped that with parmesan cheese and popped it under the broiler until the cheese browned.

 

Then I took the whole thing out of the oven.

 

Then I lightly olive-oiled a LeCreuset enamel oval pan, put the cheesy veggies carefully along the bottom. Then I sprinkled that with halves of cherry tomatoes from our own garden, then tiny bits of mozzarella cheese, then sprinkled with parmesan cheese, then bacon bits, then snipped basil and fresh parsley from our garden. Popped that back into the oven until the cheese burbled--you can tell it's done.

 

 And wow wow wow it was delicious. Here's a picture.

 

And then –although it was completely unnecessary, I served it with sautéed shrimp.

 

BOOKING AND COOKING! Reds and Readers, either of those things on your schedule this week?

(And oh, because it's August 1, "rabbit rabbit." SO much to remember!)