Happy 2010!
My year got off to an exciting start when my editor emailed me yesterday to say that Eating for Beginners was just put on Publisher’s Weekly’s list of “10 Most Exciting Food Books of 2010″. Considering the fact that no one (aside from me, my agent, above-mentioned editor and a few select friends and family who know how to deliver criticism very diplomatically) has even seen it, this strikes me as an amazing piece of good luck, not to mention a really auspicious way to start the new decade. Can an EFB movie with Meryl Streep in some role be far behind? (Don’t answer that.)
We also started 2010 with leg of lamb in a fresh mint-sherry vinegar sauce (a fantastic Mark Bittman recipe you can link to here), potato gratin, a fig and radicchio salad, a lot of caviar, and the company of so many good friends it was an embarrassment of riches. So far, so good. If you feel like sharing, I’d love to know what you ate for new year’s eve dinner (and keep in mind that in spite of the menu I just described, I happen to believe that popcorn is a nutritious and very festive meal in and of itself).
If you’re not as into letting luck dictate your happiness as I am, I recommend checking out my friend Gretchen Rubin’s new book, just published and already tearing up the charts at amazon.com. The Happiness Project is full of good ideas and inspiration for taking charge of your enjoyment of life. If that isn’t a worthy goal for 2010, I don’t know what is.
Belated but hearty congratulations on the PW mention! After some lovely apple juice pressed from local windfall, the highlight of our New Year’s dinner was a just-right tarte tatin…