Charming Recipes from “Stirring The Pot” Cookbook is a Rare Sneak Peek into Food Pros’ Kitchens ~ Perfect for Holiday Gifting!
Move over, Ina Garten. While there’s no doubt that the “Barefoot Contessa’s”
memoir has served up another best-seller, I’m here to offer you a most compelling reason to order up copies of Stirring the Pot, the first-ever cookbook created by Les Dames d’Escoffier New York.
And luck has nothing to do with all the great, effortless recipes you’ll find in this remarkable culinary journey of the stars who are arguably the culinary world’s most influential and accomplished women. Don’t you want to take a peek into their kitchens and see what they cook?
If you’re not familiar with Les Dames d’Escoffier, you may not be alone...
While it is nothing as concealed as a secret society 😉 it has been, since food writer Dame Carol Brock founded the first Les Dames in New York City in 1976, been the standard of American society of professional women involved in the food, fine beverage, and hospitality industries.
The organization has since blossomed to 44 chapters in the USA, Canada, Mexico, France, Italy and the UK.
But speaking of Secrets ~ if you adore a good behind-the-scenes reveal as much as I do, then you’ll just love peeking into the kitchens of the illustrious contributors to Stirring the Pot, many of whom you know from books, TV, and magazines, including Dame Carla Hall, Lidia Bastianich, Julie Hartigan and Wanda Mann.
Dame Carla Hall ~ who wrote Stirring the Pot’s Foreword
The other secret revealed in this unique cookbook is just how charming and homegrown the recipes are! So while these culinary celebrities may cook and pour “fancy” for their restaurant customers and media audiences, this cookbook “takes the lid off” to disclose the comfort food they prefer to cook at home.
Who would have guessed that from the cosmopolitan palates of these celebrity Dames, came such homey, homegrown, recipes?
Well, let’s not forget that the best ingredient is love…
And it’s positively no secret that Dames love to share their love of family, heirloom dishes; thier heritage recipes.
Irrepressible Dames Ann Ogden (L) & Karen Goodlad
Stirring the Pot is a sophisticated collection of recipes that nourish the soul and the belly and are easy to make for the newbie cook and are interesting enough for the experienced gourmand.
In fact, one of the best ways to describe the dishes and their stories is “charming.”
Think of the best community recipes from your aunts and mothers ~ with ALL the ingredients ~ no sneaky omissions here. (For those too young to know of this practice, women often left out a key ingredient in their signature dishes to foil copycat cooks. Just ask your elders.)
We’ve come a long way, baby.
The cookbook was sparked during the pandemic with a cri-de-coeur lament so many of us were experiencing about what to cook. Every day. At home. With menus that were healthy, delicious, and easy to make.
“How do we feed our families? we asked. “We’re running out of ideas.”
The answer: preparing food and drink that ignited our culinary traditions.
And voila, now, you have the Stirring the Pot collection.
I guarantee this cookbook will become your go-to resource for everyday menus from “Breakfast,” “Appetizers and Salads,” “Soups,” “Pasta, Noodles and Grains,” “Mains,” “Sides,” “Desserts” and “Cocktails” ~ which is just how the book is set up. Easy~Sneezy.
So while other cookbooks may offer you a themed vista into one cook’s area of expertise, Stirring the Pot provides a culinary journey of 76 members’ recipes from a variety of cultures, interests, favorites, and family traditions.
And all profits benefit the organization’s New York Scholarship fund for culinary education.
So you can think of it like this: Gifting Stirring the Pot ~ to yourself or family and friends, is like Gifting times 3! A hungry, happy “Hat Trick.” A truly joyful gift-giving experience that keeps on giving with every delicious recipe.
Do you hear a bell ringing?
Maybe it’s the dinner bell…
Or, as is said in the holiday film, "It's a Wonderful Life,” every time a bell rings, a good deed or a moment of kindness has occurred contributing to the greater good.
This is your cookbook angel ~ just in time for Holiday gift-giving
The cookbook is available online, at your favorite bookstores, as well as big stores, including Target and Walmart.
All the recipes are presented in the Imperial American system (rather than the European metrics) to make it all the more familiar to home cooks in America.
How did this collection from a diverse community of Dames’ favorite recipes for everything from simple weekday meals to spectacular party dishes go from a networked query among the members to a grassroots submission effort, to the anthology of Stirring the Pot to the Arcadia published cookbook?
I spoke to co-authors, Silvia Baldini and Sharon Franke for the inside scoop.
Like peanut butter and jelly, these two Dames’ chemistry made collaboration a natural. They both claim that their unique skill sets and talents complimented one another and helped make the tremendous amount of work; work. And fun…
And they each boast quite the culinary pedigree:
Silvia Baldini is a classically trained Italian-born chef. Following an award-winning career as an art director on Madison Avenue, Silvia pursued a master in restaurant management at ICC and Cornell (my beloved father’s alma mater), and a culinary degree at Cordon Bleu. She worked as chef in London, NYC and CT restaurants, including the Ritz and Ottolenghi.
She is a Chopped champion on Food Network. Silvia’s recipes and stories have been published in Food & Wine, Bon Appétit, Saveur, The New York Times, La Cucina Italiana and Forbes.
Sharon Franke is a journalist and product tester specializing in kitchen equipment. Prior to beginning her freelance career, Sharon worked at the Good Housekeeping Institute and magazine for 30 years, serving as Director of the Kitchen Appliances Lab. Sharon began her culinary journey by working as a cook and chef in New York City restaurants for 7 years, most notably the 3-star Market Bar & Dining Rooms in the World Trade Center.
“It was Silvia’s idea,” explained Dame Sharon, who was the Les Dames NY chapter president at the time. “Previously, Silvia worked on two cookbook anthologies, and she wanted to do a cookbook to help raise funds for the Les Dames d’Escoffier Scholarship Fund.”
Sylvia put together a book proposal and business plan with the idea that they’d self-publish.
Then, (as Ina urges), they were indeed ready when there was a wee bit of luck, after all, that came their way.
A fellow Dame, June Hersh made the introductions to Arcadia publishing.
Making the connection to the photographer Matt Taylor-Gross was Dame Kat Craddock, the CEO of Saveur Magazine
See, networking matters! And it’s part of being a “connected” Dame…
“As the project manager, Silvia deserves the lion’s share of the credit for the book,” explained Sharon, who acted as the editor, given her career experience.
One of the challenges was to integrate all the diverse, interesting stories and recipes but not lose the charming individuality that makes the cookbook so unique.
Bearing in mind that the original premise for the book was to help Gotham’s culinary Les Dames’ member luminaries cook at home during the pandemic, both authors said they worked to make the book an inspiration for home cooks everywhere, with consistent text, keeping the contributor’s “voice” and making the instructions clear.
Delightfully, and somewhat surprisingly, the recipes that were passed down from elders and Home Economic classes were the easiest to edit and specify for the home cook.
“It was so charming to learn that what these celebrities chefs (and makers and growers) submitted were family recipes that had been passed on to them,” said Sharon. “It was so evident that they just loved the recipes and wanted to share,” Sharon enthused.
“The (shared) discovery is that we learn what they actually like to cook for themselves ~ for their families ~ and also, that their personal food stories are so engaging,” she added.
The result is that you, too, will discover recipes that nourish, comfort, and are not too difficult to make.
Tapping into her art and stylist talents, Silvia managed the book's photographs, both the head shots of all the contributing Dames, and the beautiful food photos she styled with SAVEUR magazine’s Jessie YuChen and Matt Taylor-Gross.
Luscious photographs, indeed.
And the cookbook’s cover art? That’s another brilliant, bellissimo stroke of culinary talent from Silvia. Those colorful, stacked, classic pans and pots are from her home collection! There’s a lot to be said for Italian design. Photographer Chloe Zale (@chloezale) shot this enduring cover art, as well as half the photos that help bring the cookbook’s recipes its glamour.
Pull back the apron, sneak a peek into some of the most prestigious food pros’ kitchens and learn how to make their favorite homey dishes.
Stirring the Pot makes a splendid gift that keeps on giving. And again, all the money goes to the Les Dames Scholarship Fund. (And can’t you just hear those bells ringing for your angel wings?)
I’m sure that if we ask Silvia and Sharon, they will provide an autograph for your Stirring the Pot gift. Contact me if you want to pursue a signed copy.
If you are interested in becoming a Dame, and joining a worldwide organization that boasts an unparalleled collective of forward-thinking and successful female leaders in all sectors of the food, beverage, and hospitality industries, please visit our website: Les Dames d’Escoffier New York
Our mission is to advance and support aspiring professional women in food and beverage, as well as to champion critical industry issues.
I am so very honored to be a Dame… 🧑🍳
