Thanksgiving with Rocco DiSpirito

When a particularly nasty sinus infection sidelined me for hosting Thanksgiving dinner this year, I settled in for a holiday weekend of working on a cookbook while a more modest turkey roasted for my family of 3. The book was Rocco DiSpirito's Now Eat This, his sixth book, to be published by Ballantine in 2010.

DiSpirito is a "celebrity chef" based on reality shows and network TV appearances, but he is also a real chef. He graduated from the Culinary Institute of America (CIA, to foodies) and won a James Beard Award for his cookbook Flavor (the photo is from that book's cover). He's also what some might describe as rakishly handsome with his naturally curly hair and brilliant smile, and a bit of a bad boy.

About 5 years ago he decided he needed to get fit. He started working out and eating lighter. In the book's introduction, he discusses his triathlon endeavors and how his early goal was to "simply finish the race without stretchers being involved."

This is a man who is used to succeeding at just about everything, just as he does with the 150 recipes in Now Eat This, filled with traditionally high-fat dishes that he overhauled, everything from Mac and Cheese and Beef Wellington to his mama's Spaghetti and Meatballs. There are also appetizers (Crab Cakes with Red Pepper Sauce), soups (Lobster Bisque), salads (Nicoise Salad), and desserts (Triple Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies). There's even a chapter on sauces that's particularly helpful and includes, like all the other recipes that are low in calories but high in flavor, marinara sauce, salad dressings, and so on. He artfully hides things like black beans in his brownie recipe to ramp up the fiber and texture while keeping each serving under 350 calories.

My only doubt--and I haven't tried the recipe yet--is his cauliflower puree as a stand-in for mashed potatoes. Cauliflower as mash could be passable in his Shepherd's Pie recipe, but I'm reserving judgement for it as a stand-alone side dish.

Regardless, consider adding this to your cookbook library. DiSpirito creates some very yummy slimmed-down dishes without getting too exotic with his ingredients. Not a bad way to spend a holiday.

Thought of the Day

Summer sea ice in the Arctic is expected to disappear completely by 2013.

--Sea Ice Field Research, forthcoming, University of Alaska Fairbanks Press

It's Here . . . Digitized Nonfiction

Zinio, which has been offering digital magazine subscriptions delivered to the iPhone, is now offering a series of about 90 cookbooks by Harvard Common Press. (The image here is a cover of one of Zinio's offerings.)

If you're keeping track of the digital publishing trend, this is big news and it's probably making the e-reader folks stand up and take notice. Sometimes you just want a book right now but your local store doesn't have it. Now you don't have to wait.

Are you strapped in yet?

Lunchtime Concert Series in Allentown

This summer, listen to local musicians during a FREE lunchtime concert series called Summer in the City. The series will be held at the PPL Plaza (9th and Hamilton Streets) every Tuesday from 11:45 am to 12:15 pm. (In the event of rain, go to the Holiday Inn, Allentown Center City).

Here's the line-up, a well-rounded mix of swing, Celtic, jazz, and more:

June 30 - Doug Hawk Proposition

July 7 - Donovan Roberts

July 14 - Sal Ritz & Joe Mixon

July 21 - Marlene Gilley Swingtet

July 28 - Grey Sky Turn

August 4 - Sarah Ayers Band

August 11 - Todd Wolfe

August 18 - Steve Brosky & Jimmy Meyer

August 25 - Christy Jefferson & Vogon Poetry

September 1 - Dan DeChellis Trio

September 8 - BC & Company

September 15 - Large Flowerheads

September 22 - Fusion Jazz Trio

September 29 - Emerald City

I remember suggesting just such a concept in 1992 to the management at Dun & Bradstreet when that company was in the Martin Towers, Bethlehem. It only took more than 15 years for some other company to pull it off.

If you work in or near Downtown Allentown, attending this series is a great way to support local talent.

Local Event - Lehigh Valley - July 10

On July 10, 2009 the Downtown Bethlehem Association (DBA) will present a screening of the 1942 Warner Brothers classic film Casablanca at the Sun Inn Courtyard. The screening will begin shortly after sunset (approximately 9:30 p.m.). Film fans are encouraged to bring a blanket or lawn chair and to arrive early as several surprises will be presented by the DBA.

A donation of $5 is suggested (kids free). Proceeds will go to the production of the events and programs of the DBA. Several Downtown merchants will be present with themed entertainment, and refreshments will be available.

The Sun Inn Courtyard is located behind the 1758 Sun Inn, 556 Main Street in Historic Downtown Bethlehem.

April '09 Book Sales: Up and Down

If you're in publishing or want to get published, you might find the following sales information interesting, like I did.

In today's Shelf Awareness newsletter, net sales statistics were reported for April 2009. Now, keep in mind that these are sales figures for only one month, and it is not stipulated what they are compared to (the month prior? same time last year?), but the bottom line is that overall book sales rose in April by more than 3%, though the year to date is down by more than 4%. Still, when you look at how many millions of dollars any rise translates into, it's a reassuring sign to see an increase anywhere.

But let's look at where sales are falling, and where they're rising. Knowing these trends might help writers market their projects to agents and editors--or at least it'll give you some clue as to what still sells in a downturn. In a nutshell, books geared to children/young adults/students was on the rise, while the adult market slipped. (This corroborates what I've heard in the employment sector--when the economy is down and people are losing jobs, many people go back to school or stay in school longer than originally planned.) There were great gains in e-book sales and a sizeable drop in audio books.

Here are some specifics:

Higher education jumped 312.4% to $33.5 million
E-books climbed 228.3% to $12.1 million
Children's/YA hardcover rose 13.6% to $44.6 million
Professional and scholarly inched up 1.1% to $46.3 million
Children's/YA paperback was up 0.9% to $39.9 million

Adult paperback slipped 0.8% to $114.8 million
Adult mass market dropped 4% to $51 million
University press hardcover fell 6.3% to $5 million
Religious books fell 7.1% to $38.7 million
Adult hardcover fell 11% to $95.7 million
University press paperback dropped 12.5% to $2.3 million
Audiobooks fell 32.9% to $9.5 million

Take 3 . . . with Patricia Volonakis Davis

Patricia Volonakis Davis has built a little empire inspired by salsa puttanesca, or "harlot's sauce," a hastily prepared tomato sauce developed by some enterprising women in Naples, Italy. She has written a food memoir (available in paperback and Kindle version), has a blog, and developed online podcastings based on Italian and Greek cultures, and the foods and characters that come from both. (She also devotes quite a bit of podcasting to the publishing industry.)

But it took a certain amount of living and heartache for her to climb to where she is. Originally a Sicilian kid from Long Island, New York, Patricia lived in Greece with husband Gregori before moving back to the States. These days she calls the San Francisco Bay Area home. Patricia briefly interrupted her book tour to answer some questions about her journey:

1. Was there a single moment of inspiration when you knew you needed to write a memoir, and did you know that it would have to include food?

PVD: The idea for Harlot's Sauce developed and morphed over time, but when I did decide on this project, I knew it had to include food, for sure. It's such a big part of the two cultures featured in the story.

2. You're of Italian descent, and you married a Greek man. In what ways are Italian and Greek cultures the same?

PVD: See above (LOL) Apart from an intense relationship with food, there is also the sometimes cloying (to me, anyway) family 'closeness' which can sometimes feel like unwanted interference, there are the mannerisms and the physical features. Besides those, I find that the more I inveistigate and learn, the two cultures are actually quite different in many ways.

3. What did writing your memoir "do" for you--was it a celebration, a lamentation, or something else entirely?

PVD: My memoir was an attempt to right several misconceptions, both personal and historical. It was also meant as a lesson to women on self-actualization. I am a former teacher, after all!