Our “Home Cooking” Winner!

There was so much wonderful home cooking happening for our Cook the Books August/September selection “Home Cooking” by Laurie Colwin, that our judge for this round; avid reader, book lover, blogger (at Year of Magical Reading and The Ultimate Bridesmaid Guide), J. Crew copy editor and free-lance book editor Caitlin Kenney, had a tough time choosing a winner. Caitlin was up for the challenge however, and without further ado, here is her announcement:

“Thanks again for the fun opportunity to judge Cook the Books! After much thought, I’m happy to announce the winner: Claudia of Honey From Rock!

One of my favorite quotes from Colwin regards how closely tied food is to friendship. She says:

“It is a fact of life that people give dinner parties, and when they invite you, you have to turn around and invite them back. Often they retaliate by inviting you again and you must then extend another invitation. Back and forth you go, like Ping-Pong balls, and what you end up with is called social life.”

I was happy to see that so many of the Cook the Books entrants shared their recipes with family and friends. I’m sure Colwin would approve. After reading through all the adventures with simple bread, fried chicken and wonderful lentil soup, I had to choose Claudia of Honey From Rock as the winner. It seemed like destiny since she already has Colwin’s most time-consuming and intriguing recipe—West Indian Black Cake—stewing away in preparation for the holidays. Colwin says that chicken salad “has a certain glamour about it,” and though I personally find it more homey than chic, I will admit that it’s a versatile and delicious dish. I love that Claudia chose to serve her friends the curried chicken salad that Colwin recommends for a ladies luncheon. It truly feels as if she brought a little moment of the book to life. Well done!

All best,

Caitlin”

So congratulations to Claudia for your elegant Curried Chicken Salad on Watercress! (This makes her a four-time winner I believe!). Wear that winner’s badge proudly over at Honey From Rock.

A big mahalo (Hawaiian for thank you) to Caitlin Kenney for being a fabulous judge, and an open invitation for her to cook along with us any time she likes!

We will be back soon with our next book selection–Nora Ephron’s “Heartburn” plus our upcoming book picks and some exciting Cook the Books announcements.