Book Report Card for The Hamptons & Long Island Homegrown Cookbook

With back to school upon us  – sorry kids – school was on my mind.

I figured it’s time for a report card of sorts on The Hamptons & Long Island Homegrown Cookbook.

There is so much activity surrounding the Homegrown book with a full schedule of book signings, talks, and then there is the communication via social media, including Facebook and Twitter and InstaGram and Tumblr and…

I try to keep up with it all.

I needed an intern to better keep pace then joked that I couldn’t manage to get the time to follow up with the organizations to actually secure the intern. 

(There’s a Seinfeld joke in there…)

Regardless, as another great entertainer Tony Bennett famously croons, “Life goes on…” 

Here, I tried to break out the summer highlights for The Hamptons & Long Island Homegrown Cookbook.

In no particular order – following is a recap - or book report card - of what’s been going on in the world of Homegrown.   

It’s all good! Straight A’s! Go to the head of the Homegrown class!

Goodreads    

With a 4.5 out of a 5-star rating, my publisher says with a smile that is worth bragging rights. So with some modesty unleashed by a sense of self–nominating promotion - This is a big buzz worthy achievement worth posting on the digital Homegrown refrigerator aka as a trophy case!

Here is my Goodreads Dashboard: http://www.goodreads.com/author/dashboard

Homegrown continues to outsell on Amazon – consistently ranking in the top and coming in at a low to mid five figures ranking – which might not seem refrigerator-worthy to the uninitiated but Amazon tracks that sales metric out of the 8 million books they sell!  Millions! 

So it’s very, very impressive! 

According to Amazon, “Author Rank shows how an author's books sell relative to other authors in its category. It’s updated hourly. Like the Billboard charts, lower numbers are better.”

Thank you to everyone who has purchased from Amazon.  

I’m still looking for good book review postings, though. So if you are feeling the Homegrown love – I invite you to share.  There’s only three reviews – which doesn’t seem right.  Especially since one Oscar the Grouch is just that. Spoiler!

I don’t know why, but I don’t follow the Barnes & Noble onsite sales so assiduously. 

But I know I will be going forward as B&N has published Homegrown as an E-Book! 

But I’m getting ahead of myself. More on that in a minute.

Beach and Manhattan Magazine cited The Hamptons & Long Island Homegrown Cookbook as one of its Top 25 Cookbooks!

http://digital.modernluxury.com/publication/?i=169079&p=50

Beach & Manhattan Magazine's Top 25 Cookbook feature

To be selected as a card-carrying member of this elite cookbook coterie is a very big honor and certainly worth bragging about, don’t you think? 

This Cookbook club includes none other than the culinary cuties Gwyneth Paltrow and Katie Lee – my Authors Night gal pals. ha! 

Perhaps it’s no coincidence but besides me – there are three chefs from my book included in this Top 25 list!  

Claudia Fleming, North Fork Table & Inn www.nofoti.com - Anna Pump, Loaves & Fishes (www.landfcookshop.com and & Rosa Ross, Scrimshaw Restaurant www.scrimshawrestaurant.com ) are featured and loved chefs from my Homegrown book and would top or scale anyone’s foodie list.

Also included in the magazine’s Top 25 Cookbook list is the ultimate -  chef Eric Ripert. 

The food circles are getting smaller – see later post about my culinary “date” with chef Eric! 

And is destiny that I'm in the same culinary clutch yet again with the splendid, gentlemanly chef Eric Ripert? sigh...

Heavyweights on the list are Martha Stewart, Ricky Lauren, and Ina Garten, aka The Barefoot Contessa (I have an inside feature story about Ina from the early days of researching and including chefs for my book. Perhaps another time…)

Rizzoli Books 

This temple of all that is literary honored The Hamptons & Long Island Homegrown Cookbook yet again.  While there couldn’t be anything that could top the book-signing there accompanied by chef Joe Isidori, a featured master Homegrown chef in the book with Southfork restaurant and his inspired grower, Art Ludlow of Mecox Dairy.   

Chef Joe is now owner/chef of his own restaurant in where else? – food-friendly nirvana aka - Brooklyn. 

His Arthur on Smith restaurant is so named for his beloved father, Arthur. www.arthuronsmith.com

(Lots of "art" in chef Joe's world, I can't help but notice...)

Recently, chef Guy Reuge of Mirabelle restaurant in Stony Brook, www.lessings.com/restaurant_home wrote to alert me that he saw The Hamptons & Long Island Cookbook featured at Rizzoli Books – the elegant, classic bookshop that has been called “the most beautiful bookstore in New York.”

I couldn’t agree more.

All the gold and black and glamour is just so intoxicating.

Chef Guy tipped his toque to how the Homegrown book was showcased and applauded the book’s enduring popularity. 

For my part, I was keen to check out this pleasant surprise and honor – so the evening that I dropped off Chef Eric Ripert’s autographed book at Le Bernardin, I clicked those kitten heels up to 57^th Street to see this gift with my own eyes. 

Sure enough – The Hamptons & Long Island Homegrown Cookbook was given a place of honor with the summer reads under the Recommended by Rizzoli – in an area that is prime real estate in the store. 

Like a proud parent watching their progeny at their dance recital, I couldn’t stop staring or taking photos! 

Squeezing my eyes shut and then quickly opening then to see if it was a dream proved a fairly reliable way to confirm it was indeed a real moment. There it was, standing proudly next between “Salads for Dinner” and  “These Hamptons” and underneath Bobby Flay’s latest.

And – drum roll please – Rizzoli - - arbitrators of all things literary – featured the book and a poster of the book and me/author – in the store windows on fashionable 57^th Street. 

Can you believe this hat trick of a book-honor?!

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

E-Book

Would you like to carry The Hamptons & Long Island Homegrown Cookbook in your pocket to take to the Greenmarket or follow the recipes on your tablet device or smartphone?

The Hamptons & Long Island Homegrown Cookbook is now available as an e-book from a few vendors – the biggest being Barns & Noble “Nook” and Google Play. 

Barnes & Noble Nook:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-hamptons-and-long-island-homegrown-cookbook-leeann-lavin/1110871798?ean=9781610585644

Google Play:

http://bit.ly/16SJotD

According to Google, “Like your email, you can access all your books wirelessly in one place, no matter where you go. Google Play stores your library in the digital cloud, which means you get to enjoy your favorite books wherever you want, and read them wherever you go, using a compatible device with an Internet connection.

Whenever you open your book, you’ll pick up right where you left. Books on Google Play are compatible with Android phones and tablets, iPhones, iPads, iPod touch devices, most web browsers and many eReaders. That means you can start reading on your smartphone, continue on your laptop, and carry on reading on your tablet.”

Sounds deliciously good to me!

The Homegrown book is also available at many libraries, I learned. 

The Sachem Public Library in Holbrook, for example – where I just participated in the first-ever Authors Fair in their Inside/Out garden extension - uses the Overdrive system to provide their e-books.  So you can rent the book on your Nook or smartphone.  

I just think this is so cool.

92Y Passport NYC

As with many things that happen in Gotham, my introduction to the 92Y Passport Culinary program came about through a network – through a friend. 

My Aunt Margaret’s high school friend, Helen Conover, who quickly became a food and science and hort and theater friend of mine.  Helen waived her magic wand and arranged for me to do a presentation and chef cooking demo at the 92Y when the Homegrown book launched.

This season, she introduced me to her associates who produce Passport NYC asking if I would talk to two teen sessions about the culinary world – food careers that transcend working in the kitchen. 

I loved the idea of sharing with then to explore the world of food as an author, writer, photographer, stylist, and more.

This was dear to my Homegrown heart!

Then, in what seemed like a New York minute, I was able to arrange for my talk at the James Beard House – the mecca for all things culinary. 

Plus, the Passport teens would be at the Union Square Greenmarket on Wednesdays – which coincided with the “Beard on Books” talks, allowing the group to listen to the Beard lecture, eat their boxed lunch in the Beard garden and then I did my talk for them.

Kismet!

I enjoyed these kids – very enthusiastic and attentive and asked salient questions, too.

92Y Passport NYC Session 2

92Y Passport NYC Session 1

The good people at the Beard House were so gracious and accommodating. 

A special thanks to Diane, Izabela, and Victoria.  Their hospitality was tremendous. They welcomed the 92Y Passport teens and made everything so easy. It’s a memory I know they will cherish.

As a matter of fact, both groups wrote me a letter saying so.  (OK, OK, they can't spell my name correctly but who cares - at least I'm "Lean!"

Here is the background from the Y to better explain what their program is all about:

Passport NYC, a not for profit summer camp program through 92Y, www.92YPassportNYC.org offers teens from all over the world the opportunity to live at the 92^nd Street Y for two three week sessions to explore and study their greatest passion: Culinary Arts, Fashion, the Music Industry, Film, or Musical Theater.  

For the Culinary Arts, each day our teens participate in culinary classes taught by a professional chef.  They learn a multitude of hands on culinary skills in the kitchen and explore many different food cultures and ethnic cuisines.  Each meal they prepare serves as their lunch that day.  The afternoon is paired with experiences in the food world of New York City.  Our teens gain an understanding of the Green Markets through our partnership with GrowNYC as well as have a chance to meet with top-level professionals in the culinary field.  

As we head into our 4^th Passport NYC summer we are honored and thrilled to have restaurants and Culinary professionals like Gramercy Tavern, Food Network tours, Waffles and Dinges, Del Posto, LandMarc/Ditchplains and many, many more signed on as some of our site visits this summer. We are very happy we can add you to provide an opportunity for our teens to be exposed to the varying opportunities within NY’s food industry. It will be incredibly relevant and beneficial.

Swanky-ish Soirees 

This season, I was privileged to participate in three-plus very, very extraordinary events on behalf of The Hamptons & Long Island Homegrown Cookbook.

More than mere cocktail party chatting fodder, these are the kind of experiences one passes on through the prism of a life well-lived. It was never lost on me for a second how fortunate I was to be a part of these memorable exchanges and passages.

Please enjoy the full re-telling here:

Great Chefs Dinner and meeting Chef Eric Ripert  

http://celebritychefsandtheirgardens.blogspot.com/2013/08/a-homegrown-hamptons-east-end-weekend.html

Authors Night and The Hamptons Magazine Dinner

The Authors Night book signing “Under the Tent,” as the East Hampton Library refers to their fanfest fundraiser, was followed by the Hamptons Magazine dinner that was also under a tent – and it was pure magic. 

I wrote a full recollection a few posts back.  I hope this captures the wonder and joy:

http://celebritychefsandtheirgardens.blogspot.com  

Hamptons Magazine Authors Night Dinner Party in Editor at Large Michael Braverman's scandalously beautiful library. Michael- far right, Debra Halpert, publisher Hamptons Magazine, Jessica Soffer, Padma Lakshmi, John Searles, me, Suzanne Corso, & Samantha Yanks, Editor in Chief, Hamptons Magazine

And The Magic of East Hampton Authors Night is posted right before: 

http://celebritychefsandtheirgardens.blogspot.com/2013/08/the-magic-of-east-hampton-library.html

me & my yogi master, Hilaria Baldwin.  Now she is #yogimama to beautiful baby Carmen 

The Magic of East Hampton Library Authors Night

There was never any doubt.  It was the best night of my writing career. 

If I never write another thing (god forbid) I will always have this Authors Night memory and be content.

While I regret a few things and would have changed a few others things there is so much pure, inescapable joy, pride and satisfaction that I’ll fold up those thoughts like a familiar lace handkerchief and put them in my pocket for now.

The morning of August 10^th sparkled.  By the time I arrived in East Hampton, the day was shimmering -- as if in anticipation of the star-studded competition the evening would bring to the glory of the day.

I had taken the jitney to the East End, and alighting in East Hampton, a taxi driver suddenly appeared just as I retrieved my bag from the belly of the bus, and we made our way posthaste to the East Hampton Hotel.  This low-slung motel looked like something straight out of a Rat Pack Las Vegas-styled 1960’s film.

 Don’t get me wrong – the hotel/motel was clean as a whistle, scrubbed white and green but its Jetson-styled slooping roof and open cinderblock design reminded me of the early Caesar’s look right out the award-winning Martin Scorcese film, “Casino.”

It was sweet. And simple. What’s not to like?

I readily unpacked my few things, hung up my lace dress and jacket for the evening.  I was glad I hadn’t rolled the outfit into the travel bag – transporting it in a garment bag instead.  So all was still crisp.

I had plenty of time before the East Hampton Authors Night book signings under the tent was to begin so I figured I’d indulge in something to eat.

I learned from the front desk that Bostwick’s was within walking distance and headed over but not before spotting the stack of the Hamptons Magazine that included a full-length feature story about the East Hampton Authors Night – and the Hamptons Magazine-hosted dinner at the home of editor Michael Braverman that was to follow the Library event.

And I was included in that feature story!  Page 54 in the magazine: http://hamptons-magazine.com/digital-edition

I still had my head in the clouds from reading the digital version the night before, having discovered the link on the East Hampton Library’s Facebook page while doing some social networking. 

So with the glossy and glamorous copy of the magazine in hand, I sashayed over to the restaurant. 

Well, in fact it was more that I picked my way along the mini highway that is Pantigo Road, as the cars race by, not unlike La Mans. Which is kind of a crazy contrast to the bumper-to-bumper snails pace getting to the Hamptons.

Ensconced in a seat at the bar, I indulged in a lobster roll and Brooklyn beer and the magazine. Perfect.  I was so elated by the story and the sensual delight of holding it in my hands.

This was no digital deceit!  The feature was real. 

I had to share it with somebody – anybody.  The bartender was my likely candidate so – like a kid who brings home refrigerator art, I asked, “Do you want to see a story about tonight’s Authors Night?  I’m in it.”  Hopeless, I know…

Now being properly satiated, it was time to get ready for the evening.

Like a warrior getting ready for battle – or perhaps a better analogy is a thespian preparing to take the stage, I got changed and applied some make up and got my hair looking good.  In fact, I thought overall, I did look good.  The poison ivy on my face had cleared up pretty good.  There was little to no humidity and so there was no make up melt and, overall, a good hair day.

How quickly things can change.

I waited for my Homegrown friend and enthusiastic supporter, Toni Sabatino to arrive.  Toni is a very talented kitchen designer.  She (not a he) was to be my roommate and one of my guests for the evening’s festivities.  She’d come across the Forks and had run into someone’s medical emergency on the Shelter Island ferry – but no worries, I reassured her.

She composed herself and looked great and we were ready.

She drove us to the Authors Night under the tent.

I got my gold bracelet stamped “Authors Night.”

Normally I do not allow these branding bracelets – aka wristbands anywhere near me – I find them offensive and degrading.

Not this one. I felt the bracelet was a badge of honor.  And Tiffany or Cartier could not have designed a more dazzling piece of jewelry even if I was the Duchess of Cambridge.

A volunteer escorted me to my book-signing table; I was overjoyed and relieved to see it was right near the entrance: up front.

Squeezing between my table and the author’s to my right, I saw that my table-mate was Padma Lakshmi.

If you’ve been under a rock – Padma was the host of Food Network’s Top Chef, was married to Salmon Rushdie, graces the cover of countless magazines, including this issue of the heretofore mentioned Hamptons Magazine and was part of the same feature I was included in.  She was to be a fellow, author co-host for the evening’s dinner party, too.  Our paths had truly crossed. We were fellow scribes…

I silently gulped.

While it would no doubt be fun and exciting to spend the event signing books with Padma, the honest truth is she is so very famous and beautiful and tall and has a new book out plus will be starring in a new TV show - that attending guests would look right past me.  They’d have eyes only for the very tall (did I say that again?!), very talented Padma. 

The good news/bad news is Padma was a “no show” for the Author Night event under the tent…

Only a few people took her book to purchase, which is a shame for the Library. Some others asked me where she was and I had to say I am not Padma’s keeper…”

But I am here,” I smiled.  

It was controlled chaos under the tent.  In fact, from the time we arrived, there wasn’t a moment I wasn’t signing books and posing for pictures or taking photos of the Homegrown fans. 

Me and Dan - from East End's beloved & popular Dan's Papers (newspaper)

It was work.

And still more guests were arriving. 

Swedish Culinary Students, me & Chef Bryan Futerman, Foody's

In about an hour, I was sold out of two cases of books! 

Nothing left to sign for the last hour.

It was then I realized how hot it had gotten under the tent.  I whipped out my hand-held fan and began to stylishly but earnestly wave the hot air.

Too late. 

I could feel the make up melting off my eyes fearful I was looking more Emmett Kelly than even author Kitty Kelly – who, by the way, was the next author over from me since Padma wasn’t there. (I rarely to never wear face make up so at least I could be thankful there weren’t rivers of foundation puddling on my cheeks.)

And then the hair tragedy.  It was now flat. Limp.

I was looking more old-school librarian than Hamptons Library supporter.

Dawn Watson, The Press, caught my "glow"

But there was nothing that could be done…

It wasn’t for me that I cared. Well, maybe a little. It was I wanted to uphold the glamorous, East Hamptons Authors Night provenance…

I was proud we had done so well and in such a short time. 

Post event, the East Hampton Library wrote of the event's overall, soaring success: 104 authors under the tent along with more than 2,000 guests.  In addition, 700 guests attended the 26 dinners.  Donations were still coming in but estimates are that the tally exceed $300,000 in revenue for the Library! 

Bryan Futerman, Foody’s restaurant owner and chef and a featured Homegrown chef in the Cookbook was my other Plus +1 for the event and dinner guest. 

Chef Bryan was so kind – he stayed at the table and autographed books right along with me. 

That was a lucky-strike extra for the Homegrown fans! 

For those who are not familiar with the evening’s format, I’ll describe it for you. 

Plus, I saw a News 12 TV piece where Authors Night co-founder Alec Baldwin pointed out that the format has now become a model, inspiring other libraries’ fundraising outreach.

But I doubt that others can match the East Hampton Library’s star power and setting. There is nothing like the literi gliteri there.

Guests pay for tickets to the benefit.  They are able to taste fabulous treats – from hors d’ouevres to sweets, along with wine and other drinks – while walking around, chatting up famous, favorite or new authors, and getting them to sign the guest’s books of choice.

When they have gathered enough for a small library – they check out – with all the monies benefitting the East Hampton Library.

So, I had planned for Chef Bryan to simply enjoy the food and drink there at the event and walk around and meet the famous authors who were present. 

But he elected to stay with me. 

Bryan is adorable and I welcomed his company and support.

When we depleted our book inventory, except for one, I turned my gaze and attention to what was happening around me.

Gwyneth, Goop and Good Food

It was then that I saw all this sustained commotion to my left. And there in our table pit – meaning the center of our Author table area – was Gwyneth Paltrow.

I could see right away she was not having a bad hair day.

Smart cookie – she had it tied back in a sleek ponytail.

And that was complemented by a stunning and equally sleek white dress. Tom Ford?

As I was remarking about how lucky I was to be at this table pit intersection – Chef Bryan and Toni urged me to give my last book to Gwyneth.

Yes, why not?

So as quickly as each of us could tap her name into our smart phones to insure proper spelling - my Plus +1’s were spelling her name and I was penning, “G-W-Y-N-E-T-H, Enjoy the beauty, romance and taste of Homegrown Long Island.”

And I signed my Leeann with a particularly dramatic swirl of the L, if I do say so myself. 

Holding my book in arm: school style – I took the few steps over to where Gwyneth was signing up a storm.

I really didn’t want to interrupt her. 

I started by sidling up to her penning side – her children Moses and Apple were on her left – beaming for all the guests, clearly so happy and proud.

Husband Chris Martin, Coldplay musician, was on the guest side of the table – in the book-loving melee chatting it up and looking like he’d made the rounds of the other Authors by the look of the books he was holding.

Chris Martin with his Authors Night books

How cute are the apple cheeks on Apple?!

After mugging it up for my camera that Toni was snapping – it was getting silly with me smiling next to Gwyneth and she intent on book signing so that the images would look like I was standing next to a cut-out or Madame Tussaud figure of the Academy-Award winning actress. 

I took the plunge and sat down next her saying simply, “Sorry, I hate to interrupt but I so wanted you to have my book – my last book.”

And she turns, inches from my face – so I can’t help notice she doesn’t have any pores… She is glowing. In a good way. Not in a melt-down glistening way.

No, she is the cover girl of healthy, authentic luminosity.

Then Gwyneth chirps – in an altogether too adorable way:

“Your book?!  

“I have the book!”

“I Love the book!”

“What?!”  I reply, stunned, 

I am gobsmacked Gwyneth loves the book.  Hey, I’m just thrilled she knows of it. The fact that she already has it and loves it starts to settle on me like a warm spring day.

Life is good.

But wait. Now I’m in a pickle.

I blurt how great this is and say: “I’m thrilled you have and love the book!

But, but, ohhhh I just signed this one – my last one – to you!”

We both start laughing like startled school friends who just discovered another’s secret boyfriend.

She returns to signing books while keeping an ear.

I put on my thinking cap and pull what I think is a rabbit out of my hat.

“Why don’t I add your mother’s name?” I ask hopefully.

“That’s a Great idea!” she offers. 

But seriously, what is she gonna say when I’m just inches away – “That’s a Homegrown re-gifting if I ever ...”?

While we both agree on this Homegrown solution – and for the record -- I adore her mother, Blythe Danner and have loved her stage work especially, as well as her films.

Then I make a strategic blunder.  Rather than add Blythe’s name there and hand it directly to Gwyneth -- for some inexplicable reason, I return to my Authors Table and pen “Blythe” in the comfort of my Authors turf while pondering how one family can have such kingdom names: Blythe, Gwyneth, Moses, Apple…

When I grew up I was the only Leeann but that doesn’t seem to be in the same league as these marquee names.

As a big aside, the other simpatico connection I – and my cousin Maryann – share with Gwyneth – is our abiding, unconditional love for our fathers. 

All of who have left this world for that part of heaven reserved for first-class fathers.

I rather wear my feelings for my father on my sleeve and so I sometimes felt that perhaps others might think me too personal or dramatic when sharing my deep abiding love for my father.

Then I read Gwyneth saying her father was the love of her life. 

I shared that with Maryann.  If others can accept Gwyneth’s declaration of filial love, then they could accept and understand mine. And Maryann's...

And Maryann is putting the finishing touches on her homage to her father with a cookbook filled with healthy comfort food and family meals – not so unlike Gwyneth’s “My Father’s Daughter” cookbook that “celebrates the joy preparing food for loved ones, a passion she learned from her beloved father,” according to the book’s overview.

http://www.amazon.com/Fathers-Daughter-Delicious-Celebrating-Togetherness/dp/0446557315

The other link I have with the culinary cutie that is Gwyneth clearly is the food.

We both advocate for whole foods.  I emphasize locally grown and seasonal ingredients. 

And taste…

Back to the event.

Before I could return to Gwyneth with the signed book, there was more Hamptons royalty who’d just arrived.

I turned to see Alec Baldwin and his gorgeous wife, Hilaria.  There was a phalanx of photographers and lookers now surrounding the already buzz-worthy Gwyneth table.

I could see and capture the sweet, courteous exchange among the stars and then the introduction to Gwyneth’s children and photographed them shaking Mr. Baldwin’s hand.

Mrs. Baldwin was radiant. While very, very pregnant, she wears it so well.

In fact, as the two of us talked in the Authors table “pit” she said they were returning to town that night because their doctor said they were pushing the envelope.

me/author & beautiful Hilaria Thomas Baldwin

Hilaria is my Gotham yogi master.  Her studio is around the corner from our apartment.  

After trying several yoga studios in my Greenwich Village neighborhood, I found my yoga home. I love her, the studio, and the staff.

And in fact, Hilaria had me do my first headstand. After success, we joked I wasn't a headstand virgin any more J

No Baldwin Blurb

In terms of the book, I have somewhat of a history with Mr. Baldwin.

I will explain. 

And I wish I had shared this funny and somewhat tortured connection with Hilaria as we talked in the Authors pit.

The Baldwin blurb saga began a few clicks earlier.   

I was so fortunate and thank my lucky stars that Brian Halweil agreed to do the Forward for my book. Brian is the editor of the New York magazines: Edible New York, Edible East End and recently – Edible Long Island (did the Homegrown book influence this direction?  Hope so!) Brian is also a senior fellow at the Worldwatch Institute covering food and agriculture and he is also co-director of Nourishing the Planet.

I had wanted to find a way to ask Mr. Baldwin if he would do a book blurb for the Homegrown Cookbook.  After all, he is a Long Island native and I read he frequented a number of the restaurants featured in Homegrown.  It was a natural fit, I thought. 

Then not long after, Edible East End ran a story with Mr. Baldwin and Brian rhapsodizing about the Peconic Bay and East End oysters.  (Which are very, very spectacular if you haven’t tasted this bit of the Milky Way on your tongue!)

I called Brian and well, one thing led to the next.

Eventually, I met up with Mr. Baldwin at a benefit for the Two River Theater in Red Bank in the Garden State – near our country house.  I thought it was an ideal situation to bring up our mutual points of interest: culture, politics, humor, Long Island, restaurants and food and – but before I could explain in clear, complete sentences about the book and my modest request for a blurb, the moment was gone.  I get very unnerved around him.  I blather. To the point he leaned in and asked, “So what do you want me to do?”  Before I could respond, I resorted to pictures.  Thinking it might help if like a proud parent I could show off the progeny – (and a picture is worth a thousand words – and since I hadn’t progressed too far past monosyllabic conversation, I took out a few pages of the then-almost complete manuscript that I thought would trigger warm recognition of cozy dinners at 1770 House and Nick & Toni’s and…. But before I could unfurl a page, he stopped me. Or rather demurred.   

Is it a legal thing?  Not sure but I respected his request. 

I did get a nice picture of us together that night... (Too funny - or sad -  that I was wearing the exact same ensemble!) 

He suggested I contact his business partner and manager, Monica.

Which I did, eventually.

Monica is a true professional and has a great sense of aplomb, discretion, and humor. 

While she appreciated my request, she had to decline due to Mr. Baldwin’s oversubscribed schedule.  Even if I wrote it and he/they edited – there was no way.

While clearly disappointed I accepted it and her kind offer to help with the book when it was published.

It wasn’t until spring of that following year that I started taking yoga at Hilaria’s Yoga Vida Studio.  Almost the same time that Mr. Baldwin and Hilaria discovered each other, now that I think about it.

I was taking the Friday morning class because there was no sense rushing out of town – our country house was under renovation.  Hilaria taught with such joy and exuberance I think I was falling in love with her, too.

When I saw her on ET, I couldn’t believe it!  How exciting!

And suddenly, it seemed, she and Alec were an inspired couple. 

When she told us at the end of a class in June or so that she’d be taking some time off – her first real vacation in like forever – we all knew it was to help celebrate the engagement.  In fact, I went up to her after class to congratulate her and just like a best friend, she showed off her beautiful engagement ring.  I took her hand and wished her the very best, saying she deserved all the joy and happiness in the world.  She brings so much of that to all of us…

As things turned out, Alec was waiting for her after our class siting on the sofa.  I had to stop in the ladies room, as I wasn’t returning to the apartment, rather I was on my way to the Greenmarket to compost.  In the powder room, the women were all giggling and tweeting.  Cute. 

I thought the soon-to-be Baldwin couple would have left by the time I got ready to leave.  But no.  I tried to avoid his gaze as this was about the same time that woman was stalking him.  But then we all ended up in the same elevator.  Arrghh. Head down.

Nice elevator conversations though…

When the Homegrown book was published, I wrote to Monica and offered to send the now happily married couple a Hamptons & Long Island Homegrown Cookbook. 

I could’ve dropped it off at their apartment building, which is also around the corner from us. 

Monica suggested I send it to 30 Rock. Why didn’t I walk it up?

I mailed it the same day as another book going to Canada.  I did have a signature request for the Post mailing at least.

Weeks later, I remembered to check in with Monica.  No, they hadn’t received the books, she said. I sent one to Mr. & Mrs. Baldwin and one to Monica.

She said things were crazy as Alec was doing the “Orphans” play on Broadway, the TV hit "30 Rock" had ended and there were so many baby gifts that had been sent to the office - so things were kinda’ crazy.  We had some funny email exchanges. I had the signature from the 30 Rock mailperson who signed for the books, at least.

And then, Monica then wrote that she found the books – they were sent to the apartment, after all.

So you see, this abbreviated story would have been a lot more charged than me asking the banal questions about baby names.  Sigh.  Hilaria might’ve gotten a kick out of the intersections of New York lives.

This was one of my regrets of the evening.

The other was not taking some time to get fixed up for dinner following the heady and hot Authors Night under the tent.

But we were giddy with anticipation and were soon heading over to the Hamptons Magazine dinner at Michael Braverman’s.  The biggest and most prestigious of all the dinners that night…