Book Signings for All the Foodies on Your List!

From Thomas Keller to Martha Stewart to...Rachael Ray...and everyone in between.

Get your Christmas shopping done early for those foodies on your list.
(And, don't forget to treat yourself to something nice, too.)
Be sure you call the stores to verify before heading out.

And, if you are a book/appearance lover, please head to Celebrity Book Signings and Events for all the latest and greatest. This is where I get a large part of my book info and it's usually pretty darn accurate. (I should prolly mention that Lee, the author of that website, knows about this site and I've sent some books signing info there, too.)

Happy Christmas Shopping!

Grant Achatz - Grant will only be signing copies of Alinea purchased at Williams-Sonoma. (Proof of purchase required.) Space is limited, and attendance is by reservation only. Please contact the store for details.

11/22/08 - 1:00PM - Williams-Sonoma - 142 Oakbrook Center - Oakbrook, IL - (630) 571-2702
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Mario Batali, star of Iron Chef America signing copies of Spain: A Culinary Road Trip

11/19/08 - 7:00 PM - Barnes & Noble - Union Square - New York, NY.
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Giada De Laurentiis, Food Network star, will be signing copies of Giada's Kitchen

For Williams-Sonoma events:
Giada will sign her latest cookbook, Giada's Kitchen: New Italian Favorites, which will be available for purchase. (Proof of purchase is required.) Space is limited, and attendance is by reservation only. Please contact the store for details.

11/17/08- 1:00PM - The Marketplace - Williams-Sonoma - 9000 Ming Ave.- Bakersfield, CA - (661) 665-7920
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Rocco DiSpirito, star of "The Restaurant" signing copies of Rocco Gets Real

11/19/08 - 7:00 PM - Barnes & Noble - Union Square - New York, NY.
11/22/09 - 2:00 PM - Borders Books- Tampa Avenue - Northridge, CA.
12/6/08 - 4:00 PM - Bookends - East Ridgewood Ave - Ridgewood, NJ.
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George Duran, Food Network star of "Ham on the Street," signing copies of Take This Food and Twist It

11/6/08 - 7:00 PM - Borders Books- Columbus Circle - New York, NY.
11/8/08 - 3:00 PM - Barnes & Noble - 7th Avenue - Brooklyn, NY.
11/12/08 - 7:00 PM - Borders Books- North Michigan Avenue - Chicago, IL.
11/23/08 - 2:00 PM - Barnes & Noble - Post Road East - Westport, CT.
11/29/08 - 2:00 PM - Costco - Second Avenue - Waltham, MA.
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Guy Fieri, Food Network star, signing copies of Diners, Drive-Ins, & Dives- An All- American Road Trip

11/11/08 - 7:00 PM - Barnes & Noble - Edinger Avenue - Huntington Beach, CA.
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Tyler Florence - Join Tyler as he signs copies of his new books, Stirring The Pot and Dinner At My Place.

11/7/2008 - 5:00 PM - Sur La Table - San Francisco, CA - Ferry Building Marketplace, 415.262.9970
11/8/2008 - 5:00 PM - Sur La Table - San Jose, CA - Santana Row- 408.244.4749

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Ina Garten, the Food Network's Barefoot Contessa, signing copies of Back To Basics

For Williams-Sonoma events:
Ina will sign her latest cookbook, Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics, which will be available for purchase at the store. (Proof of purchase is required.) Space is limited. Please contact the store for details.

11/10/08 Noon - Williams-Sonoma -Worcester Street - Natick, MA.
11/11/08 Noon - Barnes & Noble - Old Orchard Center - Skokie, IL.
NOTE: There is a date conflict for the 12th - unless the Edina location and the Roseville location are the same. Call store to confirm.
November 12, 12:00 - 2:00 PM - Williams-Sonoma - Edina Galleria - 3512 Galleria - Edina, MN - (952) 285-1338
11/12/08 Noon - Borders Books- Rosedale Center - Roseville, MN.
11/13/08 Noon - Williams-Sonoma -Post Street - San Francisco, CA.
11/14/08 Noon - Williams-Sonoma -Montana Avenue - Santa Monica, CA.
12/10/08 Noon - Williams-Sonoma -Morris Turnpike - Short Hills, NJ.
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Thomas Keller -Join Thomas as he signs copies of his new book, Under Pressure: Cooking Sous Vide.

12/10/2008 - 5:00 PM - Book is $75.00 - Sur La Table - San Francisco, CA - Ferry Building Marketplace - 415.262.9970

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Sandra Lee, Food Network star, signing copies of Semi-Homemade Fast-Fix Family Favorites

11/19/08 - 7:00 PM - Barnes & Noble - Townsfair Way - Columbus, OH.
12/11/08 - 6:00 PM - Barnes & Noble - East Broadway - Bloomington, MN
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Rachael Ray, star of several TV shows, signing copies of Rachael Ray 's Big Orange Book

11/6/08 - 7:00 PM - Barnes & Noble - Union Square - New York, NY.
11/8/08 - 1:00 PM - Costco - Old Country Road - Westbury, NY.
11/15/2008 - 3:00 PM - Sur La Table - Chestnut Hill, MA - The Mall at Chestnut Hill- 704.362.2360
12/15/08 - 5:00 PM - Barnes & Noble - SE Maynard - Cary, NC.
12/18/08 - 5:00 PM - Barnes & Noble - West 69th - Edina, MN.
12/19/08 - 5:00 PM - Barnes & Noble - Old Orchard Center - Skokie, IL.
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Martha Stewart, cooking and design star, signing copies of Martha Stewart 's Cooking School

For Williams-Sonoma events:
Martha will sign her latest cookbook, Martha Stewart's Cooking School, which is available at the store. (Proof of purchase required.) Space is limited, and attendance is by reservation only. Please contact the store for details.

11/7/08 - 5:00 PM - Williams-Sonoma, The Bellevue - 200 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA - (215) 545-7392
11/9/08 - 4:00 PM - Vroman' s Bookstore - East Colorado Blvd -Pasadena, CA.
11/10/08 - 10:30 AM - Barnes & Noble - Americana Way - Glendale, CA.
11/11/08 -1:00 PM - Sur La Table - Travis Street - Dallas, TX.

Easy 15 Minute Danishes!

Yum!

These went over really well at Christmas.

So, I thought I would share them with you.

Now, here's the best part.

The are really easy.

So, these little danish-y things are...

super easy, taste great, are less-filling (sorry!)

and come courtesy of my friend Deb.

At Christmastime, when time is of the essence, this is a way to make a warm treat filled with your favorite sweets. These pics are from the first batch I made and some contain apple pie filling while others have blueberry "simply fruit" jam.

The second batch (sorry, no pics) included strawberry seedless jam, sugar-free orange marmalade, and even chocolate chips. Yum! We had quite the variety of colorful snackage to give us a quick burst of sugar-rush on Christmas morning. ;)

Here's the recipe.
For now, I've been calling them...

Crescent Kolachkies.
Makes 16

4 cans of 8 crescent rolls
1 brick of cream cheese
1/2 cup of sugar
Pie filling or fresh fruit
Vanilla


Use 2 triangles to make a rectangle.
Pinch seams together

Cream together:
Cream cheese, sugar (to taste), vanilla (to taste)

Spread some cream cheese mixture on rolls
Top with about a tablespoon of any fresh fruit or pie filling.

Fold the corners over the filling and push to seal.
Sprinkle top with sugar.
Bake as per crescent roll can.Get a quick assembly line going and pop em in the oven :)
Done!
Tips:
I highly recommend the "Simply Fruit" section of the jelly aisle.

The cream cheese part won't melt and spread much, so feel free to have it peek out nicely under the folds.

The jelly/jam/marmalade WILL melt and spread much depending on it's composition and lunar tide. So, be stingy.

Be sure you sprinkle the tops with sugar before baking.
It makes them yummy good.
Coarse sugar, also known as decorator's sugar, might also be good.

Be sure you pinch their little bottoms well.
Or else, they might split while baking.
And, then you have to eat that one.
And, that one.
And....

Can you make them smaller? Sure!
My sis suggested I try using only 1 triangle instead of 2 on the second batch to make them smaller. And, it worked, and they were REALLY cute. But, they were MUCH more work because the dough gets warm and tears, etc. So, that's an option depending on the time you have.

(Me? When I did them with one triangle instead of two I almost wadded up the whole batch and baked them up in a mound as a tribute to Close Encounters - because I got so frustrated. You remember the mountain of potatoes that Richard Dreyfuss....never mind.)

Downside:
These are not low cal.
Nope, didn't try using the low cal croissant dough or low fat cream cheese.

These are not inexpensive.
Nope, didn't try generic.

Good news:
Everyone will love them.
YOU get to name them.
And, you get to hand out copies to all your friends.

So, they can tell two friends,
And, they can tell two friends.
And, so on.
And, so on...

Thanks Deb ;)

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