My friends at Swank Farms recently posted an enticing photo of their strawberry harvest and after seeing it, all I could think of was a deliciously refreshing strawberry soup I’d enjoyed a few years ago in North Carolina. After a bit of digging, I found that recipe, made a trip to the green market for fresh berries, and enjoyed the soup for lunch that day. The recipe suggested blending the ingredients, so it was very easy to prepare, but the taste and texture was more smoothie than soup. I substituted yogurt for the cream when I served it to my husband; that didn’t change much in terms of flavor and texture, but it was certainly more healthful. Still, the soup was not exactly what I had hoped for. The berries needed to take center stage, not be shrouded in cream. When strawberries are this fragrant and fresh, I really want to taste the berries.
Searching for just the right method, I came across a recipe created by Martha Rose Shulman for the New York Times, a soup she says would be called a concassée in France. The strawberries are crushed rather than pureed, like a tomato concassée (think bruschetta), so the soup has lots of texture. It was delicious, but my husband decided he’d rather enjoy it as a dessert. It was too sweet for him.
Determined to create a strawberry soup for a gathering with the girls, I changed little in Martha’s recipe, but topped it with a touch of cream (inspired by my North Carolina recipe), a delicious mint powder created by one of my cooks, and a few slivers of toasted almond. It added just the right flavors to balance the sweetness of the berries. I served this version as an appetizer to my friends and volunteers from the American Heart Association; it was the perfect beginning to a heart healthy lunch, and it was a big hit. I recreated it for another girl’s gathering to celebrate a friend visiting from Italy and everyone loved it! Finally! I had the perfect starter for a light spring lunch.
Strawberries are in season through April here in Florida; right now, they’re red, fragrant and delicious, so I intend to enjoy this soup a few more times. I can’t wait to share it with my daughters.
Here is my recipe for Mint Powder. You also can find mint powder in most Indian groceries, many gourmet shops, and online—just be sure it is mint powder and not peppermint powder. If using store-bought powder, you may want to add a little extra honey to your soup.
One of the very talented cooks I have the pleasure of working with created this recipe. She follows other cooks from her homeland on social media and became fascinated by the “powders” that are quite popular with Polish cooks at the moment. When I was developing a recipe for Strawberry Soup, she excitedly told me her idea for a mint powder and immediately we began to explore.
The mint powder recipes I am familiar with are usually used in Indian cooking and don’t include sugar. There also are lots of recipes on the internet for Mint Sugar, which is great for sprinkling on top of fresh fruit or to rim cocktail glasses. This method creates something in between the two, and is perfect for my Strawberry Soup. It’s also great for salads and, of course, over chocolate ice cream.
In Hamptons Entertaining there is a fantastic recipe for Seared Scallops with Watermelon and Papaya that was given to me by Kara Ross (you’ll find it on page 35). Adding this Mint Powder is a great way to update the recipe for the coming summer. If you love to cook, you know that one of the best parts of summer is having a bounty of fresh herbs at your fingertips. Mint is an absolute favorite of mine and it grows like a weed in my garden during summer. I’m so excited to have a new, creative way to add it to my summer menu.
Choosing the perfect ending to any gathering sometimes requires thinking outside the cakebox. Having worked on numerous events, I can tell you it’s always the small details that create an occasion to remember and leave guests swooning. Crafting a signature dessert is often my favorite part of planning any occasion.
Recently, I hosted the annual fundraising gala for The American Heart Association, with nearly 500 guests in attendance. Upon arrival, guests were greeted with my signature cocktail, and when the dessert arrived everyone pulled out their phone to snap photos. I must admit I, too, uploaded a picture to Instagram, one that I snapped at the final tasting when we got it just right.
From modern towering cakes to trendy cupcake trees, the architecture of desserts can be a sight to behold and oftentimes I’m asked by newly engaged couples what considerations to take into account when choosing something sweet and sky-high for their big day.
Most importantly, partnering with the right team will mean your dessert can be a one-of-a-kind, custom work of art. From themed cakes to macaron or cupcake towers, anything is possible. Whether it’s a wedding, milestone birthday or anniversary the options are limitless, so I recommend following a few simple rules to help select the right dessert for your event:
Decide on the budget: Depending upon the layers, size and elaborate or simple nature of the design, cakes can range widely in price, with some costing as much as $20.00 per slice.
Research Online: This will help narrow down the choices and help you to be prepared to communicate color schemes, themes and design ideas when meeting with a baker. I love Pinterest for inspiration. Your dessert should work with your overall theme and, most importantly, be something you love—something delicious to end the evening on a memorable, sweet note.
Choose your baker: It’s a great idea to select professionals who specialize in wedding cakes. They’ll best be able to handle delivery and set up. Ask to see photos of desserts they have created and in turn share the photos and ideas you’ve collected to communicate your vision. Talk about frosting (fondant or buttercream) or perhaps a naked cake; discuss cake flavors (chocolate, vanilla, red velvet, and so on) and filling. If you decide on a tower of French macarons or cupcakes you’ll discuss color and flavor, too.
Ask for a tasting: To create the dessert for the Heart Ball, I had three tastings and tried seven different versions of the dessert until we got it right. Based on guest’s reactions, it was well worth it!
Consider presentation: Will your edible work of art be displayed at your reception? Would you like it to be wheeled out to the dance floor for an added wow factor, or do you prefer to have it served already plated and set before each guest?
I’ve shared images of just a few of my favorite and most memorable desserts. A giant cupcake-cake was designed for my daughter Gigi’s fifteenth birthday and filled with her favorite flavors: vanilla cake and buttercream layers. Next is a magical sandcastle, designed for a birthday celebration on the beach. The cake and topping paired delicously to taste just like a toasted almond ice cream pop. Then there is the “handbag” created for designer Kara Ross’s birthday and fashioned after her My PURSEonality clutches. And finally, a giant cupcake tower for my daughter Kayla’s Sweet 16! I designed this with the help of the Sugar Monkey—she used my family’s favorite vanilla cake and buttercream recipes, and her amazing chocolate ganache, all baked with the finest ingredients. We designed the tower to complement the décor—a Halloween Sweet 16!
I’ve been a member of many a book club and the two I’ve enjoyed the most turned the simple pleasure of reading into an occasion to remember. Anyone who’s been in a book club long enough knows it’s not just the books that keep bringing us together—it’s the lively discussions, the good company, and oftentimes the delicious food and tasty libations.
I joined my first book club in New York City. We were a band of intellectually curious new mothers, and some of us had given up careers to raise our children. We craved adult company, mental stimulation, and a little fun. At first, we read a lot of Russian literature, but after Dostoyevsky’s Crime & Punishment we all agreed some lighter reading was in order. TheRed Tent, by Anita Diamant, was our light read. Set in biblical times, the story details how Jacob acquired four wives and how they all came to love the arrangement, savoring their time together in the red tent where they would talk and celebrate their life-giving abilities.
It was my turn to host and I chose to invite my friends to a Middle Eastern restaurant. It was exotic, sensual and perfect for a Red Tent book club gathering. We were seated at a table under a sumptuous tent where we dined on authentic Middle Eastern cuisine, and the fragrance of orange blossoms wafted in and out when the servers entered. As we dined, curvy belly dancers provocatively shimmied around our tent and, after our meal, a veiled dancer appeared, offering us an intricately designed Hookah filled with a deliciously fragrant Turkish shisha. We felt a bit like Jacob’s wives in our tent, where feminine vibes prevailed and we savored our time together. Transported to another place and era through the magic of food, décor and dance, it was an unforgettable gathering filled with lively discussion and hearty laughter.
Years and many book clubs later, I was invited to join a group of fabulously bright, vibrant women in Palm Beach. This club celebrated a book’s theme with food and wine, too, but without the rich culinary scene of New York we were tasked with creating these gatherings in our homes. An actress led our club and began the custom of dressing according to the book’s theme when she hosted—all the members arrived in costume and makeup! It certainly added to the fun.
The last party I hosted for this club, known as the Book Babes, was a New Orleans–themed gathering in honor of Zeitoun, Dave Egger’s account of the city post-Katrina. The story is quite heart-wrenching but I went for a light, celebratory Mardi-Gras theme. Guests were greeted with a traditional welcome drink, The Hurricane, and were wrapped in boas and draped in colorful beads as they arrived. We feasted on a Louisiana-inspired menu and ended our meal with hot, warm beignets and an authentic King Cake shipped directly from the Big Easy. The guest who found the baby in her slice of cake would host our next gathering, so everyone was obliged to have a piece. We were transported to the streets of New Orleans, sharing an evening of laughter, lively discussion and sisterhood.
Tips for Creating a Successful Book Club
1. Choose Your Members
Invite friends who may not know one another, but have something in common. In both of my clubs, we were all devoted mothers with children around the same age. We all loved to read, but had wildly different careers that included lawyers, magazine editors, actresses, brokers, teachers, writers and stay-at-home moms.
2. Choose Your Book
Prior to the very first meeting, ask each member to be prepared to recommend two books and give a short presentation on why they may be interesting to the group. Everyone votes and the book with most votes wins! Need ideas? Check out a few bestseller lists.
At subsequent meetings, you can allow the hostess to choose the next book or reserve time at the end of the gathering to discuss recommendations and vote again.
3. Choose the Book Club Host
If all members agree to take turns hosting, put everyone’s name on a slip of paper and toss them into a bowl to choose the next host at random; the person drawn will host the next meeting and can decide whether to have the party at home or a restaurant.
At subsequent meetings, members can volunteer to host based on their schedule and ability to plan the gathering.
4. Choose the Date for your Next Gathering
Agreeing to a standing date works best. For both of my clubs we met bimonthly, the first Wednesday of every other month. If it happened to be a holiday or school break we shifted the date in advance so there was no confusion.
5. The Hostess Prepares for the Gathering
Research and Remind: Research the book you’ve all chosen and create discussion questions. Sometimes, the book publisher includes them at the end of the book or has a link to resources online. You can also email your club members a few weeks in advance to ask that everyone come up with at least one or two talking points for the gathering. This is a great opportunity to confirm the book and date and details of the meeting.
Create the Theme: Now that you know more about the book you can create your theme, decide on a convenient venue, and perhaps add a fun, new element to the evening.
A Fine Balance, Rohinton Mistry’s sweeping novel of India in the 1970s, inspired my club members to dress up in saris and our hostess to serve a wonderful Indian feast. She also arranged to have a henna artist on hand to tattoo all the guests.
The Book Thief, a moving tale of books stolen and shared in Nazi Germany by Marcus Zusak, added an element of social good to one of our gatherings. Each member was asked to bring a children’s book, and we arranged them in a basket. Our hostess presented the collection to a local charity (in this case it was for the young mothers and children of CHS).
Send out invitations: They can be digital creations or more elaborate pieces sent in the mail or hand delivered. This is where I usually visit Pinterest for a little inspiration.
Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo inspired one hostess to send a custom-made temporary tattoo to her invitees, including the date, time and place of our gathering.
Plan your menu, from the welcome drink to dessert: Be inspired by your book’s theme or location, and keep any dietary needs in mind.
The Oracle, by D.J. Niko, motivated me to create a custom drink I called Apollo’s Nectar to greet my guests.
Set the scene: Create a fun tablescape, visit the party store for a few props to add to the ambiance, or ask guests to dress up.
When I hosted my friends for our Zeitoun discussion I found Mardi Gras beads and boas online; and used frog place card holders to display guest’s names. Also in the place card holders were our discussion questions, so that each guest could read a question to the group. It engaged everyone—including that one guest who didn’t finish the book (there’s always one!).
Confirm your next gathering: Set aside time at the end of the evening to confirm your book and hostess for the next gathering.
