MANY PEOPLE brought The Book Club Cookbook to reality. We’re indebted to our agents, Marianne Merola and Joelle Delbourgo, who provided unwavering support, sage advice, and good humor during the writing of the first and revised editions. Sara Carder, our editor at Tarcher/Penguin, guided us surely each step of the way. Her thoughtful insights helped shape and refine The Book Club Cookbook to its present form.
We are grateful to our publisher, Joel Fotinos, for enthusiastically supporting our initiative and for the assistance and support of the talented Penguin staff and associates who contributed to the project in many ways: Brianna Yamashita, our publicist; Diane Hodges, copy editor; Amanda Dewey, who designed the interior; Dave Walker, who designed the cover; Andrew Yackira, who provided able administrative assistance; and photographer Nina Gallant and food stylist Catrine Kelty, who designed and captured the stunning images for this edition.
We thank Peter Zheutlin for his insights and for the time and energy he devoted to critiquing the manuscript, providing feedback, and refining our prose. Peter Krupp and Doris Gelman also read large chunks of the book, which has benefited from their thoughtful ideas and suggestions.
We are grateful to the authors who contributed comments and/or recipes, or simply offered guidance and direction: Annie Barrows, Jung Chang, Tracy Chevalier, Chris Cleave, Donna Woolfolk Cross, Anita Diamant, Emma Donoghue, Andre Dubus III, Jennifer Egan, Leif Enger, Jim Fergus, Julia Glass, Sara Gruen, Khaled Hosseini, Sue Monk Kidd, Jhumpa Lahiri, Erik Larson, Jonathan Lethem, Azar Nafisi, Queen Noor, Ann Packer, Ann Patchett, Jodi Picoult, Lisa See, Helen Simonson, Rebecca Skloot, Kathryn Stockett, Elizabeth Strout, Lalita Tademy, Abraham Verghese, and Markus Zusak. The participation of Mariam Verghese and Joan Tademy Lothery greatly enriched The Book Club Cookbook.
Our recipe developer, Andrew Gelman, displayed culinary creativity and a dogged pursuit of perfection. We’re grateful for his unwavering commitment. Mary Kate Dillon, Marji Marcus, and Jane Morse Rifkin also put their cooking and baking expertise to work for us, with spectacular results.
Many friends, family, and acquaintances donated time and ingredients to test our recipes. Their suggestions improved our book beyond measure. Our heartfelt appreciation goes to Cheryl Aglio-Girelli, Kay Allison, Steve Allison, Hannah Alpert, Peter Alpert, Myra Anderson, Carole Arsenault, Joan Balaban, Amy Bard, Linda and Seth Bauer, Don Berk, Julia Blatt, Susan Bonaiuto, Heidi Brown, Anna Burgess, Laurie Burgess, Molly Burgess, Lucia Gill Case, Karen Cheyney, Stella Chin, Suzanne Church, Michael Collatta, Sharon Conway, Beth Corkery, Donna Cullinan, Susan Daoust, Janice Davoren, Jennie DeLisi, Christine Demers, Joan Demers, Suzanne Diamond, Denise DiRocco, Rebecca Drill, Kim Evans, Anna Fassler, Michele Feldman, Elizabeth Freeman, Kim Garden, Andrew Gelman, Doris Gelman, Lois Gelman, Sharon Gillespie, Ann Marie Gluck, Leslie Gordon, Kimberly Greenberg, Herb Haber, Lyn Hadden, Lynn Hamlin, Elizabeth Hefferon, Pat Hession, Nancy Holly, Louis Hutchins, Lynne Karas, Laura Katz, Vicki Kaufman, Sue Kinel, Marie Krinsky, Connie Leonard, Becky Lingard, Julia Lipman, Fabienne Madsen, Barbara Matorin, Ana Maria Caballero McGuire, Susan McNeice, Melissa Meehan, Isaac Moche, Ceci Ogden, Eileen O’Keefe, Jackie Peck, Debbie Pryor, Patrick Putnam, Jayne Raphael, Steve Rockefeller, Larni Rosenlev, Debra Rostowsky, Judy Safian, Abby Schwartz, Stan Sclaroff, Char Sidell, Donna Skinner, Carla Small, Susie Smart, Sara Smolover, Debbie Squires, Suzanne Wildman, Leslie Zheutlin, and Michael Zheutlin. Rebecca Drill, Kim Evans, and Lynn Hamlin hosted recipe-tasting parties, festive events that allowed us to test and receive feedback on many recipes simultaneously.
We are fortunate to be surrounded by talented friends, family, and community members who supported us in ways too numerous to mention in full. They directed us to book clubs, sent recipe ideas, relevant articles, and contact information, and provided computer support and legal advice. Thanks to Marie Berliner, Lucia Gill Case, Karen Cheyney, Jim Dillon, Denise DiRocco, Rebecca Drill, Jody Feinberg, Audrey Forgeron, Janet Gelman, Kimberly Greenberg, Tracy Greenfield, Cally Haber, Nancy Haber, Charmin Hooper, Martha Hooper, Lyndy Johnson, Judy Bart Kancigor, Larry Krupp, Emily Lessner, Leslie Levy, David Minard, Lisa Newfield, Eileen O’Keefe, Carol Pankin, Jayne Raphael, Sarine Rodman, Richard Rosenlev, Sallie Sanford, Danny Seti, Nina Silber, Clara Silverstein, Wanda Spivey, Lise Stern, Virginia Valentine, and Zhanna Volynskaya.
We extend our appreciation to the restaurants and chefs who generously contributed recipes: Vicki Lee Boyajian of Boston; Britta’s Café of Irvine, California; Greg Case of Somerville, Massachusetts; Fountain Court Restaurant of San Francisco; Great! Lakes Candy Kitchen of Knife River, Minnesota; Masala Art of Needham, Massachusetts; Milwaukee School of Engineering of Milwaukee; One Main Street Café of Salinas, California; Scott Peacock of Decatur, Georgia; Shaw’s Crab House and Blue Crab Lounge of Chicago; Slightly North of Broad of Charleston, South Carolina; Taal Restaurant of Fullerton, California; and Zaytoons of Brooklyn.
Several chefs and culinary historians provided culinary guidance and historical information. We extend our appreciation to John T. Edge of the Southern Foodways Alliance at the University of Mississippi; John Folse of Chef John Folse Culinary Institute at Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, Louisiana; culinary historian Mary Gunderson; and Julia Shanks of Interactive Cuisine in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The Book Club Cookbook would not have been possible without the generosity, creativity, and enthusiasm of hundreds of book club members across the United States. In surveys and interviews, these members shared their stories and, in some cases, their recipes and food ideas with us. They took the time to poll fellow members for reading preferences, update us on their book selections and menus, and send us group photographs and minutes of meetings. We are indebted to the book clubs featured in The Book Club Cookbook as well as the many wonderful book clubs we contacted but could not feature due to space limitations.
From Judy:
This book could not have been written without my husband, Peter Zheutlin. His contributions are countless: his unfailing confidence and encouragement, and his guidance, humor, child care, and superb editing skills. I am grateful for his listening and love. My sons, Danny and Noah, provided love, support, patience, and inspiration; they tested and tasted (and Noah offered many recipes for crabby patties). They reminded me what really matters. I am indebted to my sister Lois, who tested recipes daily and listened patiently during marathon late-night phone calls, always giving sound advice and solving problems. And to Babe, for always being available with support and enthusiasm, I cannot express enough thanks.
From Vicki:
Thanks to my remarkable family, who made the writing of this book possible. My children, Aaron, Ben, and Joanna, each in their own way, supported the project, by drafting cover designs, critiquing recipes, or making their own lunches. The Harry Potter entry, in particular, benefited from their expertise. Their love energized me. Thanks to my father, Harvey Levy, and my father-in-law, Alan Krupp, who cheered me on, and provided child care and Chinese food. My sister, Larni Rosenlev, put her busy life on hold to whip up everything from green salsa to egg rolls, with her characteristic sparkle. Finally, my husband, Peter, supported me lovingly as this project went from a whim to an idea to a consuming reality. After an exhausting day at the office, he often worked into the wee hours sharpening the prose between loads of laundry. To him, boundless thanks and love.