Don’t Miss: The Food Lover’s Book Club

I’ve been flooded with emails, tweets, Facebook messages, and phone calls since announcing that I, in combination with the Ross-Cherry Creek Branch Library, am starting a Food Lover’s Book Club. The first gathering takes place on Wednesday (March 19) at 6 p.m. at the library on Third Avenue and Milwaukee Street. We’ll discuss the cookbook Jerusalem by Yotom Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi. By now I hope you’ve paged through the recipes, cooked some of the dishes, and have been entranced by the lush photographs and descriptions. To begin the conversation, I suggest you read this and this.

But the book club is only part of the draw. Janet Johnston and Matt Wallington from Savory Spice Shop will join me to talk about the allure of cooking with spices—specifically the ones used throughout Jerusalem. Never heard of za’atar? Intrigued by sumac? Curious about cardamom? You won’t want to miss this conversation. We’ll spend roughly 30 minutes talking spices (and enjoying snacks made with recipes from the book) and another 30 minutes examining Jerusalem in a book club format.

Let’s make a date: The next Food Lover’s Book Club will meet on Wednesday, June 18, at 6 p.m. at the Ross-Cherry Creek Branch Library. We will follow a similar plan: I’ll conduct a 30-minute program about the allure of Greek cuisine, followed by a 30-minute discussion of Tom Mueller’s book Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil. Pick up a copy at the library or the Tattered Cover Book Store.

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