Tuesday
Aug242010
bouchon bakery nutter butter cookies + big summer potluck reflections
Tuesday, August 24, 2010 at 9:13PM 
Three Saturdays ago, we met one of our blogging heroes and met a bunch of new ones. Let me explain...
Karen and I consider ourselves the founding members of a chocolate chunk cookie cult that worships the recipe created by Alice over at Savory Sweet Life. We know many of you are also devotees to the most perfect chocolate chip/chunk cookie (I’m looking at you, Chris and Lori).
So when we heard Alice was going to be the keynote speaker at a casual food bloggers' gathering just an hour away from home, we jumped at the chance.
Well, “jumped” isn’t the right word. Maybe I should say we started up the great “could someone please babysit our children for a day for free so we don’t have to tap into our sad 401k?” machine. Fortunately, Karen’s parents volunteered. We just had to make them dinner the night before the event. More than fair.
And so we went for our first day away from the kids for an entire day, together. Well, just the two of us and a bunch of nutter butter cookies from a Bouchon Bakery recipe.
These cookies are as big as my head. Two PB cookies, the softest you’ve ever eaten, brought together by peanut butter creme, which we shoved inside a chocolate cake in a previous post. Our cookies are in the picture at the beginning of this post, sharing the plate at the top, but isn't all the other food really pretty?
We discovered nutter butters at the Time Warner Center Bouchon Bakery outpost after our son was born (it was our first outing in the city when he was four weeks old). Little man in a big stroller. And a big cookie for me and Karen. Each. We do not share.
These cookies are like bringing your A-game, giving a confidence that what you made is good. Just the boost needed when spending a day with 40ish incredible food bloggers.
I could go through the day and tell you what we did, but bloggers who were there have done a better job than I could. Read them here. And here. And here. And here. Here. Here, too.
But this is what Karen and I are left with these several weeks later:
- Four years is too long to wait to spend an entire day with your wife without children. We love our kids dearly, and we can be better parents when we recharge ourselves.
- I don’t know how they do it, but the hosts and organizers of the event, the mother-and-daughters team at Three Many Cooks, seem to have a collective gravitational force that pulls wonderful people to them. Every single participant was so kind and generous with her thoughts and encouragement for each other (I say "her" because I was the lone "he"). I know this was because of the tone set by Maggy, Pam, and Sharon. We’re going to be giving away a signed copy of Pam’s new book, Perfect One-Dish Dinners
in the next week, so stay tuned for that.
- I walked in wanting to meet two people, Alice (cookie high priestess) and Debra from smithbites.com, and left wishing I had more time to talk to everyone. Like a couple of days more. With each one of them. And eat all their food.
- The Alice we met was exactly the same person who wrote back to me in January when I asked if we could post our take on her chocolate chip cookies as our very first recipe post. She couldn't have been more encouraging to us to start the blog. And her talk at Big Summer Potluck was an arms-wide-open approach to all of us. Take chances. Be who you need to be, who you were meant to be. And if you don’t know exactly where this whole thing is headed, just keep going. Because you’ll figure it out.
- Abby Dodge (see her below) is super cool and incredibly funny. She has a new book coming out, Desserts 4 Today
. Every dessert recipe uses four ingredients. That's crazy. And tasty. Also easy. Buy it. Or try out her Nutella Brownies first via SavorySweetLife, then buy it
- KitchenAid, one of the generous sponsors of the gathering, gave away several of their wonderful appliances (I say that because I love my coffee bean burr grinder. It is killer). Karen walked away with one of their grand prizes, a sweet 12-cup food processor. In red. Nice.
- Erika at Ivory Hut is photography master. She also makes a gin and tonic sorbet. That make me love her more.
But the best thing was that the next day, Karen signed up for a photography class at the International Center of Photography. Something she had wanted to do since we moved to the NYC area. Seven years ago. It’s never too late to feed yourself, to grow, to learn, to be exactly who you were meant to become.
And then we ate another nutter butter and drove home.
recipe | bouchon bakery nutter butters (via nytimes.com)
Reader Comments (19)
Terrific post! And yes, 4 years is WAY too long to go without having a day alone with your spouse. Then again, it was 7 years before my husband and me got a night alone without our daughter :). So glad to have met you guys!!
Nice memory of the day. And, the cookies...such a great picture. Wish I could have tasted each and every one of them -- but, especially your nutter butters 'cos I love those!! Hope we can hold a local get together soon.
This is an awesome post! Look at all those desserts! And your Nutter Butters sound fantastic. I think I'd babysit if they were the payment :)
What a lovely, generous post and you were so lucky to meet some wonderful bloggers I already knew and many I've come to know since as a result of this gathering. Your story shares the common thread of the kindness and generosity of this group and I've already made plans for next year!
I'll head east first to NC where I spent 10 wonderful years and @iamtickledred and I will somehow stop chatting just long enough to make the drive north!
Delighted to hear the two of you did find the time to get away and even more delighted it returned some wonderful results...for your entire family!
Sounds like a great time! Thanks for sharing. Nutter Butters are my all time favorite!
Thank you both for your sweet words. I laughed out loud reading it. Just yesterday I was thinking about you both and wondering how you're doing. Hope you're enjoying your new KitchenAid appliances. Can't wait to see what you cook/bake up!
What a lovely, heartfelt post and so wonderful that you were able to spend time with each other AND a great bunch of bloggers!!! Sounds like a great event!
So lovely to read about the event through you voice. Great post.
"It’s never too late to feed yourself, to grow, to learn, to be exactly who you were meant to become." I want to cry reading these words because they are so very true. I'm grateful that we all found our way to Big Summer Potluck and shared in that magical day.
PS - Do you have a sing up sheet for this cookie cult of yours? Sounds right up my alley.
Lovely post!! It was indeed a very special event. I wish that we had more time to chat that day but I have a feeling that there will be more to come. I absolute adore your closing sentiment!! Go Karen :)
Loved reading your post! It really was an amazing event, and I am so glad to have met both of you...you are such a warm and wonderful couple! And I totally agree, it's never too late to become who you want to be! :-)
You captured the spirit of the event perfectly. It was great to meet you (and to eat your Nutter Butters, my all time fave cookie..)
You two are so charming, and yes... you need to get away from those lovely children more often. It is an order now... you hear? :)
It was lovely meeting you and getting to know you better. Look forward to it again sometime!
What a lovely post, you two! Thank you so much for your very kind words. We LOVED meeting you two. And I couldn't be happier that you guys one the food processor. Sweet! Very much looking forward to seeing you again soon for dinner. And PLEASE have some of those nutter butter cookies ready ;) I now worship at your cookie alter. xo
Th sweetest post... in all ways. Yes, four years is a wee bit long (but it happens) but cookie memories are being made and what can be better? I do crave those cookies now...
I thoroughly enjoyed being able to meet both of you. I'm so glad you both able to come and enjoy an adult day together. It sounds like besides the Kitchenaide goodies you won, you found even more prizes --- taking time to chase your dreams and follow your hearts.
I look forward to seeing y'all again really soon.
Robyn
We have 5y/o twin boys and finding people (yes, it takes two) to watch them is often a challenge. :)
I have a K/A food processor. I call him "The Don." It is a thing of wonder.
Great post. Cookies...mmm...
Sounds like a fabulous day and a memorable event! Thanks for sharing.
Very easy to make and incredibly delicious! I really enjoy the texture of the oats in the cookie. I skipped the nuts and I don't think anyone will miss them!