I met a new food hero this week.
Dorie Greenspan has come to NYC with her son, Josh, to open up her pop-up cookie shop, CookieBarNYC. This is the second year in a row for the week-long shop hosted inside Mizu Salon at 505 Park Avenue, between 59th & 60th.
When our friend, Gail of One Tough Cookie, saw that Dorie was coming to town, she volunteered the three of us to organize a blogger gathering to celebrate Dorie and her cookies. A similar meet up happened last year, apparently, but Karen and I weren't in the know about the shindig, so we missed out. Not so this year. This Friday, February 11, from 12-2, bloggers (and the people who love them), should swing by Mizu to meet Dorie and Josh, buy up batches of cookies, and get kisses from Gail (she's not quite the dangerous woman she plays on Twitter).
But here's the thing....so many bloggers gush over Dorie. They love her. They really love her. They love her so much, that our skeptical selves kick into high gear. Can anyone be all that wonderful? Even a prolific, talented cookbook author such as Dorie? Our friend, Mardi, from eat. live. travel. write., is nearly beside herself (in the best way possible) that she can't attend the CookieBarNYC event. How could anyone, even Dorie, deserve those kinds of emotions.
So I walked into Mizu Salon expecting for my skepticism to be confirmed. I waited in line behind a few people who were chatting up Dorie and Josh, who stood smartly behind their cookies. I snapped a few pictures on my iPhone. Dorie caught my eye and said, "Hi!" Like she knew me. The skepticism melted a tiny bit. I stood quietly by, taking a few more pictures, waiting my turn. And suddenly, it was just Dorie and I looking at each other. What to say? "Hi. I'm Chris. Uh. From The Peche" (which sounds ridiculous when spoken). Dorie paused for a moment. Then she took a step toward me. Opened up her arms.
And she gave me a giant hug.
And the skepticism started melting quickly.
I don't think I can recall all of our conversation. We talked cookies, yes, and the blogger gathering. Josh chimed in and was as kind and gracious as his mother. I chose one of every cookie. Dorie packed them herself. She knew about our Month of Pies. She conferred with Josh about the math needed to determine the change I was due (she was far more interested in talking than doing the calculation). She said she was glad that Karen and I blog together. She said she was looking forward to Friday and meeting "all the wonderful bloggers." I left after talking with her for 10 minutes. And I felt like I was walking on air down Park Avenue.
I get it. I get why people are so excited about Dorie. She is pure joy, without any sugary aftertaste. She is hope and happiness and a whole lot of peace all mixed together. If you've heard about the woman who travels around the world with giant crowds waiting for her, giving hugs as a blessing, well, Dorie is just like that. Hugs as a blessing. And her cookies are perfect.
When I came home, the kids wanted to know what was in the bag. I grabbed the copy of Dorie's Baking
that I picked up from the library this past weekend (Dorie said most of the CookieBarNYC cookies come from that book, so buy it), and Karen and I sat down with the kids in our tiny kitchen. I showed them the picture of the woman who made them cookies. Our son jumped up and said, "I'm going to make a picture for Dorie to say thank you for the cookies." And with that, our kids ran from the room to grab their crayons and chalk.On Friday, I'll see Dorie again and give her the pictures the kids made.
To say thank you.
