Junior League of Boca Raton - May Bridge 2009

Savoring This League Year by Greta GillisWhat a year it has been for the cookbookcommittee. I would like to thankthe entire committee for all of theirhard work this year. Everyone reallycame together to accomplish ourgoals and I am so appreciative of thecommitment everyone made to thecommittee.At the beginning of the League year,we set a goal to nurture our wholesaleaccounts to generate additional sales. I am very grateful toJanel Williams, Christina Wheat, and Bridget Boyd for all oftheir phone calls and visits to these accounts. Their tirelessefforts definitely sold more copies of Savor the Moment. Theyalso helped to “clean up” our wholesale account list, whichwill be beneficial to next year’s committee.As the 10 Year Anniversary of Savor the Moment approaches,we all brainstormed the future of the cookbook. We recognizethe hard work that went into developing Savor theMoment and are so proud of the amazing cookbook thatcame from all of those tireless hours. The committee wouldlove to see the Junior League of Boca Raton develop anotheraward winning cookbook, but this is certainly not a quickprocess. In the meantime, the committee came up with somegreat ideas to help celebrate this momentous anniversary.Look for these ideas to be put into play next year.We met with Dave Kempf, the President of FRP Publishing.Dave so graciously helped us think about creative ways tomarket our book and to approach new wholesale accounts.He also worked with us on some great ideas to help celebratethe upcoming anniversary. It makes our jobs so much easierwhen we have such amazing business partners.There is so much committee work that is unglamorous. All ofthose cookbooks are really heavy and getting them back andforth to the meetings can be back-breaking. Thank you somuch to Liz Goldring and Caroline Rhine for lugging all ofthese books back and forth from the VCRC and the EmbassySuites. Every committee member took their turn at sellingbooks. They got to the GMM early to set up books and gaveup their time to socialize during the cocktail hour becausethey were selling at the cookbook table.Even as we feel we have accomplished so much this year, thereis still so much more to be done next year, especially with planningfor the 10 year anniversary of Savor the Moment. I wouldlike to wish Alison Gatto much success in her position as chairnext year. I know she will be great in the position and JanelWilliams will be a great asset to her as chair-elect.How to Please Discriminating Guestsby Peggy JonesMany thanks go to Peggy Jones for writing about oneof her favorite menus from Savor the Moment. Youwon’t want to wait to prepare this meal for dinnerguests and Peggy’s tips will surely make your eveninga huge success. ~ Greta Gillis, Coobook chairThere are some dinner guests that just won’t go for the plainold steak on the grill. How can you please such discriminatingpalates? My choice is the Rosemary Roasted Rack ofLamb with Cabernet Sauce. This one is sure to please eventhe most demanding gourmet.The preparation is fairly easy; you canprepare the lamb ahead of time androast during cocktails. While it iscooking, your house will smellabsolutely scrumptious. Using freshingredients is the key to the success ofthis dish. In addition, to the ease of preparation, serving on aplatter surrounded by a few more sprigs of fresh rosemary helpsto stimulate the appetite and add to the overall “wow” effect.I like to serve the lamb with roasted tomatoes and rosemarypolenta. Of course a very good aged cabernet also helps toset off the taste.Whenever I have prepared this dish, compliments abound. Iwas especially pleased to hear one guest who frequents thebest restaurants in town proclaim while finishing the last bitson his plate, “you would not get a better meal at the BocaHotel.”cookbook news29