Maggie “In the Kitchen with David”
Our friend Maggie Stuckey was on TV last night. She was wearing blue – her best color! – and looked terrific. She also came off as a total pro. Hard to do when you are ‘live’ on national TV. Even harder when you are trying to get a word in edgewise on the “In the Kitchen with David” show.
We had never seen the program before. In fact, we had never before watched a show on QVC, the shopping channel. It is a measure of our admiration for Maggie that we sat through almost two hours of last night’s program waiting for her to appear. We knew only that she would be ‘on’ sometime between 5:00 and 7:00 so we dutifully watched while every manner of gadget and cooking method was described in non-stop chatter by host David Venable.
Maggie’s New Book
We also heard with amazement the periodic reports of how many of each item had been sold that evening, so far, and a running count of the numerous telephone buyers who were lined up waiting to make their purchases. Amazing! No wonder Maggie was excited a month or so ago when her publisher arranged for her appearance on the show. The timing was perfect. It has only been a matter of days that her new book, Soup Night: Recipes for Creating Community Around a Pot of Soup has been on bookstore shelves.
Within seconds it seemed – okay, maybe minutes – David said that 2,000 of the books had already ‘gone.’ Two thousand!!! I immediately flashed on the fact that the publisher of my Legendary Locals of the Long Beach Peninsula told me last summer that sales of 2,000 of those books might prompt consideration of a Part Two. In a year and a half I think sales may be approaching 1,000. Sigh…
And, as soon as the thought surfaced, I dismissed it as unworthy and ridiculous. Comparing a local history book with a nation-wide collection of recipes and community experiences is like comparing Johnny Appleseed with Southwestern Lentil Soup. (That happens to be my very recipe that Maggie included in the book!)
Maggie Stuckey and David Venable
At some point last summer, as promotional plans for Soup Night began to unfold, I told Maggie, “You are going to have a best seller with this book!.” I still think so. And not just because of all the publicity. The book is full of wonderfiul of stories about people – their gatherings, the food they serve, and the (sometimes life-changing) experiences that occur around the simple act of serving soup. And, I should add, recipes for salads and desserts are sprinkled throughout, as well.
Maggie will be appearing (also ‘live’) here on the Peninsula next week! She will be at Adelaide’s Books in Ocean Park on Friday, November 1st from 2:00 to 4:00 P.M. and at Time Enough Books in Ilwaco on Saturday, November 2nd from 1:00 to 3:00 P.M. Soups will be served and books, signed and personalized, will be for sale. For me, it will be the official start of my Christmas shopping. I can’t think of a better gift to give!
Sydney, you and Nyel are friends indeed to sit though more than a few minutes of QVC in order to see your friend! Well, I’d probably do it if YOU were going to hawk a book. I love giving local things as gifts (as you well know) and also believe that it is not an accident that the world’s great religions have a meal as part of their ritual. There is something about breaking bread (or slurping soup) that binds people to weather other and possibly the divine. Soup with friends is on our menu for Saturday! It’s a soups time of year metaphorically, culinarily (did I make that one up?), and actually. We’ve been in pea soup fog in Gig Harbor for days and days.