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The Happy Hostess - Kristie LaLonde · Dishing with Stephanie's Dish

0:02
SPEAKER_00: Hello,
0:02
SPEAKER_00: everybody,
0:03
SPEAKER_00: and welcome to Dishing with Stephanie's Dish,
0:05
SPEAKER_00: the podcast where we talk to people in the food space,
0:08
SPEAKER_00: many times cookbook authors,
0:10
SPEAKER_00: other times makers.
0:11
SPEAKER_00: And this particular episode, we are talking to Christy Lalonde.
0:15
SPEAKER_00: She is the Happy Hostess Collective.
0:18
SPEAKER_00: And Christy and I found each other through a listener of my radio show,
0:24
SPEAKER_00: my friend Jillian Minnesota.
0:27
SPEAKER_00: is we call them dishers, weekly dishers.
0:29
SPEAKER_00: That's the name of the radio show.
0:31
SPEAKER_00: And Jilly's been a disher for over 18 years.
0:34
SPEAKER_00: We've had the show and I think she's listened as long as we've had it.
0:37
SPEAKER_00: And she reached out to me because in my sub stack,
0:42
I have a Sunday newsletter and I did a whole thing about
0:45
entertaining and how I
0:46
love when people just entertain and people make entertaining so
0:50
complicated and it
0:51
SPEAKER_00: doesn't need to be.
0:53
And I offered to give a round of cookbooks to people that have
0:57
cookbook clubs
0:58
SPEAKER_00: because I think they're so fun.
0:59
SPEAKER_00: And Jilly replied and said, I have this great cookbook club.
1:03
SPEAKER_00: We would love it if we could win your books.
1:05
SPEAKER_00: And she is part of the Happy Hostess Cookbook Club.
1:09
SPEAKER_00: So they won.
1:11
SPEAKER_00: Jilly got the books.
1:12
SPEAKER_00: I sent books to all the people in the cookbook group that Jilly's in.
1:17
SPEAKER_00: And Christy is the leader of the Happy Hostess Collective.
1:21
SPEAKER_00: Christy, welcome to the program.
1:22
SPEAKER_00: I'm delighted to have you.
1:24
SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
1:25
SPEAKER_01: I am so excited to be here.
1:27
So explain to the audience what the Happy Hostess Collective is
1:33
and all the
1:34
different avenues that you have for fostering your love of
1:39
cookbooks and clubbing.
1:41
SPEAKER_01: Well,
1:42
SPEAKER_01: I am on Instagram as Happy Hostess Collective,
1:45
SPEAKER_01: but for our cookbook club,
1:47
it's actually called Happy Cookbook Party because I couldn't
1:51
really think of a good
1:52
SPEAKER_01: name.
1:52
It's not a great name because it doesn't really let you know
1:55
it's a cookbook club,
1:56
but...
1:58
SPEAKER_01: there's a lot of emphasis on party in it.
2:02
SPEAKER_01: So basically it's a cookbook club,
2:05
SPEAKER_01: but instead of meeting in person,
2:09
most of the time we are meeting twice a month on Zoom and we
2:13
are cooking together
2:14
SPEAKER_01: from one cookbook,
2:16
which we usually choose a cookbook and stick with that cookbook
2:19
for like three to
2:20
SPEAKER_01: four months,
2:20
SPEAKER_01: depending upon how robust the cookbook is.
2:24
And people come from all over the country and tell me,
2:27
like,
2:28
how do you logistically do it?
2:30
SPEAKER_00: Do you have like, you know, 30 people on a Zoom or how does it work?
2:35
SPEAKER_01: Actually,
2:36
SPEAKER_01: we do have,
2:37
SPEAKER_01: we are on Zoom and basically what happens when we pick a book,
2:43
SPEAKER_01: I will go through and kind of,
2:45
SPEAKER_01: we have a Facebook group.
2:46
SPEAKER_01: And so I ask everyone out there,
2:48
SPEAKER_01: which recipes really look good to you that you're wanting to try.
2:50
And then I look through all of those and make sure that they
2:54
can fit within the
2:55
SPEAKER_01: hour to hour and a half timeframe of our Zoom cook along.
2:58
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
2:59
SPEAKER_01: And then I make a schedule for the next three months and it's printable.
3:04
SPEAKER_01: I send it to them so they can print it out.
3:06
SPEAKER_01: And then every we meet twice a month.
3:10
SPEAKER_01: So every two weeks,
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SPEAKER_01: basically,
3:12
we meet on Zoom and I send them grocery lists ahead of time for
3:19
those two recipes
3:20
SPEAKER_01: that we choose.
3:21
SPEAKER_01: Sometimes it's three when we throw in a cocktail in there.
3:25
SPEAKER_01: And yes, especially we usually meet at noon or four.
3:30
SPEAKER_01: So the four o'clock ones, a lot of times I have the cocktail.
3:35
But so we all just meet in one Zoom meeting and we all cook and
3:42
I'm kind of leading
3:43
SPEAKER_01: it,
3:43
but everyone else is talking just as much as I do because we've
3:47
gotten to know each
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SPEAKER_01: other so well.
3:49
SPEAKER_01: And it's
3:50
so fun because we really learn from each other because we have
3:53
some like expert
3:54
bakers and we have some people like me that not expert at all
3:58
in baking and so and
4:01
like we have some really strong florists and there's we just
4:05
learn a lot from each
4:06
SPEAKER_01: other and every once in a while we also do like a tutorial on
4:12
SPEAKER_01: A different thing that would have to do with being a hostess.
4:15
For example,
4:16
we've done flower arrangements that mimic the ones we saw in
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one of our cookbooks.
4:22
We've done hostess gifts and like kind of homemade cute little
4:26
hostess gifts.
4:28
at christmas time so it's a wide variety of things it's been
4:33
strange like a lot of
4:34
things have come our way we had we were offered to have a
4:39
vector cocktails it's
4:40
like a cocktail mixer they offered to do a cook i mean like a
4:46
cocktail class for us
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it was super fun they sent us all their mixers and it was great
4:52
so we got a chance
4:53
SPEAKER_01: to do a lot of stuff
4:55
SPEAKER_00: So what is your background and how did you land here?
5:00
Well,
5:01
I have always loved cooking and entertaining,
5:06
even when I was little.
5:07
Like,
5:08
I remember I had one of my cookbooks was like the Mad Magazine
5:12
cookbooks.
5:12
I don't know if you remember Mad Magazine,
5:14
but they had like a holiday thing.
5:16
SPEAKER_01: And I just loved it.
5:18
SPEAKER_01: I remember pouring through that.
5:21
SPEAKER_01: And it's crazy because I do that now, obviously, with grown-up cookbooks.
5:25
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
5:27
SPEAKER_01: And so that just kind of,
5:30
SPEAKER_01: well,
5:31
SPEAKER_01: and then when I was very young,
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SPEAKER_01: I was the maid of honor in three weddings in one year.
5:38
SPEAKER_01: So I had a crash course and had to host parties for grownups.
5:44
SPEAKER_01: And that was very fun.
5:46
SPEAKER_01: But I'd always really enjoyed the ideas of parties as well.
5:51
SPEAKER_01: Growing up, my parents were my mom.
5:54
My father was in an industry where there were lots of fancy,
5:58
fancy famous parties.
6:00
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, because we live in Kentucky.
6:01
SPEAKER_01: So the Derby parties and.
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So I would like hear them like sometimes they would be on the
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farm that we lived
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SPEAKER_01: on,
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SPEAKER_01: like in the party barn.
6:10
And so like I would hear the parties and I just was kind of
6:13
fascinated with all of that.
6:15
SPEAKER_01: And it just kind of snowballed from there.
6:18
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
6:19
SPEAKER_00: You on the Happy Hostess Collective on your Instagram,
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SPEAKER_00: you chronicle a lot of these parties and you have like beautiful flower
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SPEAKER_00: arrangements.
6:28
SPEAKER_00: And I mean,
6:28
SPEAKER_00: honestly,
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SPEAKER_00: the South is just like,
6:33
SPEAKER_00: I don't know why,
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SPEAKER_00: but you guys are known for just these over the top,
6:37
SPEAKER_00: beautiful flower arrangements,
6:39
SPEAKER_00: beautiful parties,
6:40
SPEAKER_00: beautiful outfits.
6:41
In the North,
6:42
everything feels a little more like rustic and just a little
6:46
more outdoorsy.
6:48
SPEAKER_00: But like the South just feels like China and silver and so beautiful.
6:55
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
6:55
SPEAKER_01: You know,
6:55
SPEAKER_01: there's a little bit of everything for sure in the South,
6:59
SPEAKER_01: but we do tend to go over the top.
7:00
SPEAKER_01: That is definitely the case, which makes it fun, though.
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SPEAKER_01: And I love a big theme.
7:09
It's a lot of fun,
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whether it's rustic theme,
7:12
but it's just like kind of go all in on it.
7:15
SPEAKER_01: It makes it a lot of fun.
7:17
SPEAKER_00: How did you figure out,
7:18
SPEAKER_00: like,
7:18
I think it's pretty cool that you have this whole cookbook club
7:22
happening via Zoom.
7:23
SPEAKER_00: So there's technology there, right?
7:26
SPEAKER_00: And then you also have like a Facebook group.
7:28
SPEAKER_00: You really use social media to drive a lot of this engagement.
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SPEAKER_00: It is a paid subscription, which I also think is cool.
7:36
SPEAKER_00: Because sometimes if you have to pay for something,
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SPEAKER_00: you value it a little bit more or you make time for it in your schedule.
7:41
SPEAKER_00: How did you learn all the technological pieces?
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SPEAKER_00: And have you just learned by trial and error?
7:48
Well,
7:49
fortunately,
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Zoom is fairly easy to use,
7:53
and especially after COVID.
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SPEAKER_01: Everybody knows how to use Zoom, thankfully.
7:59
But actually,
7:59
I started an e-commerce store before people heard of the word
8:05
e-commerce.
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SPEAKER_01: Yep.
8:07
SPEAKER_01: I am not very technologically advanced,
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SPEAKER_01: but I am willing to figure out whatever it is,
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SPEAKER_01: if it makes it possible for me to do what I want.
8:17
SPEAKER_01: And I really wanted a China and dish store, which is a big surprise.
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SPEAKER_01: Do you still have it?
8:26
SPEAKER_01: No, I don't.
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SPEAKER_01: I had it for almost 14 years, I think.
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SPEAKER_00: That's like my dream.
8:31
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
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SPEAKER_01: Oh, it was so fun.
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And it stopped me from buying all the dishes because I had all
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these gorgeous
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SPEAKER_01: dishes like in a warehouse.
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But it's a really heavy breakable object and not so fun to ship
8:47
after a while.
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So I transitioned out of that and wanted to do something that
8:53
didn't require shipping.
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And this is brilliant because you've got new friends from all
8:59
over the country.
9:00
SPEAKER_00: It could be all over the world, I suppose.
9:04
SPEAKER_01: It definitely could be.
9:05
SPEAKER_01: That happens to be just the country right now.
9:07
We are a small group,
9:08
but it is a really fun group and it's been a great community.
9:14
And I really wanted something to tie in my podcast to make it
9:19
and make it smaller.
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SPEAKER_01: Well, obviously with the podcast, it's only me or myself and a guest.
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SPEAKER_01: So I really wanted to be able to get to know my listeners better.
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SPEAKER_01: And this was the perfect thing.
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SPEAKER_00: How did you get into podcasting?
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Because you have had over 100 episodes all about this topic of
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hostessing.
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SPEAKER_01: Basically, it was the sick of being shipping things.
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SPEAKER_01: So I thought, okay, well, we could start the podcast.
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SPEAKER_01: I wasn't really sure what direction it was going to take,
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SPEAKER_01: but I thought that it would be a good avenue for me to get started.
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SPEAKER_01: And it kind of led to this.
9:57
One of the topics that was on your recent podcast that I was
10:01
kind of interested in,
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SPEAKER_00: because I think that it has changed so much since COVID,
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SPEAKER_00: is the whole idea of having a party and the RSVP list.
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SPEAKER_00: People, in my experience, tend to be very late at responding to things.
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SPEAKER_00: And even like we're finding that restaurant reservations,
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people will make four reservations and cancel three with really
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no thought about
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SPEAKER_00: it.
10:23
SPEAKER_00: Like,
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SPEAKER_00: It's just you're in a very quick societal change.
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And you talked a lot about how to get people to RSVP,
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how important RSVPs are.
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SPEAKER_00: What were some of your tips there?
10:37
SPEAKER_01: Well,
10:38
SPEAKER_01: it sounds a little old school,
10:41
but one of them was to actually have a physical invitation
10:45
delivered to them.
10:47
SPEAKER_00: Amenster.
10:48
SPEAKER_00: This whole like, you're gonna send me a digital something.
10:53
SPEAKER_00: It's fine.
10:54
SPEAKER_00: It's great as like a reminder.
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But I just I don't think it's the same as like getting an
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actual invitation to something.
11:01
SPEAKER_01: I agree.
11:02
SPEAKER_01: And for one thing,
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it's less likely to be forgotten because a lot of times they
11:08
put it on the
11:08
SPEAKER_01: refrigerator or somewhere they can see it.
11:11
SPEAKER_01: And then also,
11:12
SPEAKER_01: like,
11:12
SPEAKER_01: it's shocking when you get something in the mail that isn't a bill today,
11:16
SPEAKER_01: you know?
11:18
SPEAKER_01: So it seems more special.
11:20
This is kind of a weird aside,
11:21
but I used to run a direct mail company,
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so I love direct mail.
11:25
And the number one growing category for direct mail is 18 to 34
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because they love
11:30
getting offers in the mail because getting mail feels so
11:33
special now and so unique.
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SPEAKER_00: You're kidding.
11:36
SPEAKER_00: Oh, it's like it's coming back.
11:39
SPEAKER_01: That is so interesting.
11:40
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
11:41
And the catalog companies have always had a robust business
11:45
using the mail.
11:47
They've maybe pared down their catalogs a little bit or they
11:50
might have specialty
11:51
SPEAKER_00: offerings,
11:52
SPEAKER_00: but people are still sending a lot of catalogs.
11:55
SPEAKER_01: Oh, goodness.
11:56
SPEAKER_01: Well,
11:56
I'm so glad because I just thought I was like old school
11:59
because I really like to
12:00
SPEAKER_01: have books in my hands.
12:01
SPEAKER_01: I like I like getting catalogs if it's from a business that I like.
12:06
SPEAKER_01: I thought I was the only one that.
12:08
SPEAKER_00: No, you are not.
12:09
What other kinds of trends are you noticing in just
12:12
entertaining in general,
12:13
good or bad?
12:15
Well,
12:16
catching on one that I did recently,
12:19
I did a small series on baby showers.
12:23
And wow,
12:25
things have changed since I was having babies,
12:29
for sure,
12:30
like drastically.
12:31
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
12:34
SPEAKER_01: Some things I think are good.
12:35
SPEAKER_01: Like,
12:35
SPEAKER_01: for example,
12:36
SPEAKER_01: a lot of times they're co-ed now,
12:39
which was just a trend that I had just barely started when I
12:44
was having children.
12:46
SPEAKER_01: And I think that's fun and interesting for sure.
12:50
But I do also think that they have gotten like kind of out of
12:56
hand a little bit.
12:57
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
12:58
SPEAKER_01: And I love going over the top, like I said earlier, with a party.
13:02
SPEAKER_01: So I'm never going to shame anybody for that.
13:06
But it seems like with social media coming in that everyone is
13:12
seeing these
13:13
SPEAKER_01: highlight reels from very sophisticated people.
13:17
SPEAKER_01: Baby showers.
13:20
SPEAKER_01: And so I kind of camped out in baby shower groups for like a good month,
13:24
SPEAKER_01: like trying to prepare for the series.
13:27
SPEAKER_01: And it was kind of sad,
13:30
SPEAKER_01: really,
13:30
SPEAKER_01: because people were so,
13:32
SPEAKER_01: a lot of people,
13:33
SPEAKER_01: not everyone,
13:34
SPEAKER_01: of course,
13:34
SPEAKER_01: but were so sad because...
13:37
they didn't have enough people to invite to have an almost
13:41
wedding like baby shower.
13:42
SPEAKER_01: Like it was, it was, and they felt defeated.
13:46
SPEAKER_01: It was just, it was kind of disheartening.
13:48
SPEAKER_01: And I mean,
13:49
you could tell that they really thought that it was normal that
13:52
people had to run
13:53
SPEAKER_01: out of venue hall in order to have a baby shower.
13:57
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
13:57
SPEAKER_01: It's not the case at all.
14:01
SPEAKER_00: And like just making diaper cake is still pretty fun, isn't it?
14:06
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, absolutely.
14:07
SPEAKER_01: I mean, so I mean, yeah, it's it's really different.
14:11
SPEAKER_01: It's it's almost and it's a whole different vibe from a lot of people.
14:16
SPEAKER_01: And the thing is, I've not seen this in person.
14:19
SPEAKER_01: So I don't want to say that everyone's like this.
14:22
SPEAKER_01: Maybe it's just the vocal people on Facebook, you know.
14:25
SPEAKER_01: But it seemed a lot more like this is my party.
14:30
SPEAKER_01: This is my my thing as opposed to, you know, someone hosting it for you.
14:36
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
14:36
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
14:37
SPEAKER_00: Well, you haven't.
14:38
SPEAKER_00: Have you watched the Mormon Housewives?
14:40
SPEAKER_01: I haven't.
14:41
SPEAKER_00: OK, good.
14:42
SPEAKER_00: I don't.
14:43
SPEAKER_00: It's like so bad.
14:45
SPEAKER_00: It's good.
14:45
SPEAKER_00: So wrong.
14:46
SPEAKER_00: Right.
14:47
So I don't really want to like encourage anyone to do it
14:50
because that's sort of guilty pleasure.
14:52
But they have these big over the top and they have a lot of
14:55
kids and they're all women under 30.
14:58
So they do have these big like over the top baby showers and
15:01
the baby meals and the
15:03
SPEAKER_00: baby moons and all.
15:04
SPEAKER_00: Honestly,
15:05
SPEAKER_00: it's just so if we get to the idea of just like entertaining,
15:09
I think people get so hung up on that they have to have like
15:13
this special meal or
15:14
SPEAKER_00: that they have to spend all day in the kitchen.
15:17
What would be like some of your tips for getting you to
15:21
entertain more like
15:23
SPEAKER_00: barriers to overcome,
15:24
SPEAKER_00: I guess?
15:26
SPEAKER_01: Well,
15:27
I think first and foremost is to really focus on your mindset
15:32
and think about why
15:34
SPEAKER_01: that you want to entertain.
15:36
And usually it's because you want to make memories and have
15:40
connections with your
15:41
SPEAKER_01: friends and family.
15:43
SPEAKER_01: So you want to make memories.
15:44
SPEAKER_01: And those are awesome reasons.
15:46
SPEAKER_01: Or you want to celebrate someone, you know.
15:49
SPEAKER_01: And a lot of times when we start thinking about entertaining,
15:53
sometimes we can get a little nervous that maybe I'm not good
15:58
enough cook or I'm,
16:00
SPEAKER_01: my house isn't big enough or I don't have enough people to invite,
16:04
SPEAKER_01: for example,
16:04
SPEAKER_01: the baby shower,
16:05
SPEAKER_01: um,
16:07
And I really just recommend very first thing to do is to flip
16:13
your mind and be
16:14
SPEAKER_01: focused on your guests.
16:15
SPEAKER_01: Like, what do you want to do for them?
16:18
SPEAKER_01: How do you want them to feel?
16:19
You know,
16:20
obviously you want them to feel welcomed in your home and that
16:23
sort of thing.
16:24
SPEAKER_01: So if you could just focus on the guest,
16:27
you usually can stop all the negative chatter in your mind
16:31
because you're not
16:32
SPEAKER_01: focusing on yourself.
16:34
SPEAKER_01: And then also, most importantly, don't do everything yourself.
16:39
SPEAKER_01: You don't have to cook everything.
16:42
SPEAKER_01: You don't have to cook at all if you don't want to.
16:44
SPEAKER_01: That's why caterers exist.
16:47
Even if you only cooked one thing that was like a signature
16:51
dish,
16:52
then it's like you did cook.
16:57
SPEAKER_01: And so I really think that trying not to do everything and
17:03
SPEAKER_01: Focusing on your making your guests feel welcome are very important.
17:08
SPEAKER_00: I figured out late in life how easy it is to cook fish for a crowd.
17:15
SPEAKER_00: And that seems like a weird thing.
17:17
But like if you get like a whole side of salmon or poach a
17:21
whole fish or you even
17:22
SPEAKER_00: have slabs that you're just putting under the broiler,
17:26
SPEAKER_00: you can have like any salads prepared in advance and
17:30
SPEAKER_00: You know, you can have vegetables prepared in advance.
17:33
SPEAKER_00: You can have a cheese platter prepared in advance.
17:35
And then really like the only thing you're cooking is this side
17:38
of salmon or you've
17:39
SPEAKER_00: got a sauce that you've already made.
17:42
SPEAKER_00: I was always so afraid to cook fish.
17:44
And once I kind of got over that hump,
17:45
I was like,
17:46
wow,
17:46
this is actually pretty easy.
17:47
SPEAKER_00: I can cook a whole side of fish.
17:50
SPEAKER_00: I can feed 12 people off of it.
17:53
SPEAKER_00: Typically,
17:53
SPEAKER_00: if I get a big enough one and with all the sides and everything,
17:57
SPEAKER_00: everything's already made before they even get here.
18:00
SPEAKER_01: That is perfect.
18:01
And that's like the perfect example of what we're trying to do
18:06
in the cookbook
18:07
party is to get people to increase their repertoire of things
18:13
that are very easy to
18:15
SPEAKER_01: entertain.
18:15
Because there are some delicious recipes that we make that
18:18
would be a nightmare.
18:18
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
18:19
SPEAKER_01: you know, for entertaining, you know, they take too long.
18:22
SPEAKER_01: They need to be done at the last minute, that sort of thing.
18:26
SPEAKER_01: But if you like,
18:27
SPEAKER_01: for example,
18:28
SPEAKER_01: the fish,
18:29
SPEAKER_01: you know,
18:30
SPEAKER_01: that all it kind of meets all the requirements.
18:33
SPEAKER_01: You don't have to do it at the last minute.
18:35
SPEAKER_01: It's,
18:37
easy prep and we want to kind of gain it's like our
18:42
entertaining arsenal kind of
18:43
find those recipes find ways of doing things that make it
18:48
simple where you know if
18:50
like for example things that can be cooked the day before and
18:53
just reheated like
18:54
SPEAKER_01: carnitas like the meat and that type of thing yep um
18:59
SPEAKER_01: There's just lots of them.
19:00
SPEAKER_01: And,
19:01
SPEAKER_01: and we can all have our own little personal style when it comes to that,
19:06
SPEAKER_01: you know,
19:06
SPEAKER_01: that's what makes it fun is,
19:08
SPEAKER_01: is everyone seems like they have their own signature dishes.
19:13
SPEAKER_00: What's a go-to Christie Lalonde signature entertaining dish?
19:18
SPEAKER_01: Well, I just mentioned one of them, carnitas.
19:22
SPEAKER_01: I love them.
19:24
SPEAKER_01: They are not,
19:25
SPEAKER_01: they are kind of time consuming,
19:27
SPEAKER_01: but it is completely,
19:30
SPEAKER_01: you can make it whenever you want and it tastes great the next day,
19:34
SPEAKER_01: reheated.
19:34
It's one of those things that,
19:35
you know,
19:36
can taste better,
19:37
even better the same day.
19:38
SPEAKER_01: And people love them.
19:40
SPEAKER_01: Everyone seems to like them.
19:41
SPEAKER_01: So that's one of my go-tos.
19:43
SPEAKER_01: And then also like,
19:48
SPEAKER_01: Oh,
19:48
SPEAKER_01: gosh,
19:48
SPEAKER_01: I can't even remember what I call them now,
19:50
SPEAKER_01: but they're like the white cream chicken enchiladas.
19:54
SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah.
19:56
Because they can totally be made ahead of time and all you have
19:58
to do is put them
19:59
SPEAKER_01: in the oven and then,
19:59
SPEAKER_01: you know,
20:00
SPEAKER_01: you can make sides easily.
20:02
SPEAKER_01: A lot of times,
20:02
SPEAKER_01: actually,
20:03
SPEAKER_01: with both of those things,
20:05
SPEAKER_01: I used to,
20:06
SPEAKER_01: I don't need to now,
20:07
SPEAKER_01: but I didn't have a good refried beans recipe that I liked.
20:11
SPEAKER_01: And rice is one of the few things that I really, really struggle with.
20:16
SPEAKER_01: I need to buy a rice cooker is what I've been told.
20:18
SPEAKER_01: But so I would just order from the restaurant that's around the corner,
20:23
SPEAKER_01: baked beans and rice,
20:25
SPEAKER_01: and then serve that with them.
20:27
SPEAKER_01: And so it was like, like it was homemade.
20:30
SPEAKER_01: It's in my dish.
20:31
SPEAKER_01: It looks homemade.
20:31
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
20:33
SPEAKER_00: Time saving.
20:34
SPEAKER_00: An instant pot is also really helpful in the rice department.
20:38
SPEAKER_00: If you, I mean, I make rice in my instant pot.
20:41
SPEAKER_00: It is a rice cooker.
20:42
SPEAKER_00: It's a pressure cooker, rice cooker.
20:44
SPEAKER_00: It cooks everything.
20:46
SPEAKER_00: And then also I make risotto in there too.
20:51
SPEAKER_01: Oh, wow.
20:51
SPEAKER_01: I did not know that.
20:52
SPEAKER_01: Actually, the carnitas is one of the few things I use my instant pot for.
20:57
SPEAKER_01: So now I got something else.
20:59
SPEAKER_00: Oh, yes.
21:00
SPEAKER_00: I'm a big instant potter.
21:01
SPEAKER_00: In fact,
21:02
one of the Facebook groups that we run for our radio show is
21:06
called the Weekly Dish
21:07
SPEAKER_00: Instant Potters.
21:09
SPEAKER_00: Oh, some really great recipes there that people have shared or linked to.
21:14
SPEAKER_00: It's an open group,
21:15
SPEAKER_00: but it's if you're an instant potter and I still am,
21:18
SPEAKER_00: I still love my instant pot.
21:19
SPEAKER_00: I do my slow cooker, too.
21:21
SPEAKER_00: You can slow cook in an instant pot,
21:23
but I also have two other slow cookers because I'm somewhat
21:25
obsessed with that.
21:28
SPEAKER_00: But really helpful and easy.
21:30
Is there a cookbook that you've used on the cookbook club
21:34
journey that you really
21:36
SPEAKER_00: were like,
21:36
SPEAKER_00: wow,
21:36
SPEAKER_00: this is a great entertaining cookbook?
21:39
SPEAKER_01: Yes, for sure.
21:41
SPEAKER_01: And most of the ones that we choose have an entertaining bent to them,
21:46
SPEAKER_01: typically,
21:46
just because of our interest in what we're trying to accomplish
21:50
in the group.
21:51
SPEAKER_01: But Love, Welcome, Serve by Amy Hannon really blew my socks off.
22:01
SPEAKER_01: Every single recipe that we tried just seemed to be
22:07
SPEAKER_01: Over the top delicious.
22:08
SPEAKER_01: It was really phenomenal.
22:10
SPEAKER_01: Like, we've enjoyed all of our books for sure.
22:13
SPEAKER_01: But this one, it just really, I was blown away.
22:17
SPEAKER_01: And I had been told that it really was such a good cookbook.
22:23
SPEAKER_01: And I finally caved and put it in there.
22:27
SPEAKER_01: And I'm so glad that I did.
22:29
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I'm just looking at it.
22:31
SPEAKER_00: It looks delightful.
22:32
SPEAKER_00: It's got kind of an Ina Garten feeling to it.
22:36
SPEAKER_01: And she is just a very genuine, kind, hospitable person.
22:42
SPEAKER_01: She really, she definitely has the mindset.
22:46
SPEAKER_01: Like even when she's talking about making little notes,
22:48
SPEAKER_01: you can just see just she has such a hospitable nature.
22:54
And then the recent cookbook that you guys are doing is the,
22:58
is it Brunch with Babs?
23:00
Brunch with Babs is her account,
23:02
but the book is called Celebrate with Babs.
23:05
SPEAKER_00: Okay, and Babs is like everybody's favorite grandma.
23:08
SPEAKER_00: Her daughter,
23:09
SPEAKER_00: I think,
23:09
worked in lifestyle television and has helped her create this
23:13
really unbelievable
23:14
SPEAKER_00: social media presence and following.
23:17
SPEAKER_00: What is it about her books that attracted you?
23:21
SPEAKER_01: Um...
23:23
SPEAKER_01: Well, she organizes her cookbooks in the way that I always enjoy.
23:28
SPEAKER_01: And that is by party or event.
23:32
SPEAKER_01: I love cookbooks that are organized in that fashion.
23:36
SPEAKER_01: And I'd heard good things about it.
23:38
SPEAKER_01: And so we thought we would try it.
23:40
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, she's really, I think her recipes are really great.
23:44
SPEAKER_00: She's not too fussy.
23:45
SPEAKER_00: She has some that are more complicated than others,
23:47
SPEAKER_00: but she does a lot of like semi-homemade kind of things too.
23:50
SPEAKER_00: Don't you wish that Sandra Lee from Semi-Homemade would come back?
23:54
SPEAKER_01: Oh, I know.
23:55
SPEAKER_01: Oh, I loved, loved, loved her show because of the party aspect.
24:01
SPEAKER_01: I absolutely loved it.
24:02
SPEAKER_01: And we have enjoyed Celebrate with Babs for sure.
24:05
SPEAKER_01: And you're right.
24:06
SPEAKER_01: There are a lot of, like one recipe will be
24:09
you know kind of complicated like you said and one will be
24:12
semi-homemade today at
24:14
four today we have our well it's our second to last cook along
24:19
in celebrate with
24:20
babs and the theme today is looking forward to fall so we're
24:24
doing her new pond
24:28
SPEAKER_01: chili and then we're doing mrs williams peanut butter bars
24:32
SPEAKER_00: So yeah, that's delicious.
24:35
SPEAKER_01: Yes, that will be good for dinner.
24:37
SPEAKER_00: Yes, it will be.
24:38
It makes me think of my pumpkin spice espresso martini that I'd
24:42
like to have with that.
24:44
SPEAKER_01: Oh, that sounds good.
24:45
SPEAKER_01: Oh, that sounds so good.
24:48
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I'm obsessed with pumpkin spice.
24:50
And my second book is kind of geared from October through
24:54
April,
24:54
so more fall time.
24:55
SPEAKER_00: And I really,
24:58
SPEAKER_00: when you go to get like a pumpkin spice something,
25:00
SPEAKER_00: it's usually full of such gross ingredients.
25:03
And I was like,
25:04
okay,
25:04
we could make pumpkin spice flavor with pumpkin,
25:07
right?
25:08
SPEAKER_00: And spice, like it wouldn't be that hard.
25:10
SPEAKER_00: So I made a pumpkin spice cream and then
25:13
used it in different recipes and the espresso martini with
25:17
pumpkin spice was
25:18
delightful oh that sounds amazing espresso martinis are one of
25:22
my absolute
25:23
SPEAKER_00: favorites me too me too well it's been super great to chat with you about
25:28
entertaining christy how can people follow you and what's the
25:31
best way to join if
25:32
SPEAKER_00: they want to join the cookbook club
25:35
SPEAKER_01: Well, our website is happycookbookparty.com.
25:40
And I'm on Instagram at happyhostesscollective if you have a
25:43
question about anything.
25:46
And I am excited to announce that we are doing one of your
25:50
cookbooks starting in...
25:52
October.
25:53
SPEAKER_00: Excellent.
25:54
SPEAKER_00: That's right on time.
25:57
SPEAKER_01: Yes, I'm so excited about it.
25:59
SPEAKER_01: I can't wait because this is...
26:02
SPEAKER_01: Totally different.
26:03
SPEAKER_01: I love that we,
26:05
SPEAKER_01: you know,
26:05
SPEAKER_01: we've done a lot of Southern cookbooks,
26:07
like we did Pizzazzery and the Southern Living Party Cookbook
26:11
and a couple others.
26:12
And then we kind of moved over to the Midwest of it was
26:15
Celebrate with Babs.
26:16
SPEAKER_01: And so yours will be a perfect fit.
26:19
SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
26:20
SPEAKER_00: I'm excited to have you guys do it.
26:22
And I hope I can pop in and say hi while everyone's cooking
26:26
because that sounds kind of fun.
26:27
SPEAKER_01: Oh, I would love it.
26:29
SPEAKER_01: I would love it.
26:29
SPEAKER_01: And I would like to offer your listeners,
26:32
SPEAKER_01: if they want to join us,
26:33
they can use the code SD50 and they'll get 50% off their first
26:40
month's membership.
26:42
SPEAKER_00: That's fun.
26:42
SPEAKER_00: And how much is a membership generally?
26:44
SPEAKER_00: Is it 22?
26:44
SPEAKER_00: It's $22 a month.
26:46
SPEAKER_01: Yes.
26:46
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
26:48
SPEAKER_00: I love it.
26:48
SPEAKER_00: That's great.
26:49
SPEAKER_00: That's fun.
26:50
It's a good little like date night for yourself to do something
26:52
fun and unusual
26:54
SPEAKER_00: that you maybe haven't done before,
26:55
SPEAKER_00: right?
26:57
SPEAKER_01: Yes, it is.
26:58
And it's,
26:58
you know,
27:00
not for you,
27:00
probably because you're immersed in the food industry.
27:03
SPEAKER_01: And I know you're so big on local, which I love about your cookbooks.
27:08
SPEAKER_01: I love reading the little stories about the local people.
27:12
SPEAKER_01: Exactly.
27:14
SPEAKER_01: I love to entertain and I do have friends that entertain,
27:17
but I don't have people necessarily close to me that just love
27:21
it as much as I do
27:22
SPEAKER_01: and really want to learn.
27:23
And so it's awesome that I get to hang out with these people
27:26
all over the country
27:27
SPEAKER_01: that really do love it as much as I do.
27:30
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
27:31
SPEAKER_00: Well,
27:31
we'll put all this information in the show notes and you and I
27:34
will connect on when
27:34
SPEAKER_00: we want to have the podcast distributed so that people can join.
27:39
SPEAKER_00: And it was really great to spend time with you.
27:42
Thanks to Jilly in MS,
27:44
my favorite Instagram friend and Weekly Disher who hooked us
27:48
up.
27:48
SPEAKER_00: Christy,
27:49
I'll connect with you after this podcast via email and we'll
27:51
get all the details
27:52
SPEAKER_00: set up.
27:52
SPEAKER_00: But thanks for helping launch my book.
27:55
SPEAKER_00: It's awesome.
27:56
SPEAKER_01: Well, thank you.
27:57
SPEAKER_01: I appreciate the opportunity.
27:59
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
28:00
SPEAKER_00: And we'll talk soon.
28:01
SPEAKER_00: Thanks for being a guest today.
28:02
Oh,
28:02
and I want to shout out your podcast real quick because we'll
28:05
put a link to that too.
28:06
SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
28:07
SPEAKER_01: It's called Happy Hostess.
28:09
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
28:10
SPEAKER_00: It's really great.
28:10
SPEAKER_00: You have a lot of episodes on hostessing and fun, entertaining ideas.
28:14
SPEAKER_00: So, all right, Christy, we'll connect in email.
28:18
SPEAKER_01: Awesome.
28:18
SPEAKER_01: Thanks, Stephanie.
28:19
SPEAKER_00: Okay.
28:19
SPEAKER_00: Bye-bye.