Adding a little rouge to my cheeks, Publisher’s Weekly declares:

“Parkhurst, former blogger and media gossip staple turned Web-and-TV culinary personality, brings considerable Southern charm and sass (plus some mouth-watering recipes) to her chick lit debut…the tartly told story is a genuine guilty pleasure.” (6.23.08)

And my author photo at left. Because “Belle” makes me blush, makes me laugh, makes me squeeze my eyes shut and think, “What have I done to deserve this New York City? My God, the experiences that inspired the book!”

For the full Publisher’s Weekly review, click on “About the Book” and “Reviews.”

(The above bio is from the list of guest chefs at Tyler Florence’s Lowcountry Celebration in Palmetto Bluff, South Carolina.)

As part of my Belle in the Big Apple book tour, I’ll be reading and cooking with my honey alongside the Food Network star, Tyler Florence! The uber-luxurious, South Carolina resort, Palmetto Bluff, and Coastal Living Magazine are sponsoring the Music to Your Mouth Lowcountry Celebration. So what will we be doing all weekend? Listening to music, sipping wine and eating shellfish and grits with wild abandon. Yep, it’s my perfect weekend away from the Big Apple.

I admit to a wee culinary crush on Michael Anthony, executive chef of Gramercy Tavern. His local, seasonal, farm-fresh eats aren’t showy, but boy do they satisfy.

I’ll tell you ladies, when I cooked with Mike at the James Beard House, it was like a first date gone terribly right…

Full Flavored Recipes w Taste and Texture: Harmonious Cooking with Michael Anthony

We planted a postage stamp-sized herb garden together. Basil, thyme, rosemary, parsley, mint. In my mind, I tick off the pestos, chimichurris and marinades that I’ll make the next three months to top off fresh linguine, grilled ribeyes and snapper. And then, because he needs *something* to serve alongside his watermelon margaritas, we planted jalapenos and cherry tomatoes.

When he left for work, I swept up the dirt and imagined the kind of garden I would plant down South—bigger, better, maybe a little vulgar in its size and rainbow of colors. It would be a welcome change for the senses after muted, refined, tiny New York.

A few hours later I call him at work, very pleased with our domestic handiwork.

“I just tasted our basil.”

“What was it like??”

“Perfectly fragrant, just like my favorite spot on your neck.”

You make little moments of happiness in the city and then imagine when you can finally plant that big, bright, garish garden of your dreams.