Grab a blue-and-white striped apron and leave the stilettos at home! (Fine, wear the Jimmy’s to class and then change into Pumas…) Starting in October, at the Institute of Culinary Education, Jamie and I will be spending Friday nights with y’all, teaching you how to put the wedding pots and pans to good use, how to stir up the best cocktail in town (and it won’t cost you $15 a pop) and how to pull together the perfect dinner party menu.

Sign up now! I might even bring pictures of Baby Parker to class…

Gourmet Breakfast in Bed
Friday, October 2, 6-10:30 PM

Breakfast in bed is one of the most luxurious indulgences to offer your partner at the end of a long week. This menu features a selection of gourmet breakfast dishes that will make him or her feel even more special, especially since they come with champagne. You will make Sherry Shrimp and Grits; Blueberry Pancakes; Buttermilk and Raspberry Muffins; Baked Apples with Crème Fraîche; Breakfast Burritos; Bacon and Sweet Potato Quiche; Lump Crabmeat Omelets; and Champagne Bar.
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Casual Entertaining (Cooking for the Big Game)
Friday, October 23, 6-10:30 PM

What better way to spend a weekend afternoon than to invite some friends over to cheer on your favorite sports team? Chips and dips will not do, though; instead, serve them sophisticated dishes that can be made ahead, so as to not tear you away from the action, such as Mini Crab Cakes; Cheddar and Brown Ale Dip with Ham and Pumpernickel Skewers; Popcorn Trio (Rosemary-Parmesan, Smoked Paprika-Cheddar, Roasted Garlic); Turkey Chili; Buttermilk Chicken Wings; Pork and Chipotle Sliders; Bourbon Milkshakes; and Spiced Pecans.
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First Dinner Party
Friday, November 13, 6-10:30 PM

Hosting your first dinner party as a couple is the opportunity to show off both your entertaining and your cooking skills, with the goal to impress your guests and have a good time. This menu will guarantee that you’ll never be short on visitors, as you prepare Tuna Tartare; Pear, Celery, and Radish Salad; Halibut with Tomato Compote and Smoky Eggplant Puree; Brined Pork Loin with Tender Mustard Greens and Brown Butter-Balsamic Autumn Vegetable Puree; Cinnamon Spice Tart with Carrot Mousse; and Pomegranate Cocktail.
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Cocktail Party
Friday, December 11, 6-10:30 PM

Nibbles and drinks—what better way to spend an evening with friends? Entertain them with a menu that will make them linger long past the cocktail hour, with dishes such as Butterbean Crostini; Grilled Butternut Squash and Pesto; Oven Arancini; Merguez Meatballs with Cucumber Dip; Vodka-“Cured” Salmon with Arugula and Pomegranate; Manchego and Quince Sandwiches; White Chocolate Mousse with Dark Rum Cherries; Ginger Mule; and Raspberry Gin Soda.
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The 20 young women–bloggers, aspiring writers and “media-lites” (media beauties with substance and professional drive)–impressed me with their focus, their goals and their sense of self.

I’ll admit, it was a little strange giving advice at this point in my career. A William Morris demi-god like Cliff Roberts does not represent me and I’ve yet to garner a 7-figure paycheck for my writing efforts like a Diablo Cody or Lorene Scafaria. (I’m still stuck on yesterday’s Sunday Styles article… Cliff, gimme a call. There’s a killer Mommy-in-Manhattan screenplay tucked into my new diaper bag!)

But regardless of my place in the pecking order, these young women genuinely cared about what I had accomplished and learned during my 6 1/2 years in the city.

If I could give them one tip, what would it be?

PERSISTENCE.

And this.

Hubby was a champ last night and nailed his victory with a “beautifully composed [dessert] plate of sweet and spicy bacon with orange sabayon and shot of citrus juice.” (!!!)

“What are you going to do with your prize money?” Ted Allen asks.

“I’m putting it toward my new bride and our baby-to-be.”

Parker and I are very lucky girls.

(Viewing party at the Barrow Street Ale House. Nothing like soda and lime while 8+ months pregnant!)

But, somehow, along the way, Jamie and I kept working, shutting out (most) of the bad and moving toward the good. We worked through the difficult times before the honeymoon was even over… because that’s what families do, even the young ones who have just left the church and who suddenly find their envelopes addressed to “Mr. and Mrs.” I now realize that the promise of April was our inspiration. Spring and a baby.

But March has her charms…

And, in our book, charm can be spelled out in two words–FOOD NETWORK! Tonight, on the heels of our cookbook excitement, Jamie will make his Primetime television debut on Chopped (10pm/9c). He’ll sweat it out with three other top chefs and face a basket of crazy ingredients–not to mention studio lights, cameras and Ted Allen in his face (though Ted is totally adorable). I’ll say this –if someone gave me a basket of soda, macaroni & cheese and bacon I’d probably throw up my hands, hightail it to the bar at Balthazar and order a tray of French 75’s.

Here’s his Food Network confessional interview where he reveals, umm, his competitive (and fantasy sport?) side.

Life–and food television–are full of surprises. 

JUST MARRIED AND COOKING!!!

Oh okay, fine, the pictures weren’t taken in Morocco but, instead, in our neck of the Gulf Coast. But it felt like we were worlds away in the sand and sun, eating lots of fish and taking in sunsets to last us through the final weeks of winter.

Meanwhile,the publishing world did its thing, Scribner extending us a fantastic offer, making us one very happy family-to-be. It looks like Parker Lee’s first days will be spent testing recipes, making compound butters and vegetable confit.

If our tome were headed to Hollywood, she’d be branded like this: The cheeky tone of Skinny Bitch in the Kitch meets the culinary simplicity and sophistication of Barefoot Contessa’s best. That, and throw in a cup of Jamie Oliver’s “kitchen ease,” expertise and creativity for good measure.

Keep reading my blog because the cookbook experiment will be documented here!

Yesterday, I was ecstatic leaving Clio with Jamie, our new table “runner,” linen napkins and matching coffee mugs and sugar bowl in tow.

“Aren’t you thrilled, baby?! Now we’ll be coordinated when we drink coffee in the morning!”

My new husband looked at me like I was juuuust a little crazy…

And maybe I am.

I’m in my late 20’s, in the throes of transitioning from one life to the next and the space around me is suddenly so important. Maybe it’s my way of coping? In the span of 6 months time, Single-Carefree-Downtown-Writer (because we’re all hyphenated clichés in someone’s mind) became Young(ish)-Wife-and-Mother-to-Be. And this new, “adult” life just happens to come with a new, “adult” apartment.

Goodbye SoHo studio, hello West Village 2-bedroom.

From the nursery and from the master bedroom, we see the warm lights and rooftops of the West Village. The cement wonders of Union and Madison Square rise in the distance-the only reminder that our quiet street is ten minutes from chaos and worries. But I like this, being removed yet somehow still a part of it all. The skyline reminds me that I’m here, still trying to do something (whatever that something may be).

And the nursery is large enough to double as my home office. One end will be pink toile and plush toys while the other is hard angles, work and stacks of bills…

Every woman says she “wants it all.” But does she? Do I? Can I handle it?

“Book tour feels a lot like running from the law. A dozen cities, disinterested faces and dark, quiet nights make my life and Mom’s (she’s my partner-in-crime, you see) feel like a scene out of ‘Thelma & Louise…’”

Mom’s favorite party ‘favor?’ The 8-foot tall likeness of me and the book cover. 

Meanwhile, my favorite taste of home included pulled pork nachos and fried oysters with remoulade sauce. I’ll never understand those girls who don’t eat at their own parties.

But when all the excitement happens, I kinda curl up, wanting to enjoy it but mostly disbelieving it. Blogging about it is actually the last thing I want to do.

But then the New York Daily News hits me over the head with an amazingly fun piece on me and BELLE!

“Think Paula Deen, Scarlett O’Hara, and – dare we say it -maybe just a hint of Rachael Ray. Brooke Parkhurst, Southern belle, highly energetic cook extraordinaire, and now, first-time novelist, just hit the road to promote her first novel, “Belle in the Big Apple”, and it’s somehow fitting that the Florida Panhandle transplant is taking along Mom…”  

But, first, here is the information for tonight’s Barnes & Noble reading. Please don’t make me stand in front of an empty room. Bring yourself, friends, babies and loved ones!

WHEN: Monday, September 22nd; 7:30pm

WHERE: Barnes & Noble, Greenwich Village; 396 Avenue of the Americas @ 8th Street