EcoWalk Fundraiser a Huge Success

Not only did Thursday's fundraiser collect $14,000 for the Elementary School's proposed EcoWalk, but it gave me the chance to bid on and win this Pavoni burr grinder plus a pound of coffee beans a month for the next year from Java Nation!

Fifth Grade Celebration

I am a sucker for the details, so I really enjoyed today's meticulously produced graduation party at the Elementary School. From the elegant Sperry Tent to the handmade centerpieces (donated by generous parents) to the fried chicken lunch catered by Cromer's (3500 Noyac Road, 725-9004), everything was just right. My platter of chocolate chip cookies paled in comparison to Cathy Capozzola's rainbow-hued cupcakes (300 in all!) that were served while Vivian and the Merrymakers began to play.

Our School's Garden and Greenhouse

A highlight of last night's Elementary School Open House was a tour of the school's amazing vegetable garden and greenhouse. The baby lettuces looked just like the ones growing in the greenhouse at Quail Hill. I was mystified by the sign underneath, which reads "no watering people," until my daughter explained that it was a reminder to students that the watering cans were for watering the plants, not each other.

Best Chocolate Chip Cookies East of the Shinnecock Canal, No Exaggeration

Yesterday, parents were invited to Ms. Meyerhoff's class at Sag Harbor Elementary for a recitation of original Tall Tales, written by the students as party of their study of westward expansion. Every aspect of the project was perfect, from the watercolor backdrop to the performances (each student told a tale, from memory, as the others sat around the campfire and listened respectfully) to the beautifully illustrated books we were able to page through as we enjoyed a snack afterwards. I knew the bar would be set high, so I brought my best chocolate chip cookies, a marbled version with both semisweet chocolate chips and white chocolate chunks. Here is the recipe:

Marbled Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes about 40 cookies

You can use white "chocolate" morsels for these, but I chopped up a few real Lindt white chocolate bars from the IGA instead.

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teapsoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup white chocolate chips or two three-ounce white chocolate bars, chopped into chunks
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line several baking sheets with parchment paper. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
2. Combine the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until well-combined. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth. Stir in the flour mixture.
3. Divide the cookie dough equally between two bowls. Stir the cocoa powder into one of the bowls. Stir the white chocolate chips or chunks into the chocolate cookie dough. Stir the semisweet chocolate chips into the plain cookie dough.
4. Take a rounded teaspoonful of one dough and a rounded teaspoonful of the other dough and roll them together between your palms to form a single ball. Place dough balls on the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 3 inches between each cookie.
5. Bake the cookies until golden around the edge but still soft on top, 9 to 10 minutes. Slide the cookies, still on the parchment, onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Please Indulge a Mother's Pride

My 10-year-old, inspired as much by a book she checked out of the Sag Harbor Elementary School Library and Aisle 1 of the Sag Harbor Variety Store as she was by our trip to London, created this model of the London Eye from styrofoam, a paper towel roll, and some Dixie Cups. Tomorrow she shares it with her class.

For Immediate Release: Mom's Big Book of Cookies Tops Elementary School Libarary Circulation List!

While some authors launch ambitious assaults on Amazon bestseller lists, my goal has been more modest: To have the most popular cookbook in the Sag Harbor Elementary School Library. Finally, my strenuous attempts to grow my readership by donating copies of my books to the Library, bribing teachers and office staff with baked goods, and volunteering to speak about cookies at Morning Program have paid off. This week, Mom's Big Book of Cookies beat out The Smithsonian Handbook of Cats (number 2) and Captain Underpants and the Attack of the Talking Toilets (number 7) to take the number one spot.

I Love This Town

Yesterday morning, Jack Bishop (of America's Test Kitchen fame, and my husband) was the guest on I Love This Town, Nina Landi's and Paula Krzyzewski's acclaimed Morning Program talk show. He was nervous going in, since previous guests have included children's book author Emma Walton, Frank Venesina from Conca D'Oro, and Jon Bon Jovi (his song, "I Love This Town," inspired the show), all tough acts to follow. But Jack pulled it off, like the pro he is! After answering some grueling questions about his favorite teacher and his mother's cooking, he led a few elementary school students through taste tests of strawberry yogurt, orange juice, and pancake syrup. The results: Dannon over Fage Greek yogurt, Tropicana Pure Premium over Minute-Maid from concentrate, and Aunt Jemima (for shame, kids of Sag Harbor!) over pure Vermont maple syrup. Nice of Mrs. Landi to plug his show (America's Test Kitchen, on PBS channel 13 in New York, Sundays 5pm; and check your local listings).