A lot of good things have been happening to me and my book lately and I am super excited about them all. First, last Tuesday I got interviewed by Evan Kleiman for Good Food she hosts on KCRW (air time to be announced later), which is a bit surreal. I’ve been a fan for the longest time and one day I got interviewed myself! Who would have thought? But life is full of surprises, isn’t it?
The following day, on June 22 to be precise, I had a cookbook presentation event organized by Melissa’s Produce (the largest distributor of specialty produce in the United States) in their test kitchen in Los Angeles. About 30 people—food writers, bloggers, and journalists—were invited to the exclusive event, and they were all eager to learn about the cuisine unknown to many of them.
Melissa‘s wonderful chefs put together an all-Azerbaijani menu from the recipes in Pomegranates and Saffron. Here’s the full menu the guests had a chance to enjoy.
At the event, I spoke about Azerbaijani cuisine, my book, and my publishing experience. Chefs’ Toys sponsored a raffle with some cool kitchen utensils. The books were signed, appetites sated, raffles won, new friends made, and I left the event as one happy and grateful Feride, feeling blessed and lucky for yet another amazing opportunity and wondering what else was in store.
Enjoy some delicious snaps from the event, courtesy of Kim Pham (photo of me) and Yakir Levy (all the rest).
What do you think of this 12-layered Baku-style baklava? Dough made and rolled out by hand.
A glimpse of my book signing table.
One of the hits on the menu – meatballs in sweet-and-sour tomato sauce, or Rize koftesi.
Clockwise, from top: Ganja-style chicken with eggs, vegetable kabab salad, rice pilaf with dill and fava beans, chopped fresh vegetable salad.
The chefs made two kinds of traditional drink called sharbat, mint sharbat and basil sharbat. They were perfect to end a good, hearty Azerbaijani meal.
This was the most delicious feast EVER! Loved every bite of it, from the salads to the beverage. And oh yes, the baklava.
Thank you so much for coming to the event, Dorothy! And I am super glad you liked the food.
Everything I tasted was divine. Your cookbook is absolutely gorgeous and I loved reading about the culture and cuisine of Azerbaijan. I now have the country on my bucket list.
Thank you so much, Cathy! We should go travel there together:)