The Country Cooking of Ireland

About a week ago my boss surprised me by asking me if I had time to squeeze in one extra story in my schedule and I said yes, blindly, mostly because she assured me it was going to be "a quick one". Little did I know, I was in for a treat. A huge treat. Turns out award-winning food writer Colman Andrews, co-founder of Saveur magazine, is coming to Naples -of all places!- to present his new cookbook, "The Country Cooking of Ireland". Also turns out, I get the honor of interview him. On the phone, but still. He e-maild me to tell me he would call me at 3 p.m. and from that moment on I was so excited I could barely function. I know, I sound like a big unprofessional dork, but Colman Andrews has won six James Beard awards -the highest award a food journalist can dream of- and he writes the kind of stories and articles that make me hope that one day I will write like him.

To make a long story short, he called me at 3 p.m. on the dot and he made every second of the interview so pleasant and easy I ended up feeling a little silly for being so nervous in the beginning. We talked about his book, about Gourmet magazine's folding, about ingredients and trends in journalism. It was a conversation I wish lasted longer. And to top off an already great converstion, when I walked into the office the other day I found a copy of his book sitting on y desk. The book itself is a 2-ince high work of art that will speak to your soul about Irish cuisine. Flipping through it remind me of the wonderful vacation my family took in Ireland when I was 10 and also inspired me to go back there asap AND start cooking some serious Irish fare. The recipe, and there is lots of them, range from the most common (think Irish stew and soda bread) to incredible soup, pork and salmon recipes I would have never dreamed of if it weren't for Colman Andrews. The pictures, too, are amzing and make your mouth water with every page you turn. Christopher Hirsheimer is a phenomenal photographer and she can capture detail in her pictures that the naked eye can't.

Well, the really exciting news is that Colman Andrews is going to be here today and I'm going to downtown Naples, at Sea Salt restaurant, to meet the man himself and also chef owner Fabrizio Aielli (a fellow Northern Italian). It's about the most exciting thing that happened to me in a long time so bear with me!