Tracey Jackson

BOOK PARTIES, PS 101 AND ARTIST STUDIO VISITS

Oct 24, 2010•by tracey •Comments

I should have blogged last night, but let’s just say the dog ate my blog, which if you knew my dogs is totally believable.  But the truth is Taylor was in town and I just wanted to hang out with her and we had a great night on the lower East Side and I figured I could cram four days of activities into one blog ~ which is exactly what I’m doing.

Last Tuesday the IAAC, which stands for the Indo American Arts Consul and Glenn and I gave a book party for Madhur Jaffrey who has just published I think her 200th book. Well, maybe not 200, but so many when asked Madhur herself cannot come up with a number. I have been a giant fan of hers for years, she really gets credit for bringing Indian food as we know it to the west. In the UK she is a rock star.  She is not only a prolific cook book author but an award winning actress. Go watch a lot of Merchant Ivory films and you will see her everywhere and many other films as well. Her latest book is called

This is the second party we have given for Madhur and she spends the whole evening signing. The last time she signed over 200 books. I don’t have a count for this years event.

After the signing many people came back to our apartment for dinner. While Madhur did not cook Scott Olsen made some of her favorite dishes.

• Salmon with mustard seed and coriander

• Basmati rice with dill and cardamom

• Madhur Jaffrey’s favourite recipes: South indian-style stir-fried green beans

• Madhur Jaffrey’s perfect basmati rice

• Madhur Jaffrey picks her favourite recipes: Madhur’s daily dal

  

  

  

  The next day Taylor and I went out to Forest Hills to speak at PS 101. We love going to the public schools, they watch Lucky Ducks, then we go and answer questions and have a great time with the moms. Last Friday was no exception. The public schools are so  open and interested and the parent body is not afraid to face the tough issues. The private schools of New York could take some real lessons from the administrators who work in these schools. It’s  not all about the capital fund, it’s about the families and the kids.

  

  

  

  This time we had a special treat we were not expecting, some of the moms took us to lunch at Wafa’s Mediterranean Restaurant. It is a local place with truly amazing food.

  We just continued our conversation as Wafa, who does all the cooking herself, brought out one amazing dish after another. Thank you Marcia Parness, Lisa Rees and Elisa Barsoun Lasoda for a great lunch and a participating in a wonderful morning.

  

  

  

  

  We have been friends and fans of the artist Will Cotton for several years. It wasn’t until recently we discovered he designed the Katy Perry California Girls Video. She saw some of his Candy Land inspired pieces and hired him to design the video. Lucy never really cared that much about visiting an artist’s studio until she heard this. I had always wanted to see Wll’s studio so we all went down late Saturday afternoon.