We did it, so let's celebrate

I’ve had a lot of humbling moments in my life. I face-planted and started bleeding in front of a crush once. All three of my kids have thrown up on me at various points. But truly, nothing has humbled me like trying to cram a whole book tour into a single week and having almost everything go wrong: we had a venue with a burst pipe, a store closure and record-breaking snow, leading to three events needing to completely pivot (and one impacted by icy conditions that trudged on!).

But guess what? Much like that crush eventually dumping me, it all worked out for the best in the end (as for the kid vomit, I’m still searching for the silver lining). The truth is, out of a lot of whiplash came so much good. I got to see writers and friends I admire take the reins for me and say, how can I help? I got to meet readers who didn’t care what we were doing, as long as we were doing it together.

And as a result…The Slow Burn is an instant bestseller!? That’s humbling. Thank you all so much for supporting The Slow Burn. This milestone means the world to me.

So I ran a gauntlet and came out better on the other side. That’s a good lesson for a nutty February, right?

(And if for some reason you haven’t gotten it yet, you can get signed copies from The Strand, or order it in paperback, audio, e-book or on KU)

February is really, truly, my least favorite time to cook. Nothing good is in season, (this is not to disparage citrus, but let’s be real—it can only hold down winter for so long), the nights are dark and the holidays are well and truly over. But, while I do come up with a lot of twists on ramen this time of year, I also find that sometimes baking can be the solution to cooking doldrums. I was lucky enough to go on The Today Show to showcase two recipes from The Slow Burn, and I really believe that this apricot olive oil ricotta cake could stave off seasonal depression. No worries if you can’t find apricots—use any stone fruit, use apples, use oranges! It’s a one bowl, easy delicious showstopper. And in terms of cookbooks, I’ve just started using Kat Ashmore’s Big Bites: Time to Eat, which is great for family cooking.

February also calls for pure joy on the reading front, so that’s what I’m living right now. I adored Julian Winters’ newest book Last First Kiss, about an event planner thrown back together with his childhood crush. It’s so tender and lovely. And if you need something short, I love the Amazon Originals novellas - little bite sized stories you can get in one sitting. Their Valentine’s collection is now up and there are two from favorites Julie Soto and Christina Lauren.

I adore Amy Poehler’s podcast Good Hang because it really is pure humor and goodness. But this week she had Jonathan Groff on, who is another human ray of sunshine. And their conversation is so fun and pure, if you need something for a long walk or drive, I highly recommend it.

This also isn’t good news per se, but I find it hilarious. There is a Norwegian skier who apparently cheated on his girlfriend and then decided to ANNOUNCE IT after winning a medal in an attempt to get her back. Readers, she declined, and we love her for it. The audacity of some men, truly.

Finally, I’m also really sad about the loss of James Van Der Beek, who was such a huge part of my childhood like a lot of millennials. In the spirit of finding the happy, I wanted to surface one of my favorite clips of him—when I was in middle school, he hosted SNL, and I got permission to stay up late and watch. No one at the time thought of him as funny (they do now, especially after his hilarious stint in Don’t Trust the B in Apartment 23, which probably merits a rewatch), but doing SNL really showed those chops. There’s a totally bizarre and off the wall sketch that’s so dumb it’s funny—I won’t spoil it but it’s Molly Shannon, Will Ferrell, James Van Der Beek in a wig and a whole lot of dogs. So if you’re feeling sad about that too and want to see him in a moment of pure silliness, give it a watch.

I really cannot express how much all your support of The Slow Burn has meant to me. This book is a true love letter to Italy, cooking and ambitious women, so seeing it embraced has been an incredible joy. I hope it gives you a little joy in return when you read it. Have a wonderful rest of the week!

Share Ali's Happy Books