11:30am | This Sunday at 2 PM, Gatsby Books will be hosting a holiday themed cooking demonstration called Thanksgiving with Trader Joe’s. Alisha Attella will be presenting a series of appetizer, side dish, and dessert recipes from the popular Cooking with Trader Joe’s Cookbook series, as well as sharing ideas for repurposing leftovers.
I asked Alisha how this idea arose.
“Gatsby Books,” explained Attella, “hosted a cooking demonstration and book signing by Celine Cossou-Bordes, author of Cooking with Trader Joe’s-Pack a Lunch! back at the beginning of October. Everyone in Southern California shops at Trader Joe’s because of the accessibility to affordable, quality ingredients that the chain offers and so, the Cooking with Trader Joe’s Cookbook series is naturally very popular and, by extension, there was great enthusiasm among our customers when we had Celine come in to demo and sample one of her recipes. It turned out to be such great afternoon that Sean [Moor, owner of Gatsby Books] and I decided to host a holiday cooking event. Given my culinary background, it seemed natural that I do the demonstration this time and incorporate recipes from each of the titles in the Cooking with Trader Joe’s Series.”
I asked Alisha how she developed her love of cooking.
“The first real job that I ever had,” Attella continued, “was working the counter at Darby’s Bakery, a little artisan shop in my hometown in central Massachusetts. I fell in love with the balance of art and science that the culinary arts demand and, in the following years, had jobs ranging from waitressing the graveyard shift at Denny’s, to bartending & catering private parties, to running a bistro in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston.”
I asked Alisha what kinds of foods she will be preparing on Sunday.
“Sunday’s event will be focused on updated holiday table classics,” said Attella, “and re-purposing the Remains of the Feast. I’ll be demonstrating an appetizer, and two side dishes straight from the series, as well as a T.J.’s inspired twist on Apple Pie a’la mode. We’ll also be offering suggestions for using leftovers that reach beyond the Gobbler sandwich, though the Gobbler sandwich is classic which deserves its sainted place in American culinary arcana. I believe that we will even be using one of your brilliant T.J.’s recipes.”
I asked Alisha if other cooking demonstrations are in the works.
“Sean and I expect this to be a really great afternoon and plan to schedule more Gatsby Cooks events over the course of the year. Be on the lookout for Gatsby Cooks Valentine’s Dinner.”
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Gatsby Books is located at 5535 East Spring Street, just East of Bellflower Blvd. Ample free parking can be found just North of the shop. More information about this and other events can be found at GatsbyBooks.com.