Book Talk with Tinky Weisblat

The Diva of Deliciousness Comes to Williamstown

Author Tinky Weisblat will visit the Milne Library on Thursday, September 5, at 6 p.m. to

talk about her most recent cookbook, Pot Luck: Random Acts of Cooking.

A pot luck is a meal for which disparate people provide a variety of elements. Somehow,

Tinky maintains, those elements always seem to come together to create a unique,

delicious feast. 

Her new book is her own pot luck, a collection of recipes, stories, and

historical essays that tickle her fancy. Some of the recipes are new; some she has been

preparing for years. All are reasonably easy to make.

The book celebrates seasonal foods and holidays that give Americans an excuse to

cook. It also pays tribute to people from the past who are best remembered with food …

because EVERYONE is best remembered with food. From President George

Washington to country-music icon Dolly Parton, these figures give Tinky an opportunity

to analyze their impact and make dishes to honor them.

In the book’s pages readers will find produce-centered recipes like spinach-and-

caramelized-onion dip, rhubarb cheesecake, corn fritters, and apple pizza. They will

also find dishes appropriate for both religious and secular holidays, from a king cake for

Epiphany to chili peanuts for Kwanzaa. And they’ll find culinary tributes like peanut

brittle for agricultural innovator George Washington Carver, sponge cake for suffragist

Susan B. Anthony, and spaghetti sauce for silent-film star Rudolph Valentino.

Tinky Weisblat is a food writer, singer, and historian known as the Diva of Deliciousness.

She has a master’s degree in journalism and a Ph.D. in American studies. Tinky loves

to explore the ways in which food can remind us of people and events in the past, and

she writes with heart and humor. Tinky lives in Hawley, Massachusetts, with a dog

named Cocoa and a cat named Rhubarb. She is known for her colorful hats and her

equally colorful personality.

Tinky will talk about her philosophy of life and cooking and will read and serve nibbles

from the book. If someone twists her arm (very little twisting will be needed!), she will

sing a song related to Pot Luck. Book will be available for sale at the event.