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FacebookRachael Ray will sign new cookbook at The Greene
Friday, December 05, 2008
BEAVERCREEK — Much of the national attention that talk-show host and television chef Rachael Ray has attracted in the last week focuses on her Dec. 16 throat surgery, when doctors are scheduled to remove a benign cyst from her vocal cords.
But six days before her surgery, Ray is scheduled to be in the Dayton area: she will sign copies of her newly released "Rachael Ray's Big Orange Book" ($24.95, Clarkson Potter) from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 10, at Books & Co. at 4453 Walnut St. in The Greene in Beavercreek.
In a phone interview earlier this week, Ray said she'll "have to be quiet for 10 days to two weeks, depending on how my vocal cords heal." But she'll have no such restrictions when she comes to the book-signing.
Ray's newest book covers a lot of culinary ground. "Big Orange" essentially consists of nine separate mini-cookbooks. Its chapter titles run the full spectrum, from 30-Minute Meals, Entree Burgers, Holiday Menus, Kosher Meals, Meals for One, Vegetarian Meals, and A Little More than 30 Minutes, But Worth It.
Ray said the somewhat fragmented nature of the new cookbook is a direct result of the diverse requests from fans she encountered on her book-signing tour in 2007 and who make requests through her television shows and magazine. Her readers and viewers wanted a little bit of everything, Ray said: Kosher meals, vegetarian dishes, special holiday fare.
"I didn't really know which direction to go in," Ray said. So she decided to assemble a cookbook, name it after her favorite color, and throw a little bit of everything into it.
Ray, who popularized the acronym EVOO for extra-virgin olive oil, among other Rachael Ray-isms (Yum-O, Delish), has assigned a nickname-acronym for the Big Orange Book: "BOB."
"BOB is a very eclectic guy," Ray said.
But it's not helter-skelter. Ray's passion for food and exuberance for her work shine through in virtually every recipe, unifying the separate parts into a satisfying whole. Each chapter contains recipes that you'll want to try, including dishes such as Bacon-Wrapped Chicken with Blue Cheese and Pecans, Spring Risotto and Lamb Chops with Roasted Vegetables, Grilled Vegetable Chili, Seared Salmon Fillet with Cucumber Dill Salsa and Steak Pizzaiola Burgers, a recipe Ray says she created for Donald Trump.
Ray doesn't strait-jacket herself with a 30-minute meal time limit, although many of the recipes can be made within that time frame. And even the more special-occasion recipes seem accessible to cooks of all skill levels.
Ray's book-signing comes with some restrictions, according to Sharon Kelly Roth, director of public relations for Books & Co. The book's publisher is limiting the participating couples or families to 250, and line numbers will be handed out beginning at 5 p.m., with a limit of one line number per family. Fans must buy a copy of "Rachael Ray's Big Orange Book" to obtain a line number. Ray will sign copies of up to five of her books, but no books may be brought from home. And Ray will personalize only the new cookbook.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2258 or mfisher@DaytonDailyNews.com.
