How it Works:
In our busy lives, it's great to have something concise and smart, yet short and sweet. Sign Up for our free e-bites (kitchen notes to help you make choices on what to cook and how to shop) and consider us your "trusted source". We'll send you menus, recipes, tips & techniques, and the things we love (from local finds and new ingredients to cocktails and table talk). Also, come cook with us - join our online Cook the Book Club - it's how we learned to cook better with friends.
How We Met:
Over food, of course! Ten years ago at a holiday party, Suzanne overheard Bettina telling of her latest dinner party and a delicious double crème she loved. Suzanne could not resist, turned around, introduced herself, and joined the conversation. Always welcoming new friends, they kept in touch and months later Suzanne joined Bettina's Cookbook Club. Loulies was started thanks to the encouragement of so many great friends and family.
In Our Kitchens:
We both have simple kitchens; utensils hang from the walls, lots of wooden spoons, extra-virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, red pepper flakes and a bowl of kosher or sea salt always in reach. Never without limes, lemons, plain yogurt, raisins, pignoli, walnuts, basil, rice wine vinegar, dark chocolate, olives, good honey, capers, mint, and fresh ginger.
On Cooking and Parties:
We cook from all inspirations. A great recipe is meant to be shared, but to cook any recipe is to re-invent it. Trust your taste and cook what you like. Have a smile, sense of humor, and a mix of ethnic and earthy. Be casual. Stretch to be stylish. Turn up the volume and mix up the music. Serve good drinks. Shorten the distance from soil to plate - foods in season are always the easiest to turn into a tasty meal.
Who is Loulie:
Loulie Thomson Thompson was Bettina's grandmother. They would stay up late playing Gin Rummy and Granny would tell stories from her own youth. Hidden in her bedside table was a treasure trove of rich, dark chocolate bars from Europe. Sometimes the simplest things are the most elegant (and best of all, the most delicious).
