Join Our Inaugural Community Cookbook Club!

We're a great match, you and us.

You see, we share a love of cookbooks. We review them, talk about them, lust after particularly impressive collections, and yes, create and sell them, too. And we know you love them as well: When we asked you to nominate your favorite cookbooks of 2016, and over 1100 of you chimed in with recommendations.

So it's only logical that we create a Cookbook Club*. We're doing it to explore and cook from more cookbooks to be sure, but we're also doing it for the community—to create a space for us to come together, get to know each other a little better, and learn from each other. All while engaging in one of our favorite pastimes: talking about food.

Our inaugural book is Kate McDermott’s Art of the Pie, and if you’re wondering how we settled on that, with so many recent releases to choose from, well, let’s just say it’s abundantly obvious a lot of you like this book. (Ahem. #piglet)

Plus, our beloved Dorie Greenspan’s review makes it clear this is a book for experienced bakers and novices alike: “Baking from Art of the Pie is like having pie maker Kate McDermott at your elbow, encouraging, instructing and cheering you on. Whether you’re a seasoned pie hand or a beginner with more enthusiasm than skill, Kate’s got you covered.”

Basically there’s no excuse not to join, so let’s get baking!

1) Get the Book

Buy one, either online or visit your favorite local bookstore. If you buy one from Kate McDermott’s local Indie book store, Port Books & News, she’ll sign your copy (they ship anywhere in the U.S.)! Or, if you’re not ready to commit quite yet, check out a copy from your local library or borrow a copy from a friend.

2) Read & Cook

Rather self-explanatory, as this is one of the most important parts of participating a cookbook club, right? If you’re not sure where to begin, take a page out of our Cookbook Editor Ali Slagle's playbook. When she reviews a cookbook, she reads through the entire introduction as well as 15 headnotes and recipes, and then cooks at least three recipes.

3) Share Your Opinions

There are two ways to participate, choose one or the other, or both!

a) Social Media: Share mini-reviews, pie photos, or tricks you pick up from the book by tagging content on Instagram or Twitter with #f52cookbookclub. We'll round up your responses and share them at the end of the month.

b) Group Discussion: After having the full month to peruse through the book and cook as many pies as your oven can handle, we’re going to gather on the Hotline on Monday, February 27th (all day long!) to talk about the book. We’re going to keep the discussion on a single thread, so anyone can pop in and catch up on everything we’ve talked about in one spot. And while you’re welcome to come in and out of the discussion throughout the day, you’ll want to catch author Kate McDermott when she joins us from 12 to 1 PM EST.

You can also join us on our Cookbook Club Facebook page, where we can all talk about the book throughout the month. Head to the page here and request to join (it's free!)—we'll add you to the group lickity-split.

Any questions? You can reach me at [email protected] or feel free to ask them below in the comments.

*If you were paying really close attention, you'll remember that last fall we mentioned our plans to start a Cookbook Club. You get a gold star for attention to detail. Wear your virtual badge with pride.