Rebecca DeLatin represents one of the silver linings of the fire that destroyed our home last August.<\/p>\n
When we ended up in a rental, we never dreamed of the impact our new neighbors would have on our lives. The DeLatins have been the perfect combination of fun, smarts, kindness and humor during this strange temporary time and place of our lives. They\u2019re the kind of neighbors who make life better. I suspect that they will be a part of our lives for years to come.<\/p>\n
On Sunday afternoon, with her children spending the week with their grandparents in Acadiana, DeLatin told me she was looking forward to an afternoon of cooking and going to her Cookbook Club that evening. I told her that I\u2019ve been wanting to be a part of a cookbook club, and within minutes, I was invited to join.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Since DeLatin was taking three dishes, I had a feeling there would be a gracious plenty \u2014 and I was not wrong. Darian Graivshark and Kos Kovtun hosted the event. The cookbook for the night was Molly Baz\u2019s \u201cCook This Book.\u201d Adrian Owen Jones recommended the book. As a vegetarian, she says Baz\u2019s dishes are usually greater than the sum of their parts.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n Molly Baz’s “Cook This Book” was the inspiration cookbook for the Baton Rouge-based “Cookbook Club” to host their July 19, 2026 meal.\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt’s so hard to find vegetable dishes that aren’t boring,” she said.<\/p>\n If nonboring vegetable dishes are the goal, she hit the jackpot Sunday night. The seven of us enjoyed 12 dishes. It was a feast.<\/p>\n Baz also has a knack for naming dishes: Piri-ish chicken, Pimento-ish cheese, One-pot chicken with schmalzy rice, Gingery squash and lentils, Smooshed and crispy potatoes with salt-and-vinegar sour cream.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Five women started this cookbook club in the spring. They meet every other month, choose a book, cook from it and eat what they made together.<\/p>\n I went expecting that DeLatin would be the only person I knew and was delighted that Owen Jones was there, along with Jamee Blink, whom I had also met briefly at one of my husband\u2019s art shows.<\/p>\n Lately I’ve been thinking about how adults make new friends, inspired by watching my 20-something daughters build lives in new cities. I suspect the best friendships happen sideways. Follow a genuine interest, and you’ll find people who share it.\u00a0<\/p>\n Maybe that works because it requires the time, energy and honesty to figure out what each of us is passionate about.<\/p>\n Even though I had just met the majority of people there, I felt comfortable enough to share my question of the day for everyone to answer. The question was simple. What’s the best piece of advice anyone ever gave you?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n The 12 dishes for The Cookbook Club’s July 19, 2026 meal in Baton Rouge were from Molly Baz’s “Cook This Book.” Dishes included:\u00a0Piri-ish chicken, Pimento-ish cheese, One-pot chicken with schmalzy rice, Gingery squash and lentils, Farro and charred corn salad with salted almonds and queso fresco, Peach and tomato salad with sizzled halloumi, Smooshed and crispy potatoes with salt-and-vinegar sour cream and Blueberry cornflake crisp with vanilla ice cream.<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n
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