The people are never wrong

pretty celadon plates by my momma

Per your unanimous instructions, I made the Momofuku bo ssam for book group on Friday and it was a huge hit. I detected mild shock when the blistered 10-pound chunk of meat appeared on the table because, well,

Ugly. But mild shock soon gave way to professions of gratitude. Everyone ate the salty, sugary, fatty bo ssam, everyone said nice things, everyone drank lots of water, everyone drank wine, everyone who had read Nothing to Envy loved Nothing to Envy and I went to bed happy, so happy. Thank you.

Three lessons from Friday night:

1. Fussbudgets make a lot of noise, but most people just like good food and if you serve it to them they will eat it.

2. Strangers read my blog, but no one in book group does.

3. Book club spent more time talking about these gluten-free pecan cookies than we usually spend talking about a book. The cookies look like brown lumps and are dense, intense, and chewy. I was pleased with how they turned out, but the ecstatic reception, which included one woman suggesting I supply a gluten-free bakery, surprised me. Was this because gluten-free cookies are ordinarily awful? Because everyone was drunk? Because these cookies are in fact the best cookies in the whole history of humankind, maybe even the best dessert? I don't know. I do know they're easy and delicious and I will make them again.

Next month we're reading Lean In. How would one plan a theme dinner around that? Not my problem!