Nigella Lawson

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Thursday, November 12, 2015
8:00pm (Reception, 6:30-7:30pm)
 
Nigella Lawson
in conversation with Russ Parsons
 
discussing her new cookbook,
Simply Nigella: Feel Good Food


Crest Theatre, Westwood
1262 Westwood Blvd,
Los Angeles, CA 90024

PURCHASE TICKETS 
$47 Reserved Section seating + Book
$95 Pre-Reception(6:30-7:30pm)* + Reserved Section seating + Book
$20 General Admission
* Reception includes selections prepared from the book, California wine

Nigella Lawson, food enthusiast, television personality, and journalist, is the author of nine bestselling books including Nigellissima, Nigella Kitchen, Nigella Fresh, Nigella Christmas, Nigella Express, Feast, Nigella Bites, How to Be a Domestic Goddess, and How to Eat. These books, along with her groundbreaking Quick Collection apps and her successful television series on Food Network, E! Entertainment Television, and Style, have made hers a household name around the world.  Nigella hosts The Taste with Anthony Bourdain, Ludo Lefebvre, and Brian Malarkey. Visit her website.  

Simply Nigella is an inspirational and practical cookbook  sharing delicious foods that make everyone feel better, in body and mind. There are everyday recipes that are light and easy to prepare, and indulgent dishes for special occasions. The message is simple: great food can be celebrated without stress.

With 150 recipes for nourishing oneself, friends, and family, Simply Nigella includes breakfasts and brunches; fast, easy, and light suppers; a feasting chapter for entertaining a group; and a section dedicated to “Bowlfoods.” There is also a wide array of sweet treats, including fabulous dairy-free and gluten-free recipes.

Russ Parsons is a staff writer and columnist of the Los Angeles Times Food Section. He has been writing about food for more than 25 years, including more than 20 years at The Times. He has won many food journalism awards, including those from the International Association of Culinary Professionals, the Association of Food Journalists and the James Beard Foundation and in 2008 he was inducted into the James Beard Foundation’s Who’s Who of Food and Beverage, the hall of fame of American cooking. He is the author of the cookbooks How to Read a French Fry, which was a finalist for two Julia Child cookbook awards, and How to Pick a Peach, which was named one of the best 100 books of the year by both Publisher’s Weekly and Amazon. – See more at: http://livetalksla.org/uncategorized/january-29-chef-suzanne-goin-in-conversation-with-russ-parsons/#sthash.tpSZI0Uv.dpuf

 

 

Richard Betts with Chris Sacca

Tuesday, November 10, 2015
8:00pm (Reception 7:15-8:00pm) 

An Evening with Richard Betts
in conversation with Chris Sacca

The Essential Scratch & Sniff Guide to Becoming a Whiskey Know-It-All

William Turner Gallery
Bergamot Station Arts Center
2525 Michigan Avenue,
Santa Monica, CA 90404

PURCHASE TICKETS
$35 General Admission
$50 Reserved Section Seat + Book
* This event includes a tasting of Whiskeys from around the world
** Must be 21 or older to attend

Los Angeles Times on Richard Betts, September 29, 2015

Richard Betts is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Essential Scratch and Sniff Guide to Becoming a Wine Expert. He has been featured in the New York Times,Wine Spectator, Food & Wine, Outside, GQ, and Details and speaks frequently on wine throughout the country. He is also the founder of two wine companies, Betts & Scholl and Scarpetta, which have won top praise from leading wine publications. He is also the founder and president of Sombra Mezcal and Tequila Astral, and his newest wine ventures include Saint Glinglin Bordeaux, My Essential Red, My Essential White, and My Essential Rosé.

Whiskey fever is sweeping the nation. Every day, craft distilleries are popping up in remote counties and urban centers, offering a wealth of great choices to consumers—and just as many puzzlements. Does the introduction of a simple “e” to go from whisky to whiskey mean anything? What’s the difference between Scotch and Rye? What’s Canadian whisky anyway? And what about the whiskeys of Scotland, Japan, and Ireland? Where’s a humble Joe to start? 

In The Essential Scratch & Sniff Guide to Becoming a Whiskey Know-it-All: Know Your Booze Before You Choose,  Richard Betts offers up a clever distillation of America’s favorite libation, in the follow-up to his immensely popular New York Times bestselling The Essential Scratch & Sniff Guide to Becoming a Wine Expert.

In this witty kid-style book on an adult topic, Richard Betts boils down his know-how into twenty pages, cooling our “brown-sweat” anxieties and dividing whiskey into three simple categories: Grain, Wood, and Place. While most whiskey tomes are about as fun as a chemistry lesson, Betts makes the learning slide down easy, reassuring us that this exalted spirit is just distilled beer and, through a nasal romp, helping us figure out which kinds we love best. Humorous illustrations and scratch-and-sniff scents (vanilla, sandalwood, grass, and more) help would-be connoisseurs learn their personal preferences. The book also includes a special frame-able “choose-your-own” adventure pull-out poster detailing the flavors and characteristics of 279 specific brands, so readers can map their preferences and settle on the whiskey of their dreams.

Chris Sacca is the founder and chairman of Lowercase Capital, one of the most successful venture funds in history. A former Google executive, Sacca is now best known for being among the earliest and largest investors in companies such as Twitter, Uber, Instagram, and Kickstarter. His impact in the realms of technology and entrepreneurship led the Wall Street Journal to once cite Sacca as “possibly the most influential businessman in America.” In parallel with his investing accomplishments, Sacca is a very active supporter of charity:water, working hands-on to bring clean water to the world’s poorest families. Chris’ wife, Crystal English Sacca; is co-creator of the book, The Essential Scratch & Sniff Guide to Becoming a Whiskey Know-It-All.

 

David Spade with Dana Carvey

Sunday, November 8, 2015
7:00pm (Reception, 6:00-6:45pm)
 
David Spade
in conversation with Dana Carvey
 
Almost Interesting: The Memoir


The Bootleg Theatre
2220 Beverly Blvd,
Los Angeles, CA 90057

PURCHASE TICKETS 
Online sales end at 6:30pm, some tix avail at the door
$45 General Section seating + Book* 
$95 Pre-Reception(6:30-7:30pm)*+ Reserved Section seating + Book
$20 General Admission tickets on sale November 6
* Books will be picked up at the event when you check in, and signed immediately after the talk

David Spade is an actor, comedian, and writer. A former cast member of Saturday Night Live, Spade has also starred in the films Tommy Boy, Black Sheep, and the Joe Dirt and Grown Ups franchises. He was nominated for an Emmy, two Golden Globes, and an American Comedy Award for his role on NBC’s Just Shoot Me! He also won a participation award for being in show business. That’s the one he’s most proud of. He lives in Los Angeles, California.

Almost Interesting is a hilarious and biting memoir from from Spade, first taking fans back to his childhood as a wannabe cool younger brother and recounting his excruciating road-tour to fame—when he was regularly mistaken for a ten year-old,  then dishing about his time crisscrossing the country as a comedian, for low-paying gigs and dragging along his mother’s old suitcase full of props. He also covers his years on SNL during the beloved Rock/Sandler/Farley era of the 1990s, including his close working relationship and friendship with Chris Farley and brags about the ridiculous perks that fame has brought into his life, including the constant fear of being fired, a crazy ex-assistant who attached him while he was sleeping, a run-in with Eddie Murphy on the mean streets of Beverley Hills, and of course an endless supply of hot chicks.  

David Spade is one of our generation’s favorite funny guys — sometimes dirty, always funny, and as sharp as a tack.

Emmy-award winning comedian Dana Carvey has maintained a tremendous career. A repertory member of SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE since the 1986-87 season, Carvey left in 1992 after seven seasons. Dana has received widespread praise for his uncanny and exaggerated comedic impersonations and has hosted the MTV Music Awards, costarred in two pilots and was a member of the Showtime special SALUTE TO THE IMPROVISATION, with Billy Crystal, Robin Williams and Robert Klein. In 1995, Dana performed standup in his own one-hour comedy special on HBO aptly named CRITICS’ CHOICE.

Carvey’s film credits include: WAYNE’S WORLD, based on the hit SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE sketch; WAYNE’S WORLD 2, recreating his role of Garth, alongside Mike Myers’ Wayne; THIS IS SPINAL TAP, RACING WITH THE MOON, ONE OF THE GROUP, BLUE THUNDER, TOUGH GUYS, and starring in the comedy OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS. 

Carvey’s small screen credits include roles in Alan Parker’s THE ROAD TO WELLVILLE,  CLEAN SLATE, TRAPPED IN PARADISE. His early film work includes his debut in 

Carvey won an Emmy Award in 1993 for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program. He has received a total of six Emmy nominations, one of which was for a guest appearance on HBO’s highly acclaimed LARRY SANDERS SHOW. Also, he was honored with the American Comedy Award as Television’s Funniest Supporting Male in 1990 and 1991.

 

Diana Nyad with Marcia Cross

Thursday, November 5, 2015
8:00pm (Reception, 6:30-7:30pm)
 
Diana Nyad
in conversation with Marcia Cross


Find a Way

Ann and Jerry Moss Theatre
New Roads School

Herb Alpert Educational Village
3131 Olympic Boulevard
Santa Monica, CA 90404

PURCHASE TICKETS 
$20 General Admission seating
$30 Reserved Section seating
$45 Reserved Section Seating + Nyad’s book
$95 Includes pre-event reception, Reserved section seat + Nyad’s book

Back in the 1970s, DIANA NYAD was the greatest long-distance swimmer in the world. After setting a world record circling Manhattan, Nyad became a prominent sports broadcaster, filing compelling reports for National Public Radio, ABC’s Wide World of Sports, Fox Sports, and The New York Times. Nyad owns a fitness business, BravaBody.com, with best friend Bonnie Stoll. She has written three books and speaks French and Spanish fluently. Nyad has also earned a reputation as a uniquely passionate and entertaining public speaker.

Diana Nyad’s amazing, inspiring firsthand account of her record-breaking swim, after four failed attempts, from Cuba to Florida, at the age of sixty-four–and of her extraordinary quest to live life at the highest level, in and out of the water.

On September 2, 2013, at the age of sixty-four, Diana Nyad emerged onto the shores of Key West after completing a 110-mile, fifty-three-hour, record-breaking swim through shark-infested waters from Cuba to Florida and delivered three messages to the world: never, ever give up; you’re never too old to chase your dreams; and it looks like a solitary sport, but it takes a team. Millions of people around the world cheered for her and were moved by her incredible tenacity and determination, her triumph after so many bitter failures, and by the mantra–find a way–that enabled her to realize a dream in her sixties that had eluded her as a young Olympian in peak form. 
     
In Find a Way, she tells the passionate, singularly inspiring story of this feat of epic endurance and the extraordinary life experiences and lessons that helped her to realize her dream. She was a world-class swimmer by the time she left high school; in 1975, at the age of twenty-six, she circumnavigated the island of Manhattan and became a star. She made her first attempt at the Cuba-to-Florida swim soon after, but was blown off course and pulled from the water after 79 miles. A year later, on her thirtieth birthday, she broke the open-ocean world record for both men and women, swimming 102 miles unassisted and without a shark cage. She did not swim another stroke for three decades.
     
Why, at sixty-four, was she able to achieve what she could not at thirty? How did her repeated failures contribute to her success? What inner resources did Nyad draw on during her days and nights in the water, and how did the power of her mind and spirit trump the limitations of her body? This is the story of an unforgettable journey–physical, spiritual, emotional, psychological–and a galvanizing meditation on facing fears, engaging our passions, and living life with no regrets.

Marcia Cross — as ‘Bree Van De Kamp,’ the ultimate perfectionist — in Desperate Housewives brought to life Wisteria Lane’s most complex character. In the show’s first season, Cross received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. She also received three Golden Globe nominations for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series Comedy for the show. The critically acclaimed show won a Golden Globe for Best Television Series Comedy, a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series and a People’s Choice Award for Favorite New TV Drama. 

Prior to Desperate Housewives, she starred as Dr. Linda Abbott on Everwood on The WB and she is also well known from her role as Dr. Kimberly Shaw on the hit drama Melrose Place. 

On stage Cross performed in La Ronde at the Williamstown Theater Festival, in Twelfth Night at the Hartford Stage Company, and in Two Gentlemen of Verona at the Old Globe in San Diego. 

Her first television job was on the daytime drama The Edge of Night and she co-starred with Johnny Cash and Kris Kristofferson in The Last Days of Frank and Jessie James.

Cross has guest-starred on such series as Seinfeld and Cheers, and has also appeared on CSI, Ally McBeal, Spin City, The Garry Shandling Show and King of Queens. Cross’ film credits include Bringing Up Bobby, Just Peck, Living in Fear, Always Say Good-bye, Dancing in September and Bad Influence.

She completed her clinical training to earn a Masters Degree in Psychology. Cross makes her home in Los Angeles with her husband and twin daughters dedicates much of her personal time to philanthropic activities, especially cancer research.

Lisa Randall with Walter Kirn

Wednesday, November 4, 2015
8:00pm (Reception, 6:30-7:30pm)
 
An Evening with Lisa Randall
in conversation with Walter Kirn


Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs: 
The Astounding Interconnectedness of the Universe


Ann and Jerry Moss Theatre
New Roads School

Herb Alpert Educational Village
3131 Olympic Boulevard
Santa Monica, CA 90404

PURCHASE TICKETS 
$20 General Admission seating
$30 Reserved Section seating
$45 Reserved Section Seating + Randall’s book
$95 Includes pre-event reception, Reserved section seat + Randall’s book

Lisa Randall studies theoretical particle physics and cosmology at Harvard University where she is Frank B. Baird, Jr., Professor of Science. A member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Randall is the recipient of many awards and honorary degrees. Professor Randall’s two books, Warped Passages (2005) and Knocking on Heaven’s Door (2011) were New York Times 100 Most Influential Books. Her ebook, Higgs Discovery: The Power of Empty Space, was published in 2012. Randall has also recently pursued art-science connections, writing a libretto for Hypermusic: A Projective Opera in Seven Planes that premiered in the Pompidou Center in Paris and co-curating an art exhibit Measure for Measure for the Los Angeles Arts Association.

In her new book, a brilliant exploration of our cosmic environment, the renowned particle physicist and New York Times bestselling author of Warped Passages and Knocking on Heaven’s Door uses her research into dark matter to illuminate the startling connections between the furthest reaches of space and life here on Earth.

Sixty-six million years ago, an object the size of a city descended from space to crash into Earth, creating a devastating cataclysm that killed off the dinosaurs, along with three-quarters of the other species on the planet. What was its origin? In Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs, Lisa Randall proposes it was a comet that was dislodged from its orbit as the Solar System passed through a disk of dark matter embedded in the Milky Way. In a sense, it might have been dark matter that killed the dinosaurs.

Working through the background and consequences of this proposal, Randall shares with us the latest findings—established and speculative—regarding the nature and role of dark matter and the origin of the Universe, our galaxy, our Solar System, and life, along with the process by which scientists explore new concepts. In Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs, Randall tells a breathtaking story that weaves together the cosmos’ history and our own, illuminating the deep relationships that are critical to our world and the astonishing beauty inherent in the most familiar things.

Walter Kirn is an award-winning novelist, memoirist, critic, and essayist who lives in Montana and California. His books include Thumbsucker and Up in the Air, both of which were made into major motion pictures. His latest book is Blood Will Out, the true story of his fifteen-year relationship with the impostor and murderer, ‘Clark Rockefeller.’ Kirn’s journalism regularly appears in numerous national publications and he is at work on a new novel. 

Michael Anthony

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Tuesday, November 3, 2015
8:00pm (Reception, 6:30-7:30pm)
 
An Evening with Michael Anthony
in conversation with Rachel Levin
 
discussing his new cookbook,
V IS FOR VEGETABLES: Inspired Recipes & Techniques
for Home Cooks—from Artichokes to Zucchini


William Turner Gallery
Bergamot Station Arts Center
2525 Michigan Avenue
Santa Monica, CA 90404

PURCHASE TICKETS 
$50 Reserved Section seating + Book
$95 Pre-Reception(6:30-7:30pm)* + Reserved Section seating + Book
$20 General Admission
* Reception includes selections prepared from the cook book, California wine

Michael Anthony is the executive chef-partner of Gramercy Tavern, the executive chef and director of Untitled, and the author of The Gramercy Tavern Cookbook. He received the James Beard Award for Outstanding Chef in the United States in 2015, after being named Best Chef, New York City, in 2012. Prior to joining Gramercy Tavern in 2006, he was the executive chef of Blue Hill at Stone Barns.

V IS FOR VEGETABLES: Inspired Recipes & Techniques for Home Cooks—from Artichokes to Zucchini is Michael Anthony’s first stand-alone cookbook. No one speaks the language of vegetables more eloquently than Michael Anthony, and in this beautiful gift to home cooks, he shows how to master the vibrant world of plant-based cooking. 

V IS FOR VEGETABLES includes a multitude of genius tips, helpful photographs, and exceptional recipes — all created in a home kitchen with a simple goal: to inspire cooks of all kinds to grasp the bounty of their produce markets, one glorious vegetable at a time. Anthony guide the reader through the market and at the stove. He tames prickly artichokes, elevates humble beets, and chops through thickets of chard and kale—just a few of the more than sixty vegetables this book covers. The result is a master class in unlocking the life-giving benefits and intense flavors of vegetables for every season.  

V IS FOR VEGETABLES speaks to vegetarians and omnivores alike. The recipes include crisply composed salads, fresh herb sauces, satisfying warm gratins, vibrant stews, simply sautéed greens over a bowl of grains, and veggies with meat and fish, too. They capitalize on the delicious effects of caramelization, flavorful broths, and the satisfying crunch of a raw vegetable served alongside its cooked counterpart. Each recipe was tested with a home cook’s needs in mind, and leads to a more naturally healthy and luxurious way of eating. 

Rachel B. Levin is the Los Angeles Editor at Clean Plates, a guide to healthy and sustainable restaurants and products, and the Los Angeles Local Expert forTravel+Leisure. She has written about food, restaurants, and healthy living for numerous publications including the Los Angeles Times, Travel Channel, andWestways, among others.