Wendy Howard Goldberg - The Blue Bloods Cookbook: 120 Recipes That Will Bring Your Family to the Table

with CHRIS PETERSON

ST. MARTINS PRESS
NEW YORK

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WENDY HOWARD GOLDBERG

This book would not exist if it werent for Leonard Goldberg, the creative force who developed Blue Bloods and so smartly put in the family dinner. Thank you, dearest husband, father, and best friend..

BRIDGET MOYNAHAN

Id like to thank my mother, who taught me how to cook and bake. Thank you to my father and brothers, who are patient with my numerous calls and questions every time I cook a big dinner. To Uncle Charlie, for cooking with me anywhere, anytime. Lastly, to Brotha D, who made that call almost seven years ago, and Leonard Goldberg, for taking the chance on me..

Every episode of the TV show Blue Bloods includes a family dinner scene . The main characters gather around a big oak table in the soft light of a spacious old-fashioned dining room to eat a leisurely dinner that everyone takes turns making and serving. They all sit there together talking, laughing, and hashing out the latest dramas in their lives. As a TV family of cops, the dramas are large and small: from a current kidnapping case in the news to everyday money troubles. No matter what the issue, though, the family dinner offers a perfect stage to work everything out.

Its a simple and wonderful tradition. As two family-oriented womenone a star of the show, and the other the wife of the executive producerthat tradition means a lot to us. Weve both seen the magic of the family dinner firsthand. Its how we were raised, and something we have tried to institute in our own homes, with our own families.

The family dinner was intentionally written into the show as a centerpiece and a dramatic anchor. Its a great narrative device and a lot of fun to film. But we think viewers connect with that particular scene for reasons other than how well it helps resolve the plot of each episode. When you read as many viewers letters and online comments as we have, you begin to understand that people cherish that sceneand the ritual it representsin a very deep and profound way. It goes beyond the love of the show, beyond any given episode.

Lets face itthe world moves very fast these days. Our lives really are busier than ever before. Theres a lot of noise in the world. Everyone is in a hurry. So is it any wonder that the very simple idea of just stopping for a moment in time, sitting down to eat a satisfying meal, and perhaps having a casual discussion about nothing and everything strikes such a deep chord with all kinds of people?

Were convinced that everyone would be happier if they nurtured their own family dinner tradition. It starts with the people. As two mothers, we can tell you the real challenge is getting those people to the table at the same time. Too busy, theyll say. Ill just grab a bite while Im out. You can talk all you want about reconnecting as a family and spending quality time together, but trust us, just wanting it to be so isnt going to work. No, theres only one thing that is guaranteed to get the people you love to the table you setfood!

Delicious, filling, soul-satisfying, loosen-your-belt food is the main attraction of any family dinner. People can wear jeans. The house can be a mess. The table can be set with plain old flatware. But the food has to be special.

Thats why we wrote this book. We knew from experience that the smell of a properly cooked pot roast straight out of the oven is a dinner bell that no mortal can resist. Were keenly aware that a blueberry-topped cheesecake made with equal parts love and cream cheese will make leaving the table to go meet my friends next to impossible. So we dug deep into our own family recipes, reached out to friends for their favorites, and did a whole lot of research to collect those dishes that are most ideally suited for a hallowed place on the family dinner table.

These are classics that have graced family dinners throughout time. Weve taken pains to include something for every occasion a family celebrates, from average weeknights to cocktail parties. Each of these recipes is meant to please a person on many different levels, touching the heart every bit as much as the stomach. They are comforting, fun, delicious, and, for the most part, easy to make. To make them even easier, weve included some tips and kitchen strategies throughout the book, which you can use to save time spent in the kitchen (more to spend with the people at the table!). ). Weve tried to do everything we could to make it as easy as possible for you to gather your tribe around the dinner tableshort of cooking the food ourselves!

Keeping in mind that the family dinner that started this whole ball rolling occurs in every episode of the Blue Bloods TV show, weve sprinkled stories throughout the book, describing what happens behind the scenes and on the set. Whether youre already a fan or not, we think that youll probably smile at the legendary tales about Tom Sellecks dislike of anything that might resemble a vegetable or a salad, and Donnie Wahlbergs larger-than-life personality.

So call and let everyone know when dinner will be served, set the table, and start cooking! Its time to recapture the ritual of eating a fulfilling meal with the ones we care most about. This book is from our tables to yours, with humble wishes that you eat, share, and love.

BEHIND THE SCENES WITH WENDY

My husband, Blue Bloods executive producer Leonard Goldberg, developed the family dinner scene as a hallmark, a recurring scene that would tie every episode together. But he likes to say it was also part of a big error he made on the series. As he describes it, The very first day we were going to shoot, I planned to do the first family dinner scene. That was a mistake. Normally, you wouldnt start off a show filming a scene like that because it calls for the actors to have very easy and natural relationships with one another. The audience has to believe these people have been meeting like this their whole lives. But, of course, in reality the actors had just met. So with one day of rehearsals, we shot the family dinner scene. Fortunately, all the actors were totally comfortable with one another. Thats when I knew we had something special, because they all just clicked.