Rancho Pillow--Round Top, Round 2

DEBORAH CROMBIE: When my daughter and friend and I went to Round Top for the first time back in 2017, I was just getting stuck in writing A BITTER FEAST, Kincaid/James #18, and it was only by accident that we did something that would end up playing a big part in the book.  It so happened that we'd bought tickets to a dinner at a place called Rancho Pillow, a ranch property now run as a very quirky motel a few miles outside of the tiny town of Round Top. Here's the view looking over the fields from the ranch. So peaceful!

The guest chef for that 2017 dinner, Robert Lyford, was actually local to us here at home in McKinney, so we were very excited to see what Robert had in store for us.

It was a fabulous dinner, and Robert's menu was a huge inspiration for chef Viv Holland's charity lunch menu in A BITTER FEAST.

Here's a little snippet from the book describing some of the food:

Even with the quirky presentation, the food, Gemma had to admit, had been divine. From the creamy, smoky trout spread, to the delicate salad with roasted pears, caramel, and a local blue cheese, to the meltingly tender lamb and white beans served in camping tins, it had been of absolute star quality. What, Gemma had to wonder, was a chef so talented doing in this tiny village?

She nibbled at the last bit of her pudding. The little jam jar she’d chosen had held a mixed berry crumble with a tangy layer of crème fraiche—a dessert she suspected she’d find herself dreaming about. All around her, spoons were being laid down and empty jars examined in hopes of finding a smidgen more.

So this year, when Kayti and I had a chance to book tickets for the Rancho Pillow Feast in the Field again, we jumped at it.

Here we are pre-dinner, toasting our trip. 

And resting our poor feet after a day of shopping at Marburger Farm.

(I should probably interject here to say that half the fun of the whole Round Top event is playing dress up. It's cowboy boots (my vintage Wranglers!), hats, denim, and skirts or dresses. And lots of turquoise jewelry. Believe me, it's a thing, and we did it up properly.)

Kayti demonstrates!

The Feast in the Field dinners have grown considerably since our first one, when there was only one long table. Now there are three!

So festive, with eclectic table settings that I borrowed for the book from the previous dinner as well. (The yurt is part of the motel accomodation!)

This year the chef was a woman, Karla Subera-Pittol, from the LA restaurant Chainsaw, and all the food was smoked or cooked over open fires. 

Here's Karla cooking.

And some mystery ingredient we never identified.

What do you suppose that was? Below are pinapples and cabbages smoking, and the big smoker where the meat was cooked.

It was all delicious, and we had a great time, the best part of which was the communal dining and making new friends. We don't sit down with strangers often enough in our everyday lives. It turned out the husband of the couple who sat across from us graduated from Austin College, my tiny north Texas university whose enrollment tops out at about 1200 students, the same year I did! Alas, we didn't know each other back then. He was psychology and I was biology and our paths didn't cross, but it was a lovely coincidence that evening.

As Ellen Crosby mentioned earlier this week, writers have to do more than write. It's getting out in the world and experiencing things that gives us grist for the mill. I don't know that this dinner will play a specific part in a book (unless that mysterious ingredient comes into one somewhere...) but you never know. I am open for it!

REDs and writer friends, have chance adventures become major parts of books? And readers, have you had memorable communal meals?

 

What We're Writing--Debs is Honored to Be Honored

DEBORAH CROMBIE: I have lots of fun book-ish stuff going on, but today I want to share something a little different, although it is related. Last Saturday my alma mater, Austin College, awarded me an Honary Doctorate of Humane Letters. I was incredibly, burstingly proud, for all the obvious reasons, and some that are maybe not so obvious. (Austin College in not in Austin, by the way, but is a small Presbyterian college in north Texas, known for its academic excellence. It was founded by a Princeton alum, Dr. Daniel Baker, in 1849, and its charter was modeled after those of Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. Also, I might add, Austin College admitted women in 1918, so take that, Harvard!)

Here I am in my cap (which very annoyingly wouldn't stay on--I am apparently a pin-head) and gown.

(I envied the faculty in their nice soft medieval-looking caps.) And here's the beautiful hood in my school colors--I hope I have a chance to wear it again someday.

But, a little backstory. You may know that my undergrad degree is in biology. What you may not know is what a struggle it was for me to get there. 

Going into last weekend, I had just finished our Jenn's wonderful SUMMER READING. It made this honor especially poignant because Jenn's dyslexic heroine's story was my story, too. I did okay in elementary school (except for the daydreaming) but when I hit middle school I really began to struggle. By 9th grade I was failing everything. My desperate parents had me tested and I was diagnosed as being dyslexic (no one said "neurodivergent" in those days.) I read fairly well although I scrambled things, but I was severely challenged in math. Things (including a semester's misadventure in boarding school) didn't improve, and at the beginning of my junior year, I dropped out. 

I was lucky in that my parents never stopped trying to find ways to help me. They enrolled me in a sort of prep school that worked with dyslexic kids. I took college prep courses and eventually managed to get my GED. Off I went to a big state university, where I once again FAILED everything. 

I bounced around for a couple of years after that, taking courses at community college, a stint in secretarial school. But I knew I wanted more, and when I was accepted at Austin College as a sophomore, I knew I had finally found my place. It was hard, really hard (it's not called "the Harvard of the south" for nothing,) but I loved it so much that I never wanted to leave. Here I am, revisiting the science building where I spent most of my three years at AC!

And enjoying the new lighting on the beautiful campus.

Kayti and Wren and I found my name on the plaque listing all the college's graduates from 1849 on.

When the college president, Dr. Steven O'Day, called to ask if I would accept the honor, he said that he and the board of trustees believed I was "the poster child for liberal arts" and I have never been so complimented. In these days of book-banning and the devaluation of education, especially liberal arts education, I am more aware than ever of the value of that broad and deep learning. I also know that I would not have been able to accomplish what I have in my writing career without the foundation Austin College gave me.

As I sat on the platform, watching the graduating seniors accept their diplomas, I felt hopeful that these young adults will take that gift and go out and make a real difference in the world.

And of course I'd like to see another generation follow in the Austin College tradition! Here's our Wrennie Roo doing her kangaroo pose!

The really big news of the weekend was the announcement that Austin College has received a $20 million dollar bequest from alumnus Clifford Grum, the late publisher of Fortune Magazine and vice-president of Time, Inc, which will provide full academic scholarships for eligible students. Go Roos!!

Reds and readers, is there an accomplishment that has made you especially proud?

P.S. "Honorary" is the operative word. I can't call myself Dr. Crombie. But if I want to put letters after my name, it's DHL (not to be confused with the shipping company) or LHD. Pretty cool!