My friend Lorraine Wallace has just published her THIRD cookbook, Mr. Sunday’s Suppers. It gave me the opportunity to throw a book party and invite her many friends to celebrate her success. My favorite caterer, Design Cuisine, served foods made from the cookbook: tiny chicken parmesan, pulled pork barbecue, mini-BLTs, and salmon chowder sips. For those with a sweet tooth, we had Lorraine’s pecan bars and chocolate-covered strawberries – a decadent pre-Valentine’s treat.

It was a great crowd, with lots of well-wishers from Fox News Sunday, where Lorraine’s husband Chris anchors his popular Sunday show. In fact, her recipes grew over the years from the many Sundays when Chris came home after taping the show, looking for a great meal. I have lots of favorites from her earlier books, but the big crowd pleaser at the party were her mini-BLTs – a scrumptious mouthful of crisp bacon, meaty tomato, and crunchy lettuce on a tiny piece of toast, served with an accompanying sip of gazpacho.

I’ve included some shots of the party preparations, as well as the party itself, because in some ways the planning and anticipation is almost as much fun as the party. The flowers made me positively giddy, given that the floral wholesalers were bursting with gorgeous blooms for the Valentine’s Day holiday. I love to walk into the wholesalers, and, like the Faith Hill song, just breathe. The air is so oxygenated and fragrant with dozens of different scents. It’s heaven.

The party itself was fun and very cozy as guests came in from the freezing weather and warmed themselves around the fire – and the bar. If you’re looking for a Sunday Supper idea – or really any night of the week! – Lorraine’s book is just the ticket. It’s already #1 on Amazon’s hot new releases list, so don’t miss it!