University of Pittsburgh Press to Host Book Signing for The Fallingwater Cookbook: Elsie Henderson's Recipes and Memories Dec. 4

PITTSBURGH-Elsie Henderson will share fond recollections of her life as a cook for the Kaufmann family at Fallingwater during a University of Pittsburgh Press book signing for Suzanne Martinson's "The Fallingwater Cookbook: Elsie Henderson's Recipes and Memories" (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2008), at 6 p.m. Dec. 4 in the Lower Lounge of the William Pitt Union, 3959 Fifth Ave., Oakland. The book signing will be followed by a reception featuring desserts made from the cookbook.

Built in 1939, Fallingwater has been hailed as the most architecturally significant private residence in the United States. Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, the estate was used as a retreat for the family of Pittsburgh department store mogul Edgar J. Kaufmann and their many guests, who included such internationally known figures as Albert Einstein, Isaac Stern, and Ted Kennedy.

In order to capture the experience of dining at the historic landmark, Martinson, a former food editor and writer for the "Pittsburgh Press" and "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette," intertwined Henderson's memories of the renowned house over the waterfall with the dishes she served there for more than 15 years. Martinson also included additional recipes from chef Robert Sendall, who produced special events at Fallingwater in the early 1990s; Jane Citron, a longtime cooking instructor and freelance food writer; and Mary Ann Moreau, a former chef at the Fallingwater Café.

Martinson is a two-time winner of both the James Beard Foundation Award and Bert Greene Award for food journalism. She was first inspired to write the "Fallingwater Cookbook" while writing a story on Henderson in 1991 for the then "Pittsburgh Press."

The event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Maria Sticco, University of Pittsburgh Press publicist, at 412-383-2493 or mes5@pitt.edu.

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11/25/08/tmw