Durham's Kathy Hester to be featured on January live Cook the Book cook-along event

Following the success of Saturday's debut online cook-along with Chapel Hill's Nancie McDermott, Cook the Book With Denise and Jenni  has scheduled its second event with another local talent: Kathy Hester of Durham. Hester, a prolific writer of vegan cookbooks recently featured in the INDY, will select a recipe from her new release, The Easy Vegan Cookbook.

"We're still working to confirm the date, but mostly likely it will be January 9 or 10," says Field, a Garner baker and recipe developer who blogs as Pastry Chef Online. "We're hoping that Kathy will have some big news to share by then, too."

Field presented Saturday's live, bi-coastal cooking program with colleague Denise Vivaldo, a  food stylist and instructor based in Southern California. McDermott cooked along with Field in her camera-filled kitchen, while Vivaldo surprised McDermott by having a guest present, too: Jill O'Connor, McDermott's longtime friend, who is thanked in the acknowledgements section for providing the good-humored encouragement to complete the new Southern Soups & Stews.

Saturday's participants cooked in real time with the four presenters, who prepared Sheri Castle's recipe for Watauga County Chicken Stew with Fluffy Dumplings; at least 157 participants from several continents were logged in at one point. Participants in Saturday's event who made the recipe were encouraged to post a photo of it on the Cook the Book Facebook page. Three personally autographed copies of McDermott's Southern Soups will be awarded today to randomly selected entrants.

Follow the page for additional details about the Kathy Hester cook-along, as well as events being organized in California by Denise Vivaldo. If you missed Saturday's broadcast, it can be viewed via blab.im.

This post first appeared in Indy Week.