In continuing my "Penn Foodies" week, after yesterday's story about this restaurant entrepreneur, today I bring you a post about yet another set of Penn alumni working together. 

Great story here. Two friends (and now dating!) write blog at Penn, get approached by publisher and now have book!

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Alanna Kaufman (C'08, DP, City News Editor, Kite and Key Tour Guide, Big Brothers Big Sisters Mentor) and Alex Small (C'08, DP Photo Editor) published a new book called The Frugal Foodie Cookbook: 200 Gourmet Recipes for Any Budget which features high-quality recipes at low costs, and is aimed at cooks at any skill level (or no skill level!).  The idea for the book stemmed from their food blog, Two Fat Als, which they began writing while at Penn.  Both the blog and the book include anecdotes about their experiences cooking at Penn and in Philadelphia.

How did they get started?

Per Alanna,

"After finishing our editorships at the Daily Pennsylvanian, Alex and I had a lot of free time on our hands, and we began cooking.  Though our kitchens were tiny and poorly equipped, we starting making dinner each night and recording our dishes on our blog, Two Fat Als.  The blog was designed to show other college students that it was possible to create tasty and sophisticated dishes on a low budget.  Alex has always been a great chef -- his Colombian mother and Jewish father put him to work in the kitchen at an early age -- so he taught me basics and we continued to develop our skills together. 

Cooking for the blog moved us to explore different food markets in Philadelphia (the farmers markets, the Italian market, Redding Terminal), and we would often have friends over multiple nights per week for dinner. 

After a literary agent found the blog online during our senior year and suggested that we write a book proposal, we found Adams Media and The Frugal Foodie Cookbook was born!"

Alanna and Alex's favorite meals for friends at Penn which they served pre-Walnut Walk their senior year (from their book):
Apricot Brandy Baked French Toast +/-

 

Per Alana, "The day we first heard from our literary agent was the same day as our Walnut Walk during senior week. We were hosting a huge pre-walk brunch for our friends -- we made the apricot brandy baked French toast from the book, as well as cinnamon buns and an asparagus frittata. That was one of our favorite meals for friends at Penn and everyone stuffed themselves in preparation for a long day."

And one of Alanna's favorite recipes (from their book):
Black Bean Soup +/-

 

...And this isn't the first Penn alum who wrote a blog about saving money as a student at Penn and then got discovered.  Remember THIS Penn alum whose blog got turned into a book and then was hired to write on "Scrubs"?!

Get in touch with Alex and Alanna! twofatals at gmail.com

Delicious nuggets from my "Penn Foodies" series HERE

More posts about Penn alumni authors HERE

Other money saving tips from my "Pinching PENNies" series HERE

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To kick things off for my Penn Foodies series, here's a great inspirational story about one Penn alum entrepreneur who went from the telecom world to tremendous success in the restaurant world.

After working in the telecom world for a number of years (Centric Telecom, eLink Communications), Marc Glosserman (C'96, Sigma Chi) went on to earn his MBA from Columbia University where he won seed funding for his first restaurant venture, "Hill Country Barbecue Market", by the school’s Eugene M. Lang Entrepreneurial Fund’s new business plan competition.

Not only is "Hill Country" considered a hot new restaurant in NYC (30 West 26th Street), but it has been given great reviews by the NY Times, NY Magazine and The Wall Street Journal to name a few.

And what makes his restaurant so unique? I'll give you a hint. You're going to need a lot of napkins!

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It's all about Texas barbeque at "Hill Country" ...and it stems from Marc's grandfather who was the mayor of Lockhart, Texas where his family dates back four generations.

Per Marc, as a child,

"I looked forward to my Texas visits, where I indulged in all the local traditions, including eating smoked sausages and barbecue at the legendary Kreuz Market, drinking Big Red Soda, cooling off with Blue Bell Ice Cream, and enjoyed the sounds of Austin’s rock, blues and country music. Whether I was listening to my grandfather’s proud tales of growing up in the Lone Star State, or traveling with family and friends through Central Texas “Hill Country,” these are the memories that inspired me to open a New York City restaurant to honor the barbecue and live music capital of Texas."

Tell me you're not salivating after watching that video above! Incidentally, the most popular item is the Brisket (Marc’s favorite is the Prime Rib!).

"No other barbecue place that has opened in recent years has gotten it so right, right out of the gate. Hill Country is one of the finest new barbecue spots to open in New York in quite some time. The brisket is a thing of balance and beauty." -NY Times

And with the quote above, I don't think you can go wrong with whatever you order!

Check out his menu below! +/-

Hill Country Delivery Menu 07-29-09

...And if you think you've seen the "Glosserman" name before on DT, you're right.  Let's not forget about Marc's younger successful filmmaker brother Scott Glosserman (C'99, Sigma Chi, Friars)!

Get in touch with Marc: marc at hillcountryny.com

Visit Hill Country and be sure to tell Marc you read about him on DT!

More posts about Penn entrepreneurs HERE

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Over the past month I have been collecting "food related" stories from some quite interesting Penn alumni.

Now all this week, in a new DT series I'm calling "Penn Foodies", look out for some savory posts about Penn:

• restaurant entrepreneurs 
• authors and bloggers
• a national TV commercial star who's promoting a delicious product we all love
  
• and even a chef impersonator (wait until to see this!).

Be kept in the loop and sign up for the newsletter below or follow me on Twitter!

(In the meantime, check out my other DT series by looking down the right-hand column of this site)

Did you like this article? You can get the latest articles at DuelingTampons.com in your email inbox each afternoon by entering your email address below. Your address will only be used for mailing you the articles, and each one will include a link so you can unsubscribe at any time.

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If you're a young Penn alum in LA, interested in TV writing, add your name, class year and contact info to the boards HERE.

Occasionally I get requests for TV PA positions and I want to know who'd be interested. It's usually a good foot in the door if you want a career in Television or writing or both...

Indicate if you're interested in drama, comedy or both.

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Some recent juicy Penn Hollywood alumni tidbits for y'all...

Click HERE for the scoop!

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• Elizabeth Banks (C'96) has signed on for a potentially recurring role on ABC's critically-praised new fall sitcom, "Modern Family". More HERE

• Todd Lieberman (C'95) will be producing a film based on the comic book "Alibi". More HERE

• Speaking of Liz and Todd above, have you seen the new poster for their upcoming film Surrogates?

• "Harold and Kumar" creators Jon Hurwitz (W'00) and Hayden Schlossberg will be directing the comedy "One Night Stan".   Per The Hollywood Reporter, '"Stan" plays out a scenario about which many men fantasize on the cusp of marriage. When Stan learns his fiancee, Julie, has had more sexual partners than he, he gets her blessing for one night to play catch-up. Unfortunately, his plans for a sex buffet don't come together quite the way he had hoped."'
  

...Actually, Jon will be working on this project with Mike Karz (C'89, W'89), another Penn alum who will be in part producing the film.

My past "Hollywood Bits and Pieces" posts HERE

Did you like this article? You can get the latest articles at DuelingTampons.com in your email inbox each afternoon by entering your email address below. Your address will only be used for mailing you the articles, and each one will include a link so you can unsubscribe at any time.

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