Binding Agents: A Cook/Book Shop
908 Christian StreetJune's Cookbook Club is a friendly face-off between two European snacking cultures! Guests will have their choice of preparing bites from two very fun 2024 releases: Stef Ferrari's Stuzzichini: The Art of the Italian Snack and Marti Buckley's The Book of Pintxos. These selections are in honor of our wonderful neighbors at Di Bruno Bros, who are generously lending us use of the Piazza at 9th and Montrose.
We'll meet at Binding Agents to kick off the event before wandering around the corner to the Piazza for most of the evening. Please take note of the following before purchasing tickets:
Cookbook Club is an potluck event where everyone contributes a dish from the selected book(s). Here's how it works:
1) You purchase your ticket(s) from this page, with or without a copy of one of the books. We highly encourage book sharing and use of libraries, but if you'd like to pick up a book from Binding Agents, please select the Ticket type with the title of your choosing (Stuzzichini or The Book of Pintxos). Or, you can have copies shipped to you using the provided Bookshop.org links, which also support the store.
2) One week before the event, we'll send out a Google Doc with a set number of slots per category. Each person will claim a slot with the recipe of their choice. This ensures a good spread and a cross-section of all the books have to offer!
3) On event day, you'll bring your dish to Binding Agents, prepared to feast. We'll talk about our experience cooking and eating from the book, and leave with lots of great tips and new friends. All tickets include a container to take home any leftovers.
Please do sign up for the waitlist if the event is sold out! We're often able to get a few folks in closer to the event date. To receive updates about future Cookbook Clubs (hosted monthly)—make sure you're on our mailing list.
About Stuzzichini
From the Tuscan countryside to Sicilian cafes, Italians enjoy their drinks with snacks called stuzzichini ("stoo-zih-ki-ni"). These small bites, skewers, dips, toasts, pastries and more are provided at no extra charge by the restaurant or bar and served alongside Negronis and Aperol Spritzes at aperitivo hour. Let this magical tradition of hospitality inspire your spread the next time you're tempted to assemble a cheese board for a gathering or put out a bowl of chips for a snack. It's time to relax like an Italian. Stuzzichini is your guide to elevated snacking and recreating that sun-soaked piazza energy, chilled Spritz in hand!
STEF FERRARI is a three-time Emmy-winning, James Beard Award-nominated producer on the PBS docuseries The Migrant Kitchen. She served as Senior Editor at Life & Thyme, and is the author/co-author of several books, including Ice Cream Adventures, Aarón Sánchez' Where I Come From, and A Woman's Place. A Certified Cicerone (beer sommelier), she has spent the last 2 years in Italy, sampling the best of regional stuzzichini.
About The Book of Pintxos
Nestled in the Old Town of San Sebastián, Spain, is a culinary tradition unlike any other in the world: the pintxo. Ranging from a simple anchovy-and-pepper toothpick skewer to a decadent dish of tender beef cheek over creamy potatoes, pintxos are impressive, well thought-out dishes, distilling ingredient know-how and creative cooking techniques into just a few bites. Bar owners take pride in their pintxo recipes, which are often closely protected and passed down through generations. In the first authoritative book on this subject, author and Basque transplant Marti Buckley defines what makes a pintxo, traces its history back several decades, and shares the recipes so home cooks can authentically recreate these tiny morsels in their own kitchens. Through 70 recipes, bar profiles, histories, and vivid photographs, The Book of Pintxos unlocks a window into this dynamic Basque food culture for curious eaters everywhere.
MARTI BUCKLEY is an American writer and chef from Alabama who has resided in northern Spain since 2010. Her definitive book on Basque cuisine, Basque Country, earned her a prestigious IACP Cookbook Award in the 2019 International category, as well as Best Publication from the Basque Gastronomy Academy. She appears regularly on both Spanish and American television and radio programs, and her work has been featured in Food & Wine, Travel + Leisure, National Geographic, and Wine Enthusiast, among others. Marti is co-founder of the International Society for the Preservation & Enjoyment of Vermouth. Find her Instagram @martibuckley.
Mon, Jun 23, 2025 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Binding Agents: A Cook/Book Shop
908 Christian Street
Binding Agents is Philly's bookshop for cooks and eaters. Located in South Philly’s culinary epicenter, the 9th Street Italian Market, we’re your go-to source for new cookbooks and food-focused reads, plus gifts and goods for making, serving and enjoying. We’re independent, women-owned, fun & funky. Learn more at bindingagentsphilly.com.
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