Former Gourmet editor-in-chief and best-selling memoirist Ruth Reichl was on the Leonard Lopate Show to talk about writing her first novel. She also told what her favorite comfort food and the one thing she couldn't live without. 

What have you read or seen over the past year that moved or surprised you?

         Tenth of September by George Saunders, I can’t get it out of my head.
         And, sorry, my son’s film, “Other Months”, that just previewed at SXSW.

What are you listening to right now?

         The Flamethrowers. Sorry, I listen to books, not music, and I imagine you were going for that.
         The music on my ipod now is from “Inside Llewyn Davis.”

What’s the last great book you read?

         Middlemarch, I just re-read it in the wake of Rebecca Mead’s book.

What’s one thing you’re a fan of that people might not expect?

         Cats, can’t live without them.

What’s your favorite comfort food?

          ​​Bread and butter, nothing better.