OPHIRA EISENBERG, HOST:
Welcome back to ASK ME ANOTHER, NPR's hour of puzzles, word games and trivia. I'm Ophira Eisenberg and with me is our house musician Jonathan Coulton and our puzzle guru Art Chung. And right now, we're going to cook the books with Julia Rowny and Dan Durkin.
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EISENBERG: Julia, you are a fashion school dropout that became a math teacher at a prep school.
JULIA ROWNY: Yeah.
EISENBERG: That is a good - I like the path.
ROWNY: Well, I was a math teacher first...
EISENBERG: You were a math teacher...
ROWNY: ...Then a fashion school dropout.
EISENBERG: And what made you leave fashion school?
ROWNY: You know how on "Project Runway" everyone seems really mean?
EISENBERG: Yeah.
ROWNY: You think to yourself, oh God, that's just great TV. You know, everyone's nice, just like teachers.
EISENBERG: Yeah, they're just making it better television by being full of conflict, sure.
ROWNY: No, it's real.
(LAUGHTER)
EISENBERG: Really?
ROWNY: Yeah (laughter).
EISENBERG: And then you were like, I'm not dealing with these people for years.
JULIA ROWNY: No, so I went back to teaching middle schoolers.
EISENBERG: (Laughter) Dan, here, has an amazing ability that is specific to our show, as our prize for many of our contestants is an ASK ME ANOTHER Rubik's Cube. And you can solve one in under 2 minutes, is that right?
DAN DURKIN: Yes, I can.
EISENBERG: And how long have you had this skill?
DURKIN: I found myself with a lot of spare time in between my freshman and sophomore year of college when I was living at home in Pennsylvania.
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JONATHAN COULTON, BYLINE: Sounds like a fun summer, Dan.
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EISENBERG: And what made you think, this is the particular thing I'm going to spend my time on?
DURKIN: I was 19 years old. I couldn't go to a bar.
(LAUGHTER)
DURKIN: The best thing I had going for me.
EISENBERG: Well, OK, so this game that you guys are both perfectly skilled for, we think that Americans don't read as much as they should, but they love watching cooking shows. So in this game, we are combining the two activities. We're going to give you a description of a famous book, along with some information about a food or beverage. And you have to tell us what the mashed up, new title is of each cookbook. Yeah, let's go to our puzzle guru, Art Chung, to give us a fine example of this.
ART CHUNG, BYLINE: Yeah, let's give this a shot. Truman Capote's account of Kansas farm murders revealed a bone-chilling truth. The killers were fan of a dish featuring finely chopped meat and congealed bodily fluids. The answer to that would be in cold blood sausage. In cold blood and blood sausage.
EISENBERG: But not all the answers will be that delicious.
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COULTON: And here's a hint, the title of the book will always be first, followed by the food or beverage. All right, here we go. In Ernest Hemingway's classic novella, an aging fisherman struggles to reel in a giant marlin, then says screw it and kicks back with a refreshing summer cocktail containing cranberry juice, grapefruit juice and vodka.
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COULTON: Julia.
ROWNY: The old man and the sea breeze?
COULTON: Oh, yeah.
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EISENBERG: Finally, a Hemingway book with a happy ending.
COULTON: That's right.
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EISENBERG: Tom Wolfe's chronicle of the U.S. space program describes how the astronauts were disappointed that the moon wasn't made of cheese. Instead, they were forced to use ricotta to fill their conch-shaped pasta.
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EISENBERG: Dan.
DURKIN: The right stuffed shells.
EISENBERG: Yes.
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COULTON: Laura Hillenbrand's 2001 nonfiction book about a legendary championship horse reveals why he ran so fast. Waiting for him at the end of the finish line was a delicious Southern breakfast dish featuring round breads drenched in a savory sauce.
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COULTON: Julia.
ROWNY: Seabiscuits and gravy?
COULTON: Delicious and correct.
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EISENBERG: Margaret Wise Brown's classic bedtime story features farewells to things we all have in our rooms, two little kittens, a red balloon, and a Southern treat made with graham crackers, marshmallow filling and a chocolate coating.
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EISENBERG: Julia.
ROWNY: Good night moon pie.
EISENBERG: Yes.
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EISENBERG: I feel like that's what you say to a moon pie when you eat it at midnight, right? Good night, moon pie.
(LAUGHTER)
COULTON: Michael Lewis examines pro football through the story of an impoverished young player adopted by a family that offers him love next to a small dish of leafy greens with his choice of Italian or ranch.
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COULTON: Julia.
ROWNY: The blind side salad?
COULTON: That's right.
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COULTON: This is your last clue. This Charles Portis Western features a 14-year-old girl seeking to avenge her father's death with the help of Marshal Rooster Cogburn and some coarsely ground cornmeal boiled in milk.
EISENBERG: Oh.
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COULTON: Dan.
ROWNY: True grits?
COULTON: Yeah, that's right.
EISENBERG: Yeah.
(APPLAUSE)
CHUNG: Ophira, both contestants did amazing, but, Julia, congratulations. You're moving on to the final round.
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