Lisa Hurley, Editor of Special Events Magazine, shares some of her favorites with us this week!

• Favorite Kitchen Tool: It’s a toss-up between my KitchenAid stand-up mixer and my Cuisinart food processor. What one can’t do, the other can!

• Favorite Event: I didn’t do the work, so can I count my own wedding? Other than your funeral, your wedding is likely the one time in your life that all the people you truly care about are together. We had a small church wedding followed by lunch in a French restaurant with a lovely patio garden. We had a jazz violin band a la Stephane Grappelli and lots of Duvel beer and French champagne.

• Favorite Travel Destination: London! I love its incredible history and incredible size. I feel I could wander there forever.

• Biggest Influence in Entertaining:  I enjoy reading M.F.K. Fisher’s books. In one, she describes washing dishes in the tiny sink in her tiny Paris apartment. In a world where people who never seem to cook or entertain have kitchens with professional-grade equipment, she reminds me that wonderful food and unforgettable evenings can arise from very simple circumstances.

• Favorite Cookbook:  One of my grandmother’s books, Sunset’s New Kitchen Cabinet Cook Book from 1938. Thanks to recipes including “Veal Pie Different,” “Friday Emergency Luncheon” and “Sunset’s Apricot Pie” it’s on my list of what to grab if the house catches fire.