Lambie Lambie Bo Bambie

I can tell you this: strami is a beautiful thing, created through brining and smoking, two brilliant meat transforming techniques. Good lamb/pastrami has the power to elevate one's faith in humankind. Velvety, fatty, spiced, smoked and sliced. A slippery slope for the cheese melt. Sliver, slice, slab, slob. Lamb slam!

The Weight

This is the Italian Combo and Broccoli Rabe Pressed Sandwich that I styled for a Food Network spread. Here is the recipe. Just a flat out good idea. Another thing I think I will do often in my parallel life.

May You Put Your Christmas to Bed with a Late Evening Sandwich

I wish you all, all, all, those I know, those I know a little, those I do not know, those I would like to know, those who are unknowable, a Christmas that is a respite from the sturm and drang of life as a human in 2015, from life as a human in the 21st century, a day when wonder overwhelms, awe precedes all else, and your heart feels so big and s0 heavy that your legs must work extra hard to carry it.

Not Just Vanilla

Deceptively simple, Choctál offers “just” vanilla and chocolate—but, they are four specific variations on each of those classics, made with all-natural, excellent ingredients from all over the world.

Reach for the Stars and You May Touch the Sky

We love this universally attainable holiday. All you need is...nothing. A bit to eat, someone to love nearby or far away, yourself awake and aware. Thanks Happygiving all creatures everywhere!

Creating Desire

A little shop talk tracking the Venn diagram of the business of food and the art of food and the business of both sparked the man's remark that what we do is "create desire." Ding ding ding ding! Gongs bonged in my head.

Crown Me

Occasionally, on the checkerboard that is my career, I get crowned and am briefly a king, before being jumped again by the unpredictability of being a food stylist.

A Winning Hand

So many sandwiches in all our pasts. What do we remember and can we choose? I think yes. The cards you were dealt are played, for heaven sakes. Do you remember them as winners? Color me Dr. Norman Vincent Peale. Geez, yeah, every Reuben was the best Reuben ever!

The Clean Rainbow Club

Eat the rainbow, that's what they say. Around here, so many of us have the good fortune to have a rainbow of foods available to us year round. Modern convenience and plenty of affluence keep our cold month's diet bold and bright. So different from my childhood, when cold cellar and pantry foods ruled the winter plate.

A Pinch'll Do It

The freshly minted You Won't Believe It's Salt-Free is out and about and all yours for a shake. The styling for this book was angst-free, as it should be, and the freshness shows.

Me! You! Us!

Perfecting your talk, refining your essay and polishing your service until all elements of you disappear might be obvious tactics, but they remove the thing we were looking for: you.

Hallah-lujah

It's out! On the shelves. Available for your purchase.

Tricks AND Treats

Hurricane Sandy was oh-so-much-more than a trick. On beyond mischief, she did exquisite and irreparable damage up and down this massive coast. My best friend's business is under four feet of water and my son's good friend has half a house. Today is Halloween and Sandy has subsided. The wreckage here? One smashed gourd and a pingpong ball-sized hole in the ceiling. I feel as though we walk on water sometimes. Sandy brought into bold, living color how well life treats me more often than not. The least of my worries was trick-or-treating, but lo and behold, out goes my son tonight in perfect weather. Crystal clear and gorgeous, cold enough for his layers of...what is that costume anyway? Who knows, but he loves it, as it includes a sword.

I am very, very sad for all the loss and destruction wrought by this wet, wild storm and extremely grateful for my good fortunes. Thanksgiving is up next and my heart is ready.

Photo by Renee Comet, Recipe by Ellie Krieger, Styling by Me

Taking It for Granita

Styling icy stuff sometimes makes me nervous and I resist using the real thing. Do I want to take on risk for aesthetics? Yes. And no. I know a granita has a limited set time, but will the photographer, art director and client adjust their pace to catch my icy creation on "film" while it is fresh and pretty? Maybe. Maybe not.

Grill at Will

Everyone is crazy for grilling, I hear. What's that all about? Relegating the men to the outdoors? Nah, women like to grill, too. I have to give it to the smell of the fire. Rates right up there for best summertime smells with hot tar, mosquito repellant and chlorine.

Eat, Write, Retreat Redux

I will never afford the camera and equipment that Renee had at her disposal. On the other hand, the tools of the stylist, Lisa, are everyday things that I can slowly collect. Having those tools will have an immediate impact on my photos. Wow, was she a hard worker.

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