Sausage-Making with Birmingham Mag and Five Fab Recipes at Food52

I am having so much fun. Thinking of how I eat day-to-day, I love combining ingredients to achieve a delight for the mouth. In the circles I travel, I've been contemplating how to share that with as great an audience as possible, which led me to my new contribution over at Food52.  I think this is the beginning of a rich relationship… ;)

Here are the photographs from the story to whet your appetites - click here for the story with recipe how-to's! All creations by yours truly, and fully taste-tested for deliciousness.

Pasta Puttanesca

Radicchio Salad with Toasted Hazelnuts and Crumbled Egg

Olive Oil-Dressed Potato Salad with Smoked Paprika and Capers

Salmon-Avocado Toasts with Fried Capers

Cannellini and Farro with Lemon Zest, Herbs, and Fresh Asiago

Get to it and make one - or all - of these. Please come back and let me know which you love most!

In news of the delicious South, I had the great pleasure to photograph Andouille sausage-making with Chef Chris at Homewood Gourmet, and he knows his craft well. In his family for years the recipe is simple, the process specific, and as you can see, produces awesome results. Here is the spread, along with some of my favorites….

Meat, casings, and spices for Andouille

Whether you are laboring over some feast-to-come, or want simple satisfaction for lunch, make tasty food using ingredients that spark your senses.

What else is there if we cannot enjoy the aromas, delight in the shapes and colors, and then relish the crunchy, juicy give of delicious foods we made ourselves? Here's to more good eating, everyday. 

Where I Stand and the Road Ahead

I've been thinking about how to devote more time to writing here, sharing my challenges, adventures, and progress along my path. Of course, it has been nice to be so busy with many wonderful freelance projects. I need that. Gotta bring home the bacon somehow, and batting my eyelashes at a farmer friend isn't going to do it.

Here are some of my favorites from my newest feature over at Anthology. It's a French custard, called a flognarde (and really simple to make)...

 

Since I've been freelance again in an entirely new land, my husband and I have done some fancy footwork to establish stability. I am so grateful for the connections made with - and through - new friends here, and wonder how long this grace will bolster us. I am also grateful for cultivating solid relationships with my clients, and as time has worn on, their belief in me. It has made all the difference.

I know I don't share as many recipes here as I once did. I carry a certain amount of guilt about that, as if I am not taking care of y'all, but I wonder if I'm projecting and if it even bothers you at all. My hope is that you relish the bounty in the step-by-step stories I have been creating in my column over at Anthology - for over 6 months now! - and that their beauty and information (and the link to the recipe, too!) is consolation enough. Check them all out if you haven't seen them already: numbers one, two, three, four, five, six, and now, seven.

What I really am saying is, what do you love that I provide? Are you missing out on things you feel I used to share? Is there anything you want to see more of? I always have a nagging feeling I need to write more. I hide behind my pictures and often hope that's good enough. They speak so well. I am self-conscious of my writing and so, when there's lots of new photography I've produced - like the wonderful recent trip to be with some beloved farmer friends - I plaster it all over and then whisk off to the next project.

Cooking and styling, in addition to my steady shooting - I love this whole picture. I want to share so many moments in food process. There's something about that which is deeply important to me. As a result, sometimes there's less of a volume of work produced, but with a farther exploration into each. I have fun with these stories. I hope you do, too.

So, here's to sharing in all of the "nexts"….

There's housekeeping to be done and writing to do, and a long-term project simmering. Thank you for accompanying me this far, and your support and delight in anticipation for what's to come!