Umami Grain Bowl with Anthology and First Spring Foods (!!!) with New York Times

This month's column at Anthology focuses on abundant flavor through the savoriness that is umami. 

I make a lot of food. I love a meal containing numerous elements. Bright colors, a fantastic array of textures, and depth of flavor is one version of a meal that often appears at my table. The starring roles change, but this is the overarching theme.

Weird and wonderful additions like anchovies, bottarga, and roasted seaweed (all together! …it's totally  great, and very much about proportions) bring what is otherwise a simple meal to a whole new level….

making the anchovy-roasted garlic dressing

beautiful radicchio fresh from its char...

Please let me know if you decide to make this delicious dish. It definitely was satisfying to produce it. :) Here is the full story.

In equally delicious news, more of my work debuted on Page One in this week's New York Times Food section. This colorful Ode to Spring is another Mark Bittman story - I always love when I'm tasked with articulating his recipes, for their no-nonsense, tasty tendencies. If you recall another I produced last year, he wins my heart….

Here are some of my favorite outtakes - 

Each of the recipes is lovely. The indulgence of the deep-fried spring onions is an obvious winner, but my personal favorite is the delicate peas over still-crunchy grilled little lettuces, dressed in garlicky, minty goodness. Here is the full article and recipes, if you're seized enough to want to make them.

In other recent news, I produced a vivid and totally delightful "Shapes and Colors of Spring" story for the Fifth Anniversary Sweet Paul Magazine, now available for purchase or download. Here are two recipes (one, two) from the story, currently online. That is worth sharing in a story all on its own. Also, look for another gorgeous front page feature from  yours truly, in next week's NYTimes Food. And more. Always more, cuz what is a freelancer to do if not producing new, drool-worthy content?

I hope you all have delicious food lined up for this weekend. I'll be eating my way out of leftovers, maybe even without putting them onto plates… xo 

Happy spring!

Color-Punch Slaw at Anthology

Color. It's where it's at.

Especially with everything spring finally exploding in the great outdoors.

My newest story at Anthology is a vibrant, toothsome recipe that requires absolutely no cooking. There's a good bit of chopping and a little stirring, but I know your muscles need a little workout so that you can be your warm-weather best…. ;) I hope you like it. It really is delicious, one of my steady go-to's that pleases every single time.

It is just as savory-sweet-crunchy-juicy as it looks. To try the slaw for yourself, click here for the full details. Let me know how you love it!  :-)

And don't forget I still have a giveaway on offer!! There's so much to enjoy in Sweet Paul's book, so visit this page for the details if you want a shot at the goods.

Happy weekend everyone!

Chef in the Garden and a Sweet Paul Giveaway!

Spring is here. Things are at last changing. The profusion of blooms of all kinds is happening. If you follow me on Instagram, you have seen me get punchy over flowers, trees, and anything else which as been showing itself spring. Yesterday I had the unique opportunity to accompany one of my farmer friends for a field trip, as he dropped off goods to chefs at the best restaurants in town. Everywhere the day took us, there were redbuds, dogwoods, forsythia, and cherry blossoms clamoring for glory.

But I digress. I am doing a *very special* giveaway. Scroll down for a chance at the amazing goodies… 

These images are the path of a longer-term project. Jim and I photographed a unique farm-to-chef-to-table event last year which epitomized what it means to be part of Community. The fact that it was chock-full of sublime flavors and a total blast didn't hurt any. The story just got printed for this month's Birmingham Magazine, and it looks beautiful.

Will and Liz from Heron Hollow Farm - you've seen them here and here - provided one of their pigs for the roast. The five-course meal included all kinds of veg and foraged treats from the kind gents at Mt Laurel Farm, the incredibly pastoral setting for the event. Due to its first-time success, they are repeating this event, with the next Chef in the Garden dinner on May 3rd. Just in time for beautiful spring produce! Click here for tickets!

I am falling in love with all that it means to get to know my farmers.

There are so many more photographs from that beautiful experience. Order a copy of the magazine here to see it in print! As I said earlier there is a larger project underway, so with any luck you will have a chance to see the spectrum of amazing images all together. I'll keep you posted!

And now for the giveaway!!! 

My friend Sweet Paul, *just* released his wonderful new book, Eat & Make: Charming Recipes + Kitchen Crafts You Will Love, and he has offered a SIGNED COPY to one lucky reader of this blog. We have had a great time making beautiful work together over the years, and so I know firsthand how much love he poured into the making of this book. I hope you will enjoy it every bit as much as he had fun producing it.

In order to qualify for the giveaway, follow me in my daily fun over at Instagram. Then leave a comment here: tell me what fun or delicious thing you are especially looking forward to as we finally revel in spring. Please include a link for contact should you win! Due to mailing rates, this giveaway is only eligible to residents in the continental United States, though I LOVE ALL my readers! Cut-off to qualify is April 20th, at 11:59 EST. I will announce the winner the week following…. so stay tuned!!!

Very soon I'll post more great projects that are now complete. I feel incredibly grateful for the community sprouting up everywhere and the gorgeous stories I am taking part in to tell. Have a beautiful weekend!

Sweet Paul Tarts

The Spring issue of Sweet Paul is out!!! It is always a real delight to spend a time on a new project with Paul. Our collaborations - the ease of how we figure out this detail or that, what kind of feeling we want a shoot to convey, and also just getting the work done - make each new shoot a lot of fun to tackle. I hope you'll enjoy the playfulness and whimsy in this story. And you know, it was every bit as delicious as it looks... :)

 

An outtake of Paul getting this tart ready... (that honey was divine, and we used it on a number of things.)

Sweet-salty, juicy, herbacious... these are some words I would use to describe the flavors of these tarts.

The custard-y quality of eggs mixed with young veggies or herbs in tart shells, the soft creaminess of cheese - whether goat's, ricotta, pecorino, or other - where each a heavenly addition to these creations.

This tart was my favorite. Simply fantastical in its many pointy peaks, and yet quite practical in that sturdy pan! The piney fragrance of the rosemary, along with the savory sweetness of that honey (there it is again), set into the backdrop of chevre and young roasted beets, all wrapped in puff pastry... It was a surprising delight.

 

You can probably see by now how immensely satisfying the whole thing was, start to finish. Perhaps you'll make one of these for friends as a special meal to celebrate together. Or, maybe an easy (but glamorous-looking) fix to hunger on any night, to treat yourself right. Here's the story, with all the recipes to make for yourselves. Enjoy!

Winter Cooking, Chocolate Mousse & Sweet Paul Holiday Edition

Sweet Paul Magazine came out yesterday, and we all agree that it looks fabulous. I had so much fun working on the issue! There is photography by me throughout, including this and that. But the real show-stoppers are my Winter Cooking story, and the Fave Photographers' feature. So cool!!!

Here is another look at the tasty morsels...

I can attest that each and every item is sensationally tasty. Please click here for the recipes and tell us what you think!

When Paul asked me about my signature holiday dish for his favorite photographers story, my mind went racing. I could do the leg of lamb I love so much or different cookies that sing the holiday-tune, but as I thought further, I knew my Kahlúa chocolate mousse had to be it. In an ad torn from the pages of a really old issue of Gourmet, this recipe is what I make to surprise neighbors and colleagues with (and when I don't make it, you can believe I hear about it).

Here's a pairing I fancy that didn't appear in the magazine. The plum garnish is a playful adaptation from the famous "Twas the Night Before Christmas" poem, where it says "...while visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads"... The glistening sugar coating offers a nice crunch, and the flesh makes for a bright and juicy accent in all that chocolatey depth!

A sublime treat to enjoy whenever, and especially nice to share with loved ones. This has been another great adventure. More on the way soon!