A couple of months ago my photos of Julia Moskin's sausage ragu was on page 1 of the New York Times dining section. Being Italian myself, I have a strong affinity for meat sauce, especially this recipe. I love the texture of the crumbled sausage with the celery, carrots and onion. I used cavatappi to accompany the ragu because it's one of my favorites but you could also use a long flat fresh pasta. This is a perfect meal for this time of year, it's warm, comforting and fulfilling.
Eggplant Baked With Tomatoes and Ricotta Salata
I photographed Florence Fabricant's eggplant baked with tomatoes and ricotta salata recipe for the New York Times a couple months ago and I think it's really special! It's her unique take on eggplant parmigiana. After you bake the eggplant, you scoop out the flesh and chop it so it's very fine, but not a puree. Then you mix it with sauteed ham, garlic and tomatoes and place this mixture back in the eggplant skins. Top it with the cheese and bake for 20 more minutes. How cool is that!?
For the recipe, click here!
Dyfari Interiors at the 2015 Hampton Designer Showhouse
Today I am reminiscing of warmer summer days with Diane Guariglia's (Dyfari Interiors) beautiful room from the 2015 Hampton Designer Showhouse that I photographed back in July. I love Diane's work and I always have so much fun photographing it.
Her master bedroom at the showhouse was the eptiome of summer vibes and when I walked in I immediately felt relaxed and happy. The palette is neutral but warm and tied together with gold accents and naturally textured pieces. I wanted to stay and climb into that gorgeous bed!
Flavorful Cupboard Essentials for NY Times
After working on Sam Sifton's, Flavorful Cupboard Essentials, piece for the New York Times, I feel that I can now consider myself a connoisseur of asian dishes. I had asian food for lunch and dinner for at least a week straight when I was working on getting these photos together. Between the trips to small asian grorcery stores tracking down ingredients and gathering props and the trip to Flushing Chinatown we had some really good asian dishes (you can't not stop to eat when doing some intense grocery shopping, esp. in Flushing Chinatown!). Also, Sam's recipes are so good that I simply had to eat them all. And then I found myself with a whole pantry full of these ingredients which made me want to experiment in the kitchen, so I did.
The idea behind Sam's piece is that if you keep your pantry stocked with these ingredients there are endless possibilities of recipes that you can throw together. Here he lists the must-haves and gives brand recommendations, followed by three delicious recipes: Orange Beef
Corn and Lobster Tart for NY Times
This beautiful tart is actually a breeze to make and it has a great quiche-like quality that makes it perfect for lunch or as a light appetizer before dinner. The corn and lobster are a perfect summer-y pair that go wonderfully with a sprinkle of fresh tarragon and a glass of chilled chardonnay.
Vermont Views
An incredible, post storm sunset view from our campsite in Waterbury, VT.
The friendliest cows munching away on the side of the road just outside Stowe, VT.
Two Potters
Sometimes it feels like the world is so small and that everyone in the creative world is connected and knows someone you know. I had one of these moments when I got asked to do an assignment for the New York Times sports section. Yes, the sports section....as you know, I work for the food section of the Times and never have I ever photographed anything sports related! They needed someone, extremely last minute, to drive out to Middletown, NY and photograph prints and letters from a scrapbook that Celeste Van Fleet had. Celeste's late husband once took a photograph that went viral (you can read about it here) and she kept a scrapbook about it with letters and photos. To make a long story short, the location that the photo was taken at (a private school) was down the road from where I went to photography school and I had stumbled across it while I was attending. It's such a small town that it was quite shocking for Celeste to know that I was familiar with the school and had been there. And it was quite shocking for me as well! While I was visiting with Celeste, her granddaughter, Becca Van Fleet, came up in conversation. Becca and her husband own the company Two Potters, whose work I had stumbled across once on the internet. I immediately emailed Becca to introduce myself and told her I was planning a trip up to Vermont and would love to photograph their work. We spent the day chatting, eating and Becca watched as I styled and shot...what more could you ask for? It was so much fun! And I'm really excited to share the photos. I think their work is just magnificently beautiful!
