My photo shoot for my first book was just completed, PHEW! What an adventure--I never realized the amount of work, detail and coordination that goes into a book. I am told it's critical that the team you hire get along, but that it rarely happens. I was lucky to find three incredibly talented women that really brought my vision to life--I call them my "angels."

My food stylist, Jee Levine, is the culinary Picasso. She styled the plates so effortlessly and so beautifully. She has worked with so many great chefs--I was really excited that she loved my recipes.

My prop stylist, Philippa Brathwaite, has such an eye for prop styling. She pulled such amazing tableware, accessories and surfaces. I had to stop myself from buying a lot of what we borrowed!

And finally, there is my photographer, Anna Williams. She is so talented and is such a beautiful person. She also happens to be eight months pregnant. Every day we thought she was going to have the baby. I was so nervous when she would climb up on a stool or edge off a sofa to get a different camera angle. At one point there was a labor scare, but luckily it was a false alarm.

During the second week of shooting we tackled lifestyle photography. Not only were we cooking and styling recipes, but I was in the pictures as well. My hairstylist, Davide, joined a make-up artist and wardrobe stylist to get every look just right. While at one of the locations, my mother and niece came by. Anna took so many great photos of all of us. My mother also helped Jee in the kitchen--it was a blast. It was so nice to have my mother be a part of this experience.

My book is being published by Rodale, Inc. and will be available this spring.

--Donatella

Read Donatella's previous posts

Learn more about Donatella Arpaia

photo: donatella arpaia 

I'm generally not a fan of chick lit or chick flicks (never seen nor read Bridget Jones' Diary or anything by Jennifer Weiner), but sometimes I cave a little (loved Time Traveler's Wife -- the book, not the movie -- and who can resist Sleepless in Seattle?). So I was a little skeptical when I got a copy of Giulia Melucci's I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti. It's a single girl's memoirs of dating and cooking in New York City, described by Mario Batali on the book jacket as a "foodie's dream version of Sex and the City." Interesting.

To be honest, I didn't really want to like this book -- but I admit, I did. It was an enjoyable, yummy read that's fast, easy and fluffy, and was probably made even more interesting to me since I also live in New York City and can identify the places where Giulia shops, eats and plays. There are lots of recipes scattered throughout that are also fast, easy and sometimes fluffy (Frugal Frittata). They're always tied very specifically to a story she's told, which makes them all the more intriguing. In fact, I photocopied a ton of recipes from this book with plans to try them out sometime (In a side note, why don't memoirs with recipes have a website where you can download and print all the recipes from the book at once? You're not buying the book for the recipes, so why not make it easy for the reader to get them all?). Most are prettty simple and many involve pasta, and I actually did manage to try one of the recipes for dinner one night, with pretty good results:

Salmon with Lemon-Tarragon Butter

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• Juice and zest of 1 large lemon
• Freshly ground pepper
• 2 salmon fillets
• Salt
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh tarragon, minced

In a small saucepan over low heat, melt butter with lemon juice and zest, remove from heat.

Place salmon skin side down on a broiler pan. Brush with half the butter mixture, season with salt and pepper. Broil until just cooked through, about 20 minutes (there is no need to turn).

Transfer to plates. (Salmon skin will stick to the broiler pan. I always think I should save it to make sushi from this delicacy, but I never do.) Add tarragon to remaining leamon butter. Spoon over salmon and serve over lentils.

Serves 2.

Recipe from I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti by Guilia Melucci  

I actually made this with rosemary, since that's what I had on hand. And I served it with some sauteed Swiss chard instead of lentils. It was fast and incredibly easy, and I suspect I'll be making variations on this in the future.

--Maggie

 

 

If you're itching to get out of town, Jane and Michael Stern's new book, 500 Things to Eat Before It's Too Late, will give you the perfect excuse. It's chock-full of delicious-sounding and mouthwatering-looking eats from all across the country, many of them regional specialities: Head to Oklahoma for a perfect "pig sandwich," hunt down lobster rolls in Maine, indulge in cheese crisps in Arizona, or dig into world-class barbecue ribs in Tennessee, Alabama or Texas. You'll learn about foods you've never heard of before (Dutch lettuce salad in central Iowa or Cornell chicken in New York?) and read about must-visit cafes, diners and shacks.

The book is organized by region, so just close your eyes, pick a page at random, and hop into your car...anybody want to meet me at the Maine Diner in Wells for some lobster pie this weekend?

--Maggie

photo: bn.com

I admit that when I'm home alone, I rarely cook dinner for myself. I don't, however, do the typical New York thing and order take-out. I usually have a bowl of cereal, some veggies and hummus, or maybe, if I really feel like putting some effort in, a salad or sandwich. But I was recently inspired by the book Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant, a collection of beautifully written essays about cooking for one and dining alone. Featured writers run the gamut from M.F.K. Fisher to Amanda Hesser to Haruki Murakami, so there's a wide range of writing styles and perspectives. It's a humorous and entertaining read and really gives insight into our behavior when we're alone...and makes you realize that maybe your quirky eating habits aren't so strange after all. For the truly inspired, some of the stories include recipes -- everything from basic black beans to yellowfin tuna with heirloom tomatoes, olives and capers. So the next time you need a fun break from the kitchen, feel too lazy to scramble an egg for one, or get nervous at the thought of eating out in a restaurant alone, read a couple of essays from Alone in the Kitchen and you'll be ready to pick up your fork and knife again.