03 Jul 2010, Posted by admin

Recent Work

Below is a listing of some my published works, organized by publication (how logical). So many of the hard working people I’ve written about over the years have great stories, and in an instant, those stories are lost in the Internet abyss. That school teacher who’s been sidelining in condiments for 20 years (at 5 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday mornings) and those young (old-time) banjo pickers deserve more time in the sun. Don’t they?

Forewarning: A stiff drink may be required for those first few stories back in 2006 that focus on trends like the cocktail du jour (a bit cloying… or was it boring?). These days I’m more into the little guy. The real food artisans, the honest to goodness home cooks, the from scratch craft brewers/distillers/winemakers. But I do still dig this home smoking article because it’s exactly how my husband and I felt when we first moved to LA 10+ years ago. Apparently our neighbors didn’t feel the same way, as our smoker was shortly thereafter banished from our apartment complex. Job hazard.

Los Angeles Times + Other Recent Features

Music: Old-Time Is A Good Time In L.A. (LA Times Arts, Sunday, February 19, 2012) ♦ Farmers/Cooking: What Happens When Chefs Become Farmers? Great (Kale) Things (LA Times Food Section, January 19, 2012) ♦ Farmers: Working The Land, Life On The Farm (L.A. Magazine, November 1, 2011) ♦ Entertaining: The Chef’s (Home) Table (Los Angeles Times Magazine, November 6, 2011) ♦ Pastry Arts: The Goddess of Chocolate (Los Angeles Times Magazine, September 4, 2011) ♦ Art/Design: Designs on Dining, Roberto Cortez (Los Angeles Times Magazine, August 7, 2011) ♦ The Artisan: Mark Stambler Finds Brick Oven Bread Perfection (LA Times Food section, May 30 2011)  ♦  The Artisan: Laura Ann’s Jams, Punk Rock Preserves With An Edge (Food section, March 24, 2011)  ♦ The Artisan: Yvan Valentin Has Only One Truffle Love (Food section, February 10, 2011)  ♦ Craft Beer: The American Craft Beer Scene Goes Global (Food section, February 3, 2011) ♦ The Artisan: C.S. Lewis Has Nothing On This Turkish Delight Maker (Food section, January 6, 2011)  ♦ The Artisan: Ventura Limoncello: Raising Limoncello’s Appeal (Food section, November 25, 2010)  ♦ The Artisan: La Zamorana: Making Candy The Old Fashioned Way for Dia de los Muertos (Food section, October 28, 2010)  ♦ The Artisan: It’s a Tale Full of Twists: Kosher Baker Abby Franke (Food section, September 2, 2010)  ♦ The Artisan: Cobbler Lady Cobbled It Together: Her Recipe For Success (Food section, August 17, 2010)  ♦ The Artisan: In a Pickle, He Punted (Food section, July 1, 2010)  ♦  The Artisan: Condiments Come with a Side of LA History (Food, May 13, 2010) ♦  Cooking: Sotera Jaime Always Has a Lunch Date (Food, April 29, 2010)  ♦  The Artisan: Japanese Noodle Maker Turns History Into Technology (Food section, April 15, 2010)  ♦  The Craftsman: Popsicle Stick Furniture, Crafted One Stick at a Time (Home, April 2, 2010)  ♦  Family Travel/Museums: Children’s Museums Take a Hands-on Approach to Little Visitors (Travel, March 28, 2010)  ♦  Arts: In Membership-based Office Spaces, Chit Chat is Allowed (Calendar, March 26, 2010)  ♦  The Artisan: The Go-To Guy for Smoked Fish (Food, March 19, 2010)  ♦  Spirits: Sober Times for Artisan Liquor Makers (Food, February 11, 2010)  ♦  The Artisan: A Family Business Built on Chili Bricks (Food, February 4, 2010)  ♦  Travel/Museums: Roanoke on the Rally (Travel, November 29, 2009)  ♦  The Craftsman: Recipe for A Remodel (Home, November 28, 2009)  ♦  Cooking: Monkey Bread, It’s Playdough for Bakers (Food, October 21, 2009)  ♦  Travel Flashback: The Golden Door’s Golden Anniversary, Aldous Huxley Not Included (Travel, October 18, 2009)  ♦  Craft Beer: Craft Brewers Rethink Rice in Beer (Food, September 30, 2009)  ♦  Museums: ‘Steeped in History’ Tea Exhibition at Fowler Museum at UCLA (Food, August 19, 2009)  ♦  Cooking: The Sweet Dream Team, Ice Cream Sandwiches (Food, July 1, 2009)  ♦  The Artisan: Kruegermann Family’s Peck of Pickled Products (Food, June 17, 2009)  ♦ Beer Travel: The Van’s a Mess: Craft Brewery Tours of San Diego (Travel, June 7, 2009)  ♦  Food Flashback: Prudence Penny, Marion Manners, the First Celebrity Chefs (Food, April 22, 2009)  ♦  The Artisan: Local Noodle Maker on the Cutting Edge of Technology (Food, April 15, 2009)  ♦  The Artisan: A Boyle Heights Bolillo Tradition (Food, March 28, 2009)   ♦  Entertainment: Clowns Who Have Big Shoes to Fill (Calendar, March 22, 2009)  ♦  My Turn: Frank Talk About Cancer Connects Loved Ones (Health, March 2, 2009)  ♦  Cooking: Shortbread, A Simple Cookie with Options (Food, February 4, 2009)  ♦  The Artisan: Specializing in Worldly Tastes: South African Jerky Among The Sausages (Food, January 7, 2009)  ♦  The Artisan: Tough Times Call for Innovation (October 22, 2008)   ♦  Cooking: Obama, Biden, McCain and Palin’s States Bring a Mix of Food to the Table (Food, October 22, 2008)  ♦  Craft Beer: Sisterhood of the Suds: Women Homebrewers (Food, October 1, 2008)  ♦  Sodas: The New Generation of Dry Sodas (Food, September 17, 2008)  ♦  Spirits: West Coast Brewers Pick Up the Distilling Spirit (Food, July 30, 2008) ♦  Craft Beer: Cask-conditioned Ale Hits the Beer Lover’s Scene (Food, June 25, 2008)  ♦  Food Politics: Dig into Debate Over “Green” Utensils (Food, June 18, 2008)  ♦  Travel/Museums: Napa is Hoping Visitors Will Sample the Local Arts Scene (Travel, June 15, 2008)  ♦  Cooking: A Honey of a Dessert Idea (Food, March 26, 2008)  ♦  Chefs: The Hang-Between Restaurant Hangout for Chefs (Food, March 19, 2008)  ♦  Cocktails: A Summer Twist on Pisco Sour, Caipirinhas (Food, May 21, 2008)  ♦  Cooking: Cookbook review: Sweet Memories in “Desserts by the Yard” (Food, February 13, 2008)  ♦  Bars: Sports Bowls Worth Cheering About (Food, January 30, 2008)  ♦  The Artisan: Haute Hot Dogs (Food, January 18, 2008)  ♦  Travel Flashback/Cocktails: The Swig Easy: In New Orleans, It’s all about the Cocktails (Travel, December 30, 2007)  ♦  Travel Flashback/Cocktails: Historic Sips in New Orleans (Travel, December 30, 2007)  ♦  Cooking: Panettone and Stolen, European Dandies (Story by Jenn Garbee, Recipes by Donna Deane; Food, December 19, 2007)   ♦  Cocktails: Let’s Flirt With Ginger (Food, September 26, 2007)   ♦  Cocktails: Edible Cocktails, The Amuse Bouche (Food, September 12, 2007)  ♦  Cooking: Hungarian Peppers,  Walk on the Lighter Side (Story by Jenn Garbee, Recipes by Donna Deane; Food, August 20, 2007)  ♦  Wine Travel: Art in a Bottle: Blend Your Own Wine in Napa and Sonoma (Travel, August 19, 2007)  ♦  Wine Travel: Where to Make Your Own Wine (Travel, August 19, 2007)  ♦ Cocktails: So this Prosecco Walks Into a Bar (Food, June 6, 2007)  ♦  Travel Law: Waiver From Culpability? (Travel, May 6, 2007)  ♦ Cocktails: Bar School 101 (Food,March 21, 2007)  ♦  Cooking: Budino, It’s Italian for Pudding (Food, March 7, 2007)  ♦ Cocktails: Always Sunny Margaritas (Food, January 17, 2007)  ♦ Underground Chefs: Rogues, Nomads and Dissident Chefs (Food, November 8, 2006)  ♦ Cocktails: Coffee Cocktails: That Something Extra (Food, October 25, 2006)  ♦ Wine Travel: Napa Valley Vintners Step up their Wine and Food Pairings (Travel, October 15, 2006)  ♦ Wine Travel: Wineries That Offer More than a Loaf of Bread (Travel, October 15, 2006)  ♦  Cooking: Tapioca Pudding: Sensuous with a Smooth Style (Food, October4, 2006)  ♦ Beer Travel: Brew Your Own, Hoppy With Our Honey Wheat (Food, September 13, 2006)  ♦  Cooking: Cookbook Review: Japanese Home Cooking, Worlds Apart (Food, July 26, 2006)  ♦  Ingredients: Oysters Gone Wild? Send ‘em Back (Food, July19, 2006)  ♦  Cooking: The New House Blend? Crème Fraîche (Food, July 5, 2006)  ♦  Cooking: Back Ribs Basted with an LA Sensibility (Food, June 28, 2006)  ♦  Cooking: The Royal Raspberry (Food, May 31, 2006)

 LA Weekly + Everyone Else

The lazy LA Weekly version. In a nutshell: Cookbook reviews + winemakers, distillers, brewers artisans, farmers, ranchers. And lately, artists, too. You know, the real folk.

The even lazier everyone else version: L.A. Magazine (profiles), Cooking Light (artisan profiles, West Coast editor of  Artisinal Taste Test Awards), Saveur (L.A. finds, profiles), Robb Report (expensive things)– all folks I write for when the time arises. There were those Tribune wire syndicated food/cocktail columnist years way back when stories actually ran in numerous newspapers nationwide — how perfectly logical.

My Book

Secret Suppers. Are they really secret? Right. That’s my fault.

Other Books

EAT LA (the book and online).