Nicola Ristorante

Yes, I'm going through some backlogs of favorite restaurants I've shot for Modern Luxury Magazine. So much of this work gets printed, but doesn't make it to the blog because I can't show any of the photos until the issue comes out. Often by the time the issue is out I'm far ahead and working on something else.

This is Luigi Iannuario at Nicola Ristorante and his fabulous Italian dishes. Shooting food and the chefs feels like a much more in depth portrait of an artist. A traditional artists work is often flat and hanging on a wall. I have to work around its environment. But the artistic work of a chef is portable. I can move it around, shoot it from any angle, take a piece of it and put it somewhere else, add to it and take some of it away and it is still the same. It can be destroyed. It can be recreated.

I get a great feeling when I work with a chef and his food. Chefs are real people doing great things every day that feed us in literal and metaphorical ways, if they do it right.

No, really. I love my job.

Dallas Chophouse

I shot the Dallas Chophouse earlier in the year for Modern Luxury. I met the fabulous Kenny Mills and his fabulous food. I toured and shot the meat aging room and managed to do it quickly and not tell anyone that I don't eat red meat.

Frozen Food Glory

What do you eat when you don't want to cook and don't want to shell the bucks for Cigarz greek pizza substituting artichokes for the chicken?

Tonight it was just Margot and I for dinner. We were out of milk so we headed to Whole Foods where I thought I'd hit up the frozen food aisle for a quick and cheap dinner. Our freezer is practically empty, and certainly doesn't contain a meal.

Naturally we forgot the milk. But I enjoyed a tried and true Amy's burrito. Margot got Happy Bites veggie tots. Whatthecrap, these are unexpectedly YUMMY. Really yummy. Ours did not come with or advertise sauce so I can't attest to the box advertised on that link, but honestly, for frozen kiddo veggie fare, these are 10 thumbs up.

What do you eat when you don't cook?

Simple Foods

Breakfast today was homemade rye, buttered and topped with havarti cheese and slices of boiled egg. It was even yummier than I thought and super filling.

Other recent noteworthy (but unphotographed) dishes have been red lentil dal and stuffed aloo paratha. The next day I took the curried potato and pea stuffing and formed little patties. I browned the patties and served them as little potato cakes over raw spinach with a spicy yogurt dipping sauce. I really like creative leftovers.

Another dinner this week was buttered quinoa and sautéed asparagus with hollandaise in a flour tortilla. All this time I thought hollandaise was some very fancy, difficult and expensive thing to make. IT'S NOT! And it's very very good.

These were all very simple and cheap dishes with really big taste.

Yes, in kids.

The other day my shoe size came up on conversation. I said, "I wear a size 1.5 - 2 in children's." Then I was asked what I am always asked when I state my shoe size, "But what size do you wear in women's?"

This is the exact equivalent to me saying, "My daughter wears size 18 months in baby clothes," and you replying, "But what size does she wear in men's?"

Having said that, I am even shorter at formal events so if you ever see a pair of heels in a kids size 2, just buy them. I'll pay you back.

Engaged!

You know it's good when there are too many to pick a favorite. Wedding to come next week!

Greenhouse Truck

Back in March I shot the Greenhouse Truck for Modern Luxury. We scheduled to meet downtown, before the truck was even ready to rumble. I loved the idea of shooting a Greenhouse truck that promotes healthy and local food beneath the canopy of urban electricity. Follow their twitter stream for updates on location.

Penn's Kindergarten Performance

Penn and his Kindergarten classes performed at the last PTA meeting of the year. We dropped him off with his beloved teacher in the cafeteria and then went to the auditorium to find a seat. I took the big camera expecting to get some great and compelling shot of my son on stage. But as soon as the music kicked on and the children filed out in their "athletic gear" costumes singing Olivia Newton John's "Let's Get Physical," the Parent Majority was propelled into a frenzied Me Zone.

A sea of cameras were whipped out and held up like it was the last photo they'd ever take. Like the show would collapse and an army of tornadoes would set upon our children and all of that choreography would combust into hot lava without several photos taken by every adult in attendance. Many parents were even standing. In the middle of the audience. I couldn't see a thing, much less take a photo. So obnoxious. And I'm a photographer.

I had to go stand in the back to see. I took this one photo. (Click here to see Penn better.) And then---get this!---I watched them sing. No viewfinder or anything. Imagine. Daniel watched from the side door due to Margot's impatience during the PTA meeting. So yes. We do have our two photos, but quiet and sly and respectfully from the sidelines.

A weird lump bubbled up in my throat as I watched Penn sing and dance and fidget. He was SO cute. Suddenly the end of kindergarten seems far too close.

Shopoff Family Portrait

Right before we moved into the new house (literally), Texas gained another snow. I was scheduled to shoot the Shopoff's and since they were coming in from Austin we decided to go on with the show, despite the fact we'd be stuck indoors.

But we had a blast! So many cute kiddos and sweet people to play with. Thanks so much guys!

Cooper's Family Portrait

A little backstory: I had been having a fun week of shooting, but it was hard. All of my photos were great, but I had to work for each one for one reason or another.

Then came baby Cooper. Cooper is just a little younger than Margot, but at that moment he was 80 times more agile and 110 times friendlier. All the way to the end and through various outfits. He was easy and scrumptious and for all of these reasons I began formulating how to trade him for my sometimes Grumplestilskin. But his parents and even his dog are just as nice and smart and sweet and so it didn't seem fair really.

Many thanks to Amy and Craig. You guys are the best!

Gatlinburg, Tennessee

Recently Daniel, Penn, Margot and I traveled to the Smokey Mountains of Gatlinburg, Tennessee. We joined forces with Daniel's sister Jan and her family (coming from Florida) and Daniel's parents Dusty and Barbara (coming from Pennsylvania).

We stayed in a stunning cabin jauntily named, "The Knotty Squirrel." So at every bend there was squirrel motif. I can't say I minded.

What we did kind of mind was this clock. At every hour this clock spit in two and sang us bad pop songs. I'd split in two as well if I had to sing Celine Dion 24 hours a day. Handy Grandpa Miller turned it off on day two.

The historical buildings and churches in the mountains was probably my favorite thing to see.

The Aquarium was really fun.

A spontaneous round of putput.

Daniel and Penn rode a lift up high and came down the Alpine Slide.

Uncle Dale fell in the creek. :D

There was also horseback riding, dinner and a show, a lot of great meals out, a nature hike, lots of pool and ping pong and games in the basement, a sky tram and an arcade. We saw bear and wild turkey and prairie dogs. And on the very last day Penn got sick and puked. It was a first for both of us. (Luckily that cleared up before we had to fly out.)


But most importantly, there were Grandma and Grandpa Miller celebrating a 70th birthday. And somehow, we were the ones that got all the presents.

Every year I am able to understand more what family is and what it means. I understand the far reaching and priceless implications of everyone getting together despite cost or mileage or time. I haven't been part of the Miller family for very long, but it doesn't really feel that way to me. I feel like Grandpa Miller has always been here with his wisdom on money and household projects and Grandma Miller has always randomly been reading the same thing I have and sending postcards from her travels and Jan has always been herding my kid right along with hers and making witty comments on my Facebook page.

Sometimes everything just fits. And I feel indescribably lucky to have them as my family.

A Happiest Birthday and biggest thank you to one of the greatest grandpa's ever.

Click here to see all of my photos.

Click here to see all of Aunt Jan's photos.

Click here to see all of Grandpa Miller's photos.