On my Mind - Food and Food.

Well, this isn't food. Ok. this is a detail of my living room where my friend, Jacqueline and I shared a meal.


Overall of said living room.


The apricots and almonds.


Prosciutto and figs before the olive oil and balsamic. I'm not sure there is anything more sensual to eat! We ate it with our hands.


Alice Waters Warmed Olives. OMG. Garlic, lemon zest, thyme, olive oil, and olives.

Well, I'm whooped. Just dog tired. Photo shoot for two days and one of them involved a full Tuscan-style food spread on a 30 foot table. Thank god for Anna, the queen of food presentation. We did this today in about 90 degree weather with sun beating on us while we shooed away the flies from the hunk of peccorino which cost a month's rent.

But, we discovered this: if you buy good food and put it in and on beautiful things, you can't go wrong. So we went to Broders - our local Italian deli - and just loaded up on Peccorino and Mountain Gorgonzola, Sopprasata and olives. Then, off to Rustica for our breads. You put them lovingly in a basket and on a piece of Carrara marble, add a little fresh thyme sprigs, a bowl of olives, some wine bottles, linen napins and plates from Italy and you are good to go. Even for a photo shoot. The sad news? I can't show you the photos. I don't own them. Renovation Style owns them. BUT, the point? Good quality and the basics like ivory linen napkins, decent wine glasses and some creamy or white plates, a few cheap baskets AND some fabulous flowers (try dahlias from Anna's mom's organic farm!) and your table, too, can look worthy of a magazine.

I'm just mortified I have no photos. Maybe I can show you some other foodie photos that will suffice for now. I had my friend, Jacqueline, for dinner last Sunday. I now say I have the "Field of Five" Great Cooks in my life. They are: Carrie, Holly, Anna, Barbara, and Jacqueline. How lucky am I to have close friends that love to cook and are superb at it! Well, Jacqueline came for dinner and this is what I served to start the meal. We ended with Grilled Polenta and Roasted Peppers.

Alice Water's Warm Olives - with thyme, lemon, garlic and olive oil. Divine. Also, prosciutto with figs, olive oil and balsamic. And A small bowl of almonds and apricots. Buon Apetito.

Oh, and a couple of shots of my living room where we had dinner.