Recent content in Lindsay Brunner on LB
Last updated: June 30, 2026 Pulse is a Brunner Creative-operated reminder tool that can send low-volume SMS reminders configured by the recipient or account owner. How SMS Opt-In Works Pulse SMS reminders are enabled only when a person intentionally configures Pulse for their own reminders or asks Brunner Creative to configure Pulse reminders for a phone number they control. Reviewers can view the…
Back when I still lived in the Midwest I was operating under the delusion that I didn’t like mayo. I’ve now learned that I was just exposed to far too much Hellmann’s and not enough Kewpie. Having become a California girlie and J. Kenji Alt devotee, I’ve made some adjustments to the potato salad recipe I grew up with. Its soul is still made up of mayo and yellow mustard,…
IMHO, cream of celery soup is one of the great sleeper pantry ingredients. Honestly, I spent most of my life sleeping on this one as well, but at some point in my early 30s my dad made a declaration that shocked me… He said that cream of celery was his FAVORITE soup. In a world that contains such wonders as broccoli cheddar, baked potato, tomato basil, and, for the love of all, CHICKEN…
I guess I’ve been on a carb kick… Honestly, when am I not on a carb kick? I’ve been making beer bread almost weekly, and decided this week to try something new. Enter these Jiffy corn muffins. I ADORE cornbread, but it always bums me out with its dry, crumbly texture when what I want is the slightly breadier cousin of my corn casserole. So, I built my own corn muffin that…
Some nights just really call for warm bread on the table with dinner, but literally who has time to be messing around with yeast and rising times? Proofing? Even if I ever had the time, I lack the patience. Enter beer bread. It’s the pound cake of bread, a low-drama quick loaf that tastes great with whatever else is on the table. You literally just have to stir the dry ingredients, pour in…
Spent any time on LinkedIn lately? My ENTIRE feed has been taken over by AI: predictions about the market, advice for using it better, moaning about human review and job stealing, etc. From what I’ve been exposed to, the advice is always some form of “prompt better,” in one of these disguises: Choose the right phrases. Learn my secret perfect wording. Add more context. Add less…
My life these days is a never-ending battle to get my picky eater to try new things (and actually like them). So, we watch recipes on Tiktok, he picks the ones he wants to try, and then we modify them to not include any of his hard-no’s. For example, this recipe would benefit from a can of diced tomatoes, or a freshly chopped, but then he wouldn’t touch it. The adults might prefer the…
Many years ago, long before I moved to California, my friend Robin made these tacos for me and blew my mind. RAISINS? In tacos? My gobs were smacked. I forced the recipe out of her, and my husband and I put these in the regular rotation for at least a couple of years. Then life happened, we got a dog, left Ohio, had a kid, and for about fifteen years forgot that this recipe existed. I’m not…
At no point in my ten years working in technology before now did I imagine ever building a CLI myself. Hell, for most of my ahem years on this planet I didn’t know WHAT A CLI WAS. So, please believe me when I say that “build a CLI” is not my native solution to virtually any problem I’ve ever encountered. But, last week I found myself fed up with a recurring, deeply…
Way back in 2016 I made this recipe (well, the full dairy version) and brought it into the office for a treat. That job gave me some of the best friends of my life, and I find myself today, making it again, for one of them. Back then, plum buckle became my colleague Zack’s favorite baked good I’d ever brought (possibly just because he was absolutely tickled by the name). To this day I…
Some days just call for a pot of something warm and slightly old-fashioned. In this case it’s turkey simmered into a glossy broth, with fluffy drop dumplings and a handful of peas for color. The process is mostly classic comfort cooking, but a few small kitchen tricks sneak in along the way—roasting the turkey pieces until they’re properly browned, taking the roux a little further than pale,…
I’ve watched more than one team celebrate a content report like it was a victory parade. Spoiler: The pipeline didn’t get the memo. Traffic up. Time on page up. Engagement up. “Our SEO is really working.” Meanwhile, the pipeline is flat. Sales is still explaining the same thing on every call. Support is still answering the same questions. Product adoption looks like a sad…
If you’re trying to understand quiet vs loud brand signals, you’re probably feeling a familiar tension: you want your brand to be memorable, but you don’t want it to feel… try-hard. You want attention, but you also want credibility. You want momentum, but you don’t want to sound like every other company shouting the same three adjectives into the same crowded feed. The…
Lucas calls Cornish hens “tiny chickens,” which is objectively better branding and the main reason they stay in rotation around here. There is something about putting a whole half-bird on a plate that feels festive, even if it’s just a Thursday and everyone is slightly feral. The reality is far less dramatic. You split them, pat them dry like you mean it, rub them with olive oil,…
Lasagna was a staple family dinner for me growing up. Thanksgiving or Christmas? Sure, we’d have a turkey or a ham, but you better believe there’d also be a lasagna on the table. As an adult I make lasagna pretty frequently, but honestly, sometimes I really want the lasagna vibes without quite as much effort. Hence this baked ziti/lasagna hybrid. You’re using pretty much all the…
Leftover mashed potatoes deserve better than microwaved mediocrity. These potato cakes turn that mash into something worth planning for: schmaltz-fried patties with shallot and green onion. Schmaltz brings depth, garlic confit (already in the mash) brings background richness, and the sriracha mayo bridges heat and acid. Snapshot Implements: skillet; slotted spoon; mixing bowl; small bowl Stove…
A choose-your-own-adventure garlic recipe: low-and-slow avocado oil confit for pure garlic flavor, or oven-roasted garlic in olive oil for a richer, more aromatic result. Both are useful. The difference is intention. Snapshot Implements: small lidded oven-safe crock or ramekin; toaster oven or oven Oven setting: 250°F (120°C) for confit, 250–275°F (120–135°C) for roasted (40–50 minutes) Batch…
The leftover baked russet potato skins from Ultra-Concentrated Baked Potato Mashed Potatoes are a goldmine, not waste. Since the potato flesh has already lost a lot of moisture in the oven and been riced, the skins are already dry, flavorful, and just begging for a crisp finish. Why garlic avocado oil is ideal here High smoke point: you can push heat without bitter edges. Neutral base: garlic…
It was two years ago, summer, in Kansas City of all places. I’d been attending a trade show, and I’d brought my family along, because this particular show draws a group of friends who long ago also became family. On our last night in town we decided fancy dinner was in order (one can one feed one’s six-year-old so much BBQ, even KC BBQ). We hit up Pierpont’s at Union…
My Grandma Yola made cabbage and onions for Grandpa Joe for lunch all the time when I was very young, but after I stopped spending every day at their house it wasn’t a vegetable I had very often. By the time I became an adult with her own kitchen, cabbage wasn’t somethig I knew what to do with, or even knew I liked. Enter Sakkio Japan at the Belden Village Mall Food Court in Canton,…
Sous vide overnight from frozen is exactly what eye of round wants. Eye of round is a lean, well behaved hunk of beef that only turns tender if you refuse to bully it with heat. Sous vide is how you win that standoff. The quiet truth: eye of round is not trying to be luxurious. It wants to be precise. Sous vide gives you control, salt gives you depth, and the sear gives you drama. The rest is just…
Leftovers are fine. But leftovers that become something new are better. Last week we did picanha steaks for dinner. Today that leftover steak is becoming these breakfast-for-dinner bowls that my family always devours. Beef and eggs are a classic fat-protein pairing. Black beans add structure and bulk so the bowl eats like a real dinner, not just an indulgent scramble. Avocado smooths the edges.…
I could probably make mashed potatoes 3-4 nights a week and my family would love it. But they’re a ton of work, I HATE peeling potatoes, and my six-year-old will not eat a potato skin to save his life. Thus, I’ve been testing a baked potato version that both simplifies and improves upon my previous method. Baking the potatoes first means they lose moisture and concentrate flavor. I…
So, my kid eats a lot of carrots. Probably 1-2 a day. Last weekend, my local Safeway was out of carrots in every format, except for 5lb bags, so of course I bought a 5lb bag, He’s six, so I have a real fear that a week without carrots might mean he decides he hates carrots now. If you’re thinking that makes no logical sense, you’re right, and also you’ve clearly never tried…
Over the last two years, AI has quietly integrated itself into all of our content workflows. We use it to sketch outlines, smooth paragraphs, and quickly summarize concepts. And now it feels like AI is everywhere — shaping language, structure, and tone — while the systems around it have remained vague. Everyone has opinions on where it’s appropriate and how much review it needs. These…
I don’t know why everyone was conspiring to hide chicken schmaltz from me, but now that I know it exists, there’s no going back. Schmaltz is just rendered chicken fat (usually from skin and trimmings), and it turns out it’s the missing piece in every “why isn’t this as good as I expected” chicken recipe I’ve ever made. This recipe is what happens when you…
A low-effort, high-reward sheet-pan dinner: whole sausages roast alongside tiny potatoes and sturdy vegetables until everything is browned, juicy, and meant to be served from a big platter. The potatoes go in first so they turn creamy inside, then everything else rides the sausage fat to the finish line. Sriracha mayo makes the whole situation dangerously dippable. Snapshot Implements: rimmed…
When I was first getting started, I assumed technical content failed for fairly obvious reasons. Either the underlying technology wasn’t very good, or the explanation itself was wrong. Bad assumptions, incorrect diagrams, missing steps (classic technical failures). I was lucky enough in my early roles to be learning from incredibly talented technical storytellers, who taught me to recognize…
This is one of the first meals Alex and I ever cooked together. Not a “date-night” dish, not a flex, just Italian sausage, peppers, and onions in a skillet because it was affordable, forgiving, and got food on the table quickly. Years later, it’s still in regular rotation for the same reason: it’s the dinner you make when you don’t want to think, but also don’t…
This recipe started the way a lot of weeknight dinners do: chicken thighs in the freezer, potatoes on the counter, and the need to feed people without turning it into a whole thing. What I ended up with was a fast, bright herb marinade and some crowd-pleasing simple af garlic potatoes. Fresh herbs can make the marinade greener and louder, but dried work just fine when that’s what you have.
I listen to Alice’s Restaurant Massacree (Revisited) every Thanksgiving morning. I used to hear it on the radio when I was younger, one of those regional, seasonal things that felt inevitable rather than intentional. Later, when radio stopped being part of my life, I kept the ritual anyway, but now with Spotify instead of a DJ on an oldies station. Eventually, I started making my boyfriend,…
This is risotto in spirit, not doctrine. You add the broth all at once, stir occasionally, and let the sausage fat and rice starch do the work. The result is rich, savory, and comforting without requiring constant attention. Snapshot Implements: large saucepan or shallow pot; wooden spoon or spatula Stove setting: medium-high for browning, then medium-low simmer Batch size: about 4 generous bowls…
I used to own a smoker. I wanted to love it, the ritual, the smoke, the promise of perfect pulled pork, but in practice it meant babysitting temperatures for hours and canceling cooks when a Spare the Air day rolled in and ruined the plan. Sous vide fits my life better. This method that I’ve tested a few times now gives you a tender, shreddable pulled pork without hovering, without smoke,…
I’m always trying to take recipes I find online more in the direction of what a restaurant chef would do. There are often simple tricks or ingredients that will materially uplevel whatever a home cook suggests (read: butter). In this case, a bavette steak gets a short, intentional marinade that builds flavor without demanding all day, and the chimichurri, intentionally cilantro-free, brings…
I make wings a lot, they’re one of my faves, but most oven-baked versions I’ve tried either come out soggy or demand an overnight dry-out. There has never been a day that I’ve been that organized about my personal life. So this recipe has become my same-day method for crispy, blistered Buffalo wings that hit the sweet spot between crunch, juice, and sauce without needing a deep…
In my opinion, there are two acceptable ways to make egg salad. The first is the standard method that I’ve had to adapt to as a Californian: the mayo–mustard–relish route. The second is the Midwest shortcut I employ when I’m back home: Marzetti Slaw Dressing. Both work. Both are good. I prefer Marzetti’s, so here’s hoping they one day decide to sell their product anywhere…
Some nights call for a dinner that feels familiar, cooks fast, and doesn’t turn into a negotiation with a six-year-old. On those nights, steak bites, frozen potatoes, and peas get the job done. Cutting the steak into quick-cooking pieces keeps things moving, the potatoes do their thing straight from the freezer, and the peas add something green without complaints. It’s a meal everyone…
So, here’s the thing about chocolate chip cookies: most recipes are fine. Perfectly serviceable. They make cookies. They’re just as good as the one that comes on the back of the package of chocolate chips. But if you want the cookie that stops conversation, the one that makes people forget they were supposed to just have one, the one that makes other moms stop and ask you for the…
My mom used to make the best chicken legs in her Crock-Pot in the ’90s — the kind that fell off the bone, soaked up whatever flavors were around, and never, ever made it to the next day. This recipe is a direct descendant of that era: the same deep tenderness, the same low-effort generosity, just updated with a little more intention around texture. It’s a forgiving method that works…
This is my big-batch, two–sheet-pan version of classic spaghetti and meatballs, built for feeding people without stress. The meatballs are a mix of 75/25 beef and ground pork or veal, so the method is designed to keep them tender and flavorful without turning your sauce into an oil slick. You can certainly use leaner beef, I often do, this is just what happened to be in my freezer this week.
Rack of lamb is one of those cuts that’s expensive enough to make you nervous and lean enough to punish mistakes. Traditional roasting works, but the margin for error is narrow, and it’s very easy to end up with the classic bullseye situation: nicely pink in the middle, increasingly gray toward the edges. Sous vide takes that stress off the table. Credit also goes to Costco here, whose pricing is…
I’m lucky in life to have well-travelled foodie friends, one of whom brought me two gorgeous sweet spreads from Bremen, Germany: one caramel with espresso, one chocolate with lebkuchen (gingerbread) spices. Both were too good to waste on toast, and both wanted to be the star. So I built a blondie recipe that gives them a proper stage. The two spreads that started it all: caramel with…
For as long as I can remember, pasta e fagioli has been my mom’s favorite soup. When I was little it grossed me out, but as an adult it’s one of my faves too. This version ups the protein with added Italian sausage, because I, like everyone, am chasing that daily protein intake. The recipe is built from my pantry staples to feel like a meal, but still comes together simply. And OMG,…
These pretzels started as a saved Insta reel and turned into one of those quietly excellent party snacks (crunchy, savory, lightly sweet, and designed to sit happily next to your cheese board rather than overpower it). Also, hella easy to make. The original inspiration came from an Instagram post by Sally’s Baking Addiction . This version is adapted for cheese boards and grazing: a little…
We’re all eating sweet potatoes right now, with cheese stuffed into the center, right? That’s not just me? I wasn’t seeing things when my local Safeway had suspiciously fewer sweet potatoes in the bin today that usual? Color me influenced… I have a sweet potato in the air fryer right now and a block of havarti in the fridge. (Dratted Safeway didn’t have butterkase!)…
Who wants to eat healthy carrots anyway? These are the carrots you feed a kid who says they hate carrots. (Not my kid, of course, who loves raw carrots straight from the ground but spat these out in 10 seconds, but like, probably other kids…) They’re modeled on the carrots that show up all glossy and smug in a restaurant: tender all the way through, lacquered with butter + brown…
I love stovetop bacon in theory for its speed, and perceived simplicity. In practice, I find that it’s a tiny grease-based weather event that coats your entire kitchen in “breakfast essence.” If you regularly make your bacon on the stovetop, I encourage you to join me in oven bacon land. (And I also encourage you to try Dawn PowerShot on your vent hood, because you know it needs…
There’s a specific piece of understanding that is missing when teams are scaling content, and it’s dead-obvious on the surface, but often not clear when you dig in: A content system is not the same as your CMS . In reality, a content system is the architecture and process built on top of your CMS. It’s the the invisible rails that make content production repeatable, sustainable,…
Inspired by a Unicorns in the Kitchen TikTok, this is the almond biscotti that accidentally turned into the star of my holiday cookie plate last year. The dough is simple, the slices are sturdy enough to ship in cookie boxes, and the double‑bake turns them into the crisp, dunkable kind of cookie that actually wants to be dropped into your mug. The secret move from last year’s notes: use both…
OK, I’m not too proud to admit it… I really really love Wendy’s chili. It’s absolute comfort food, especially when piled on the most perfect of vessels, a Wendy’s baked potato, or even better, Wendy’s fries. But I digress… This week I set out to make a pot of chili at home with Wendy’s vibes and just ingredients I already had on hand. My good bud…