Conversations Overheard at Work

And once again, we bring you, Conversations Overheard at Work! For those just tuning in, this is a segment in which I collect snippets heard around the office at my book publisher. This time, in addition to eavesdropping on the editors and designers who work on cookbooks, I've included a couple of gems from our lifestyles department. See if you can guess who is who!

"I feel like I want some more croutons. Yes. Definitely more croutons."

"I would totally pepper that."

"She eats snails from her own garden? Sounds . . . earthy."

"Yes, we definitely have soup. I think they might owe us chicken. They gave us soup, they owe us chicken. No, I know. I'll be really upset if they still owe us chicken."

"What sounds more salad-y? Duck Breast with Winter Greens, or Winter Greens with Duck Breast? I mean, I realize this is a bit nebulous."

"Braised leeks, absolutely not. A leek gratin? Yes. That's totally different."

"Does wheatgrass-carrot elixir need to be hyphenated?"

"Roger, how was the sex party?"

"Well, what does 'newlywed' mean? A heterosexual couple standing side by side rolling out dough together?"

"Baklava?! See, this is just completely arbitrary."

"Well, I suggested a watermelon, feta, and mint salad, but I know, watermelon salads are so overdone."

"Schnitzel is kind of hot right now. Wait, do I mean schnitzel? Oh right. Spaetzle. Spaetzle is super hot right now."

"The author is this big Christmas expert, so it would be great if we put him in touch with marketing."

"She's also concerned about the starchy gratins. Well, no. She's concerned about all of the gratins."

"Let's beef it up. Literally."

Editor: "Legos are so hot right now, it's ridiculous."

Marketing: "A lot of those pieces are from the Harry Potter set. [Long pause.] Don't ask me how I know that."