Behind The Scenes: Making the November 2012 Issue

At the Every Day with Rachael Ray office, we pride ourselves on working hard but enjoying every day and having fun. Take a peek behind the scenes and see how we put the pages of the magazine together from tasting butter and wine to voting on which dog photo we think is cuter!

I didn't realize they were still taking pictures while on Melanie Dunea's set. As you can see they caught me by surprise! Although it does almost look like Melanie just hit me in this photo.
 --Lauren Purcell, Editor-in-Chief

We tasted around 60 different kinds of butter for this belt-buckling Taste Test. Food Editor, Stacy Adimando (right), was a trooper and kept everyone's spirits up with her smile and positive attitude!
 --Judith Pena, Assistant to the Editor-in-Chief

Someone asked me once why I went to pastry school instead of culinary school. The reason? I love butter! Even as a butter lover though, I was actually surprised by how different the butters were in color, smell and flavor when tasted side by side without any(!) bread.
 --Judith Pena

Who doesn't love "Angry Birds?" We were sent this costume head as a prop and one unnamed colleague modeled it for us. What a great sport!

Our Publisher, Chris Guilfoyle, stopped by the first annual Beauty Editor's Day at Saks Fifth Avenue in New York, NY to say a huge thank you to Gretta Monahan! Rachael's buddy and our favorite style guru repped the magazine and doled out personal beauty consultations for fans supporting the Look Better Feel Great organization.

Find out more about Look Good Feel Better: Helping Women with Cancer here!

Did you really think we were done with our Butter Taste Test coverage? Not a chance! Yo, butter! You butter be ready for your close up!
 --Judith Pena 

Sometimes we can't decide which puppy photo is cuter, so we put it to a staff vote! The photo of Kudos on the right eventually won, but doesn't the photo on the left make you think "Where are the snacks?!"
 --Allyson Dickman, Assistant Lifestyle Editor

Wine is perfect for the holiday season, so we had a number of "Official Office Wine Tastings" to find our favorites! Can you guess how many bottles we tried in this tasting alone?

Online Editorial Assistant, Lauren Smith (left) and I have a pen, but no paper. Not to worry though guys, because we took mental notes!
 --Judith Pena

Oops! Aren't there supposed to be tasting notes written down on that pad?
 --Allyson Dickman

To make the tasting (somewhat) easier, we divided the butters into five categories: Unsalted, Salted, Splurge, Whipped and Flavored! Most of the butters looked pretty standard -- yellow -- but the "Flavored" category was surprisingly colorful. Who knew butter could be so pretty?
 --Judith Pena

Shhh...don't mind the mess, but here's a sneak peek at our Lifestyle Product Closet with rows and rows of dinnerware, beauty supplies and our fridge for yummy snacks and new products to try. I guess you could call it somewhat of a hoarder's paradise!
 --Allyson Dickman 

We try to keep the closet as organized as possible, but since we get new products every day, it can be difficult at times. Recognize anything from the magazine?

Our lovely Food Team cheesing it up with their EDWRR aprons. We also sent these aprons to our Thanksgiving Menu Real-Life Testers!

I get press kits every day from companies pitching products -- this "to do list" came with one of them and I pinned it to my desk. It's actually a list of things I do want to get to!
 --Allyson Dickman

We try to keep our poker faces on during tastings, but sometimes we can't help it! Clearly, Test Kitchen Associate, Katie Barreira (center), didn't like one of these butters!
 --Judith Pena

I keep our rough images from photo shoots pinned up on my desk as I edit -- first because they're so pretty and second because it's inspiration for the story. I especially loved these photos from our "Life of the Party" story featuring Rach's buddies table setting picks.
 --Allyson Dickman

One perk of bulletin board walls in our office cubicles is easy inspiration boards! Check out what inspires Assistant to the Editor-in-Chief, Judith Pena.
 --Allyson Dickman

For a little comedic relief and a break in the day, Editor-in-Chief, Lauren Purcell, sent us the clip of Rachael on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. Editorial Assistant, Morgan Gibson, happily followed instructions and watched.

Our marketing department asked me to add some personality to their conference room. So I whipped up these food doodles in return for a bottle of champagne. What can I say? I drive a hard bargain!
 --Elliot Stokes, Designer and Illustrator

Okay, this is the last shot of butter, I promise! After the taste test, my plate looked surprisingly pretty and reminded me of a painter's palette with all the different smudges of butter. Maybe that's something I'll try next, butter painting...or sculpting, like in the big-screen movie, Butter!
 --Judith Pena

Wanna find out how we shoot the magazine? Find out more at our Behind the Scenes: The November 2012 Issue's Photo Shoots!

See Behind The Scenes: Making the November 2012 Issue