Meatballs make me laugh! You have to be "of a certain age" to laugh at meatballs. So I wish I didn't laugh out loud at the thought of Chicken Meatballs with Artichokes & Carrots because I hate it when I date myself.

But damnit I miss Bill Murray.

And I don't mean the middle-aged Bill Murray, who has enjoyed a career renaissance playing forlorn cool characters in meaty independent films. Nope I mean the laugh-out-loud Bill Murray. The Saturday Night Live Bill Murray. The iconic comic genius who brightened my world from 1979 to 1993 in a string of movies that Hollywood just wouldn't find funny anymore.

For those of you who don't remember 1979, it was a very good year. Sure I was struggling through an awkward adolescence. But so was Bill Murray and he was nearly 30! That certainly made a geek like me feel like the world wouldn't end. Because 1979 was a year that launched Murray's film career with the movie, Meatballs. In it Murray plays Tripper, the zany head counselor at Camp North Star. Basically, the movie revolves around the pernicious Tripper putting the moves on a curvy fellow counselor, harassing the camp's boss, and befriending a lonesome boy. There's also some shenanigans involving the teen-aged counselors in training and some spirited pranks with a neighboring, well-to-do camp. But for all of its ribald fun, Meatballs at its heart is a sweet movie that warms the heart without being disingenuous, saccharine, or just plain stupid.

Movies can't seem to do that anymore and I don't know why.

So here I am stuck at home laughing into a plate of Chicken Meatballs with Artichokes & Carrots missing Bill Murray.

It's chilly. I am in the mood for something warm and comforting. Maybe a bit traditional and certainly simple to prepare. These Roast Carrots & Parsnips fit the bill.

Because I'll be honest. I am having a little trouble finding my SippitySup mojo lately. The holidays are looming. There is The Table Set Christmas & Holiday Party in two days. I have travel plans for next week. There's an exciting year coming up just around the corner. Blah, blah, blah... I feel a tiny bit overwhelmed. It's a bit like Post Partum Depression (I imagine). Not that a food blog is like a baby. Oh wait, what am I saying? That's exactly what a food blog is like. Because in order to thrive, a blog takes constant care and feeding.

But the fact remains, the blog's gotta eat and my party peeps gotta eat, and of course I gotta feed you, my virtual eaters, too. See why I feel overwhelmed? Still with all the cooking I gotta do. I can't get past the lazy in the kitchen blues these days. So whatever I do it's gotta be simple. But who says simple can't be spectacular?

But the thing about simple foods is in order for them to succeed you need to be sure the simple method you choose is not just simply a short cut, but rather the fast lane to perfection.

Foodbuzz and New Belgium Brewing Company invited me to create a recipe using 'Fat Tire' Amber Ale. Okay. Okay. They paid me me to do it (yes I am that easy). But my vice could be your virtue. So read on.

I immediately knew I was going to braise something. Because I have braised meats before in New Belgium products and knew it would be perfect with short ribs.

But I have to give further credit for this recipe to Tom Colicchio and his sandwich shop and cook book, both known as 'wichcraft. Tom and his crew have made me very aware of sandwiches lately. Suddenly where ever I go I see sandwiches. Sandwiches on blogs, in restaurants and right in front of me on my own plate.

Of course sandwiches have always been all around me, but it's funny how once you are attuned to something (anything really) you start to become hyper-sensitive to its presence. It's not that there are any more of them than ever before, but suddenly you are more aware of them.

Which is no surprise when it comes to sandwiches. If you stop and think about how many sandwiches have you had in your life, you might be shocked to see what a dominant presence the humble grinder, dagwood, club, submarine, hero, hoagie really is. You probably had at least one a day from age 6 to 18. Because sandwiches reign supreme in grade school lunch pails.

I turn to soup when things start to get out of hand. In this case lamb soup with dandelion. It’s an unusual choice, I know. Not many people turn to soup in times of great stress.

Or do they?

You know how I know things are getting out of hand. Well this tasty lamb soup was supposed to have been navarin d'agneau, a French stew traditionally served at spring’s first blush.

I can’t say what’s going on where you live. But spring is blushing out all over here in Los Angeles. Some people wait for that crazy ground hog to announce the change of season, but I turn to another harbinger. The turnip. As soon as those tiny, perfect little turnips poke their fat butts out of their hole in the ground. I know that spring has sprung. Because followed closely behind adorable little turnips, come the tiniest of new carrots and the very best parsnips of the season. Not to mention thin skinned new potatoes and peas; fresh English peas. I don’t know about you, but I look at a list of ingredients like that and I think navarin d'agneau. I really do!

But how did I get from Spring Lamb Stew to stress induced lamb soup?