Meet the ‘Taste of Home’ Editors

Taste of Home‘s editors are proud to be home cooks and entertainers, just like you. With backgrounds in writing and journalism, we’re passionate about discovering the latest trends and recipes, highlighting tastemakers in the food world and sharing those a-ha cooking tips and tools we can hardly live without.

We’d love to introduce ourselves.

Jeanne Sidner

Chief Content Officer, Home & Garden

As part of her role as Chief Content Officer, Home & Garden, Jeanne Sidner oversees Taste of Home‘s vibrant and talented editorial, art and culinary teams. This position allows her to pair her love of great writing and design with her other love: whipping up fabulous food to share with family and friends. Jeanne lives in Milwaukee, where, as a third grader, she learned to bake in her mother’s kitchen. She is a collector of vintage Pyrex mixing bowls, interesting cast-iron pieces and all types of plants.

Favorite Taste of Home recipe: French Silk Pie

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The ‘Taste of Home’ Brand Editorial Team

Ellie Martin Cliffe

Content Director

A member of the lifestyle media since the mid-aughts, Ellie Martin Cliffe joined the Taste of Home team in 2010 and has since edited and written for books, special interest publications, the flagship magazine and the website. These days, she leads the growing team of digital and magazine editors, sharing tasty recipes, no-fail cooking tips and entertaining inspiration. Gluten- and dairy-free since 2017, she’s a staff go-to on allergy-friendly foods. If you don’t find her tapping away at her laptop, look for Ellie in her family’s urban veggie garden, at her sewing machine or on a local trail, biking with her spouse and first grader.

Favorite Taste of Home recipe: Gluten-Free Potato Salad

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Rachel Seis

Deputy Editor

Rachel Seis has been an editor at Taste of Home magazine since 2014, doing everything from writing and editing articles, planning editorial content, taste-testing recipes and more. She studied magazine journalism at Ohio University and worked in marketing and lifestyle blogging before landing her job at Taste of Home. When Rachel was 8 years old, she placed first in a local writing contest and won a soft pretzel-making cookbook, inspiring her to bake by herself for the first time (there were many, many soft pretzels made in the years to come).

While she’s still a soft pretzel fan, these days Rachel loves attempting to re-create her favorite restaurant dishes in her own kitchen—especially any type of spicy Thai noodle dish. Outside of the food world, Rachel loves to travel, is a big exercise nut, adores live music and standup comedy and tries to spend as much time outdoors as possible.

Favorite Taste of Home recipe: Egg Roll Noodle Bowl

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Lara Eucalano

Senior Editor

Lara Eucalano is an editor who manages Taste of Home‘s extraordinary community of contributors. She assigns and edits content about techniques, tools and, of course, food trends. Lara’s degree in English from St. Norbert College helps her ensure that every piece of content is clear and accurate. You can find her at home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, gardening and keeping an eye on her flock of backyard chickens.

Favorite Taste of Home recipe: Two-Berry Pavlova

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Emily Racette Parulski

Senior Editor

Emily Racette Parulski manages Taste of Home‘s newsletter team and is a lead editor for affiliate. She graduated from Bradley University and has been writing and editing food and lifestyle content professionally for almost a decade. When she’s not working, she can be found in her kitchen baking something sweet or enjoying a scoop of custard somewhere in Milwaukee.

Favorite Taste of Home recipe: Chicken Potpie Galette with Cheddar-Thyme Crust

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Rachel Vigoda

Senior Editor

Rachel Vigoda joined the Taste of Home team as a senior editor after several years of writing about food, travel and entertainment for a variety of newspapers and magazines and running a food-focused news site for Eater. When she’s not tracking culinary trends and collaborating with TOH editors on digital content, you can find her experimenting with vegan recipes, checking out new restaurants near her home in Philadelphia and planning weekend getaways, usually inspired by her travel guidebook, Moon Pennsylvania.

Favorite Taste of Home recipe: Best Hummus

Lisa Kaminski

Editor

A passionate home baker, Lisa Kaminski grew up in the kitchen learning all the best tricks from her mom. She channels this love of all things sweet (and occasionally savory) into Bakeable from Taste of Home, the hub for all things baking. She also serves as the editorial lead for the Test Kitchen-Preferred program where she gets to research and sample all kinds of ingredients and treats.

A graduate of Edgewood College, Lisa now lives in Milwaukee with her husband, Michael, and two cats. At home, she’s usually crafting, reading or paging through a new cookbook. You can keep up with her on Instagram at @cabininthecity.

Favorite Taste of Home recipe: Chocolate Babka

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Rosie Siefert

Editor

Rosemary Siefert writes food content and helps manage Taste of Home’s freelance community. She writes and edits content about cooking tips and all things baked goods. Rosie’s degrees in journalism and English from the University of Missouri lend to her skills as an editor, while her love for trying new recipes and learning new kitchen hacks shines in her writing. If Rosie isn’t making a (fun) mess in the kitchen, she’s exploring Kansas City, holed up at a coffee shop with a book or clanging away on one of the typewriters in her collection.

Favorite Taste of Home recipe: Slow-Cooker Short Ribs

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Caroline Stanko

Editor

Caroline Stanko spends her days researching, writing and editing SEO- and other channel-driven content for Taste of Home. As the editorial lead for the brand’s video team, she also schedules and writes scripts for many of the videos you see on the site. Caroline got her start in the publishing world as an editorial intern for Taste of Home while earning her bachelor’s in writing-intensive English from Marquette University in 2016. Since then, she has worked her way up from associate editor to editor of the brand. When she’s not typing away at a keyboard, Caroline spends her time mixing up a killer cocktail or burning through her to-be-read list.

Favorite Taste of Home recipe: It’s a tie between Malted Chocolate & Stout Layer Cake and Zucchini Pizza Casserole

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Alyssa Asaro

Associate Editor

After writing food content for Orlando Family Magazine and Chicago Parent Magazine, Alyssa Asaro found herself curating email newsletters and writing recipe collections for Taste of Home. She graduated with honors from the University of Central Florida with a degree in English literature. Since then, she has interned for the likes of Cozy Cat Press and TouchPoint Press, and held odd jobs including working at a gem store.

In her free time, Alyssa enjoys reading and writing, as well as watching TV and movies. She’s a published poet now residing in Chicago.

Favorite Taste of Home recipe: Special Creamed Corn

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Lesley Balla

Associate Editor

Lesley Balla joined the Taste of Home team in 2022 to help track trends and write and update digital content. After working in the hospitality and beverage industry, she found herself reporting on it for almost two decades, covering local food and wine scenes for print and digital publications, highlighting both famous and unsung heroes, and featuring new travel destinations. When not at her desk, you’ll probably find Lesley hitting local farm stands whenever she can, baking something delicious at home, or road tripping around the Pacific Northwest with her husband and pup, Pucci.

Favorite Taste of Home recipe: Cheese-Herb Potato Fans

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Lauren Pahmeier

Associate Editor

Lauren Pahmeier focuses on search engine optimization for Taste of Home, making sure that readers can find all the recipes and other food-related articles they need on Google. When working remotely from Minneapolis, she assigns and writes articles and contributes toward other SEO-related efforts. While studying for her bachelor’s degree in professional journalism at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, she served as the co-founder and editor of her school’s chapter of Spoon University, and since then has freelanced for Eater Twin Cities.

Outside of work, Lauren’s hunting down the newest restaurants, specialty coffees and most indulgent desserts in the Twin Cities while simultaneously practicing her food photography for @_whatsforsupper_, where she documents her favorite food finds.

Favorite Taste of Home recipe: Thai Peanut Chicken Casserole

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Ivis Estrada

Assistant Editor

Ivis Estrada is an assistant editor for Taste of Home where she helps contribute to lifestyle and food content and builds recipe collections. She loves trying new recipes and came to truly enjoy cooking when the pandemic started. She’s found a passion in re-creating copycat recipes and exploring meat-alternative dishes.

Ivis graduated with a journalism degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she was a contributing writer in the lifestyle section for MODA Magazine. Since graduating, Ivis has worked in marketing, curating newsletters, managing social media accounts and writing blog posts. Outside of work, you can find her obsessing over her dog or binge-watching classic movies.

Favorite Taste of Home recipe: Copycat Zuppa Toscana

Angelica Cataldo

Community Manager

Angelica Cataldo joined Taste of Home as the community manager after several years of being a social and community manager for The A.V. Club, The Takeout and The Onion. She has since been able to share her love for all things cooking and baking with TOH’s wonderful Community Cooks. When she’s not working, you can find her lounging on the beach or roaming Disney World!

Favorite Taste of Home recipe: Christmas Fettuccine

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The ‘Taste of Home’ Shopping Team

Megan Wood

Executive Shopping Editor

Hailing from the Midwest, Megan Wood started her writing career as a global restaurant and hotel reviewer. With over a decade of service journalism experience covering travel, lifestyle and product reviews, Megan now leads Trusted Media Brands’ Shopping Editorial teams to deliver storytelling content that resonates with readers and consumers. She delights in finding the best home and kitchen products to make people’s lives better, easier and more joyful. And while she’s eaten everywhere from Hong Kong to Hollywood, Wisconsin supper clubs are still her favorite.

Favorite Taste of Home recipe: Winning Apple Crisp

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Reina Galhea

Deputy Shopping Editor

Reina has been a baking enthusiast since she was old enough to hold a whisk, and her love of food has become a large part of her career. She’s created content for iconic food brands such as Kroger, Smuckers and Crisco, and even had a short tenure as a cookbook editor. These days, she helps lead the Shopping Team at Taste of Home, guiding readers toward the very best kitchen and home products. She’s a UCLA grad (go, Bruins!), where she majored in English. In her off time, you can find her testing cooking hacks, impulse baking or watching terrible Netflix food shows (but really…is it cake?).

Favorite Taste of Home recipe: Ozark Mountain Berry Pie

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Katie Bandurski

Senior Shopping Editor

Growing up, Katie Bandurski loved rifling through her mom’s cookbook collection and scoring deals at the mall. Today, she spends her time pitching, writing and editing affiliate content for tasteofhome.com. An avid foodie and a holiday enthusiast, Katie is an expert at cultivating meaningful moments. Katie graduated with honors from Drake University in 2018, with a major in magazine journalism.

When she’s not whipping up a new recipe or browsing for the perfect gift, you’ll find Katie exploring the Midwest, sampling vegetarian eats and counting down the days until Christmas. Katie lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with her fiance, John.

Favorite Taste of Home recipe: Bake Sale Lemon Bars

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Annamarie Higley

Shopping Editor

Annamarie Higley joined the shopping team after working on Taste of Home magazine as an associate editor. Now, she reviews products, makes gift guides and more. In the past, she’s written for brands including Brit + Co, Edible and #HackTheMenu, all of which have helped fulfill her longtime desire to work in food media. When she’s not hemming and hawing about comma placement, Annamarie loves traveling to new cities (based largely on the local fare, of course), hiking, collaging, reading and cooking.

Favorite Taste of Home recipe: Chorizo Pumpkin Pasta

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Madi Koetting

Associate Shopping Editor

For Madi Koetting, food has always been a way to connect with people and culture. Cooking is like therapy for Madi, which is a practice she developed from baking heirloom recipes with her grandma and helping her mom with family dinners growing up. Whether she’s exploring East Coast eateries or hosting a dinner party, she loves any occasion that centers around good food. She also grew up rearranging her childhood bedroom to create the ultimate happy space, and now she helps readers do the same by creating shopping content for tasteofhome.com. Madi earned a degree in magazine journalism and public relations from Drake University. When she’s not shopping, you can find Madi exploring Philadelphia and decorating her apartment.

Favorite Taste of Home recipe: Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cookies

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The ‘Taste of Home’ Books & SIPs Team

Mark Hagen

Content Director, Editorial Products

The former owner of his own catering business, Mark Hagen has been part of the Taste of Home team for the past 20 years. A comfort-food junkie, he has written for Quick Cooking, Light & Tasty and Country Woman magazines as well as various Pillsbury and Betty Crocker cookbooks. When he’s not spending time in the kitchen with his West Highland Terrier, Rocco, he’s working in his yard, doing stand-up comedy or devouring a platter of nachos. (Most likely the latter.)

Favorite Taste of Home recipe: Blend of the Bayou

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Christine Rukavena

Senior Editor

Christine Rukavena loves to read, curate, sample and develop new recipes as a senior book editor at Taste of Home. A Culinary Institute of America alumna with honors, she creates cookbooks and food-related content. A favorite part of the job is taste-testing dishes. Previous positions include pastry chef at a AAA Five Diamond property. Christine moonlights at a boutique wine shop, where she edits marketing pieces and samples wine far higher than her pay grade. 

Favorite Taste of Home recipe: Parmesan-Coated Brie

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Julie Schnittka

Senior Editor

Julie Schnittka coordinates Taste of Home’s newsstand publications. She became a foodie when she first started with the brand in the 1990s and helped launch the cookbook department. Julie’s passion for trying new recipes on family and friends is evidenced by her ever-growing, bulging file of printouts that she intends to get through one day. When off the clock, she enjoys reading, biking, eating out and walking her puggle, Howie.

Favorite Taste of Home recipe: Chicken Cheese Lasagna

Hazel Wheaton

Editor

A writer and editor who has worked in publishing for 30 years, Hazel Wheaton has worked in the fields of travel, food and jewelry arts. She has had the rare privilege of learning about food by listening to local experts and tasting everything she was offered—including almond pastries in Morocco, whisky and haggis in Orkney, escargot in Lyon, spiced lamb in Abu Dhabi, and dried shrimp at the night market in Taipei.

A native of central Pennsylvania, she’s a devoted fan of her own local cuisine as well, including scrapple, shoofly pie and apple dumplings. After taking culinary classes in Philadelphia, Hazel sadly decided her feet weren’t cut out for restaurant work but has found her own place with food at Taste of Home. An enthusiastic baker, she’s known for her cookies, cakes and other baked goods. And she still wishes she could cook like her mother.

Favorite Taste of Home recipe: Lovely Lemon Cheesecake

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Amy Glander

Editor

Amy Glander is a book editor at Taste of Home where she gets to pour her passions for food and storytelling into trade and series cookbooks. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin with a degree in English, Amy has more than 20 years’ experience in the book publishing industry. She’s written and edited a variety of nonfiction about food and entertaining, crafts and hobbies, gardening and outdoors, photography and memory-keeping, and more. Amy believes in the beauty of home cooking and the stories that connect us to food, home, friends and family.

Favorite Taste of Home recipe: Mint Frosted Chocolate Cake

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Sammi DiVito

Assistant Editor

Sammi DiVito helps manage and edit Taste of Home’s special interest publications. After graduating from the University of Minnesota with a degree in journalism, she moved to Milwaukee in order to be closer to home—her favorite place to go for a 5-star meal. An enthusiast of all things baked goods, Sammi spends her days staring at photos of food and saving recipes to try (much to the delight of her friends and family). When she’s at home, she enjoys reading her way through the stack of books on her nightstand, writing and trying to perfect her chocolate chip scone recipe.

Favorite Taste of Home recipe: Hazelnut Chocolate Chip Scones

Want to join our team? Look for openings on Trusted Media Brands’ careers page.