The Food: A-Z Project is still going strong! Check out our flickr group and if you haven’t joined please do. Tomorrow we are moving on to the letter “H”.

For those of you unfamiliar with the project please let me explain. Seeking inspiration and some discipline I decided to begin a group that photographs a food item or recipe beginning with the letter in the alphabet corresponding to the week we are on. With this project I hope to see an improvement in my photography skills and become more familiar with a variety of food ingredients and dishes.

Of course there have been a few weeks in there where I simply scanned through images I have previously shot and hoped I could find some that start with the right letter. But when I push myself to shoot something intentionally that’s when I learn the most and am most satisfied.

Last week was “G” (moving on to “H” next week) and feeling particularly inspired thanks to an incredible workshop with Penny de los Santos, I set up my shot.

Using Grendadine as my “G” ingredient I made a cocktail called the Gin and Sin – which I think earns me extra points for using the letter “G” twice.

This festive cocktail is a wonderful way to bring even more cheer to this joyous time of year. Slightly sweet and sour and completely refreshing. I can’t help but think that the sparkling cranberries from Heidi at 101 cookbooks would look lovely floating on the surface.

See how much fun our flickr group is? Sipping cocktails while taking photos – join the party!

Gin and Sin

1 1/2 oz gin
1 oz orange juice
1 oz lemon juice
1/2 tsp grenadine syrup

Print PDF

Oh man. Eek. I’m cutting it close tonight. 11:12pm my computer is telling me.

So let me just start with a little disclaimer – this post won’t be an award winner, it won’t be prolific  – in fact I have no idea what I am going to say. This here is the nitty gritty of NaBloPoMo (or NaMoWriMo – the difference I have yet to figure out).

I had great expecations for the day – recipes flagged, grocery lists written, camera batteries charged and while I did manage to get started on my edible Christmas presents by making 5 jars of Quince Brandy (I will share the recipe soon) that was about all I was able to check off my list.

Instead of finishing the to-do list I had the great pleasure of filling in at Delancey (famed pizza restaurant owned by Molly (Orangette and her husband, Brandon)  tonight. Due to some sick staff members I was called in to help feed the pizza-loving Seattleites their perfectly blistered and charred pies.

At 2 o’clock Brandon called to see if I wanted to create some sort of dessert to serve tonight. Doors open at 5. Three hours. No problem.

My head began to spin with possibilities and of course my first thought was apples – as we have been using them so much around here lately.

Apples. So many possibilities but my mind always goes back to the classic flavor pairings – caramel, almonds and butter – lots of butter.

Puff Pastry, roasted apples marinated in Calvados and caramel, almond frangipane and Creme Fraiche. And there it was – tonight’s dessert special.

2 1/2 hours remaining until dinner service I quickly cut up my butter then threw it into the freezer to chill while I measured out the flour. Caramel on the stove, almonds toasting. Measure the sugar, add the butter, fold, roll, stir, blend, mix, chop. Breathe.

For a brief moment I felt that all too familiar rush that used to be a nightly occurrence when I worked in the restaurant. I still seek that rare rush. It’s that feeling of – can I do it? You’re pushing myself to the limits to see what you can accomplish. It’s a thrill and then when it’s all over and you’ve succeeded you are flooded with intense pride – and exhaustion.

Tonight, after the dessert was all prepped and ready for Kari to work her plating magic when the orders arrived, I took my position next to Brandon and the intensely hot wood-burning oven. For the next five hours I pressed, stretched, placed, topped and repeat.

The dough warm from the active yeast working its magic to produce perfect bubbles stretched from the weight of itself as I gingerly worked it over my knuckles.

The smell of the housemade fennel pork sausage wafting off of the pizzas was enough to make me so envious of the diners until I too was able to devour my own.

I walked into Delancey wearing a black t-shirt, as I walked out the color was questionable as a coat of flour covered every inch of me – even my face which gave Brandon a good laugh.

So now I’m home. Full, tired, happy. It feels so good to return to a restaurant kitchen. It feels familiar – as a home should. In that place I am confident and sure.

8 minutes remain until the clock strikes 12. And I can’t help but think that this post is exactly the reason why I pushed myself into posting everyday for a month. Had I not have set this goal for myself I would probably be sitting in bed with my computer watching some tv show having forgotten the premise of the show by the morning. Don’t get me wrong, as soon as I hit the publish button I’m crawling into bed with my computer.

But the point is that I did it. I posted. It wasn’t a great post and I didn’t even include a recipe. But in order to truly excel at something you have to push yourself to be in daily practice even when the exhaustion and they layer of flour coating your hands makes it hard to type.

I apologize for not having more to offer you in the way of photos and recipes but I guess this post was for me. To remind me that it’s okay not to know what to say but that just the act of doing it is an accomplishment.

Tomorrow is a new day and a new post. Also, for those of you following the Food: A-Z project we are now on to “B”. This time we will only have one week to upload your “B” photos – so get them in soon.

Thanks for letting me write through my flour-covered, tired self. I will see you back here tomorrow – oh shoot. I guess technically I’ll see you back here today since it is now 12:07 am.

Print PDF

I don’t know if you’ve noticed but there are a lot of killer photography tutorials floating around the food blog world these days. If you haven’t seen them check out:

Wrightfood:

Food Photography Set-up Post One

Food Photography Set-up Post Two

Compact Camera Food Photography

White On Rice Couple: Photography Tips

And I’m sure there are plenty more out there that I have not seen yet – feel free to post them in the comments section.

All this advice and information from talented photographers is invaluable and I feel so grateful to all of these talents who take the time to share their wisdom and skills with the rest of us.

In all of these posts on photography you will notice a common theme: Practice. You must actually pick up your camera and take pictures in order for all the information to sink in.

I for one am not good with numbers. Somehow in high school I ended up in an advanced math class and I went home crying nearly everyday. I was much happier sitting at the ceramics wheel in the art building or finding a good book in the library.

In both highschool and college I took photography courses and when the discussion turned to numbers my head started to spin. I can wax poetic about composition and color but the technical side of photography brings back those all to familiar tears.

It isn’t until I pick up the camera and start shooting that the information I’ve read and heard starts to become clear. Foreign concepts begin to become second nature as I experiment with changes of aperture, adjustments of the shutter speed and playing with off camera lighting.

For this reason I’ve started a flickr group entitled, Food: A-Z. In this group I’ve combined two passions – food and photography – both of which I have much to learn.

Each week we will focus on one letter of the alphabet. Let’s say ‘A’ for example. Each group member then chooses an ingredient, dish or food product that begins with the letter ‘A’ then they photograph it.

At the end of 26 weeks we will have a collection of stunning images showcasing edible subjects.

My hope is that people will, first of all, JOIN! And secondly that we will use this friendly space as a chance to experiment with new food and new techniques so that we can expand our knowledge and grow together.

Doesn’t that sound fun?!

If your shaking your head ‘no’ right now. That’s okay because I have a coffee scented, nutty tart that I’m pretty sure you will love and I hope makes up for the time you took to read through my new side project. It also just so happens to start with the letter ‘A’.

Almond Frangipane Tart with Coffee and Orange
Frangipane

1 cup sliced almonds, toasted

1/2 cup brown sugar

3 1/2 ounces butter, softened

pinch salt

1 egg

1 Tbl Grand Mariner

1 tsp. Orange zest

1 Tbl Whole Milk

Combine all ingredients in a food processor then process until smooth. Set aside.

Coffee Tart Dough

4 1/2 ounces (1/2 cup + 1 Tbl.) butter, softened

1/2 cup brown sugar

pinch salt

1 egg

1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 pack Via (Starbuck’s instant coffee) You can substitute 2 tsp. regular instant coffee if you don’t have Via.

Pre-heat the oven to 350*

Combine the butter and sugar and cream until smooth. Add salt and egg. Mix until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl then add the flour mixing just to combine.

You can chill the dough until firm then roll it out, taking care to use plenty of flour to prevent the dough from sticking to the counter, or you can use it immediately and press into your tart pan(s)

I just pressed the dough into 4 little tart pans and used immediately. I had dough remaining. You could also make one large tart.

Par-bake tart shell for 10 minutes before filling the shell with Frangipane. Continue to bake until filling is just set. For the little tarts this took another 10-15 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool completely.

Serve with candied orange peel and a dusting of powdered sugar.

*One more note about the group*

If you would like to join – I really think you should – then check out our group page and ask to join the group. I’ll accept you then you start shooting and sharing.

For this first assignment I’ll give people some time to sign up and join. So you have until November 8 to upload your ‘A’ photos. From that point on we’ll do it weekly.

Feel free to blog about it (if you have a blog), create a recipe with your ingredient, share a recipe and comment on other group member’s photos. This is meant to encourage, teach and inspire. So please be kind.

Also – don’t feel like you have to participate every week. Come and go as you please. We won’t kick you out if you do every letter or if you just do ‘P’. I don’t like rules – can you tell?

I’m excited! I hope you guys are too. Let’s get practicing.

Print PDF