FOOD STYLING AND REAL LIFE

Some of my favorite things

2012-01-17T12:18:00.000-05:00

This time of year is pretty hectic in the evening, and dinner is had on the fly. Bad lighting brought to you by a sun that sets around 4pm also hampers my ability to provide quality pictures. I was going to prepare Prosciutto Wrapped Chicken Thighs for dinner tonight, but I realized that there would be no time, and so I will prepare a salad consisting of baby spinach, sheep's milk greek style

Last Minute Christmas Baking

2011-12-22T15:36:00.002-05:00

Here are 3 Christmas cookie recipes that are easy and yield good results: Vanilla Almond Crescents Really Good Rum Balls (I coated them in chocolate instead of sprinkles) Traditional Shortbread (Add 1 tbsp (15 ml ) grated orange rind to flour mixture, shape into logs and crescents, and decorate with melted chocolate) The above picture also contains 2 more time consuming recipes:

Those in between Holiday Meals: Fast with Few ingredients

2011-11-14T13:15:00.001-05:00

I personally have no need for more holiday entertaining recipes. I have so many already and can access pretty much anything I feel like trying on reliable web sites like Marthastewart.com, BBC food, Epicurious.com and so on. What I think we all could use more of is really quick recipes for those meals that fall in-between holiday meals. The day before you are hosting Christmas dinner you spend

Fish, Potato and Spinach Casserole from Ricardo

2011-11-10T11:01:00.001-05:00

Needing inspiration for dinner once again I turned to Ricardo (Volume 10 number 1)) for a week night super recipe. I had some rainbow trout on hand and a lot of spinach and decided to try this casserole out. What I like about this casserole is that the layering of the fish fillets in the middle cooks them perfectly and keeps the fillets moist. Next time I would like to try adding a

Chestnut & Potato Soup

2011-10-28T13:24:00.000-04:00

Why am I cooking with chestnuts? I have several cans of whole, pureed and creamed sweetened chestnuts leftover from a food styling contract, and I am trying to put them to good use. Chestnuts are not in my repertoire and the only other time I have cooked with them is in a stuffing recipe for another job. Before that I enjoyed roasted chestnuts sold on the streets of London and that

Yellow Squash Risotto with Yellow Squash Flowers

2011-10-05T16:13:00.017-04:00

A friend of mine told me about a dish that her father makes that includes yellow squash and the flowers. I still had those elements in my garden so I decided to make it for lunch yesterday. It was risotto for one while I worked, but it was still a great meal. Risotto does not require constant stirring, and it is possible to whip some up for a working lunch as I proved yesterday.We were

Squash at Atwater Market

2011-09-29T15:32:00.008-04:00

Here are a few pictures I took of squash while desperately looking for mache lettuce at 7:30 am for a photo shoot I was working on that day. I did not find any, but had as a precaution bought a mache mix the night before and we were able to find enough photogenic mache to get the shot.These guys are enormous by the way...it's hard to tell with no point of reference, but take my word for it you

Italian Sausage, Garden Vegetable Pasta with Spinach, Fresh Goat Cheese and Almonds

2011-08-31T19:50:00.014-04:00

I have been craving spinach lately, and not the triple washed baby spinach that seems to be the only spinach in our fridge these last few years, but the larger more mature deep green leaves that were the terror of my childhood. Ask my mom and she will tell you that as a child I hated spinach in any form. I do remember it being sneaked into a quiche once when I was 8. I ate it unknowingly, but

Pozole Blanco

2011-08-30T14:53:00.021-04:00