Grilled Artichokes with Lemon, Garlic & Parmesan Aioli

There's nothing quite like fresh, in-season artichokes. I'm willing to argue that they're the prettiest produce in all of the land. In fact, they are so beautiful that I photographed them before and after cooking them. This recipe is posted on my food photography blog -- so head on over!

The B E S T Waffles

You guys, I've come across the best waffle recipe ever. I'm not kidding. I simply had to share this one with you. You should make these tomorrow morning -- better yet make breakfast for dinner tonight. 

These are lighter than the average waffle with the perfect crisp to chewy ratio. I couldn't remember the last time I had eaten a waffle but something came over me yesterday. I had a craving that could only be satisfied by homemade waffles with melted butter and real syrup.

I think the real key to keeping these waffles fluffy and light in the center are the whipped egg whites. Sure, it's a little extra work - but I think it made all of the difference.

 

Recipe (yields 7 medium waffles):

Ingredients: 

1 1/3 cups flour
4 tsps baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsps sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 eggs - separated
1/2 cup melted butter  

1 3/4 cups milk

1 lemon (juice and zest)

Directions:
Whisk all dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. Separate the egg whites from the egg yolks. Add the yolks to the dry mixture and put the whites in a separate small mixing bowl. Beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. I suggest using a hand mixer for this, as doing this by hand would require some serious muscle. Add milk, lemon juice and zest and melted butter to dry ingredient mixture and mix thoroughly in a stand mixer or with a hand mixer. Fold (gently stir in) egg whites into mixture. For my waffle iron I used just under 3/4 cups of the batter.

 

*Tip: Keep waffles warm by resting them side-by-side (do not stack) on a cookie sheet in an oven set to 275.
*Bonus tip: use measuring cups to determine the exact amount of batter your waffle iron requires for the perfect waffle that doesn't overflow. I found that just eyeballing it makes it nearly impossible to get consistent waffles.

Enjoy and please let me know if you give these a try!

Food Photography Behind The Scenes

How do you take your food photos? It's one of the questions that I get asked most frequently by other bloggers. There are several important components, but I can't stress enough that it's virtually impossible to take appetizing food photos without great lighting.

For some of us, beautiful light can be found by propping a table up near a window. Even if you're using your cellphone to snap a pic of your latest recipe, natural light will give your photo dimension and make it look more true-to-life.

Here in lies the problem for many of us. What if we cook in the evening? The sun is usually down when I'm ready to serve dinner. This is what fueled my desire for an artificial lighting setup.

It was important to me that this setup be inexpensive, small enough to fit on my dining room table, easy to setup/ put away and that it was made with items that I could repurpose.

I was lucky enough to take a food photography course where I gained some great tips from my very talented instructor. Today I'm sharing what I've learned coupled with some of my own ideas that have worked well for me.

This lighting setup should take about 10 minutes to assemble, has only five components and costs less than $50! Here's what you'll need:

1.) 500 watt halogen work light. Most home improvement stores carry these for around $10.

2.) 5-in-1 reflector. I purchased mine here for under $20. You could also make a diffuser using things in your own home like a white bed sheet or t-shirt. I chose a 5-in-1 because I could use it for other photography purposes.

3.) Muslin clamps. They carry these at most home improvement stores or you can buy them here.

4.) White foam core board.

5.) Duct tape (I find myself constantly in awe by its limitless uses).


How to setup:

I use my dining room table, but any table large enough for what you are photographing would suffice.

1.) Set up two chairs (or anything sturdy and free standing) against the table. Put the chairs about the width of the diffuser apart. Clamp the diffuser to the chairs.

Hint: The diffuser is the inside part of the 5-in-1 when you unzip the reflector.

2.) Place the work light on another chair or step ladder behind diffuser (careful not to put it too close).

Tip: Experiment with the direction of light. Changing between backlighting and lighting from the side changes the feel and quality of light on your food. I usually do a variety of set ups for each dish so that I have more to choose from.

Caution: The work light gets very hot while on. Be careful not to touch it or to put it near anything flammable.

3.) Make reflectors out of foam core board and duct tape. Do this by cutting the foam core board in half. Reassemble the foam core board by wrapping it on the inside seam with duct tape (like a book). This will allow you to bend the foam core board and to use it as a free standing reflector (see picture above).

Tip: Experiment with how raising and moving the light may cause shadows and/or may change the way the light hits the food. I usually find myself moving the light around a little bit to get it exactly where I want it. Sometimes I stack a couple of books underneath it to get it at the proper height. If you see any unappealing shadows on your dish or on the table, adjust the placement of your foam core board reflectors.

4.) Set up food and props on table, turn on light, arrange reflectors where appropriate and get snapping!
 

Bonus Tips:

Once you've taken the leap to create a lighting setup, there are several things that you can do that will improve your food photos. I totally understand that not everyone has the budget for the list below. I took these things on over the course of two years, so please don't let this list overwhelm you:

Shoot in manual mode. Nothing gives you more creative control. If you shoot in auto your camera may expose the image based on the light coming from the window or from your work light. This can make your food underexposed/ dark. Check out my tutorials on shooting in manual here, here and here. There are tons of great YouTube videos out there that should get you started.

Start collecting food related props. I buy vintage cooking utensils at thrift stores and dishes that I love at places like Target and Homegoods. I collect cloth napkins and fabric scraps to fold to look like napkins. Different place mats are a great way to add texture to a photo. I recently purchased faux wood table tops on Amazon and am happy with the way they have changed up my photos.

Get creative with styling. I usually saturate my mind with food images that inspire me. This means visiting some of my favorite food blogs and looking at magazines and food photography books. I study what it is about the image that I love and think of ways to use them as inspiration moving forward. I plan on sharing more about styling in a future post.

Edit your photos. I know everyone doesn't have the budget to purchase editing software but, If you're ready to invest some money into creating quality images I suggest using Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. I took a fantastic online course geared towards Lightroom that really took my editing to the next level called, Super Photo Editing Skills.




I packed in a lot of information, so please feel free to comment with any questions that you might have.

Best Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies

I believe everyone should have a scratch-made chocolate chip cookie recipe in their repertoire. This one comes from my mama, which was inspired by Ghiradelli. 

 

Last week, our long time family friends came for a visit. We chose to bake up some chocolate chip cookies. Is there a better way to bond and catch up than cooking together in the kitchen? I think not.

After all of our hard work (and some taste testing) we ended up with the perfectly warm, gooey yet crisp, melty, chocolatey goodness below.

Recipe yields 4 dozen cookies

 

Ingredients: 

11 1/2 ounces chocolate chips (we love the Ghiradelli premium semi sweet chips)
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
3 teaspoons vanilla
2 large eggs
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup sugar
2 1/4 cups unsifted flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Heat oven to 375ºF. Stir flour, baking soda and salt together; set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter with sugar and brown sugar until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla to sugar/butter mixture, one at a time and mix on low until incorporated. Gradually add and blend dry mixture into cream mixture. Stir in chocolate chips by hand. Drop tablespoons of cookie dough onto cookie sheets. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown.

Enjoy!