Sunday, April 22, 2012

Rustic Rose Marzipan

Long, LONG ago, (as in 20-30 years ago), Sunset magazine published a delicious recipe for home- made marzipan. I carefully tore out the page and kept it for years, but alas, I must have lost it somewhere along the winding road of my life.

Well, I've taken the idea of that recipe and turned it on it's head a bit.

So here's my unique take on home-made marzipan. Instead of a really fine grind on the almonds, I grind them a bit more coarsely, just to get that yummy nutty flavor going on.

When adding flavoring to the mixture, it's much more typical to use orange flower water or almond extract. But I've been experimenting a bit. I've found that rose water mixes very well with the almonds for a delicate and wonderful new flavor.

And in an homage to the original Sunset recipe, I shaped the candies just as they did long ago, into little loaves of "bread."

Rustic Rose Marzipan

Ingredients:

1 cup blanched almonds
2 cups of powdered sugar
1 tbsp + 1 tsp rose water (found in ethnic or specialty food markets)
4 tbsp of corn syrup

Place the almonds in a food processor.
Grind for approximately 1 minute until the almonds resemble fine crumbs.
Add 1 and 1/2 cups of the powdered sugar, the rose water and the corn syrup and process until the mixture resembles a thick paste.
Turn the mixture into a mixing bowl.
Knead the dough in the bowl, and, if needed, mix the remaining powdered sugar in little by little. Knead until the dough is smooth, pliable and not sticky anymore.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Shape the marzipan mixture and place on the parchment. The dough can be shaped into balls, fruits, animals, breads or whatever you like. Let dry for 2 hours. And enjoy!

Friday, April 20, 2012

Dates with Blue Cheese and Honey


Dates with Blue Cheese and Honey
Originally uploaded by pixelish

Going to the dark side here! A nice dark background with one light source really creates a mood for the food.

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

New Video from Wiley!

Hey! Wiley has put together a new little video for my book, "Food Styling and Photography For Dummies." Check it out at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NTtFxyBP_s

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Blueberries, Paris France


Blueberries, Paris France
Originally uploaded by pixelish

Check out the lovely color on these blueberries from an open market in St Germain de Pres. There was a lot of moisture in the air, (it was just about to rain), and the droplets diffused the light beautifully.

Saturday, April 7, 2012

Fruit Tarts in Luxembourg

Found these phenomenally delicious fruit tarts at a GREAT boulangerie while bicycling through Luxembourg today. Noticed the window light and ducked inside to take some images of the rustic sweets.

FYI- I think it's always the right thing to do to ask before taking images in a shop. It is rare that you will get turned turned down.

Thursday, April 5, 2012

On the road in France

This week finds me off on an adventure traveling the countryside in France. Woohoo! Yesterday I stayed at an Alain Ducasse-curated chateau in Etoges. The room itself was quite small and charming and the dinner was beyond faboush!!

And, as we are in Champagne country over here, today involved visiting various Champagne houses large and small. Really prefer the small, boutique vintners outside of Epernay. Elegant champagnes and quiet hospitality.

Photos are coming soon...!