Bitter and Fierce - Fun with Candied Grapefruit

I've taken Smitten Kitchen's attempt at candied grapefruit as my challenge of the week. And, oh, it is a mighty challenge.

I tried to boil and sugar the translucent gems into submission, but yeah, just like SK, I find the grapefruit turns out bitter as heck. No way around it.

I may chop up the remainders tomorrow and mix them with something sweet (naval oranges?) to make an uber marmalade. If at first you don't succeed...

Portrait of a Morning Bun

There are gargantuan numbers of folks doing food photography these days. Now that I am actually lucky enough to have a chance to turn my focus back to photography, I'm faced with a dilemma. How do I differentiate my work from the rest of the pack? It's a really good question.

Maybe I'll start with this... I'm thinking of doing a series of food "portraits" after the Old Masters. Perhaps another trip to Amsterdam is in order. I get so inspired by the light there. And the art. And the pancakes.

Cappuccino with Sugar

Good morning, sunshine : )  Just wanted to share a lovely, foamy cappuccino with you on this wonderful Wednesday.

Simple Candied Orange Peel

One of my favorite sweetical holiday treats... candied orange peel! When talking about candied peel, you have a decision to make. You can either pay $8 or so for a few ounces of the delicate deliciousness from Whole Foods, or you can invest a little time and a couple of bucks to DIY and make about two cups of the sparkling goodness.

My fave recipe is the perfect no-nonsense version found over at Epicurious - http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/simple-candied-orange-peel-350798

What they don't mention is the incredible bonus you'll get from making the peels. The leftover sugar and water solution the peels are cooked in? Omg- it's the best orange syrup EVER! Try the syrup slathered over pancakes. Yum! Or try mixing it with sparkling water for an elegant, continental soda.

I suspect even Julia would approve. So, in that case... Bon appetit!

Sugary Beignets

These sugary sweet beignets have a secret inside! There is homemade pear jam lurking just under the fried deliciousness. Mmmm... what an unusual and yummy flavor.

The presentation also caught my eye — the fried morsels are laid out in a worn, rustic toolbox. Captured at the Farmer's Market outside of the Ferry Building in San Francisco.

Hand Whipped Cream

Wow. Forgot what it was like to actually make whipped cream by hand. It's just two wonderful ingredients, 1 cup of heavy cream and 1/3 cup of sugar. Using a hand wisk, wisk it up for about 12 minutes or so, or until the cream gets thick and forms peaks.

Talk about scrumptious, wow.  Happy Thanksgiving you all!

Birthday Cake

Birthday Cake
Originally uploaded by pixelish
Decided to approach this cake from a very low angle. And wanted super selective focus just on that chocolate frosting swirl and the edge of the cake. Quite happy with this unusual look.

Oh, and the cake? Delish!

Raisin Pastries Paris

Raisin Pastries Paris
Originally uploaded by pixelish
These raisin pastries are similar to cinnamon buns, but with a delicious twist. They use a flaky French pastry for the dough to make them ultra light and uber yummy.

I think I may try to reverse engineer the recipe for these delicate morsels... they were just too good!

Raspberries, Pancakes and Toothpicks, Oh My!

Playing with toothpicks today. Yes, toothpicks! You see, these raspberries were being a bit unruly when I set up this shot. I would just get the berries lined up correctly when they would decide to come tumbling off the pancake stacks. So I broke out the styling kit. About half of the raspberries are now securely anchored to the pancake stacks with toothpicks. Provides a great structure for difficult foods.

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!

Tilting towards yumminess

A wise man once told me a food photography secret... Never underestimate the power of a good tilt! Sometimes, just having a nice little tilt when shooting your food subject can make the difference between an ordinary photo and a extraordinary one. Mangia!