Making it look good

Lately, I've been paying more attention to food photography, especially in blogs and Foodie mags. One of my favorite food blogs, Smitten Kitchen, has fantastic food photography, so do my favorite magazines: Food and Wine and Bon Appetit. This is a great guide for anyone who is interested in documenting their culinary adventure. Now I just need to master my camera, ~sigh~.

 One of the keys to good food photography is setting. This, of course, includes the background and the lighting, but another important part of setting is the setting. Table setting, that is. As a poor starving student/cook/designer, I didn't have much in the way of nice dishes. Since dish sets are 'effing expensive, I went to Home Sense and bought one of a bunch of things. It was just over $30 for all of these. 

I got 4 different shaped bowls and 2 different plates, so I can mix and match with different fabrics and create some great table settings. There's usually just one or two of us eating, so having one of everything isn't an issue. 

After I got my beautiful new dishes home, I didn't waste any time before putting them to good use. For lunch, I made a delicious variation on Penne Alfredo. The alfredo recipe is a modified version of Kraft's "Smarter Alfredo", which uses chicken broth as a base (instead of butter). But don't worry, I fattened it back up with lots of cheese. Recipe is here...

Penne Alfredo with Sauteed Spinach and Mushrooms with a Roasted Paprika Chicken Breast

Alfredo Sauce

3/4 Cup Chicken Broth

1/4 Cup Cream Cheese

1 Tbsp. Flour

1 Clove Garlic, Crushed

1/4 Cup Grated Parmesan (Fresh!)

1/3 Cup Grated Mozzarella

1 Cup Spinach, packed

2 Large White Mushrooms

2 tsp Olive Oil

Oven-Roasted Chicken Breast, seasoned with paprika and pepper

2 Person portion of Cooked Penne (about 3 cups cooked)

Chives, for garnish

Directions:

To make the sauce, bring the chicken broth to a low boil, and whisk in the cream cheese, flour and garlic. Once it's thickened a little, stir in the cheeses, and keep warm until the Pasta and Chicken breast are ready.

Sautee the spinach and mushrooms in the olive oil, and set aside. Mix the Penne with the alfredo sauce, and divide between 2 bowls, and top with the spinach and mushrooms. Slice the chicken breast, and lay attractively across the spinach and mushrooms. Top with chives, freshly grated parmesan and cracked black pepper. 

I need a hobby, or something.

Watermelon Sangria

This is what I did today, in order of execution:

- Watched Sex and the City
- Thought about steak, a lot
- Went to go buy steak
- Ate steak
- Watched more Sex and the City

I haven't been motivated to cook anything recently (except Steak), but do have some pictures to share of things I've made over the past few weeks (but no recipes).

For the boyfriend's birthday last month, I made a picnic to have at English Bay. Here's the Spinach Salad with Shrimp and Scallops. 

Fig and Kalamata Tapenade. 

Tapenade on canapes with goat's cheese and walnuts. 

A couple weeks ago, I visited my mom in  Kelowna. 

I cooked up a storm. 

BBQed shrimp skewers

Herbed Mushrooms

Eggs baked in Tomatoes with Emmenthal and Dill

Country Apple Sausage

Ebelskivers with Apple Sauce, Tomatoes and Sausage

This is how I made the eggs for the bennys... they got put in plastic bags with grated cheese and green onions, then boiled til softish. 

Chive and Emmenthal Eggs Benedict on Croissants with Roasted Garlic 

and Goat's Cheese with Sauteed Spinach, Roasted Red Pepper Hollandaise 

and Smoked Oysters (Original Creation)