a lesson in food

Last week, the pressure was on as the topic of the studio workshop was FOOD. During the days that spanned between sessions, I wondered, too often, what edibles to bring for the shoot. I considered rummaging through the goods at Flour (perfect excuse for a first visit) to collect a sheet of sweet treats. Then, I figured it’d be more me to cook something. If I cooked the props then I could share a recipe with you! Win-win. I do owe you that much, given my scattered posts since we opened the bar. 

When the day before the day arrived, I spent quiet moments at work, shuffling through recipes for inspiration. By the end of the day before the day, I returned home spent, and resolved to raid the kitchen for odds and ends to see what sort of ingredients would come together tastefully as well as photogenically. This truly was a recipe to whose appearance I paid mindful attention. Wheat dough for warm crust color. Red onion slivers absorbing the richness of balsamic vinegar. Browned sausage rounds puffed to flushing red. White sauce beneath heaps of golden melting mozzarella. While I laid out the pizza, I relished the calm that quakes when culinary meditation sets in.

I did fret while the lot baked on a pizza pan. What if the display did not muster the same satisfaction as the aromas? Twenty minutes later, I had my response. All would be well; however, I would have to wait until after the workshop the next evening to snag a taste of the white pizza. All throughout the shoot, I laughed in mind at how the look was just what I wanted, but I had no flipping clue how the pizza tasted! At about 10:00 that night, I finally plucked a slice from the pan and took greedy, breathy bites to sate the hunger that had been welling for hours. Not too shabby. The spicy chicken sausage is a good match to the mellow, creamy Alfredo sauce. The onions lose all of their bite and are sweet and candied with dark balsamic stickiness. The wheat crust from Trader Joe’s is sweet and nutty.    

Here are loose instructions for this white pizza. I didn’t measure anything, I went by what I had around and how loaded I wanted the slices to appear.

Place the oven rack in the middle and heat the oven to 425 degrees.
Lightly dust flour upon one ball of wheat dough and press the dough to an imperfect flat rectangle measuring approximately 8in x 4in.
Spread about the dough one cup of Alfredo sauce, leaving the edge (soon-to-be crust) naked.
Slice four chicken sausages into rounds and heat them to browning in a pan. Let cool on a paper towel-lined plate.
Sauté slivers of one small red onion in a pan slick with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, until the slices are flimsy and dark with absorbed vinegar.
Layer a couple of cups of shredded mozzarella cheese over the sauce, mindful of the crust edges. Dot the pizza with the sausage rounds. Fill in the white gaps between the sausages with the onions. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the cheese and crust are slightly brown. Remove from oven and let stand for a few minutes so all may settle into place before cutting.

I do have a favor to ask of you now…I am submitting one of these photos to a scholarship contest. I need your help in selecting which one I should choose. I only have about a week to decide, so please let me know, when you have a moment, which one you like best by replying in the Comments section. Much thanks!!

option 1

option 2

option 3

option 4

option 5

lessons in glass and reflection

Here are two photos from the workshops over the past two weeks. The first is a bottle shot alongside a water martini adorned by a curly lemon ring that The Bartender taught me how to prepare moments before I left for class. I’d like for the exposure to be slightly different, but I thought I’d share even those shots that I’m still picky about.

The second photo — shot just hours ago — is a lesson in reflective objects. Of course I had to tote a few of my favorite props with me for this round. And, despite being rundown from a lousy workday, taking the wrong subway train (yes, it still happens after living in this familiar city for many years) walking sweaty blocks to the next station to take the correct train, arriving harried and all out of sorts, I shed away the day as soon as my partner and I started styling her darling salvaged baking wares, purchased for $3.16. 

Next week…FOOD! Could I be any more excited? 

a lesson in texture

I’ve been doing a lot of soul searching of late. Thus, the silence here. Don’t fret. I still am very immersed in my adoration of all things culinary and sippable. Right now, I’ve decided to take a leap into the unknown. I enrolled in a studio photography workshop at a local photography school in Boston. (Please note that I did so while also attending an online editing course!) I suppose when I feel a bit lost, I take a class. Anyway, back to this workshop…

As I’ve only shot ambient light, I wanted to tackle my curiosity of the studio. The hefty gear. The hot lights. All so unfamiliar. Daunting. Energizing. Peaceful. Ugh. After two meetings, I am hooked. Now, I stalk the B & H catalog. Graze my favorite magazines for shots whose style I covet. Browse other photogs’ Web sites like an eager student wanting to learn all the ropes at once. I wonder about shooting portraits. Perfecting the frosty cocktail image. Hope to find a new sense of creative self between the black curtains that shield the space I’m returning to one night a week.

And, as I’ve shared so much else about my pursuits with you all over these few years, I just had to share all of this now. My mom said that she hasn’t heard me this jazzed up about anything. In a long time. Maybe ever. I suppose that’s the feeling I’ve been seeking. I walk into the studio, let the woe of the week dust off, and I get to work. I’m finding myself there. Huh. 

Thank you for encouraging me to explore my photography. Yes, you all had something to do with this decision. Your comments over time have been much appreciated. I listened.

Here is one shot from the first lesson. Texture. I brought some familiar props and others new. Lovely lil precious roses recently dried. (Is it bad/morbid of me to buy roses because I know they’ll dry beautifully?) 

Here we are, my friends, my first lesson in texture.