Jenn Cuisine » Photography

Sweet Potatoes with Chimichurri

Jenn — Thu, 10 May 2012 20:17:07 +0000

I prefer sweet potatoes over regular potatoes any day. Maybe it’s the bright cheerful color, or the subtle sweetness and richness of their flavor, I don’t know. Back in the States we would cook sweet potatoes at least once a week – here, however, they are a specialty food for us and I can only justify them every once in a while. Did we have a special occasion? Not really. I just saw a roasted potato recipe on my friend Simone’s food blog and knew I had to make it with sweet potatoes. Call it a sudden craving due to the coming baby, or just a random moment of “yum, sweet potatoes would be really great in this”. Whatever the reason, I knew it was sure to be a success

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Amateur’s Food Photography: 3 Reasons I Love My Tripod

Jenn — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 21:14:14 +0000

I know, I said this was a food photography post, and yet there is a pic of me and no food to be seen! Ha, but it’s the best one I’ve got of possibly one of my favorite pieces of photography equipment, and one I find myself calling essential when I do food photography – the tripod.

I first bought myself a tripod when I figured out that my tiny old apartment in grad school back in the day didn’t let in enough light and I found myself taking perpetually blurry images. I would end up wasting 50-100 frames on one image, just praying I could stay still long enough just once in order to get a picture in focus. Let me tell you, that is NOT fun! It’s much more fun to think about the photo rather than stressing out if I can hold my camera absolutely still.

But there are other advantages too – so let’s talk about the benefits of a tripod

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Bruschetta with Arugula Pesto

Jenn — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 17:11:28 +0000

This dish may be called bruschetta, but to me it is really all about the pesto. Maybe it’s because in my mind, bruschetta has always been a tomato based topping while growing up, and so it seems a bit weird to me to call this bruschetta, when there are no tomatoes. So instead, to me, this is an open-faced sandwich with pesto, mozz, and prosciutto (which only my husband could enjoy since cured meats are off limits for me for a while at least until the baby arrives). But hey, no matter what the nomenclature should be (and thanks to a friend I now know that bruschetta is be a very generic term for things served on bread in Italian, so calling this bruschetta is totally correct), it is a very tasty snack.

The slice of GF bread was fried in our grill pan with some butter, and then pesto was spread on, and topped with a few slices of buffalo mozzarella and some slices of prosciutto. This particular recipe called for arugula and basil as the base to the pesto, which was a nice combination. Personally, I think pesto can be made out of whatever greens you have around. No need to go for pricey basil when you could have spinach, or kale, or arugula, or a whole host of different greens. Parsley also works well for a nice bright and fresh flavor. As for the pine nuts, I don’t think pesto needs to be so particular about those either. I’ve easily substituted in walnuts, cashews, even sesame seeds. Can’t have cheese? No worries, just leave out the grated parm. I think pesto can be extremely flexible in that sense – the only thing I won’t compromise on is garlic, because well, garlic is the main reason I make pesto in the first place

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Cream of Jerusalem Artichoke and Celeriac Soup

Jenn — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:26:19 +0000

Forgive me for yet another soup recipe, but we are going on week two of not even coming close to escaping sub-freezing temps here, and soup just has that way of warming you up – the wind is blustering outside, frost snowflakes are whipping at your face and you realize that you are doubting the efficacy of all that cold weather gear wrapped around you, wondering if you’ve accidentally misplaced yourself and suddenly ended up amidst an Antarctic expedition in a condition 1 blizzard. Ok, clearly I am being overly dramatic. But it did dip to below -20º C (-4º F) in several parts of Switzerland last weekend, and in my book, that’s cold. And that type of cold calls for soup.

As I sit here in my home, safely sheltered from the unforgiving chill outside, I remember that I love winter. I love it for getting an excuse to cuddle up with my husband and a cup of tea, under a blanket together watching a movie. I love the familiar comfort of wearing my grandmother’s woolen scarf and knowing that even though she was buried a long time ago and her body rests on the other side of the world, her spirit is always with me, and that scarf will always bring me the happiest memories of her. And I love winter for the way my breath decorates the air with a miniature cloud upon every exhale, as if the very air were spinning a tale to tell us all by a warm fire. And I love it for the snow, and the way it sparkles in the sunshine.

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DMBLGIT Jan 2012 – The Winners

Jenn — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 23:30:10 +0000

I want to thank everyone who entered for such an amazing turnout and quality of entries – there were 61 – yes, 61!! – total submissions for this month’s DMBLGIT. I had such a great time hosting this month’s event and getting to see all of your wonderful images – you all truly are so inspiring, thanks so much for entering and letting me host this month. And thanks so much to Sarka, Simone, Veronika and Alessandro for being such great judges and putting forth the time and effort to go through all of the entries.

Not sure what DMBLGIT is? Read my announcement post from earlier this month detailing the event.
You can also read about and meet the judges for this month’s event.
You can also check out the Picasa album to see all the 61 submissions.

So without further ado, let’s see who won!

Overall Winners:

1st Place: Monika from Sweet Sensation: Cranberry & Rosemary Shortbread Cookies

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Creamy Cauliflower Soup

Jenn — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 22:04:54 +0000

Cauliflower – a vegetable I grew up with, and wasn’t often thrilled about. Mom you know I love you, but I do not love the way you like most of your veggies cooked.

However, on my quest to enjoy more fresh produce this Winter season, I’m giving it a try again. Cauliflower seems to abound in the markets right now and as fortune would have it, my friend Simone chose a lovely cauliflower recipe for this month’s Donna Hay Styling and Photography Challenge (DHSPC). I enjoy participating in these challenges because they always make me reach and do something new that I might not otherwise try. In this case, that meant not only the photo but also the recipe featuring heads of cauliflower! In fact, in the near four years that this blog has been on the interwebs, today marks the first time cauliflower has ever even appeared on Jenn Cuisine, let alone received a spotlight feature.

This month, Simone challenged us all to make a creamy cauliflower soup, which appeared in Donna Hay issue #51 (June/July 2010) and was photographed by Ben Dearnley. The soup was wonderful – cauliflower and potatoes cooked together in broth and milk and puréed until velvety smooth. A perfect Winter bowl, better than plain boiled veggies. And even naturally gluten free!

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DMBLGIT Jan 2012 – The Judges

Jenn — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 19:22:43 +0000

Thanks everyone so much for all of your participation! The deadline is officially passed and the album of entries is up on Picasa - there are some great looking food images! Today I am introducing to you the fabulous judges that will be evaluating all of the entries. These judges are food photographers and food bloggers I look up to and admire for not only their talent but also their generosity and willingness to help others; I am sure they will take a great critical eye to pick out the winners for this month’s DMBLGIT

So without further ado, here they are! Go check out their portfolios of amazing work, follow them on twitter, facebook, etc. A great group and I’m super excited to announce them to you!

Veronika Studer -

Portfolio: www.veronikastuder.com
Blog: The Kitchen Finesse
Facebook : Veronika Studer

I’m a Hungarian girl living in Switzerland with my hubby and my beautiful 5 month old little girl. I always had a great interest in art. I learned how to draw and paint, but I really found myself through photography. I combine my two great passions in my work, food preparation and photographing. I also write both a Huingarian (Édes és Keserű) and an English blog called The Kitchen Finesse. If you want to take a look on my portfolio please visit my website: www.veronikastuder.com , and join me on Facebook. I’m really looking forward to see some wonderful photographs in this contest! Good luck!

Simone van den Berg -

Portfolio: Freshfood Photos
Blog: Junglefrog Cooking
Twitter : @junglefrog
Facebook : junglefrogcooking or junglefrog
Google+ : Simone van den Berg

I’m located in Almere, which is in the middle of Holland and not one of the best culinary locations on the Netherlands unfortunately. I started blogging about 3 years ago now and ultimately I think that doing that has made a huge difference in my professional career too. I knew virtually nothing about food photography (have a look at those earlier photos for a good laugh!) when I started blogging, even though I was already working as a photographer at that time. In fact I didn’t start out with a food blog, I think I named it something like Junglefrog Adventures. Can’t remember exactly. It took me only a couple of posts though to realize that I wanted to write about food. Doing that in the end let to my interested in food photography and a change in career plans too. Last year food photography has been roughly 50% of my total work, and so far the month of January has been food only!

Alessandro Guerani -

Portfolio: Alessandro Guerani – fotografia
Blog: Foodografia
Twitter : @aleguerani
Facebook : Alessandro Guerani
Google+: Alessandro Guerani

Alessandro Guerani was born in 1969 in Bologna, Italy, where he still lives. He started using cameras at the age of twenty as a complement to his studies about medieval and Renaissance arts and history. His passion for the tastes and flavors of the traditional Italian cuisine, together with a period of assistantship in a professional studio, brought him to specialize in food and still life photography. His style is defined by the fresh and creative use of lighting, the careful choice of colors and contrast and the attention to the detail, which, together with a competent use of digital post processing techniques, create imagery with a very personal character. When the need arises he still uses traditional film, in medium or large format, especially when shooting lifestyle and street photography.

Sarka Babicka -

Portfolio: http://sarkababicka.com
Blog: http://cookyourdream.com
Twitter: @CookYourDream
Facebook: Cook Your Dream

Sarka is a London based food, lifestyle and travel photographer living in London since 2008. She was born and brought up in Prague, Czech Republic. Her passion for photography was ignited with the first photo she took for her blog Cook Your Dream. When not cooking, baking and taking mouth watering pictures, Sarka loves to travel and explore culinary art and traditions from other countries and cultures.

So there you have it, the ever talented judges for this month’s competition. Winners will be announced on January 31st!

*DMBLGIT is a monthly food blogging competition started by Andrew of Spittoon Extra. If you are unfamiliar with DMBLGIT, I encourage you to check out my announcement post detailing this month’s contest. If you missed the deadline for entering this month, I will be sure to link to next month’s host when I announce the winners, so that you can hopefully participate next time

Announcing – DMBLGIT Jan 2012

Jenn — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 07:58:59 +0000

It’s a new year, everyone has new goals, how about entering one of my favorite photography food blogging competitions?

I am honored to announce that I am hosting DMBLGIT (Does My Blog Look Good in This) this month! This has been one of my favorite food photography contests ever since I can remember falling in love with food blogging and photography online, and I’m so excited to announce it and this month and help to continue its awesomeness. It’s the longest running online food photography contest, dating back to 2005, each month showcasing a wealth of talent from food bloggers all over the web, conceived by Andrew of Spittoon Extra.

The rules are simple – enter your photo by the deadline, and an amazing lineup of judges that I have chosen this month (who will be revealed later this month) will judge the photos and choose the winners, who will receive pretty shiny badges to put on their site

Details below:

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On Resolutions.

Jenn — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 21:15:59 +0000

As a rule, I don’t make New Year’s resolutions.

New Year’s resolutions were made to be broken, or worse, completely abandoned. Do you know anyone who has ever actually kept a New Year’s resolution throughout an entire year? I don’t. The problem is that in order to carry out a resolution, there needs to be a certain urgent and necessary motivation to sustain it. Most of us create a resolution at New Year’s because it’s often a time of reflecting on our successes and trials over the past year, and so wanting to become better we say we are going to improve ourselves this year through “x”. It all seems well and good, but if you really felt a need to alter your life in some form, would you have waited all the way until New Year’s to make that happen?

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Amateur’s Food Photography: Basil and Prosciutto Corn Muffins

Jenn — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 19:25:33 +0000

Over the past couple of weeks I have been making these savory muffins. I could eat them for breakfast. Or with dinner. Heck even for dinner! They are surprisingly simple to make, and I think are sure to impress. I knew I would be excited about them the minute that Simone posted this recipe for this month’s Donna Hay Styling and Photography Challenge.

As always, the first obstacle is converting the recipe to gluten free – but being corn meal based, I knew this would not be difficult. I have made gluten free cornbread quite successfully on several occasions, and did not see any reason why these would pose any other difficulty. Since all of the recipes Simone has posted so far list the ingredients by weight, this makes the gluten free home cook’s life much easier to come up with a substitution – as I have been learning over the past year from participating in the gluten free ratio rally, often merely replacing the same weight of conventional flour with gluten free ingredients seems to work rather well. In this case, for the flour component, I used 2/3 rice flour and 1/3 potato starch – I kept the substitutions simple here rather than using a lot of varying ingredients because I knew gluten wasn’t really important in this recipe – it often isn’t in muffins and cakes – and so I didn’t have to worry about replicating all the culinary effects of gluten.

Next came one of my favorite parts of this blog, creating the photo!

I studied the original photo to first see what type of light was used and where it was coming from. To me light is always the most important feature so it’s what I try to figure out first, before anything else. The more I take the time to analyze food photos, the better I am able to glean what type of behind the scenes setup might have been used to create it. In this case, I look at where the shadows and bright spots are – I see a shadow around the lower left of each of the plates, and notice the sheen on the cakes also indicating that the light is coming from slightly back and right, around 2:00. The pepper shaker also gives clues – sometimes it’s easier to look at the shiniest (i.e. most reflective) element in a photo, because it will often giveaway highlights and shadows more obviously. To recreate the image though, I would need a background that was large and light colored – one that wouldn’t take away light and that wouldn’t distract from the food – I have no such background, so decided to manipulate the light slightly differently, by putting fabric over my windows and having the light coming from behind, in a way to replicate that background but still let a lot of light in. By angling the table 45 degrees to the window, I was still able to get a nice sheen on the cakes. A folded white foam core helped soften shadows on the left, and an aluminum tray that I held up reflected more light to the right side.

As for the styling/composition, I kept things fairly similar. A stack of muffins front and center (well, lower center), a plate in the background, a wine glass, and something off to the back left. Lacking pretty white plates like the original photo, I opted for metals ones that I had instead, and lined them with white napkins so that they would still be nice and light. The wine in the original was rather orange and honeyed looking, but not wanting to open up our fancy dessert wines from Piemonte just for a photo (which with a baby on the way I wouldn’t be able to enjoy anyways), I opted for not worrying so much about the color – in fact I lightly brewed green tea and poured that in the wine glass! Since the feature is the muffins, and this is not an ad in any way, I felt I only needed to bring about the feeling of wine and the fact that it was really tea was not so important. And lacking a silver pepper shaker, went with this pewter piece which I could envision being used to maybe spread honey or something on the muffins, and also omitted the napkin behind it. I did add food to the back plate – it just seemed empty without something there.

When it came to the treatment of the photo, I didn’t try to replicate the original at all, but went with what I felt I liked for the image I had created. I always like a bit of color and contrast, and I think that shows in most of the images I create. However what I have started playing with recently is white balance.

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