I am feelin’ this mocha biscuit cake, y’all. And I gotta tell ya: I have a soft spot for desserts that come together easily…and this dessert falls into that category.
No Bake Mocha Biscuit Cake
All Things Thursday: The Happiest Meal Edition
Hello Good People! Welcome to All Things Thursday!
It’s been an interesting week. I visited a highly questionable Burrito Box, made some reduced fat buffalo wings, and read up on some ridiculous food news. Wanna know what I found? Lean in closer and I’ll tell ya.
Apparently, there’s a McDonald’s in Pittsburg of the “highest” caliber. It seems that if you went through the drive thru and uttered the phrase “I’d like to order a toy,” your bag would contain a burger, fries and a side of heroin. Now, that’s some kind of Happy Meal! But don’t expect McDonald’s to do everything for ya…needles and lighters are not included. (Huffington Post)
As you might know, the Super Bowl is just a few days away. If you’re having people over perhaps you can impress them with a Snackadium. What’s that, you ask? A Snackadium is a collection of snacks and appetizers made to look like a football stadium. I’m pretty sure I don’t want to put in that kind of work but if you do, be sure to send me an invite. (Pillsbury)
On the recipe front…
Been thinking about making some Homemade Toffee for a while. I see a bacon version in my future. (Damn Delicious)
I might’ve mentioned before that I’m crazy about peanut butter. If you are too, join me in exploring 11 Recipes to Honor Peanut Butter. The Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Cupcakes look amazing! (Food52)
White pizza has never been my favorite, but this one has bacon. Perhaps, the tides are turning. (How Sweet It Is)
Chicken Fried Potatoes. Why didn’t I think of that? (Spoon Fork Bacon)
I love to snack on chips and dip not just on Game Day, but any day. Shake it up a bit with 11 Game Changing Chips and Dips. (Food52)
That’s it for me, folks. Report to your Super Bowl battle stations. Here’s to hoping your Game Day eats are better than the actual game.
I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everyone.
Bill Cosby
Reduced Fat Buffalo Wings: Behind the Scenes
This shoot was lame. I thought it was going to be a cakewalk, but it took me a couple of hours and a 100 frames to get some decent stuff.
As I’ve said before, knowing the nature of an object (textured, translucent, transparent etc) is everything when it comes to food and still life photography. I went into this with a lighting plan for textured objects but ended up photographing a bunch of reduced fat buffalo wings with a highly reflective sauce. Unfortunately, it took an hour and a lot of awful photos before I realized I had everything setup wrong.
When I was doing the research for this post, I noticed that practically every hot wing shot on the web was terrible. I should have taken note that photographing buffalo wings might be a challenge, but I assumed I was better than every other photographer in the world and I would kill it. It was a classic case of arrogance meets stupidity.
Here’s the thing that makes buffalo wings a headache to shoot: With the sauce, they’re mirrored objects that reflect everything around them. In other words, you don’t shoot the wings, you shoot the reflections.
In order to get some nice reflections, I moved a light panel right up against the buffalo wings and lit everything from the side. I then placed a large white board opposite the panel to add a few more reflections. In the end, the buffalo wings looked 3D because they had bright specular highlights from the light panel and soft white shadows from the bounce card.
All in all, I was happy with the final result, and will be ready and humble the next time I have to shoot some wings.
Technical
Camera: Nikon D90
Lens: Tamron 17-50mm 2.8
Strobes: White Lightning x1600
Tripod: Manfrotto
ISO: 200
Focal Length: 50mm
Shutter: 100
Aperture: f/11
Reduced Fat Buffalo Wings
The Super Bowl is almost here!
Are you excited? Are you ready to stuff your face with super-fatty, artery-clogging, crazy delicious food?
I’m assuming that you’re nodding your head excitedly and thinking about the many beers you will drink with a mountain of spicy, buttery, this-is-what-I-was-really-waiting-for chicken wings.
This year I want you to take it in a different direction. I’m thinking…yes, to delicious, mouth watering buffalo wings, but no to the deep fryer and expanding your jeans 2 sizes.
Let’s make some reduced fat buffalo wings.
Stop laughing! I’m serious.
America’s Test Kitchen came up with a recipe that’s so crazy-good, I called my mom and told her she could still have buffalo wings on her diet. After she blew my eardrums with screams of joy, I went back to the recipe. Compared to a typical serving of Buffalo Wings, these wings have 50% less fat and 45% less calories per serving. Wtf?
I’m thinking…if I’m saving calories on wings, I can drink way more beer, right? Now, that’s what I’m talkin’ about!
Happy Super Bowl!
Recipe for Reduced Fat Buffalo Wings
Recipe from America’s Test Kitchen: Best Recipes and Reviews 2014
Reduced Fat Buffalo Wings
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Note: Use a mild flavored hot sauce or it will be very spicy. Make sure your wings are dry before coating with salt and baking powder.
Author: Christie Morrison, America's Test Kitchen
Serves: 4
Ingredients
- 3 lbs chicken wings, cut at joints, wingtips discarded, trimmed (I used 2¾ lbs)
- 1 T baking powder
- ½ t salt
- ⅔ c Frank's RedHot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce
- 1 T unsalted butter, melted
- 1 T molasses
Instructions
- Adjust rack to middle position.
- Preheat oven to 475 degrees.
- Set metal rack in aluminum foil lined rimmed baking sheet.
- Pat wings dry with paper towels.
- Toss wings with salt and baking powder.
- Arrange wings in single layer on rack.
- Roast wings for about 40 minutes or until golden on both sides, flipping halfway through. (I did 45 minutes)
- Meanwhile, whisk hot sauce, butter, and molasses in large bowl. ( I used a measuring cup)
- Remove wings. Adjust oven rack 6 inches from broiler element.
- Broil for 6-8 minutes until golden on both sides, flipping halfway through. (I did 6 minutes)
- Add wings to sauce and toss to coat. ( I poured sauce directly onto wings and tossed to coat)
- Serve.
Reduced Fat Buffalo Wings: Behind the Scenes
To find out how this was photographed, check out Dave’s post – Reduced Fat Buffalo Wings: Behind the Scenes
Burrito Box: What Was I Thinking?
Ok….here’s what I was thinking.
There’s a machine that doles out warm burritos in West Hollywood. No matter what I have to check it out.
Also, I was thinking…I don’t wanna drive or take pictures, so I guess I’ll bring Dave along.
This place must’ve been the nicest gas station store on the planet. You can’t tell from the outside, but inside they had rows and rows of designer whole grain tortilla chips and European refreshments. Think Whole Foods meets the Gas ‘n Sip.
Anyway, Dave and I waited our turn as a hipster gent tried to order a vegetarian burrito. His girlfriends discussed their lactose issues.
“I can’t have cheese or sour cream.” the tall one exclaimed.
We waited.
We were entertained by a music video during the interim. Did I mention that the Burrito Box wants you to dance while you wait for mediocrity? No? Well, it does.
“That’s mighty kind of them.” I thought.
Not sure why I started thinking like a farm hand, but it doesn’t matter. It was our turn, so we stepped up to the plate.
Dave and I ordered the Free Range Chicken Burrito. How could it go wrong? The burrito came from happy chickens. Our total came to $3.98.
We waited some more; but at least our ears were blessed by the soothing sounds of percussion-filled techno. Ugh.
Our burrito was ready.
Looked alright in the package, but then we took it out and good lord! The burrito was damp. Damp! It was like the Burrito Box’s cooking method of choice was steam. I took a bite and was completely unimpressed. The chicken was flavorless and the moist tortilla takes you aback.
Perhaps, a bit of hot sauce would help.
It didn’t.
There’s no picture of the burrito. I didn’t want to be reminded of what I’d tasted.
To alleviate my what-was-I-thinking moment, Dave took me to Greenblatt’s, arguably the best pastrami sandwich joint in L.A. When you come for a visit, skip the Burrito Box and go straight there. Order the #7 and look for the happy chick in the booth behind you. That’ll be me.
Stove Top Popcorn: Behind the Scenes
A shoot like this is all about the highlights. When photographing white reflective objects with a digital camera, maintaining tone and texture in the highlight areas is paramount. Read More…