Mondo

Sugar Cookies

Sprinkles are adorable.

I’m not gonna lie. They’re cute as hell, but they’re totally not my thing.

You see, I’m a drop cookie fan. They’re easy, unfussy and if we’re talking about baking, those are two words I can get behind. Anyone who knows me knows I don’t like to decorate. I try and keep it simple, but I thought maybe, just maybe…I’d get a bit crazy with this one. And when I write ‘crazy’ I mean sprinkles galore! My goal was to make sugar cookies: simple, sweet and delectable. I kicked it up a bit with the sprinkles. As you can see from the first pic those things got away from me.

I read somewhere that bakers use honey or corn syrup to get the sprinkles to adhere to the cookie. I chose honey. That’s where it all went wrong. Honey is fantastic in my tea but most certainly not for decorating purposes. It was a nightmare. One I would never subject myself to again. In the future, I will use a simple icing made of powdered sugar and water. I’ve worked with that before and it’s a bit more manageable.

The upside of my minor dilemma is this is the best sugar cookie I’ve ever tasted. It comes together easily and keeps its shape, if rolled and chilled. It has the perfect amount of sweetness and is lovely with a cup of tea. Honestly, I prefer them unadorned…naked, if you will. It’s fun to dress things up but sometimes plain is just as adorable.

Sugar Cookies Photo Notes

by David

I now have a lot more respect for Jackson Pollock. This was supposed to be a quick shoot, but minutes turned into hours when we introduced chaos into the mix.

Gameplan

Mondo and I had high hopes for this shoot. With the bright colors and cool design, we thought these sugar cookies would look amazing on a pink or yellow surface.

Reality

Unfortunately, these looked awful on pink and yellow. In fact, the variety of colors clashed with everything. With my technicolor dreams quickly fading, I decided to move on to a neutral white acrylic.

Everything went well with the first setup, but the second shot with the sprinkles was a mess. As Mondo was setting up, I told her to leave the half empty cup on the table and took a quick test shot. The shot looked great, but I wanted a better composition and asked her to rearrange the sprinkles. This is when things took a turn for the worse.

No matter what Mondo did, the rearrangement never looked as good as the test shot. This normally wouldn’t be a problem, but trying to get a bunch of chaotic sprinkles into an organized design is friendship ending nightmare. After an hour or so of Mondo giving me the stinkeye, we finally got the shot with our friendship intact.

Lighting

This one was pretty simple. For the main light, I used a large light panel placed 45 degrees behind the sugar cookies to create texture and shape. The shadows were filled in with a white bounce card. To create a bit more specularity, I also added light from a silver umbrella for on-axis fill. Here is a lighting diagram with all the details:

Tech Notes

Camera: Nikon D90
Lens: Tamron 17-50mm 2.8
Strobes: White Lightning x1600
Tripod: Manfrotto
ISO: 200
Focal Length: 48mm
Shutter: 125
Aperture: f/13

Sugar Cookies Recipe

Recipe slightly adapted from CakeWalk

Sugar Cookies

Prep time

1 hour

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

1 hour 20 mins

Makes about 70, 1½ in cookies

Author: Peggy Porshen

Serves: 10-12

Ingredients

½ c + 6 T unsalted butter, room temperature, 200g
3 c + 3 T all purpose flour, 400g
1 c superfine sugar, 200g (place regular sugar in food processor for about 1 min)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 t vanilla extract or 1 vanilla bean

Instructions

Cream together the butter, sugar and any flavorings you’re using. Beat until creamy. Don’t over mix.
Beat in the egg until well combined, make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Add flour and mix on low until a non sticky dough forms.
Knead into a ball and divide into 2 or 3 pieces.
Roll out each portion between parchment paper to a thickness of ⅓ inch. (I used seran wrap)
Refrigerate dough for 1 hr or place in the freezer for about 30 minutes.
Once chilled, peel off parchment and cut out shapes with preferred cookie cutters.
Preheat oven to 350°F
Arrange cookies on parchment lined baking sheets and freeze for 5 minutes. (It’s very important you chill them again otherwise they’ll spread while baking.)
Re-roll scraps and repeat process.
Bake until golden around the edges. Rotate sheets halfway through for even baking.
Cool completely before decorating.

All Things Thursday: 2nd Edition

Hello again!

It’s All Things Thursday and I’ve been thinking on things.

Last week, I read about something called in vitro meat. Meat that vegans could consume without guilt. Actual meat made in a lab from cow stem cells. What? Meat that’s grown in a petrie dish? Is it just me or is that kinda creepy?

The father-daughter team over at Herriott Grace make the most beautiful wooden pieces-spoons, bowls, and rolling pins, amongst other things. Personally, I’d like to purchase every spoon they’ve ever made. It’s functional art people. Get into it.

The new Fall TV season is here. I should be super-excited, but here’s what I’ve been wondering…when does season 2 of Hannibal begin?

Does anybody know their way around some Beer Mancakes? Yeah, me neither. Just the title alone has me intrigued. Perhaps, this weekend, I’ll try to whip up a batch from scratch.

I can’t seem to get this song outta my head. If you press play, undoubtedly, you’ll have the same problem. Proceed with caution…What Does the Fox Say?

I think there was more but it’s time for a hot tea and some Nutella-dotted peanut butter cookies. Until we meet again, my friends.

Give me the luxuries of life and I will willingly do without the necessities.
Frank Lloyd Wright

(photo credit: David Mayerhofer)

All Things Thursday: 1st Edition

Hey there…

It’s Thursday. You probably know that already, but I thought I’d mention it anyway. Welcome to All things Thursday!

I thought I’d take this day and share with you all the things I think about when I drive to school…or when I tune out the boring people I encounter sometimes.

While facebooking the other day I spotted this ad. It’s called PooPourri. Yeah, this is not a joke. You spray it the toilet bowl before you do your…um, business. Supposedly, it traps the funk in the bowl and instead, disperses a pleasing aroma. So, if you’re thinking about dropping a deuce at work, you might wanna cop some of this stuff first.

This Butternut Squash & Chorizo Shells over at Wit & Vinegar looks pretty freaking tasty. Now, if only I can figure out a way to low carb it. When I do, I’ll stuff the whole dish in my face.

I can bake a delicious cake but I do not possess the decorating skills do this. It’s a bit early, but I must have this Jack Skeleton Cake by My Magical Pastries.

I don’t know anything about smokers or brisket, but I’d like to sink my teeth into the Civilized Caveman’s huge slab of meat. Cue the penis jokes.

Replace the pasta with veggies and make Simply Gluten Free’s Gluten Free Eggplant Lasagna. Did you see how much cheese is in that recipe? And it’s low carb? Sign me up!

Did you know that cut-food photography is a thing? Well, Beth Galton made it a thing. Please check out her phenomenal portfolio. She’s truly inspiring.

Those of you who shop there know what’s up. Stop by The Huffington Post and read Kelly MacLean’s article Surviving Wholefoods…then thank her for the laughs.

P.S. Do you like my Bella Looma Scarf? Isn’t it the most perfect shade of blue-green. Yeah, I think so too.

Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all.
Harriet Van Horne

(photo credit: David Mayerhofer)

Fried Cinnamon Sugar Tortillas & My Love of Fall

I’m in love with Fall. I love its crunchy leaves underfoot and crisp evening breezes. I love its earthy autumn colors and promise of new beginnings. It makes me feel all warm and gooey inside, which is weird because I love the cool weather it brings. Sorry Summer. I know you’re the popular kid but I’m just not feeling you.

Fall has stolen my heart…and stomach with pie…glorious sweet potato pie. But there’s no pie. It’s not time yet. I still have about a month to go and I’m not good at waiting.

So, while I’ve been not-so-patiently waiting for Fall, I’ve soothed myself with these fried cinnamon sugar tortilla chips in the shape of Fall leaves. And when I write ‘soothed’ I mean power-snacked two handfuls but pretended it was only one. How could I not? Did you read the title? They’re fried cinnamon sugar tortilla chips!

And just in case you were wondering…fried tortillas + cinnamon sugar = double-win, y’all.

At the dman’s request I prepared some daisy-like shapes, as well. They were harder to cut out and didn’t mesh with my ‘love of Fall’ vibe, but I did it anyway. Of course, they photographed beautifully.

Ugh, I hate it when the dman is right.

But maybe I was wrong. I’m not-too shabby at the waiting game. In fact, I should be given a ‘waiting’ award-all fans should. We just waited one year for the last eight episodes of Breaking Bad!

Now, then…I’ve got a big bowl of fried chips and eight hours of Breaking Bad in my queue. Sounds like a perfect way to wait for the arrival of Fall.

Fried Cinnamon Sugar Tortillas Photo Notes

by David

I wish all photo shoots were this easy. I captured both of these images with less than 10 shots and called it a day.

Gameplan

I’ve been getting sloppy, so this shoot was about good technique and good lighting. A picture made with lousy technique may look decent on the web, but it looks like junk on a print…… and guess what? Real photographers print.

Technique

I locked the camera on the tripod and left it there. I also turned on the mirror delay mode and used a remote shutter release. When the composition looked off, I didn’t take the camera off the tripod and hope for a miracle. Instead, I recomposed the items on the table until I got it right. This is pretty simple stuff, but even in a studio with strobes, sharp images require good technique.

Lighting

I tried something different and now have my new favorite lighting setup. For the main light, I bounced a strobe off the back wall of the studio. This lighting is stupid simple and simulates a large window. For the fill, I got on the David Hobby bandwagon and put a large 60″ soft-silver umbrella on-axis. This created a very even fill across the scene and cut down on the contrast. For the shot with the bowl, I also added a small white bounce card on the right side of the chips. This setup may be a 99 cent store solution, but it creates beautiful results. Here is a picture from behind the scenes:

Tech Notes

Camera: Nikon D90
Lens: Tamron 17-50mm 2.8
Strobes: White Lightning x1600
Tripod: Manfrotto
ISO: 200
Focal Length: 48mm
Shutter: 125
Aperture: f/10

Fried Cinnamon Sugar Tortillas Recipe

Recipe slightly adapted from Cheeky Kitchen

Fried Cinnamon Sugar Tortillas

Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

25 mins

Author: Brooke McLay

Serves: 8-10

Ingredients

1 package of large tortillas (I used a package of 8)
½ c sugar
½ t salt
½ T cinnamon
2 c. vegetable oil for frying
Medium-sized cookie cutter

Instructions

Cut as many shapes as the tortilla’s will allow.
Mix sugar, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl.
Heat oil in pan set to medium heat.
Once the oil is hot, fry the tortillas on both sides until the edges are browned. Be careful! They cook fast!
Cool fried chips on a wire rack.
Gently toss the fried chips in the sugar-mixture.
Serve immediately.

Salted Sour Cream Ganache & Why Mockingbirds are Great

Mockingbirds are assholes…incredibly talented, naturally gifted, vocally impressive assholes. Yeah, that’s kinda harsh, but it’s totally true. There once was a time when I slept freely: window open, fan blowing, enjoying a peaceful sleep. But all that changed when a flock of mockingbirds came and settled in the tree across the street.

Hold on. Deep breath. Let me start over.

Mockingbirds are great… great at imitating other birds, car alarms, wind chimes, you name it. Great at keeping me up at all hours of the night with their captivating, yet endless serenades. Great at inciting me into a (standing-barefoot-in-the-middle-of-the-street-with-a-hand-full-of-rocks) rage. True story. I’m not a violent person, mind you, but this is no joke. Don’t. Mess. With. My. Slumber.

Ugh, something had to change.

So…after altering my sleep schedule, purchasing a case of earplugs and buying stock in Ambien, I’m a new person. Mockingbirds are awesome now. I totally appreciate them. They’re my new best friends…really.

Now that I’ve been converted to a lover of all-things mockingbird, I’d like to celebrate with cupcakes…jumbo sized cupcakes with salted sour cream ganache. Whew, that’s a mouthful!

I like this recipe because the frosting is easy to make. Frosting is the reason why I don’t make cakes more often. All that whipping, making sure the frosting is the right consistency and then a crumb coat? Are you serious?

For this batch of cupcakes frosting is out and salted sour cream ganache is in. This ganache has two ingredients: dark chocolate and sour cream. It makes for a slightly tart dark chocolate topping which is nicely complimented by a sprinkling of Fleur de Sel. I suppose you could add a third, powdered sugar, so there would be a bit more sweetness to it. Either way it’s perfectly enjoyable. Kinda like the singsong brilliance of the mockingbird…as long as I’m not trying to sleep, that is.

Salted Sour Cream Ganache Photo Notes

by David

I was dead tired during this shoot. In addition to running a commercial studio, I do A LOT of outside retouching. It pays the bills, but fixing the work of awful photographers can be exhausting.

One of the things I love about food photography is the fact that most of the work is done in-camera. If a shooter lights a cookie from the wrong direction, no amount of Photoshop is going to save the day. To correctly light any type of still life, the photographer has to know the nature of the object. Does it have texture? Is it translucent? Is it reflective etc….? These are all factors a photographer has to take into account before snapping a single shot. If you figure out the object, carefully style it, and light accordingly, the work in Post is going to be minimal.

Lighting

So how did I light these objects? I did it all in Photoshop (just kidding). The lighting setup is pretty simple with one large light panel very close to the subjects. This created a nice soft wrap-around light with a fast fall-off. The fill is provided by a white bounce card.

Tech Notes

Camera: Nikon D90
Lens: Tamron 17-90mm 2.8
Strobes: White Lightning x1600
Tripod: Manfrotto
ISO: 200
Shutter: 125
Aperture: f/13

Salted Sour Cream Ganache Recipe

Sour Cream Ganache recipe slightly adapted from Umami Girl
Sour Cream Cupcakes recipe slightly adapted from Anne Burrell

Sour Cream Ganache

Author: Carolyn Cope

Prep time: 2 mins

Cook time: 5 mins

Total time: 7 mins

Serves: 6

Ingredients

10 ounces dark chocolate(I used Ghirardelli’s 60% Cacao)
1 cup sour cream
Pinch of salt

Instructions

Place chocolate in a microwave safe bowl.
Heat chocolate in the microwave in 30 second bursts.
Make sure to stir chocolate after each 30 second burst.
Once the chocolate is completely melted mix in a little bit of the sour cream to temper the chocolate.
Add the rest of the sour cream and stir to combine.
Do not refrigerate before using.
Store in the refrigerator for 1 week.

Recipe slightly adapted from Food Network

Sour Cream Cupcakes

Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

25 mins

Total time

45 mins

Makes 6 jumbo cupcakes

Author: Anne Burrell

Serves: 6

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
Pinch salt
1½ sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
1½ cups sugar
3 eggs
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
½ cup milk
¾ cup sour cream
Special equipment: jumbo cupcake pan

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Reserve.
In the bowl of a stand mixer combine the butter and sugar. Using the paddle attachment beat the butter and sugar together until they are light and fluffy. Turn the mixer off and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Beat in the eggs, 1 at a time. Mix vanilla, milk, sour cream and add slowly. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, as needed. With the mixer on medium speed, gradually mix in the flour.
Spray muffin tin Baking Pam or line with paper cups. Fill the muffin cups about ⅔ of the way, dividing the batter evenly.
Put in the preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes. Check about halfway through and rotate the muffin tin.
The cupcakes are done when a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the middle of a cake.
Remove from the oven and let cool completely on a wire rack, frost and sprinkle with salt, if using.