We had the pleasure of doing a shoot with The Cheesecake Dude and, boy, was it a sinfully delicious day. As we tweaked and rotated these sweet little cheesecake cupcakes our sticky fingers were a tasty snack (gross but awesome;). These mini treats are the perfect portion control with rich topping that pack a flavor punch. Seen above are salty caramel, strawberry and blueberry varieties. Aren’t they cute?!
I must say that the blueberry was my personal favorite. It’s a flavor and texture dance party in your mouth when the rich creamy cheesecake collide with bursting glazed fresh blueberries. I felt like these little guys were just begging to hang out with some vintage flatware. Ha!
Have a delicious week!
food photographer, food photography, los angeles, crystal cartier
My husband has a theory that in every successful relationship (romantic, that is) one person always loves olives and the other despises them. Love and hate make for happy matrimony. Bizarrely, I’ve actually found this hypothesis to be relatively true. That said, I’m no fortune teller. I LOOOOOOVE olives and always have from the day I first put those tangy little orbs on the tips of all ten of my child-sized fingers and popped them off one by one into a happy mouth. Because my husband hates them, we never make them in our dinners etc. so I cram all of my “olive time” in when he is out of town or when we have friends over. This is the “my olive-hating better half is out of town so I’m eating some damn olives” tapenade recipe;) Enjoy a briny little respite from matrimonial compromise!
Again, these are the ingredients to use in your own preferred proportions:
- green olives – chopped or sliced
- diced tomato
- red peppers
- onions – finely chopped
- garlic
- dijon mustard
- salt
- lemon juice
- basil
- extra virgin olive oil
- shaved parmesan
- arugula
- crostinis from a sliced and toasted baguette
On each crostini, put a few leaves of arugula, a spoonful of tapenade and garnish with shaved parmesan for a food photography caliber presentation;) These are so flippin’ good!
….and so dang cute I couldn’t stop shooting them!
and just one more….
food photographer, food photography, los angeles, crystal cartier
When my food stylist pal Sienna DeGovia brought the ingredients for this little wonder to the studio one day, we both had no real idea what the final product would look like. In the end it was quite a win and definitely uniquely impressive. This dish is an interesting take on traditional salt crusted fish but this time you’ll make a salt crust that resembles a meringue and pile it on top of the fish. The results are spectacularly beautiful while uncompromisingly satisfying and delicious. Tender, flaky, salty but with a hint of that snapper sweetness this recipe makes a simple idea special. Give it a whirl, it’s easier than it looks.
SALT CRUSTED WHOLE RED SNAPPER:
- 1 (4-pound) whole red snapper, cleaned and de-scaled
- 1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley
- 1 lemon, sliced
- 1 pound fresh fennel, chopped
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 shallot, minced
- 2 teaspoons fennel seed
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 4 egg whites
- 1 cup kosher salt
Leave head and tail on. Rinse the fish inside and out then pat dry.
Combine the parsley, lemon, fennel, bay leaves, shallot, fennel seed, and 1/4-cup olive oil. Stuff the cavity of the fish with 3/4 of the mixture, then spread the remaining 1/4 on the bottom of a roasting pan so the fish will not stick.
Transfer the fish to the roasting pan and rub the skin with remaining olive oil. In another bowl, whip the egg whites to a stiff peak, then fold in the salt to make type of salted meringue. Smear the salted fluffy goodness over the entire fish and roast in a preheated 350 degree F oven for 30 to 40 minutes. The egg whites form a hard crust that will crack like a shell. Pull chunks of the crust away to reveal the savory fish beneath. Scoop the flesh from the fish with a spoon. Watch for bones!
yum and yum.
food photographer, food photography, los angeles, crystal cartier
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