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Helene Dujardin
Senior Editor

Helene Dujardin

Grilled Salmon Sandwiches With Pesto Avocado Spread & A Grilled Apricot & Prosciutto Salad.

Grilled Salmon Sandwich With Pesto & Avocado Spread


Even though it’s been feeling like Summer for a couple of months already, I am finally getting into the hot days groove seeing all the Summer produce at the market. Strawberry season is at an end. Peaches and plums have been on the stands for weeks and I got my first taste of cherries the other day. Apricots are finding their way in just about everything we eat.

Raw Salmon


There’s lots of grilling on. The air conditioning does not prevent any roasting or stove cooking but at the end of a long day shooting, I want nothing more than sitting on the back deck with a glass of wine, a few pages of my book and the smoky scents of the grill beside me.

Making Guacamole


With Bill home now that the school year is over (he’s a professor by day, musician by night), there is plenty of time and one more person to share recipes I want to try. During the year, lunch is pretty much a singleton affair unless I am on location or it’s the weekend and he’s home. But comes Summer and I want to be a tad more creative than my everyday salad-protein combo.

Pesto


As enticing as a Nicoise salad is, a watermelon radish salad, an heirloom tomato salad, a poached salmon and quinoa salad, a roasted veggie salad do sound. I want to try my hand at interesting sauces and sandwiches. I never make sandwiches when having lunch on my own but he likes them. And I like cooking. No better time than to venture out and make something fresh and tasty like a Grilled Salmon and Pesto Sandwich with a peppery basil and avocado pesto.

Salad Fixings


The pesto avocado spread came about on the fly really. As it happens many times when cooking savory dishes. I had just made a lot of pesto from our wild growing basil plant and I had some leftover guacamole from the evening before. Put the two together and you have something incredibly smooth, creamy and with a little garlicky-peppery bite to it. Add a side salad and you have one perfect lunch.

While It Rained...


I admit, with the heat around and my loopy schedule this whole summer, sometimes it is much easier to fix a big salad, throw a bunch of good looking veggies together and sit down together for a little bit. One salad that I like to serve as an appetizer to guests during the summer has found its way to our main course list lately. An easy to put together and super refreshing Grilled Apricot, Mozzarella & Prosciutto Salad.

Lemon Thyme


We are grilling and roasting lots of stone fruits lately. I like to make this salad with slices of ripe cantaloupe, like my mama used to make, but adding apricots brings it ever so much closer to home. Apricots and good bit of fresh chopped lemon thyme. I do miss the apricot tree we used to have in the front yard in Provence. Perched on its branches, I would count the number of ripe apricots I could start taking home so mom could make a tart.

Grilled Apricots


Double up on the ingredients and you have enough for a main meal which will keep your energy up for a long while. I love this salad because it can double up as nifty little tartines when you are ready to serve appetizers and a nice cold beverage to your guests. Simply layer the ingredients (minus the salad) on the toasts and place under the broiler until the cheese is melted and the proscuitto crisps up.

Happy first day of summer! I am looking forward to spending a few refreshing days next week in New Hampshire where I will be teaching a couple of food photography workshop! Hope to see you at Squam Arts Workshops if you are attending!

Grilled Apricots, Mozarella & Prosciutto Salad



Grilled Salmon Sandwiches With Pesto Avocado Spread:

Serves 2

For the pesto avocado spread:
1 cup basil leaves
1 clove garlic
1 tablespoon finely grated parmesan
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup guacamole (or substitute 1/4 to 1/2 avocado)

In a food processor, pulse all the ingredients together until smooth and creamy. Reserve.

For the Sandwiches:
4 oz salmon fillet (skin on)
basil, parsley, thyme
lemon slices
4 slices whole grain or gluten free bread
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large tomato or 2 small vine ripe ones, cut into thin slices (I like the small Campari)
handful arugula
pesto & avocado spread

Place the slamon on a grilling rack or pan (we use this one) and place a few leaves of basil, parsley, thyme, right on the flesh. Add some lemon slices. Place skin down on the grill over medium flames and cook until the fish is completely cooked through (about 8 to 10 minutes) without flipping it. Remove from the grill and discard the skin. Let cool for a few minutes and flake the salmon in a small bowl.
Brush the bread with the olive oil and grill until crispy and toasty.
Start assembling the sandwiches by spreading the pesto-avocado cream on each toast, then layering arugula, tomato slices and salmon on one slice of bread. Top with the second and repeat for the other sandwich. Eat up!

Grilled Apricots, Mozzarella and Prosciutto Salad:

Serves 4

4 apricots, halved and pit discarded
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 sprigs lemon thyme, chopped
1 large ball of fresh mozzarella, cut into thin slices
8 thin slices of prosciutto
big handful arugula
drizzle of olive oil
salt and pepper

Brush the inside of the apricots with the olive oil ad place directly on the grill over medium high flames. Grill for 3-4 minutes or until you get nice grill marks and the apricots start to cook (but don’t let them get mushy), flip them and cook an extra 2 minutes. Remove from the grill, place on a place and sprinkle with the chopped lemon thyme. Reserve.
For each person, place a couple of apricot halves on a plate, a few slices of mozzarella, a couple of slices of prosciutto and some arugula. Drizzle a little olive oil on top, add some salt and pepper to taste and enjoy.

A Sweet Affair …

I don’t do wedding photography. It’s not that I can’t. I just enjoy photographing food a lot more. Except when it comes to friends. My husband used to be a wedding photographer back in the 70s and 80s. Some of our friends are sought after portrait and wedding photographers. I am still doing food and have no desire to change. But…once in a while, close friends ask me to photograph an engagement session. Or their wedding.

Last weekend, my assistant and friend Laura got married to Alex. I love them both. I photographed their engagement session and had a total blast. As a wedding present, I offered to photograph the wedding. It was a true friendship and family affair since they asked my husband’s band to play at the reception (he’s the one with the trombone).

Their wedding was a true Southern affair. A thoughtful and reflective ceremony and a reception in a gorgeous antebellum house. A perfect mix of sophistication, handmade, European elegance and simplicity. A lovely way to embrace the town and flair of our beautiful city, Charleston.

Here are some of my favorite pictures from the day. Thank you Laura for entrusting me with making your memories last a lifetime through a few (many) shots.


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Getting Ready… The Anticipation…

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Getting Married …


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L&A _ 2

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Married! …Stolen moments before the reception …


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Let’s Party! …


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Congratulations and Best Wishes Laura & Alex!

Shrimp, Butternut Squash & Coconut Soup & Pickled Shrimp With Cucumber Spears

Shrimp, Butternut Squash & Coconut Soup

Since I have started keeping up a blog in late 2006, I have always heard my seniors say "never apologize for being busy, missing or not keeping up regular posting schedule". I get that. A blog is primarily meant for fun. Or at least it started that way for most. It did for me. My blog is not my job. I don’t make a living from it and we do need to be a two income family. By a twist of hard work and continued practice, the blog gave me a very busy and very fulfilling career. And right now, I feel the pages and regularity of the blog escaping me.

I think about that dessert I made and photographed and not yet posted. About the soup we ate for lunch and dinner almost three days in a row it was so incredibly delicious. I start formulating the sentences that would bear enough meaning to tell you about the ribs we grilled and devoured with blue cheese coleslaw the other day before getting caught in the rain. On our patio. Soaked. Yet happy with full belly and lots of cheers with friends.

Comfort

I blog in my head a lot these days. Lot less on paper. In the shower, while others sing out loud, I start sentences peppered with just the right amount of seasonal flair and fresh ingredient. I think long and hard about other words for "fragrant" as I tie my shoes or put the leash on the dogs. As I back up files and archives all my work at night, I dream of a blank screen where I can start a post.

So, yes, unlike my seasoned senior fellow bloggers, I am saying "sorry folks if I am not as often here on this page as I would like it to be". It’s all good though. Things are busy here but all "oh so" awesome. Lots of fun shoots, more for Food & Wine, Le Creuset and One Kings Lane, prepping lots of fun workshops for the summer and planning a few more commercial and editorial shoots in the middle. Never a minute to slow down. And I would not change it. This is it. This is life. I can only do this once.

Garlic

I am also taking the time to slow down, sigh and regroup. By coming here. By cooking some wholesome foods. By committing to the farmers market every Saturday. The colors, the smell, the care and the love that everyone puts toward giving us healthy materials to feed our bodies and soul… All very motivating and inspiring to get in the kitchen, tie my apron on, sharpen my knives, cling my wooden spoons (they are my ruby red slippers) and find comfort in the things I can explain and seemingly have control a little.

Soups are definitely one of those things that we like to sit in front of in the evening. Especially when we can sit down together, pour ourselves a glass of wine and talk. No other interruption than his band stories or geek talk over equipment. It does not matter if it is 50F or 110F outside, soups are always welcome.

Pickled Shrimp and Cucumber Spears

One of Bill’s favorites is a Thai chicken and coconut soup that he had decades ago in New York City. I have tried many times to recreate it based on his description and you can guess I never quite got it right. So much is part of his taste memory and so much is part of the memories of the trip itself. One day, I finally decided to give up on that memory entirely and come up with a completely different coconut based soup. Luck would have it that I only had to look so far as to one of my favorite cookbooks, Noodles: The New Way by Sri Owen.

This book is one of those in our kitchen that is open many times a week for inspiration. Cooked from a couple of times of month for satisfaction and permeated for ever with fragrances of star anise, ginger and mint. One of the recipes I had bookmarked from the very first day I got the book waited a whooping 10 years before I actually made it. Modified and made, I should say. And since then, I have made it ten times already. Trying to catch up on ten years without Shrimp, Butternut Squash and Coconut Soup..one bowl at a time!

Fresh English Peas

The original recipe in "Noodles: The New Way" was "Coconut, Tofu and Pumpkin Noodles". I loved all the flavors but modified to accommodate what I had in the fridge when I decided to make it the first time. Pumpkin was replaced with butternut squash and shrimp made their way in our bowls, instead of tofu. Right now that shrimp are in full season, it’s really easy to get a couple of pounds from the dock in the evening or from the market if we don’t feel like casting our nets. Butternut squash are not in season anymore however so I have been using golden beets or baby turnips instead lately.

Another recipe that has been on rotation every week during this shrimp season is one I shot for Food & Wine: Pickled Shrimp With Cucumber Spears. So easy and so refreshing during this hot Spring and upcoming Summer. I know we are lucky to have access to local fresh seafood so easily. Port city living has lots of perks. Being able to get dinner right off the dock or right off the fishing boat is definitely one of them. Standing in line waiting for my turn gives me ample time to exchange recipes and forces me to take time out. I am kind of digging it…

Hope you have a wonderful end of the week…!

Shrimp, Butternut Squash & Coconut Soup


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Food Photography Workshop In Charleston – A Recap.

Charleston - Our Dock

Thank you all for your words of comfort and virtual hugs. I came to you from a very vulnerable place and your words held me strong throughout some pretty dark hours. Some comfort came from learning that since he was an organ donor, my cousin’s heart is beating for someone else. This bit of news calms some of my anger.

Charleston - Our Dock

Looking at old family albums helped a lot. Also did diving head first into editing and reflecting over the workshop that Clare Barboza and I instructed together a couple of weekends ago. Each and everyone of these pictures made me smile and brought me back to a good place. The place Clare and I would call "the life we want to lead and the work we do to get there". Teaching workshops is one of the things we do to find ourselves in that good place. It’s about sharing information, connecting with people and helping them find the way to what makes them happy with photography.

Charleston Food Photography Workshop May 2012

Charleston Food Photography Workshop May 2012

I wasn’t nervous co-teaching with Clare as much as I was hosting our first duo workshop in my town. Clare and I jive. There is only support and care. Genuine interest and zero drama. We work through things at different or similar paces, depending, but always with the understanding of the greater picture. In this case, the workshop, the attendees, the info dispersed and the well being of everyone. Debriefing over Prosecco each night was also a genius idea…eheheh

Charleston Food Photography Workshop May 2012

Charleston Food Photography Workshop May 2012

Charleston Food Photography Workshop May 2012

Over the course of the few days we had planned, the attendees participated in 5 different themed photo shoots, visited the Charleston farmers market and had dinner at Lana for on-location shoots. It was intense, and yet we made sure to have plenty of downtime to enjoy the beach house, the waves and the gorgeous weather all the while editing and sharing tips over wine and cheese each evening .

Charleston Food Photography Workshop May 2012

Charleston Food Photography Workshop May 2012

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We tried to create vignettes and photo opps at every turn of the house, providing the attendees with lots of props and surfaces from both our studios and finds that Clare had scored along the road trip from Seattle to Charleston. We might have packed more than our husbands would have liked to carry up and down the stairs but at least we had plenty to play with for 3 days!

Sangria Bar

Ice Cream Bar

Props

Props & Surfaces

I love Charleston. I love everything about it. The people. The places. The artisans, artists and farmers. I also love everything that is bizarre and antiquated about this town. I love how forward and backward it can be at times. Thus, my worry that the attendees would only see certain facets of Charleston and miss the good details. I needn’t worry. We had an amazing group of smart, talented and beautiful women join us on this workshop. I fell in love with each and everyone of them for their generosity and wit. I left the workshop exhausted but completely inspired.

Charleston Food Photography Workshop May 2012

Charleston Food Photography Workshop May 2012

Kuddos to our super awesome assistant and kitchen manager Laura who kept us well fed and organized. Could not have done it without her! It was pretty much non stop action in the kitchen. I can’t believe she’s moving at the end of the month!!

Charleston - Our Dock

I am really glad that Clare, her husband Joe and their pup Nina stayed a couple of days after the workshop. Our husbands developed a similar friendship to ours while we were at the beach house workshopping. We knew they would. They are awesome guys…!

Puppies!

I was curious to see how our pups would bond and no surprise there either. They loved each other. Bailey and Nina had a great puppy romance. Full of love bites, nips, runs and even sharing a bed a couple of times. Tippy, the older dog was pretty much unphased but give a dozen years, I am sure he would have fought Bailey for a spot next to Nina…

Charleston - Our Dock

We took those extra days with them to chill by the dock, process the whole weekend, plan even more fun for next year (stay tuned!) and walk around downtown. The old streets, old stones. Our favorite spots.

Charleston - Downtown

Gave us the chance to discover new and fun places to go back to like Black Tap Coffee Shop. A new favorite of mine.

Charleston - Black Tap Coffee Shop

Charleston - Black Tap Coffee Shop

Charleston - Black Tap Coffee Shop

A much needed rest and recovery. A time to focus on the details as well as the broad strokes. 

 Charleston - Downtown

I leave you with some images from Charleston taken after the workshop was over.  This is the town as I see now. Fall is different. And magical too which is why I am thrilled that Clare and I will be teaching two more workshops here in November. Can’t wait!

Charleston - Downtown

Charleston - Downtown

Charleston - Downtown

Charleston - Downtown

Charleston - Downtown

Charleston - Downtown

Here are some of the posts written by the attendees about the workshop. Thank you ladies, it was an honor!

Claire McCormack Photography: Farmers Market Snapshots

Lorie at Savory Nest.

Angela at Angie’s Southern Kitchen.

Shannon at No8Photography.

Paige at Simple Expressions.

Kay at The Church Cook: Day 1Day 2Day 3

Holding…

May Flower

Today holds all the promises of a good day. It is my birthday. It is Mother’s Day here in the US.

And yet, it is a difficult day for my family yet again.

In the last 5 months we have had to say goodbye to three very close family members. My grandfather, my uncle and just this Friday, my cousin passed away. He was 26 years old. We are once again being tested. We are once again holding each other up and saying goodbye to a person we loved and loved even more.

Please keep us in your thoughts as you hug and cheer today. Whether you celebrate a birthday, a mother, a graduate or simply the fact that it is Sunday and you have a day off. Just celebrate it.

 xoxo

Squash Blossom Quiche With Feta & Basil

Squash Blossom Quiche

My voice is raspy. My eyelids are heavy. My clothes are still in a pile by my bed. And I still have to find my slippers. Yet, my heart is full, my memories wonderful and my mind is a big mumble jumble of pressure drop, happiness and everything that is good and wonderful.

Squash Blossoms

Clare and I held our first 3 day workshop together this passed weekend and I still have to process it all. To say we had a great time would not do it justice. We met one of the most wonderful group of women we had had the chance to instruct in everything food photography related. One word that I have used so far to describe the workshop and this weekend is "generosity". I will go back to that when I post more about the workshop in the next couple of days.

Eggs

As I mentioned, I still have to process the emotions and thoughts of this weekend. All wonderful. All making me completely aware that I am doing what I am supposed to be doing. What I have set out to do and giving it my all everyday. Food photography allowed me to become my own. It is my responsibility to nurture that path.

Squash Blossoms

For Clare and myself, the workshop was both a way to nurture the attendees' interest and skills in food photography as it was a way to offer them the time and the place to unwind and focus for a few days. Something we don’t always have the opportunity to do in the midst of careers, families, children, etc… We wanted to take care of them. We made them work. We made them laugh. We fed and wined them.

Squash Blossom Quiche

One of the lunches we prepared consisted of several salads and quiches. One of them was a variation on the one I am posting here today, a Squash Blossom Quiche with Feta and Basil. Unusual and completely tasty. Squash blossoms are in season here right now and every where at the farmers market these past couple of weeks. I can’t get enough of them. Simply chopped and tossed in salads. Slightly grilled and sprinkled with sea salt. Filled and pan fried until crisp. It’s a love affair I hate to see end in a few weeks when they will disappear from the stalls.

Watermelon Radishes Salad

Another love affair of mine lately is with radishes. Watermelon radishes, heirloom French radishes (Jaune D’or radishes), French breakfast radishes, early Scarlet, Sicilian reds, etc… Raw with a sprinkle of salt, roasted with a sprig of rosemary. Or simply dressed with a drizzle of pungent olive oil, celtic salt and freshly ground pepper. I bought many bunches to use during the workshop and they were the perfect peppery or spicy touch to the giant salads that accompanied all our dinners.

Radishes

Lowland Farms, Farmers Market

We are very lucky to have the folks at Lowland Farms grow as many interesting varieties of radishes, greens, kales, etc…with that much care and passion. A simple radish salad was the perfect buttery-peppery partner to the soft and delicate squash blossom quiche.

Watermelon Radishes

Time to unwind, get myself situated again and get ready for the busy weeks ahead. All by nurturing creativity and self with good food and good people…

Squash Blossom Quiche



Squash Blossom Quiche With Feta And Basil:

Serves 6 to 8 (I used a 9.5-inch round Le Creuset pie pan and had plenty for 8)

Ingredients:

For the crust:

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour (or same amount of Jeanne’s gluten free flour mix)
generous pinch sea salt or kosher salt
1 stick (115gr) cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1/2″ cubes
1/4 cup ice cold water, or enough to just hold together the pastry
1 egg wash – yolk, pinch salt, splash water, blended together

For the filling:

2 large eggs

1 cup milk

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup loosely packed fresh basil

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

4 oz feta cheese, crumbled

8 to 10 squash blossoms

Directions:
In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a plastic blade, pulse together the flour and salt. Add the cold butter all at once. Pulse until the flour is the size of tiny peas. Drizzle the ice water through the mouth of the food processor, while pulsing. Stop just when the pastry begins to come together. Empty the bowl onto a lightly floured surface and form into a disk using your hands. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. This can be done up to 2-3 days in advance. You can of course, do the whole thing by hand.

Once the pastry has rested, preheat the oven to 350F. Roll it out on a lightly floured surface, to about 1/4″ thickness. Refrigerate while you prepare the filling.

In a food processor, pulse together the eggs, milk, salt, pepper and basil leaves until the basil gives the filling a light green color. By hand, nutmeg and feta. Do not pulse but stir them in with a spoon. Pour at the bottom of the refrigerated pie crust and top with the squash blossoms in a circle all around the filling.

Bake for 45 minutes to an hour until the quiche is golden brown. Let cool slightly before eating.

Creamy Polenta With Russian Kale & Shitake Mushrooms

Polenta With Russian Kale, Shitake Mushrooms

I just absolutely love this time of year. The temperatures may be higher than Spring feels like in other part of the world but we are still (and I insist on still) a few weeks away from scorching 100F (minimum) and 100% humidity (also a minimum). That means I can meander the farmers market without melting or rushing to get home once the milk and eggs find their way to my basket.

 

Russian Kale

Every Saturday that I am in town, from April to December you will find me right at opening hour at the market. I like to be able to talk to the vendors who have now become friends. Instead of "hey we’re back!" when the market opened again this season, it was hugs and stories shared all around. We had months to catch up on and lots of good news to share. New breeds for Jason at Meathouse. New lasagna and fresh pasta flavors for Brian at Rio Bertolini, new farmland for Ken and his crew. So proud to see so many young talents share their craft and passion with produce- intense people like me.

 

Shitake Mushrooms

They know my habits. I am not special. They know the habits of all their regulars. I am grateful for their enthusiasm and little extras they put in my basket once in a while. I love that they never mind my taking pictures as if they were about to disappear with their next breath. Charleston is lucky to have caring farmers and individuals. We are lucky to have this amount of gorgeousness so many months out of the year. I do my weekly shopping there and right now I am all about the greens, mushrooms and radishes. In a few weeks it will be heirloom tomatoes and squash that will be prominent.

 

Farmers' Market

Going with the rythm of the season is a treat. I am aware of it. If you have access to a farmers market or to a farm, make a trip there. There are fantastic passionate people working to get you the best produce possible. I like to honor them with photographs and still life shots. They make my work so much easy. Clients are always thrilled to see ingredients as fresh as these!

 

Polenta With Russian Kale, Shitake Mushrooms

It makes getting home after a long shoot and staring at the content of the fridge with a hungry stomach that much easier. I can look at the chalkboard pantry door and see what I can combine from both dry and fresh goods to make dinner. (Side note: when we built the house back in 2005, I took the pantry door off its hinges and painted it with a coat of chalkboard paint. It makes tracking one’s fridge and pantry content that much more efficient). Lately, I have renewed a love affair with soft and creamy polenta, topped with lots of greens and once in while with an egg or a few grilled shrimp. (season kick off here was a few weeks ago)

 

Shitake Mushrooms

Fresh, easy, quick and completely satisfying. I have to thank my mother for reminding me of the wonders of polenta. When they visited last and she was so sick the whole time, it was the only thing she could eat without being bothered much afterwards. Instead of making different meals for everyone, we would just make one big batch and partake. Months after, I still reach for the tin of polenta whenever I want something light, yet comforting.

Here is my favorite way to serve it at the moment: topped with sauteed Russian kale and shitake mushrooms, plenty of garlic and parsley and with a poached egg on top.

What is your favorite easy dinner to make?


Polenta With Russian Kale, Shitake Mushrooms & Poached Egg



Creamy Polenta with Russian Kale Shitake Mushrooms (with option to be topped with a poached egg):

Serves 4 

Ingredients: 

For the kale and mushroom mix:

2 teaspoons olive oil

4 cups cleaned and roughly chopped Russian kale

1/2 pound fresh shitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced thin

1/2 cup loosely packed fresh parsley

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/3 cup water or vegetable stock

salt and pepper to taste

For the polenta:

2 cups water

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup fine grain yellow polenta

dash of freshly ground nutmeg

1 tablespoon heavy cream

For the poached egg (optional) (but oh so tasty!)

I find that Elise’s post about poached eggs is the best one to date. You can check it out here.

Directions:

Start by preparing the kale and mushroom mix.

Heat the oil in a large skillet set over medium high. Add the kale and mushrooms and sauteed for about 5 minutes. Add the parsley and garlic and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. Add the stock (or water), salt and pepper, cook for another minute and remove from the heat. Let cool while you prepare the polenta.

In large pot, bring the water to a boil. Add the salt and polenta at once and stir quickly with a whisk or wooden spoon to prevent the polenta from clumping. Add the nutmeg. Reduce the heat to a simmer. Let the polenta cook, uncovered for about 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the heavy cream. Check the seasoning once again.

Divide into four portions, top with the kale and mushroom mix, adding a few tablespoons of the juice as you go along and top with a poached egg if desired.

Creamy Salmon Bisque & Rhubarb Tarte Tatin

Salmon Bisque

A little update before I talk Salmon Bisque and Rhubarb Tarte TatinThe workshop in Ireland sold out so fast that we decided to exceptionally open up four more spots. There are three remaining. So, if you missed registration and would love to be able to join us for an amazing three day- four night food photography workshop on the grounds of Belle Isle Castle and Belle Isle Cookery School (all details here), here is your chance! Follow this link to the registration page. Hope to see you there!

Salmon Bisque

 Back to today’s recipes…

Multi Potato Goodness

Let’s back track to a couple of weeks ago when I had tooth issues. Bear with me, something incredibly tasty came out of one little inconvenience. Well, it did not feel "little" at the time but in the grand scheme of things and with two more family members in bad shape, you won’t hear me complain of anything. It was just a tooth and one minor setback not the end of the world…

Salmon Bisque

I could not eat more than two or three spoonfuls of soup at at time. I started dropping weight. If you know me, you know this is the last thing I need. I was starting to lack energy while my gigs were getting more intense. Not a good combination. I knew I could easily fix this by making meals that packed a punch in nutrients. I could eat soups. I devised a plan to make a big batch of a super nutritious soup and to keep a bowl by my side at all time during the day. A few spoonfuls there, another couple here and within the course of the morning, I would finally have eaten a normal lunch. Same thing for dinner.

Fresh From The Market

What soup did it? A Salmon Bisque, full of good-for-you wholesome ingredients such as wild pacific salmon, potatoes, Vidalia onions, zucchini, garlic, fish stock and herbs. I could make it thin, chunky. I could change the vegetables with whatever was in the fridge such as subbing carrots for the zucchini, lefover rice instead of potatoes, etc… As long as I had a good combo of protein, carbs, fat and veggies, I was good to go. Getting all my nutrients helped heal at a normal pace. I did that for five days and it worked. Hooray!

Radishes

Not going to lie, but the first thing I sank my teeth into after that episode was a big plate of crunchy radishes, a plump kebab of local shrimp and a big slice of tarte tatin. Rhubarb tarte tatin. With plenty of buttery goodness from the puff pastry crust and long pieces of caramelized rhubarb that just melted in your mouth. The latest edition of Donna Hay magazine was just chock full of tatin recipes with puff pastry. And well, those two words tend to make weak in the knees as soon as I see them..

Rhubarb Tarte Tatin

Since I can occasionally eat gluten (once or twice a week without showing signs of Meniere’s) I figured a Tarte Tatin would be a darn good way to go for it. And it was. And I have one in the oven as we speak. I wish I were kidding. But this one is for my in-laws. Because they can’t ever have too much tarte tatins. Or rhubarb.

After a nice bowl of soup. This tarte is definitely melt in your mouth decadence of the best kind.

Rhubarb Tarte Tatin



Creamy Salmon Bisque:

Makes enough for 6 to 8 large portions.



Ingredients: 

 1 tablespoon olive oil 

3 small baby Vidalia onions (sweet onion) or 1 large onion, sliced 

1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary 

3 zucchini, sliced 

1/2 pound small potatoes 

3 garlic cloves, minced 

1 pound wild salmon, boned, skinned and cut into large cubes 

4 to 6 cups seafood stock 

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
In a large stock pot, heat the olive oil over medium high heat and sautee the onions and rosemary for 2 to 3 minutes or until the onion is translucent. Add the zucchini and potatoes and sautee another 2 minutes. Add the garlic and salmon and saute for a couple of minutes, making sure not to burn the garlic. Add about 4 cups of seafood stock and pinch of salt and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, let cool for about another 10 minutes and puree in a food processor or blender (immersion blender works great too) until completely smooth. Add more stock to adjust the consistency to your liking. For example, we like thick soups but some don’t – adjust accordingly. Salt and pepper to taste if needed. Serve warm.

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Rhubarb Tarte Tatin, very slightly adapted from Donna Hay magazine: 

Serves 6 



Ingredients: 
1 sheet of puff pastry (I made my own using this recipe) (you can also find a gluten free puff pastry here)
3/4 cup (165g) sugar 

1/4 cup (60ml) water 

2 tablespoons (50gr) butter 

1/4 teaspoon cardamom 

1 1/2 pounds rhubarb, cut into 10cm long pieces (4 inches long) 



Directions: 

Preheat oven to 375F. Roll the puff pastry to 1/8-inch thick. Cut out a 22cmx32cm (8.5 inch x 12.5inch) rectangle from the pastry and set aside.
Place the sugar and the water in a small saucepan over medium low hear and cook, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Increase the heat to medium high and cook for 8 minutes, until the sugar turns to a caramel color Add the butter and cardamom and stir until the butter is completely melted and combined with the caramel.
Pour the caramel into a 20cmx30cm (8×12-inch) baking pan and arrange the rhubarb pieces over it.
Top with the puff pastry and tuck the edges under a little. Place on a larger baking sheet and bake for 30 to 45 minutes. or until the puff pastry is cooked through. Allow to cool for five minutes or so. Loosen the edges with a knife. Invert the tart onto a serving tray.

Fig, Gorgonzola & Honey Tartines

Fig & Gorgonzola Tartines _ © Helene Dujardin 2012


I just sat down with a tartine and a glass of wine and thought out loud "I wish I could just take the weekend off and smell the roses". To which my husband sent me an inquisitive look similar to asking "really? you would?!" Ah! No. He got me there. I don’t wish that at all. Even in the craziest of times when everything comes together in one giant "ca passe ou ca casse" bawoop, I still would not change anything.

Figs


Being able to shoot for awesome and kind clients is pure heaven. I beam. I constantly beam inside. I jump up and down in my head more times than humanly right. Creating is the best drug ever. Being able to do a job that allows you to constantly push your own limits, be diverse, work with a client’s vision and be in contact with amazing creative minds is just…{imagine jumping up and down in your head}.

Fig & Gorgonzola Tartines


One perk of the job that my husband really appreciates is the leftovers from a day spent at the studio shooting lots of recipes. I also send my assistants home with care packages and figure out ways to recycle leftovers the next day’s work lunch. There are days however when I have stared long enough in the eyes of a whole fish to want it for dinner. When a plate of ribs has been mulled so many times over that I don’t even want to look at it. I save, package, label and store.

Fig & Gorgonzola Tartines _ © Helene Dujardin 2012


Fig & Gorgonzola Tartines _ © Helene Dujardin 2012


There will be a time when the craving for that coconut and butternut squash soup will come back. But when it does not, I scavenge some goods from the day’s shoot and make a "nibble plate". My pups by my side and my feet up on the ottoman. More times than not, I end up scrambling together some tasty tartines and a side salad that Bill and I can share. I am never without an appetite but I appreciate the simplicity of a light dinner and a minute of silence.

Last week was no different when I found myself putting together the leftover of a shoot for some a pre-dinner tartines while noodling on social media for a minute. I thought we would have a couple each, a glass of wine and chill while I’d tackle dinner. Well, dinner never happened but a few savory sweet tartines surely did. Piled with gorgonzola, figs, a sprinkle of thyme and broiled just until the cheese would start melting. Some honey drizzled on top, a dash of pepper and we were in business.

Hope you all have a great rest of the week!

Fig & Gorgonzola Tartines _ © Helene Dujardin 2012



Fig, Gorgonzola and Honey Tartines:

Makes 8 tartines.

Note: for the gluten free baguette try this recipe. Anything my friend Jeanne Sauvage at Art Of Gluten Free Baking makes gluten free is AWESOME. She is the GF baking expert in my opinion. Her Gluten Free Baking For The Holidays cookbook is coming out this Fall and I can’t wait!

Ingredients:
8 slices of bread (your choice – I went for gluten free baguette)
1/2 cup (4 oz) crumbled gorgonzola
8 figs, halved
1 teaspoon fresh chopped thyme
2 1/2 tablespoons honey
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Turn the oven to the broiler setting or 400F (my broiler has a tendency to start the fire alarm in the room so I usually turn the oven on its highest baking setting)

Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Place the slices of bread in the pan. Top each slice with about a tablespoon of gogonzola. Top with two fig halves. Sprinkle a little thyme. Repeat for the remaining tartines. Salt and pepper to taste.
Bake or broil until the cheese starts to melt. Remove from the oven and drizzle each tartine with about a teaspoon of honey.
Serve at room temperature.

Registration Now Open For My 3 Day Workshop In Northern Ireland!

RhubarbTarts_RhubarbCrisps_HD_© Helene Dujardin 2012

UPDATE: Thank you to everyone who registered for the workshop! It sold out in minutes! Can’t wait to meet everyone!

A very exciting moment…. the registration for my workshop in Northern Ireland is now open!

If you are interested in joining us, you can REGISTER HERE.

Garlic_Carrots _ HD _© Helene Dujardin 2012

Here is a recap of the workshop :

When: July 19th – 23rd

Where: Belle-Isle Estate & Belle-Isle Cookery School.

What is included:

– Meet and greet welcome gathering on the evening of Thursday July 19th

– 3 full days of instructions on food styling and photography

– 2 hands on cooking classes in the state of the art kitchen of the Belle Isle Cookery School

– 4 nights accommodation at The Belle Isle Cottages on the grounds of the castle (shared cottages)

– breakfasts, lunches, dinners and refreshments during the workshop.

– Sightseeing, picnics, boat rides, fishing and more on the estate and surroundings

Limited to 12 participants

Participant cost: £995.00 ($1600)

Peaches_HD_© Helene Dujardin 2012

Hope to see you there!

I am so looking forward to visiting this part of the world I only know from history and geography books. I am even more thrilled to do this trip and workshop with my husband who will be discovering the land of his ancestors for the first time.