If you were to visit our house right now, you’d be wondering if Christmas is really just a a week away. Oh, we have a small tree up in the living room but that’s about it. No present wrapped up underneath and a few of Christmas decorations here and there in the house. We have gifts almost all ready to go for everyone but we can’t leave them out since they are of the edible kind. The pupps have a tendency to get in trouble with bows and ornaments!
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.
Getting Ready… The Anticipation…
Getting Married …
Married! …Stolen moments before the reception …
Let’s Party! …
Congratulations and Best Wishes Laura & Alex!
Today is a sweet post of a different kind: some pictures of a recent engagement session I photographed for my friend Laura and her fiance, Alex. I know I have mentioned Laura a couple of times before. She’s generous. A talented photographer. A pastry instructor. My partner in crime in the kitchen this Thanksgiving. And in May she will be a Mrs. A Madame. A newlywed.
Planning this session, I fell in love with Laura’s idea, given her profession, to do a chocolate chip cookies baking session as one of the set ups. A few sheet pans and many dozens of cookies later, we headed downtown Charleston for more formal pictures.
I love photographing friends. I just observe their story unfold. Their body language is relaxed. I might move a shoulder or lower a hand but that’s it. That dance with the garden arch in the background? They started it on their own. I just moved myself to a better angle. I imagined them 50 years from now, still dancing together. Just as they are today.
Hope you guys enjoy this little weekend posting diversion…
Follow your heart, but be quiet for a while first. Ask questions,
then feel the answer. Learn to trust your heart.
—Anonymous
I wanted to give it so badly to the attendees but I refrained as much as possible. I wanted them to feel what these couple of lines were telling them without explicitly writing it out.
Our workshop schedule was intense but so were the hours spent laughing and coming together as a group striving to learn and have a positive impact on one another. At the end of the day, our sessions ended with a group discussion and critique of all the shots taken that day. As you can see in the post here, a glass of wine made the whole exercise way smoother. That’s the French in me, always trying to mix work and play…!
There were laughters and frustrations. Moments of discoveries and growth. There were moments that moved me as a teacher and moments that touched me as a photographer. It changed me.
When the doors of perception are cleansed. Man will see things as they truly are…infinite.
– William Blake.
I was on a week long cookbook shoot this past week and I admit I did not cook or bake much since I was surrounded daily with the most fabulous dishes that will be in Virginia Willis upcoming book Basic To Brilliant Ya’ll published by Ten Speed Press and released next Fall. I am now in a few rounds of editing the manuscript for Foodography but I did not want to pass on the opportunities to upload a few phone snapshots from this past week.
I love photographing cookbooks. The dynamics are so completely different and crazy in their own way and I have been so very lucky to work with extremely talented cooks, writers and chefs who are passionate about their job as I am about mine. I LOVE my job! Not only do I get to play with my camera settings, lights, composition, styling all day long but I am also privileged to eat some wonderful dishes.
I admit I was in prop heaven when Angie unloaded what looked like another 10 houses worth of dishes and linens in the studio space. "Yes please!" were my words to having the space packed up with dishes. I was loving it…ah! It was so smooth and easy working with Angie which made the magnitude of the task at hand really enjoyable.
It’s easy to create wonderful recipes when there is such wonderful produce as Melissa’s and Whole Foods in our baskets and no, they did not pay me to say that…!
An easy recipe combining good food, great people, great spirits and a love of a job well done.
I’ll be back later this week with some exciting news to share!
Wow…A year. And what a year…Hard to sit down and reflect on the whirlwind that 2010 has been because my whole body, mind and soul are still twirling from everything that’s happened and is happening. Gratitude sinks in. A sense of accomplishment. Hopes fulfilled. Goals simmering. I hope it’s not too long. There is some photo talk, some cookbook talk, some love and friendship talk, some travel and food talk. I want to write it all down to make sure I did not just dream 2010, it was so incredibly wonderful.
You guys have made this year special with your words, both online and off, sharing your thoughts with me as I came here each week to share some food and a few stories. With this post, I also wish to show the most important persons in my life, my parents and my husband that their patience and support, unconditional love pushed me harder. And the close friends who have shared many a "shoot meal" to help out!
I love reading everyone’s end of the year posts and I especially loved this quote from Matt Armendariz from Matt Bites: "I realized that everything I’ve ever done has led me to this point of my life, even when I hadn’t a clue. I realized the best is yet to come." He is so right! The hours I have spent working and honing my skills have given something that make me whole and thrilled to share with you. I am forever changed by the people I have met this year and the relationships I have fostered.
The year started with a bang setting the tone for the rest of the year. Traveling, teaching, meeting, learning, working. I flew to Atlanta to meet my favorite peeps and delve into a Sugar Coma experience culminating by teaching a macarons workshop.
I came home to start photographing my first cookbook for Carrie of Deliciously Organic (available next week!). Not only did I learn a lot about books, publishing, logistics, etc…I also gained a close friend in Carrie and fell completely in love with her personality and the way she is in life as she is on paper. Honest, genuine and patient. We loved working so closely together that we are co-authoring a cookbook together in 2011. I can’t wait to get started!
Right after, I flew to L.A to teach more macaron workshops as well as some on photography, all so cleverly and perfectly organized by three amazing ladies I miss everyday, Rachael, Jen and Gaby. Why is this country so wide? From L.A, I flew to Seattle to teach more workshops on macarons and photography this time organized by Viv, the hostess with the mostess (no seriously) and I was eccastic to be able to visit with my favorite peeps: Anita, Jeanne, Jen, Shauna, Danny and Lu. Dang that was a good time!
I came home right on time to pick up my parents at the airport and take my mom inside the airport bookstore to show her the first magazine cover I had styled (!) I wanted to show her that all the time and patience they invested in believing and supporting my endeavors was paying off. I thoroughly enjoyed the 3 weeks we spent together this Spring. I was thrilled to be busy working on several magazine shoots to show parents how my job goes on a daily basis whether for clients, charity or events that friends were organizing. Volunteer to go beyond what is asked of you. Always.
The summer was looking just about as busy and quite frankly I was just about to burst at the seam from gratitude having this much work and being able to contribute my fair share of experiences to the household. In late June I flew to Utah to speak at Evo 10 and finally met lots of bloggers I had know online for years. From small group gathering to big room lectures, I finally met in the flesh authors and photographers I had been admiring for years and from too far. They reinforced my belief that I was on the right track, that being authentic and vulnerable is the way to open yourself to incredible experiences. From Utah, it was on to Colorado and the Food&Light Photography Workshop. I wish I could have stayed longer and enjoy the beauty of my surroundings but there was more work calling back home.
In one week, I had cleared my head and met some of the most gracious people out there. It would be hard to top. Oh wait! Flying home to celebrate my grandfather’s 100th birthday was seriously THE event of 2010. Forget work, forget deadlines, pending contracts and bills. Forget it all. The man is my Superhero. I wish I could have taken him on the road trip I took shortly after his birthday, heading down to the Alps and my native Provence. I bet you he would have had 100 more stories to tell. It was an amazing trip but there was more work awaiting at home.
Pretty much the day after I landed back in SC, I started doing the photography for another cookbook, this time written by the talented Holly Herrick and all about tarts. I know! One of my favorite topics! It was a ton of work cooking, styling and photographing but again I was teaching myself and learning so much in the process that it made the experience that much more fulfilling. I was looking to a little break during the fall and was thrilled to go back to San Francisco to speak at BlogHer Food once again and give back some of what I had learned. I really re-discovered and fell in love with the city again. Not to mention spending quality time with dear friends again.
I went home and started on my biggest project yet to date with Wiley Publishing and before I could realize I’d do the bulk of it during the holiday season, Thanksgiving rolled around, marking the start of what B. and I label "End Of The Year Craziness". Being able to spend time with both friends and family as much as we have been able to this year has been the key to keeping us grounded. And going. And energized. And peaceful. And grateful
So what’s in store for 2011? I am looking forward to having my friend Taylor here for a few days in January and then driving to Alabama together for the FoodBlog South conference. I’m looking forward to meeting creative people I have been following for years and seeing friends again. I’ll be meeting for the first time celebrated author Virginia Willis, whose cookbook I will be photographing in February. I am also working on finalizing plans and dates for other jobs, shooting more cookbooks, writing my own (I know! That part is crazy!)
See, there is much known and much unknown to 2011 but you know what? I am looking forward to it all. Blog, friends, family, work. They make me whole. I try to take everything as a possibility for growth, good or bad and the kind words, support and frienships you have extended to me this year have made me do this move (from Love Actually) a thousand times over.
This year has been nothing short of feeling like Christmas mornings most days. So to you dear readers, I wish you a lots and more of these moments for 2011!
Happy New Year!
Holidays really have a tendency to make us marvel at the time gone by year after year don’t they? We shake our heads in denial and wonder how can time fly by this fast. Right now I am grinning as I look at the calendar, thinking that I’ve done a lot and yippee there is way more to do! There are things I’ll happily leave behind when the new year rolls in but overall I am saying out loud "Yes! Let’s do this again and often please!" That’s worth a good slice of pie and glass of milk.
Like most of you celebrating Thanksgiving, the week is going to be a bit of whirlwind at the house. Some of you travel to be with your family, some of you host the traditional dinner, some of you try your best to avoid the madness of it all, stores and crowds. Some of us still have to work and meet deadlines in the middle of it. That’s the holidays indeed.
This year we decided to break the routine and decided that since Christmas was already planned to happen here with B’s family, we could make ourselves scarce and gather some of our favorite people around a table full of good food, good cheers and good talks. If I had one word for the driving force behind this past year for us, it would be "friends" and I am thankful for the ones coming to stay with us this week.
One thing I have learned to bake for Thanksgiving in B’s family was pumpkin pie. And sweet potato pie. And pecan pie. And…well that’s plenty to give you an idea that pumpkin pie was not something I grew up eating or making. I have to admit that up until a few weeks ago I liked it "fine" or "ok". Yes, I am definitely a pecan pie kind of girl. So what changed?
Well. The great thing about photographing cookbooks is the amount of recipes I get to cook and style before anyone else. Like a secret mission. No matter how complicated, long, short, easy…from just ok to outstandingly delicious. There is a bit of a void when a shoot wraps up and I know that once the files are processed and sent off, well the baby is not mine anymore. It grows in the hands of a team of people putting the author’s words together with my images. A part of me does not want it to end.
You can imagine that after finishing Holly Herrick's cookbook shoot a few weeks ago, I was thrilled to hear that her publisher wanted her to post a few recipes on her blog already. Teasers if you want until next Fall that the book comes out. A nice little way to hang on to the fun I had shooting a little longer. I am glad Holly started with the Drunken Pumpkin Bourbon Tart as you can see in the sliced shot which will be in her book. A little sneak peek and a great recipe. Right on time for Thanskgiving.
I am insanely thankful for all the things I got the chance to photograph and write this year. I am grateful for the opportunities to photograph, co-author and author myself in the year to come. I could never have done it without your support and faith in reading the words on this page. Week after week. Thank you guys for all that you have given me. I hope that I gave it back tenfold and more and will work my hardest to keep doing so.
You are the best! Happy Thanksgiving!
Big congratulations to Audrey Han for winning a copy of Gluten Free Girl and The Chef! Send me your address at mytartelette {at} gmail {dot} com and I’ll pass it on.
Here is the link to Holly’s blog for the Drunken Pumpkin Bourbon Tart to check out the recipe and her notes about it.
I used eight 4-inch tart pans instead and baked them at the same temperature for about 15 minutes.
I topped mine with a little mascarpone cream:
4 oz mascarpone at room temperature
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks
In a medium bowl, whisk together the mascarpone and honey. Carefully fold in the whipped cream. Spread as little or as much as you wish on top of the baked tart.
For the option of a gluten free crust, check here for a few options.
I realized too late last week that I had forgotten about the "French Word A Week"…again. You’ll have to excuse me, it’s a full, packed and pretty awesome summer. One busy making good use of all the produce around me too. Peach jam especially. Let’s remedy my short term memory lately with this week’s French Words: confiture de peche (click on the words to hear the pronunciation).
Beside working, I must take time to enjoy and make the most of the produce around me and nothing could be quite as perfect right now as South Carolina peaches. Actually, the scent of peach jam in the making while editing pictures or writing is quite distracting. But the wait is oh so worth it!
Making jam always puts me in a great mood. It reminds me so much of the steps my mother and grandmother took each summer to capture the best of what the markets had to offer. I remember afternoons spent dicing apricots, cutting strawberries, peeling oranges. Mounds after mounds of sugar. Hours of stirring and cooking down the fruits.
Everyone has their favorite recipe for jams and preserves, ours was pretty standard. Fruit, sugar, cook until caramelized almost then can. I have ventured out in other methods but I always go back to the same one. Nothing says home to me like the heady aroma of fruits caramelizing on the stove. So far I have turned a 25 pound box of Southern peaches into jars of Peach-Vanilla, Peach-Ginger and Peach-Grand Marnier jams.
Nothing made me happier to give a couple to Caitlin from Engineer Baker and her fiance who came for a quick visit this weekend. As a present, I offered to photograph their wedding this coming November and since they recently moved to North Carolina, I welcomed them to come down one weekend so we could do some informal engagement shots and we have been having a blast so far and the weekend is not over yet!
Have a wonderful weekend!
Peach Vanilla Jam:
Makes about 8 cups
3 pounds peaches, peeled, cored and roughly chopped
1.5 pounds sugar
1-2 vanilla bean, cut lengthwise
juice of one lemon
In a large stockpot or Dutch oven, place the peaches, sugar and vanilla bean. Add the lemon juice and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce to heat and simmer 1-2 hours until the fruit has taken on a dark orange color and is almost caramelized. Make sure to stir every so often to prevent the bottom from burning. Can.
If you add liquor, add as much as you like up to 1/2 cup right before turning the jam off.
I’m in Utah folks! Got in Salt Lake City yesterday afternoon and I’m heading to The Canyons Resort in Park City Utah where the Evo 10 Conference is held this year. To say that I am honored and stoked is putting it mildly. Yesterday as I was watching my inbox implode in between two planes, I just smiled and thought "breathe – take the travel time as a time out". I am looking forward to this week, complete with the workshop in Boulder. Work does pile up when you can’t look! It’s fine though. It’s actually better than fine. It’s impossible to complain when mixing work and play in such beautiful scenery as the mountains of Utah and Colorado.
Before I left I treated B. to a couple of special treats and of course stocked the fridge and freezer. When I made these Nutella Doughnuts from Lorna’s cookbook, The Newlywed Kitchen, they almost ended up being dinner. We just could not stop eating them. Pop. Pop. Pop. Oops… Tender, moist, tangy and filled with Nutella….the one thing we truly fight over in the kitchen. If you finish the jar and do not replace it, be ready to face a mini temper tantrum. And not necessarily from me…!
Last week I raved about the simplicity of the Parmesan Roasted Asparagus Tomatoes and Eggs I made from her cookbook. Well, let me raved about how spending a little bit of time in front of the stove to fry these babies up was worth it. Ten times that even. The recipe comes together in no time and the size of the doughnuts makes them the perfect little bite to have after dinner or as a treat (but you won’t stop at one, let me tell you that!). The oozing Nutella in the center? Literally the proverbial icing on the cake. Per-fect.
I love drop doughnuts and the simplicity of Lorna’s recipe makes them so easy to adapt gluten free. If you are afraid of deep drying. Fear no more. The temperature given for the oil is right on for these. They turn into perfect airy pockets with a slight tang coming from the ricotta and lemon zest. Love how the Nutella plays so well with the lemon zest. Just the right touch of it too. They are so good plain too. Filled with some strawberry jam I made last month. I even filled some with compote I made after the neighbors gifted me with a basket full of sour apples.
Another successful bite from Lorna’s book! And guess what? Today is your chance to get your hands on a copy to see and taste what I am talking about! That’s right! Lorna is graciously giving away a copy of her book to one of you. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post (anonymous please sign a name) – between today Thursday June 24th and Sunday June 27th, midnight Easter time. A winner will be picked at random from the comment pool by my better half.
While in Salt Lake City I stayed with Maria and Josh, the team behind Two Peas And Their Pod and we are heading together to the conference, meeting up with Kristen, Katie, Amy and a whole bunch of people I’m thrilled to meet for the first time. Since this morning is pretty much the most quiet time I foresee for the rest of the week, I thought I’d post some snapshots of our "Bloggers Meet Up". I’ll try to post snapshots of the conference, attendees and speakers as I go along.
Good luck in Lorna’s cookbook giveaway!
Nutella Doughnuts, courtesy and copyright Lorna Yee from "The Newlywed Kitchen" cookbook.
Makes about 14 doughnuts
Note: to adapt these gluten free, I replace the flour with 1/2 cup superfine sweet rice flour, 1/4 millet, 1/4 cup sorghum flour, and added 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum for a smooth dough.
3 large eggs
1/4 cup sugar
8 ounces whole-milk ricotta
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
Canola, vegetable, or peanut oil for frying
Powdered sugar for dusting doughnuts
1 cup Nutella
In a large mixing bowl, stir together the eggs, sugar, ricotta, salt, and vanilla extract. Add the flour and baking powder, and mix until just combined.
Heat 3 inches of the oil in a deep pot until it registers 375 degrees F on a deep-fat thermometer. Drop a tablespoon of batter into the oil and cook for about 3 minutes on one side, and 2 minutes on the other side. (Do not make the doughnuts much bigger, as the outside will brown too quickly and they won’t cook through.) Don’t overcrowd the pot–you will probably need to fry the doughnuts in three batches. Cut one doughnut open to make sure it’s cooked through before removing the rest of the batch from the oil. When the doughnuts are cooked, scoop them out and allow them to drain on paper towels. Repeat with remaining batter.
Dust the doughnuts with powdered sugar and pipe Nutella into the center of each one. These doughnuts are meant to be devoured warm out of the fryer, so make them just before you’re both ready to eat them.
Variation: Add 1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon or orange zest to the dough and fill the doughnuts with your favorite jelly or lemon curd.
A few weeks ago, Tami and I stumbled upon a cool little place in town called Bin 152. A wine bar, situated at 152 King Street. But it’s more than a wine bar. It’s a cheese bar. A charcuterie and cured meat heaven. It’s also an art/antique gallery. It’s also lots more than that. It’s Fanny’s (the French half) and Patrick’s (the American half), the owners. It’s a place where we know we can pop in any time of the week, afternoon or after dinner and have good company, good libations and food. Seriously love those guys and hanging out there.
The fromage and charcuterie lists are Bin 152 are among the best I have seen around. I don’t do restaurant reviews here because my heart always beats too passionately when it comes to people and food but Fanny and Patrick’s concept is too good to keep secret (although they are such a gem that we are a handful of locals who are torn about singing their praises out loud or keeping them all to ourselves!).
Alright, so clearly I love the place but I also love those guys. Fanny is from Nice originally and traveled to many countries before landing in the US and meeting Patrick who was born in New Jersey but grew up in Colorado. After opening the Charleston branch of a bakery in NYC, Patrick and Fanny decided to venture on their own and improve on the wine bar concept. Hope you enjoy the little interview!
Helene: What has been the most challenging part of opening Bin 152 so far?
Fanny: The biggest challenge has been the long hours. Other than that it’s been fabulous.
Helene: Fanny, what’s your favorite word in the English language? Patrick, what is your favorite word in the French language? The toughest to pronounce (for each)?
Fanny’s favorite: rhythm and toughest to pronounce: any word that ends in a "th"
Patrick’s favorite: bisous (kisses)(!) and toughest to pronounce "emporter".
Helene: At home, do you guys share your cooking/baking time?
Fanny: We do. But I mostly cook and Patrick bakes.
Helen: What would be your idea of the perfect feast? (name dishes, place, people, whatever comes to mind)
Fanny: My grandmother’s cooking — cassoulet, paella, au feu de bois; and Patrick’s pizza with mushrooms, prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, truffle oil and his special crust.
Patrick: I usually like the simple things done really well. I like roasted chicken with herbes de provence, a great pasta bolognese, any fresh fish cooked perfectly, I love fried zucchini flowers and anything my lovely wife cooks — she’s an awesome cook.
Mention food and feasts and we all start to sound poetic, don’t we?
