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A Little Weekend News Bulletin…

Sandwiches


Let’s start with some administrative fun stuff: the winner of Carrie’s cookbook is Susie from Return To Sunday Supper a brand new blogger on the food blogging scene. Congratulations! Email me your snail mail address at mytartelette {at} gmail {dot} com and I will drop the book in the mail.

And now on to more fun things brewing….

Tart & Ice Cream


Until recently I was not sure what authors meant by "writing is a solitary process". As I am nearing the end of writing the manuscript for Foodography, I completely get it. I am never alone when I write. Bailey is snoring by my side on the couch and Tippy is somewhere sleeping in a corner dreaming he’s chasing after a squirrel. The day is often punctuated by from my mother who wants to make sure I am taking all my vitamins and my husband who often sends me notes of support. So yes, I am not lonely. But it’s just me and my thoughts.

Dinner


The best place to write is really in the photo studio, filled with gorgeous and abundant natural light, my equipment, familiar props and linens, inspiration boards and favorite quotes. So far I have not experienced any writer’s block. I am way too excited and grateful to be given the chance to share information and tips with you. I have kept all the email questions you sent on natural light, artificial light, composition, workflow and started answering your most frequent problems that way.

Pots Pie


This book is really for you and as I am writing a couple of chapters on styling and composition, I thought they would be the perfect ones to have you participate some. Have you ever struggled with styling sandwiches? Beef pot pies maybe? How about handling ice cream for a beauty shot? Is it plating table sets that causes grief?

I am all ears! There’s plenty of time and pages left in those chapters for me to include one of your most dreaded things to style and shoot. Yes! Go ahead and tell me what type of food you would like me to tackle! I will tabulate all the answers and pick one at random to cook, style and shoot. The person’s whose suggestion is picked will receive a free copy of Foodography as soon as it is released in May!

Don’t be shy…!

Sorbet


Finally I want to live you with this book teaser video that my dear friend Taylor from Taylor Takes A Taste, shot last week when he came to visit. He came to help me take shots of us taking shots, light set ups, etc..before driving us both to the Food Blog South conference that took place in Birmingham last weekend (you can read his recap here). He took his visit as an opportunity to practice even more his already excellent video skills. Thanks Taylor!

Have a great weekend!

Weekend News Bulletin With A Scoop Of Ice Cream

Cover Girl


This is just a quick news bulletin of sort as I have been busy preparing plenty of sweet treats for Bill’s birthday. It’s not until Monday but we are celebrating all weekend. The man deserves it!

First, you might want to update your readers, feeds, urls, links, etc…as Tartelette is now a .com, as in www.tarteletteblog.com , complete with a new header. Woot! I have confirmation from my team of engineers that all the redirects are working fine but might as well update the link.

Now, if you are looking for great and tasty recipes to make this weekend, check out the latest issue of Desserts Magazine. Inside the online magazine for which I photographed the cover picture (shameless note to make my mom proud!), you will find a plethora of recipes for all things chilled, cold and frozen. I have already bookmarked a dozen and the ice cream maker is ready to roll.

The ice cream on the cover shot is a tasty strawberry vanilla ice cream I made a couple of months ago that is now on rotation at the house. We just can’t get enough of it but here is the recipe in case you get sidetracked flipping through the magazine! Hope you enjoy it too!

Have a wonderful weekend and I hope you will join me on Monday to wish Bill a very happy birthday and maybe help me convince him to shave the beard he decided to grow this summer!!

Strawberry Vanilla Ice Cream

Strawberry Vanilla Ice Cream:

4 egg yolks
1 cup (100gr) + 2 tablespoons (25gr) sugar
2 cups half and half
1 vanilla bean, split open and seeded
1 cup strawberries, hulled and quartered

In a large bowl, whisk the egg yolks and one cup of sugar until pale and thick. In a saucepan set over medium heat, bring the half and half and vanilla bean to a simmer, without letting it come to a full boil. Slowly pour the hot cream over the egg yolks mixture while whisking to temper the egg yolks. Pour the whole mixture back into the saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the cream coats the back of spoon. It should register 170F on a candy thermometer. At this point you have made a custard sauce, also known as "creme anglaise". Let cool completely, strain and refrigerate until cold.
While the custard cools, prepare the strawberries. Place the quartered strawberries and the remaining measurement of sugar into a small heavy saucepan over medium heat and cook just long enough for the strawberries to soften and to release some juice. Remove from the heat and let cool. Once both the fruit and the custard are cold, process the custard first according to your ice cream maker manufacturer’s instructions and toward the end of the churning period, throw in the strawberries.