The first thing I attempted was to make Ravioli Caprese - a Giada recipe you can find here;
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/ravioli-caprese-recipe/index.html)
I thought "Hey, this would be really cool to blog about." and pulled out my camera. And here is my dilemma. I cannot take a pretty food picture for the life of me! I try really hard, and they are all so ugly!!!!! A couple of months ago I made my favorite chicken salad recipe, and wanted to put the recipe on here with a picture or two. I artfully arranged it on a cracker, and snapped a decent shot - or so I thought. My friend Angie happened to come over that morning, and I showed the picture to her. She is a nursing student and made the comment that at first glance it looked like a body part from one of her Anatomy books. OUCH! Here are the pictures I took during my Ravioli experience.
In this shot I wanted to capture the importance of using fresh, quality ingredients (It really does make all the difference,) Here is some basil I had just picked and a fresh block of Parmesan that I grated into my filling.
Here is some of the dough rolled out with the filling strategically placed . . .
And now for the flipping of the dough . . .
The finished product . . . you just plop these babies into boiling water until they float to the top. I ordered a ravioli cutter online so next time they will be more uniform in shape and will have the cute scalloped edges you see in restaurant raviolis.
Desserts are hands-down my speciality, and this picture isn't too bad. Here is a Chocolate Peanut Butter Torte I made to take to Fort Wayne this past weekend. It was so rich and decadent. You can find the recipe here
I also made these adorable mini cupcakes. The cake is made with marscapone cheese, and the glaze is strawberry. I am an extreme chocolate lover, but these were so good I might start swinging the other way. I got this recipe from my cousin-in-law's (ha!) blog
If you are in a recipe rut and are looking for some inspiration, you should check out her blog. While you are there, you can also see some really adorable pictures of her daughter, Marlo.
So, do you see what I mean now? I would love to have a food blog, or at the very least, blog a little bit more about the fun recipes I make - but HAVE to do some serious work on the pictures! Maybe I can find a book on food photography or maybe I will just start studying the tons of other food blogs I visit on a daily basis for inspiration. It would be fun to share my love of food and fun times in the kitchen with all of you - so let that officially be my goal :) Wish me luck!
First - i'm so impressed that you made homemade ravioli. It's something I've always wanted to try. It looks great! How did they taste? Did the family like them?
ReplyDeleteSecond - you should totally do a food blog. Food blogs aren't even about photography - just really good food - which you very obviously make!! I don't care how good the picture is if the recipe sounds new and different and delicious.
Also, taking good pictures is hard! I think I take at least a dozen of everything I post and I still have to do a lot of photoshop work to make it look the way it does. Just do what you said you'll be doing - study other blogs, take mental notes. look at foodgawker.com alot. You gotta start somewhere - it's just important that you start!
Finally - thanks for plugging my blog. You're my most loyal reader and I'm so flattered that you try out my recipes.
Let me know if you need any help setting up your new food blog!
Wow - thanks for the vote of confidence. I needed that. I'm glad to know that you have to take a lot of pics to get good ones. I have never used photoshop - I definitely need to check that out!
ReplyDeleteThe ravioli was really good and the family loved them (the filling had ricotta and chicken). They would have been better if I could have rolled the dough thinner - they were a little thick and "doughy". I need to get one of those rollers that you put your pasta through to make it really thin before you cut it.
Thank you for taking the time to comment - I wish more people would! I like to know people are reading.
Oh my gosh! You made your own pasta! That is awesome. Looks so good. The cake, I'm sure, was outstanding. Your pictures look good to me. My favorite is the cheese and basil. Very artsy. By the way, when can we come over and sample some of your food? :)
ReplyDeleteEmily - just popped over to your blog. Yummy food! And your daughter is so cute. Together, you guys are inspiring me to make some new recipes. But what do you do about a husband who can't eat onions?? And is picky. Well, at least he likes sweets. He would love Chanda's Chocolate Peanut Butter torte.
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