This past Saturday I had the great pleasure of attending the Natural Light Food Photography Class taught by professional food photographer Christina Peters and prop, still life and set stylist Amy Paliwoda. The class took place at Christina’s Marina del Ray studio and there were 10 of us students, which was a great student/teacher ratio. Amy had set up a long table filled with props, such as napkins, table coverings, plates, bowls, glasses and tableware, plus beautiful food items for the still lifes we would each create and photograph in the morning. In the afternoon, after the lunch she provided, Christina gave a presentation on how she optimizes images for the web and print using Photoshop.

You can learn more about Christina’s photography classes here, and visit the websites for Christina and Amy, where you can see gorgeous food photos and examples of amazing prop styling.

On the left, Christina lines up a shot while Amy, on the right, perfects her styling.

Above you can see the part of the studio kitchen  with shelves of table coverings stored neatly in plastic cases. On the right is some equipment for photo shoots: a rope with many A-clamps, a bag of wood blocks for raising props and the big black tubular tripod. In the middle are the two director chairs that Christina and Amy sat on to give their presentations. All of us students brought our tripods, so they were standing everywhere. On the bottom you can see part of Christina’s computer setup with her Mac and the big open double garage door, in front of which we set up our tables with our food still lifes to shoot. There was such beautiful light there.

Above is a photo of the long prop table with linens, dishes and food items which we picked from to create our still lifes.

This is my still life shot with my camera on my tripod. Amy helped me with the composition and Christina helped me with the camera settings. I mostly shoot hand-held, so this was new and interesting.

The following photos were shot hand-held by me of my fellow student’s set-ups. The oranges were styled by Amy and, to me,  show how something simple can be so beautiful. Also, I was really admiring Amy’s talent with arranging, bunching and folding the fabrics for the shots.

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Thank you again Christine and Amy for an extremely interesting and informative day. I definitely recommend your class to all food photographers, beginner to advanced, because your day was packed with information. Thank you for answering all my questions and for the tips about shooting and styling. Food bloggers, take this class. You will be so glad you did.

It was one week ago today that I returned from Camp Blogaway Food Blogger Bootcamp and I have been thinking about how to write about it for that whole time. It took about 24 hours for my adrenalin to return to normal, then I slept for 18 hours after the crash. Then I went through all the printed and hand-written information I had brought home. I viewed the 150 photographs I took to get a usable amount and photoshopped them to blog size. I read all the posts the other attendees had written. The slideshow from the Camp Blogaway website, and What Other Campers Said and Comments were fun to read.

The swag from my goodie bag covered my whole dining room table. There were 30 pamphlets alone from sponsors, which included about 70 recipes for their products. These sponsors include: Lindsay Olives, Country Bob’s Sauce, Vidalia brands Onions, Woolwich Dairy Chevrai, Goodcook.com, Zespri Kiwifruit, National Pork Board, California Walnuts, Westland Old Amsterdam Cheese, National Onion Association, regionalbest.com, Lotus Foods: A World of Rice and BKW Seasonings.

Then I went over pages and pages of my written notes from the speakers: Photography with Art Ramirez, Recipe Writing with Barbara Ostman, Food Styling with Denise Vivaldo, Running Your Blog like a Business with Patti Londre and Search Engine Optimization with Danny Jauregui.

Well, truthfully, I didn’t know where to start writing. So I decided to show the photos and let the chips fall where they may.

I left Manhattan Beach about 10:00 AM and drove into Camp around 12:30 PM. I was early, so I helped load the goodie bags and attached pens to the Camp Handbook which everyone received. We were all instructed to back our cars into their parking spaces, nose out facing the road down the mountain, in case there was an emergency, like a forest fire, we could get out fast. We all got name tags, which we wore all weekend, and we each decorated a visor with our blog name, which was given to someone else who had to find us and return it. A “get to know you” adventure.

The only time I spent in my cabin was to sleep. The rest of the time we were in the Lodge where resided the coffee bar and the fireplace, where marshmallows were later roasted for s’mores and we did Fireside Lodge Lounging.

The first organized activity was the Wilton Piping Class. Everyone got a brownie, a cookie and a cupcake to decorate. First we practiced, then decorated for real.

Our works of art were destined for a contest, which would award the winner with a gigantic Wilton decorating kit. Dorothy Reinhold of Shockingly Delicious won this competition, which was actually announced Sunday morning. You can see her winning entry on her website.

As you can see, everyone contributed, some more seriously than others. There’s A Newf in My Soup was serious. Greg at Sippity Sup and his worms, not so much. While the Wilton method is not my style, I played along, but I thoroughly enjoyed the outspoken Marla at Family Fresh Cooking who said in her post, “We built silly frosted cakes as an “ice breaker” activity.”

The room in my cabin was quite small with two bunk beds and barely room to turn around. Fortunately there were only two people per room, so I had the top bunk upon which to put all the stuff I brought. I had to drive my car up the hill through the forest to unload it all. You can see an example of the fish artwork on the cabin walls and the stained glass on the cathedral windows of the lodge.

Saturday morning we got our group photograph taken and then it was back to the lodge for the whole day of lectures. Here you can see Art Ramirez talking about photography and photoshop. I was particularly fascinated by the Sponge Tool and Liquify Tool instruction. Denise Vivaldo was as instructive and humorous as ever. The rep from the National Onion Association instructed us on how to dice an onion.

After the photography lecture, we were instructed to go out on the lodge deck and practice our photography skills. We could photograph our piping treats or some peanuts.

Our Fearless Leader, Patti Londre, of Worth the Whisk, was also out on the deck, so I photographed her as she mugged for the camera.

Sunday morning, after reloading my car and driving it back to the parking lot, I arrived at the lodge, only to find that people were still piping. These guys were really into the piping thing and I was wondering if they had been there all night, piping away.

After we ate our brunch, it was time for the awards to be given out. As I mentioned, the Wilton Piping Award was given. Then the winner of the “Guess how may olives are in the jar” was announced. And finally the Golden Pinecone Award for the blogger who epitomizes the best food blogger characteristics. The winner, of course, Rachael of La Fuji Mamma.

The one big realization I had during this whole weekend is that these food bloggers were a really smart group of women. I heard the statement “When I was in law school…” a number of times. The two I enjoyed talking to the most were my roommate Andrea Juarez of ForkFingersChopsticks (yes, she’s a lawyer) and her blog tells the minute details and history of ingredients. Current posts reveal everything you ever wanted to know about popcorn. It’s really interesting. The other was a fellow cabin-mate Adair Seldon of LentilBreakdown. If you want to read a food blog filled with smart, wicked humor, hers is the place to go. I’m so glad I met you guys.

The weekend was over and I am already looking forward to next year. Farewell Camp Blogaway.

Next weekend I am going to be attending the Camp Blogaway Food Blogger Bootcamp, which is taking place at Camp de Benneville Pines in Angelus Oaks, California. That is in the mountains east of Los Angeles and I will be enjoying all of the activities planned by Patti Londre of Worth the Whisk from Friday afternoon through Sunday brunch. We will be staying in cabins and sleeping on bunk beds in sleeping bags.

Patti has planned three days jam-packed with activities for food bloggers, such as a Hands-On Wilton Decorating Workshop and Competition, workshops on Photography with Art Ramirez, Recipe Writing with Barbara Ostman, Food Styling with Denise Vivaldo, Running Your Blog like a Business with Patti Londre and Search Engine Optimization with Danny Jauregui. There will be Panel Discussions with Public Relations Pros and a Mad Housewife Wine Tasting.

Then for fun there will be Sunrise Hikes, Karaoke, Massages, S’Mores, Fireside Lodge Lounging, Cinematherapy, a Prop Swap and Golden Pinecone Award!

But the best thing will be the opportunity to get to know 50 other food bloggers, to share stories and tips, to learn what their blog focus is, how they did it. I am really looking forward to that!

Here are some photos we received from Patti Londre of the Camp area to boost our enthusiasm. Three days away from Los Angeles and our real lives to being immersed in the forest and food blogging. Yea!

OH, and it has been highly recommended we bring heavy duty ear plugs, a flash light with extra batteries and to always walk with a buddy after sundown. If we bring snax, they need to be stored in the lodge, as there are bears that may break in if they smell food in the cabins or cars. Oh my!

So I will be giving you a day by day report when I return. Expect the unexpected!

Last Saturday the California Avocado Commission hosted a Food Bloggers lunch and cooking demonstration at Ciudad with Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger. Ciudad is located in downtown Los Angeles in the middle of the city-scape, the sky scrapers towering all around it. About 20 of us bloggers and food writers came together with our cameras and appetites to watch the Too Hot Tamales prepare four courses, all containing avocados, which would be perfect for Cinco de Mayo celebrations. 84.1 million pounds of avocados are expected to be consumed in one day during this year’s festivities in the U.S.

Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken

The event kicked off with a “Guacamole Challenge.” We bloggers, in pairs of two, were given a bowl of avocados and a long table-full of bowls of other ingredients to create our own personalized versions of guacamole. Some of the unusual ingredients were soy sauce, kim chee, tamarind, bacon, pomegranate seeds and bananas. My partner was Michael Limbo, a writer for the food section of Los Angeles Magazine. We were given five minutes to make our creation, so it was hilariously hectic, with all the people around the table trying to get their hands on the various items. We made a pretty classic guacamole, although it did have mango in it. We called our creation “Cado-Avo.”

Next came the judging for “Best Name” and “Best Guacamole” which was done by Mary Sue Milliken, Susan Feniger and Jeremy Tummel, the Executive Chef of Ciudad. If Mary Sue and Susan disagreed, Jeremy was to be the tie-breaker. The name of each guacamole had to be explained and each tasted, while the creators described what ingredients they had used. There was a lot of laughing and teasing during this process. It was decided that the Best Name award went to “Pomocado Mole” and the Best Guacamole went to “Spud Not Guac Fully Loaded” which they said tasted like loaded baked potatoes. Awards were given and photos taken of the winners.

Next we were  treated to a cooking demonstration by Mary Sue Miliken and Susan Feniger. They had a large cooking station set up in the back of the restaurant dining room with a grill and six-burner stove in the center. You can tell these two have been working together for years, because they finish each other’s sentences. Mary Sue is the straight man and Susan is the comedienne. They kept us laughing through their whole cooking  demonstration. If you would like to see a video of the Too Hot Tamales in action, you can go to the California Avocado Commission website.

The first dish was a Crispy California Avocado Taco, which had a wedge of avocado encrusted with quinoa, poppy and sesame seeds, and then deep fried, served with a chipotle corn relish. For a printable recipe and more.

Next was a California Avocado, Bacon and Tomato Salad with frisee, watercress, romaine, red onion, mustard vinaigrette, crispy capers, and homemade croutons.

It was pretty much agreed that the Chilaquiles looked like a brown blob on the plate, but they really tasted good! Chicken and California Avocado Skillet Chilaquiles with corn tortilla chips, salsa roja, panela cheese, red onion, jalapeno, cilantro and lime. For a printable recipe and more.

I have never had a dessert with avocado in it so this was a revelation. California Avocado and Mango with yogurt, honey, lime, touch of cayenne. The little shooter glass held a California Avocado and Orange Liquado, sort of like an avocado smoothie. The lavender shortbread cookie was divine. For a printable recipe and more.

And the best moment of all… I got my book autographed and my photo taken with the Too Hot Tamales!! I am their total groupie and not ashamed of it!

As I have mentioned numerous times, I love to go to cooking classes, so when Mary Ellen invited me to participate in one she was teaching, I jumped at the chance. I was advised to bring my chef’s knife and an apron, and of course I took my camera. It is always fun to see how a cooking teacher conducts her class and what tips I can pick up. Plus I get to eat wonderful food and take the recipes home.

Mary Ellen graduated at the top of her class with high honors from the “Le Cordon Bleu” program of the California School of Culinary Arts in Pasadena. Her culinary internship was at the Los Angeles Times Food Section and test kitchen. After culinary school, Mary Ellen started Personal Touch Gourmet, a boutique catering company specializing in small intimate parties, freelance recipe testing and cooking classes around the South Bay and Los Angeles.

Chef Mary Ellen Rae

Several years later a call from the Los Angeles times beckoned her back into the test kitchen with the position of “recipe tester.” This included sourcing, shopping, preparing, testing and editing the recipes published in the weekly Food Section. Mary Ellen had the opportunity to write articles and develop many of her own recipes for publication, several winning “Top Ten Recipe of the Year Awards.”

In 2007, after four years of commuting downtown, she left the paper and decided it would be great to run her own life again. She teaches private classes in your home, either one-on-one or group parties, a great way to celebrate birthdays, bridal showers or special celebrations. And, of course, the participation cooking classes, such as the one I attended.

There were 10 people who came to the class, which included three husband-wife couples. The class took place in a professional catering kitchen, so everything was stainless steel, and every cooking utensil and piece of equipment was available for us to use. Mary Ellen had five recipes for us to prepare, so we paired off in teams of two for each dish. My partner and I got to prepare the Caesar Salad (recipe follows), although I have to admit, she did most of the work, because I was running around photographing everything. And the salad turned out to be just stellar!

One couple prepared the appetizer, Kalamata Olive and Pequillo Pepper Tapenade, which we ate on water crackers. They were set out on the counter and we just walked by and grabbed a bite as we prepared the other dishes. So tasty!

The next dish was the Chicken, Sun-Dried Tomato and Basil Wrapped in Filo. Each person got a chance to wrap one chicken breast themselves. The filo was brushed with butter and the chicken was topped with a mixture of mayonnaise, sun-dried tomatoes, basil, prosciutto, garlic and parmesan, and then the filo was wrapped around to make a neat packet.

The resulting dish had chicken that was so moist and tender, it melted in my mouth. I loved this dish. The recipe follows.

One couple prepared the Linguine with Shrimp and Spanish Chorizo. The sauce had a base of whole tomatoes in puree and tomato paste, with diced Spanish chorizo, capers, Kalamata olives, red wine, garlic, shallots and red pepper flakes. It was simmered for about 30 minutes, with the shrimp being added in the last 5 minutes.

As you can guess, we were getting pretty stuffed by this time. But we persevered and truly enjoyed the Chocolate Espresso Brownies. I had to laugh, because when I started to take the photos of the brownies, Mary Ellen rushed over and said, “Let me get that ugly old strainer out of the way!” I had to stop her, because that strainer was the coolest old thing ever that could be used for a food photo prop. Food stylists and photographers go on hunting trips for props like that. Anyway, that strainer had been used to sprinkle powdered sugar over the brownies that we ate. They were fudgy good.

Thank you Mary Ellen Rae for inviting me to your cooking class. I had a lot of fun, ate too much and got to take a bunch of photographs of your beautiful food. What could be better!

You can contact Mary Ellen at MaryEllen@PersonalTouchGourmet.net or visit her website at www.PersonalTouchGourmet.net to find out all the details of her classes and services.

When Grace-Marie told me she was cooking something with salmon and avocado today, I immediately volunteered to photograph whatever she came up with. Two of my favorite ingredients that are also photogenic and I’m right there. I arrived when the class was just about over and they all gave me a sitting ovation. They love Grace-Marie and had been reading my blog about her. It was pretty incredible and heart warming. The article I wrote about her in the Easy Reader Beach Magazine is coming out tomorrow. A copy of it was attached to the back of the recipe packet, so they could all see it. I wonder if she told them how we have been jumping up and down so excited for the last month since we found out it was going to be in the magazine.

I had no idea how Grace-Marie had prepared the salmon, so she made me a demo plate. It looked like guacamole and a cooked red salsa sauce. I took my fork and scooped up some of the salmon, avocado and tomato, put it in my mouth, and these A-MAZ-ING flavors exploded. This was no south-of-the-border ordinariness. This was the Pacific Rim exulting with wasabi paste, rice vinegar, freshly grated ginger root, sweet chili sauce, sesame oil and soy sauce. Did I say grated ginger? Grace-Marie told me she really likes it, and she wasn’t kidding. I couldn’t stop eating it. I had to be gently nudged towards my camera.

I was imagining those mashed avocados waiting patiently in the bowl to be joined by their usual companions: onion, diced tomato, lime juice and cilantro, and their astonishment when it was wasabi paste, rice vinegar and soy sauce. Seriously, this avocado mash can easily rival guacamole, plus the jicama makes it crunchy and interesting. I took some home and tried it with corn tortilla chips. It was wonderful.

Grace-Marie Johnston

For more information about the cooking classes visit Grace-Marie online at Bristol Farms or email her at  gmj@bristolfarms.com.

Click to continue for printable recipes.

Today I went to the most amazing Easter Brunch at Grace-Marie’s Kitchen Cooking School at Bristol Farms in Manhattan Beach. The dishes she prepared were just beautiful and delicious. We had Asparagus and Tomato Salad with Warm Easter Ham Vinaigrette, Springtime Strawberry Muffins, Mushroom and Pepper Brunch Clafouti, and Lemon Curd Meringues.

Grace-Marie’s classroom is the most welcoming place and I arrived with anticipation for the wonderful time I was about to have. For me this means great food and the opportunity to photograph that great food. And listen to and watch Grace-Marie as she deftly prepares her dishes for all of her guests. And eat a lot!

We started off with the Asparagus and Tomato Salad accompanied by the Strawberry Muffins. This salad was the best salad I have had in a long time. The asparagus were fat and slightly crisp, with the very tasty ham, honey and Dijon mustard vinaigrette. The goat cheese really put the finishing touch on it. It was gorgeous.

While we were eating our salad, Grace-Marie prepared the savory Clafouti with Mushrooms and Peppers. Sautéing mushrooms, peppers and onions smelled so good!

First she made the crust mixture, poured half into the quiche pans and baked until it was set. Then she topped the crust with the Swiss cheese and vegetables, and poured over the rest of the crust mixture.

And finally it was baked until it was puffed and browned and topped with more of the mushroom mixture. It was so beautiful, as you can see by the photo at the top of this post. I was starving at this point because I had been photographing everything instead of eating. The sight and smell of this dish was making me crazy, especially the melted Swiss cheese that was oozing out of the center.

While everyone was eating their Clafouti, Grace-Marie was demonstrating how to make the meringue shells.

And finally, the perfect ending to a perfect brunch…Meringues with Lemon Curd and Whipped Cream! And I got to eat!! Yea!!

While we were eating, Grace-Marie told us about some new adventures she is looking into for the near future. The first is Three to Four-Day Weekend Trips to various places like the Santa Inez Valley (wine tasting, shopping, eating, farmers markets, cooking classes); Temecula (wine country, antiques); Napa-Sonoma; and maybe Santa Fe. These trips would be affordable and fun, with one price which would include the bus, hotel and two meals per day. With Grace-Marie at the helm, you would be sure to have the time of your life!

She was also thinking of making the “Weekend Entertaining” class on Saturday a participation cooking class. You can count me in – me and my camera, that is.

Also in the works is a Summer Cooking Camp for 7–15 year olds. These are hands-on, Monday-Wednesday-Friday, from 10 to 1 o’clock, one week per month in June, July and August. I photographed the kid’s cooking class for St. Patrick’s Day and it was absolutely fantastic. Check out the photos here.

Friends for Easter Brunch at Grace-Marie’s Kitchen

Click to continue below for the printable recipes for Asparagus and Tomato Salad, and the Mushroom and Pepper Clafouti. Here is the recipe for the Lemon Curd Meringues.

Grace-Marie Johnston

For more information about the cooking classes visit Grace-Marie online at Bristol Farms or email her at  gmj@bristolfarms.com.

Leprechauns in the Kitchen was the theme of the kid’s cooking class at Grace Marie’s Kitchen at Bristol Farms in Manhattan Beach last Saturday, celebrating St. Patrick’s Day with a menu of Shamrock Green Salad, Irish Farmhouse Shepherd’s Pie and Lucky Leprechaun Brownies. All the recipes were prepared by the kids, who ranged in age from seven to thirteen. The class was three hours long and they cooked in teams assisted by the Cooking School Instructor Shelly Shepard-Wilson and her two assistants.

The kids learned new skills, such as pouring, measuring, how to crack an egg and how to use a can opener.

At Grace-Marie’s Kitchen the kids prepare adult recipes that have been scaled down and they successfully complete them. There are three to four recipes which make a full meal, including dessert. The kids are taught safety and sanitation, and work with real knives, which is great for their self esteem. They set the tables, learn a little etiquette, and wash their own cooking dishes. In fact, they’re big fans of cleaning. Grace-Marie says the parents can’t believe their own children are so enthusiastic to get their hands in the dish water, but it might have something to do with the nifty water-squirting device in the sink. This is also a great outing for home schoolers.

The parents don’t stay in the classroom. They drop off their kids and pick them up when it is over. Then they go home with the recipes and a big container of leftovers. Kids have started at seven years old, gone on through the Teen Classes and then go on to work at Bristol Farms or with Grace-Marie in her cooking school. Some of the Teens come to class with three-ring binders full of years of recipes from the classes.

The Teen Team took care of the important task of sautéing the meat and veggies, and assembling the Shephard’s Pie. David, of the Teen Team, plans to go to culinary school and become a chef.

All the kids were given either a plastic knife or a steel knife according to their age and skill level, and were given a chopping and slicing lesson.

The kids gave rapt attention to Instructor Shelly as she shows how to use the blender.

The kids made Shepherd’s Pie, a meat and tomato filling covered with a mashed potato and cheddar cheese crust, and a salad with Green Goddess Dressing. Plus Brownies with Green Cream Cheese filling.

Finally they get to eat their wonderful creations, with exclamations such as, “We made this!” and “This is really good!”

A great day in Grace-Marie’s Kitchen at Bristol Farms!

Grace-Marie Johnston

For more information about the cooking classes visit Grace-Marie online at Bristol Farms or email her at  gmj@bristolfarms.com.

I have been taking a photography class through the South Bay Adult School, one night a week for ten weeks. Our teacher, Raiko Hartman, is an award winning photographer who has been a successful commercial photographer for over 20 years. His work focuses on people and product, so that is what I have been learning in his class. We finished week six, so there are four classes to go.

Each week he gives us detailed instructions and a homework assignment, which has forced enabled me to take some really interesting photos. I usually have my face about a foot from the food I am photographing, so now I have to go out into the real world where what you are shooting is jumping, waving, running, flying and basically not sitting wonderfully immobile on its plate. It has made me appreciate my own chosen subjects that just sit there and go duh as I take my time with macro focusing, never moving a crumb, fork or noodle.

The photo of the bee, above, was the wild animal assignment. Unfortunately, the whole wild animal contingent around my house was hiding out because it had been pouring rain for a week. This little bee in the Bird of Paradise was the only wild thing I could find to photograph.

Here are the photos for the other assignments I have had so far. Each one was an adventure and a challenge.

An example of short depth of field, where the background is out of focus.

Time exposure at night of a big red truck.

Panning, as you keep the camera focused on the subject as he is moving.

Stop Action One

Stop Action Two

Long depth of field, foreground and background in focus, at the Manhattan Beach Pier

People portrait of my neighbor, Gourmet Larry

Pet portrait of Gourmet Larry’s cat, Homie

Architectural Assignment for next week

I’m hoping that this photo class will help me be a better photographer of food for my website. At the very least I am learning more about my camera and all its bells and whistles. And it gets me out of the house and away from my computer. A good thing.

Mardi Gras Madness was the theme of the cooking class I went to today at Grace-Marie’s Kitchen at Bristol Farms in Manhattan Beach. The wonderful thing about Grace-Marie’s classes is that she makes you feel like your best friend invited you over for lunch and went all out with the food, the decorations, the white china, the whole works. The sunlit classroom is homey, with warm colors and artwork, and you sit at communal tables with tablecloths and seasonal decorations down the center. You’re with convivial companions and fellow foodies, anticipation building as you watch Grace-Marie cook, and smell the delicious aromas wafting from the stove and oven.

Grace-Marie does extensive research on what she is going to cook for each class’s theme, and she tries to make dishes that are new, interesting, and cutting edge.*(Please see Note below). Of course she has all of the Bristol Farms products at her fingertips, which doesn’t hurt. Today, as the theme was Mardi Gras, she talked about Cajun seasoning. She suggested we use one without salt, and if we couldn’t find one, to email her and she would send us a recipe to make it ourselves. She is so accessible and willing to help her students.

While Grace-Marie is cutting and chopping, she keeps up a running conversation with all of us students. I’ve never seen anyone who was so adept at keeping her hands working, checking the recipes, knowing how what was in the oven was doing by how it smelled, and popping up with little tidbits of info like, “Do you like Zydeco music? Do you know that Zydeco comes from French for green beans; actually, the Creole accordion and washboard music they played on the porch when they cleaned the green beans.” And then a discussion about Fat Tuesday and the goofy commercials on the Olympics. Just like in your best friend’s kitchen, sharing the friendship.

First we had this tasty Cajun Red Beans and Rice Salad. The vinaigrette was zingy with lemon juice, Creole Mustard, Tabasco Sauce, garlic and Cajun Spice mix.

Then we were served the Mardi Gras Po-Boy Sandwiches with huge cornmeal-crusted shrimp and an amazing Red Pepper Remoulade, which included Stonewall Kitchen Red Pepper Relish, on French rolls crisp with butter and grated Asiago cheese. Everyone in the room was groaning with happiness at this point. The sweet shrimp, the spicy remoulade, the crunchy cornmeal, the salty cheese and the crisp buttery bread. This covers all the food groups in my book.

While everyone was eating, Grace-Marie introduced me and talked about my food blog. Everyone was very enthusiastic and wanted to read about Grace-Marie on-line. They also wanted to see themselves on my blog. So I took photos while they ate, which I think next time I’ll have them get in a big group and say cheese. But here you are, fellow students, I did my best.

*Note: Grace-Marie asked me to tell you that the St. Patrick’s Day Dinner on March 9, with the Irish Farm House theme, is NOT corned beef and cabbage. I repeat, there will be NO corned beef and cabbage for St. Patrick’s Day this year. There WILL be a gourmet Irish salmon dish with appropriate accompaniments.

And finally the dessert, French Quarter Chocolate Bread Pudding. I have to tell you, this is the most chocolate-y concoction I have ever eaten. Grace-Marie says she uses Broguiere’s Chocolate Milk in her recipe, which comes in a glass bottle, and is the richest chocolate milk on the planet. The photograph cannot do justice to the way this stuff tastes and its soft custardiness. If you are a chocoholic, this is what they feed you in heaven. You must make this recipe.

Grace-Marie Johnston

For more information about the cooking classes visit Grace-Marie online at Bristol Farms or email her at  gmj@bristolfarms.com.

I have taken a number of cooking classes at Williams-Sonoma from a wonderful teacher, Linda Steidel. I look forward to her classes, not only for the recipes, but to watch her cooking techniques and see what equipment she is using. The thing about cooking teachers is they have to get everything prepared and cooked within a certain time limit, so they have to be as efficient as possible. Linda is the epitome of efficient. She has economy of motion and a less-is-more style that I find fascinating to watch.

And now Linda has a new book coming out called For Every Season There Is a Salad. She worked on it for a year, creating the 100 recipes, doing the food styling and assisting the photographer. On top of everything else she does, I think she must be Super Woman. I am really looking forward to getting my hands on a copy so I can tell you all about it.

EXTRA! EXTRA! April 27,2010. Linda’s Book has been released! Find out more about it and see photos here.

Oh, and did I say she is calm. The night of the class when she did this Corn Bread Tartlet, there was also a Lobster Pot Pie on the menu. Linda was making the pie dough in a food processor provided by the store and half way through it stopped working. The poor store employee assisting Linda was horrified and kept trying, unsuccessfully, to open the processor and turn it back on. Finally, Linda stopped her, and calmly said it didn’t matter, she would just finish it by hand. Which she did. Calm.

Also on the menu at this class were a beautiful Peach, Mozzarella, Fennel and Prosciutto Salad and a Nectarine-Raspberry Crisp. Linda always makes her food look really beautiful, as you can see from these photographs I took. I used my Sony point and shoot camera and Linda was very gracious about stopping the show to let me get these shots.

Linda has been teaching cooking classes at Williams-Sonoma for fifteen years at their various stores in Southern California. She teaches custom designed classes in private homes for friends celebrating birthdays and special occasions, and has worked with such well-known culinary figures as Jo Bettoja in Italy, Anne Willan at La Varenne, New York’s Peter Kump and experts at the CIA at Greystone. She has also led her students on culinary trips to Provence, Burgundy, Tuscany, Tahiti, Africa and Mexico. You can check out her website at LindaSteidel.com. She has a new thing called The Underground Restaurant that could be very interesting.

These little Corn Bread Tartlets are not only cute, but they make a wonderful appetizer. The corn bread muffin is sweet and crunchy, along with the creamy ricotta cheese and the zing of the tomatoes. I love the way they look. Linda set them out on a cake platter with a pedestal and I could just imagine them on my buffet table. In fact I went home and made them the next day. I hope you give them a try, too.

When I arrived at Matt’s studio Sunday morning at 9 o’clock, everyone there was working on their food and setting up their props on trays for their photo set-ups. Matt announced that we would be shooting two set-ups at a time on two tables in front of the big double garage door-sized window that was covered with a white gauze fabric.

The natural light coming in the window was ethereal and back lit the food and props in such a beautiful way. I had been having trouble finding the light for my photos, which was the main reason I had wanted to come to this workshop. And there it was.

I was hoping to get my photo shoot over in the morning, so I could spend the rest of the day photographing the other set-ups and activities. And I had butterflies in my stomach about my shoot, wondering if it would turn out alright. Or if my fledgling photo skills would embarrass me. I had brought two containers of raspberry sorbet, so in preparation I put a bunch of scoops on a plate and put it in the freezer.

It was really interesting to watch Cindie and Denise help everyone with their food and props. Cindie was absolutely meticulous with her placement of every little thing.

Cindie helps Carolyn Sue Nelson style her Shrimp Remoulade. Photos by Lynne

At one point someone was looking through a camera viewfinder and said they thought there was a lot of reflection on the knife in the set-up. It was evident Denise and Cindie have been working together closely for a long time, because they both yelled out in unison from opposite sides of the room, “Get the cream cheese!!” So the cream cheese was appropriated from the kitchen and rubbed on the knife to dull the reflection, and the photo shoot proceeded.

While Denise and Cindie were helping with the food styling, Matt was helping set up the tripods and getting each person’s camera pointing at the right angle. Some were from the side, some at 45 degrees and some straight overhead.

Cheri’s Tortilla Soup is made picture perfect by Cindie. Photos by Lynne

In the kitchen Denise was giving a demonstration of how to make a raw turkey look like it was cooked. She sprayed a Kitchen Bouquet and water solution on the turkey, let it dry and then sprayed more solution where it needed to be darker. There were many layers of spray until you could not tell it from a real cooked bird. We looked at magazines that Matt had in the studio, and because it was November, there was a Thanksgiving turkey on every cover. It was quite apparent that the plump smooth ones were raw and painted, and the shriveled ones were really cooked. This was a revelation to me. Henceforth I would be looking for trickery in every food photo I saw.

Food styling of raw turkey by Miri.  Photo by Lynne

Food styling by Cay Snow and  Betsy Haley

Food styling by Gilda Zevallos       Photos by Lynne     Food styling by Lisa Canning

Food styling by Gaby Dalkin. Photo by Lynne

Finally, by 3 o’clock, everyone had photographed their set-up except me. I was the last one. I laid out my napkins and, with Cindie’s help, arranged the glassware and spoons. Matt put my camera on his tripod and got it at the correct angle. I got the scoops of sorbet out of the freezer and got the raspberries, sorbet and cookies arranged. Matt put my camera on manual (its first time) and showed me how to focus manually. I was astounded at the clarity I was able to get, which I hadn’t been able to do before. My heart was beating like crazy and Matt told me to take the photo. There…it was done. At last.

Matt had been downloading each person’s money shot from their camera’s memory card throughout the day, and he told us he would send us all a slide show in the near future. So we wearily cleaned up the studio and packed up our stuff. Fond goodbyes and hugs were given as we departed. The end of an unforgettable weekend.

When I got home I found that a magical transformation had occurred. Every thing in my house, including the furniture, dishes, utinsels, pans, napkins, linens, cheese boards, cooling racks… had all morphed into PROPS. It was amazing. I had to laugh.

Don’t miss reading about the information-packed Day 1 of this Food Styling and Photography Workshop.

In September 2009 I was reading MattBites and discovered that Denise Vivaldo of FoodFanatics and Matt Armendariz were teaching a workshop for food writers and bloggers in November. I was absolutely thrilled because it was just what I needed to finalize my commitment to do a food blog. If I went to the class, I would have to justify spending the money. I had taken a catering class from Denise at UCLA in 1995 and knew what a talent she was, and, of course, Matt has his great, very popular blog with his magnificent photography. This would be my chance to learn from the best.

I procrastinated signing up for the class, and the next time I looked it was full. I almost had a heart attack. I wanted to cry. A week went by and I looked again, only to discover that so many people had signed up that they were adding an additional class the following weekend. I called Denise immediately and signed up, thanking my lucky stars that I would now be able to attend.

On September 14^th I bought my Canon T1i digital camera, because I knew I only had two months to learn how to use it before the workshop. I knew there were going to be people there who had real blogs already and I was worried about looking silly. I also knew we would have to create our own food set-up on Sunday to be photographed, and I had no clue what I would do. Butterflies in the stomach.

November 14, 2009

It was 9:00 Saturday morning. Matt’s studio in Long Beach was in a row of like-studios, with a regular door and what appeared to be a double garage door next to it. I knocked on the door, and when I went in Denise rushed over and gave me a big hug, exclaiming, “Lynne, your hair is all gray and curly! I love it!” She hadn’t changed a bit!

Little by little the other 10 participants arrived and we all sat around a big table in the middle of the studio. We started off by introducing ourselves and sharing our stories. Several people already had blogs, some were planning on starting their own, and all wanted to improve their food photography. They were such a friendly, talented group including Cheri from Adventures in the Kitchen, Gaby from What’s Gaby Cooking, Miri from LauraCarmen and Lisa from DandySugar.

Denise began her introduction to food styling by declaring, “Food left on its own can be tricky, ugly and mean.” She said food styling was an American invention and was really about engineering. Then went on to tell about a photo shoot of a very tall sandwich she and her partner, Cindie Flannigan, had worked on for the cover of their book. The sandwich wouldn’t stay upright and she was tearing her hair out. So she went to lunch and when she came back, Cindie had built scaffolding on the back of the sandwich from rulers, chopsticks and electrical tape to hold it up.

Photos by Jon Edwards Photography

Denise introduced Cindie Flannigan to us, saying Cindie was the best food stylist she had ever worked with. Denise said Cindie could make the worst ugly food look beautiful and when she died, she wanted Cindie to style her face for her funeral. I think Denise must have been a stand-up comedienne in a former life because while giving us an immense amount of information on food styling and her vast career experiences, she kept us laughing every minute. “Twenty years ago I looked like Barbie Benton,” Denise quipped, “Is she still alive?”

Denise Vivaldo

Cindie and Denise had their demonstration area set up at the head of the table. The first demo they did was pancakes. Cindie demonstrated the different look of the pancake if it was cooked in oil or in butter. She stacked the pancakes up and stuck little triangular makeup sponges in between so they were straight. The maple syrup was frozen so it ran languidly down the side of the stack.

Oil (left) and Butter

Applying the Frozen Syrup

Photographing the Finished Pancakes

More food styling tips:

• Undercook the food so it doesn’t appear shriveled
• Food styling is piecemeal – cook components separately and then assemble on the plate
• Use small plates – you don’t want Barbie & Ken food, like 2 acorns on the plate
• Know what you’re selling – is it the china or the cake
• Scotchguard the top of food to repel liquid
• Have soup cold — prop up the garnishes with ice cubes or a potato cube with toothpicks
• Spray Pam on cut potatoes, apples and avocados to prevent turning brown
• Wear cotton gloves to keep fingerprints off props
• Cover your finished styled plate with wet paper towels called the “bumper”
• The finished product is called the “beauty shot”
• Rubbing alcohol or vodka dissolves unwanted fat and protein smears on the plate

Next we got a demonstration on preparing a chicken breast, which was barely cooked in a grill pan, so that it remained rounded and pretty. Then Cindie and Denise reburned the grill marks with a charcoal starter element, painted it with Kitchen Bouquet, used a torch to cook the sides and melt the cheese, and sprayed everything with Pam. A beautiful photo was taken and then the dish was covered with the wet paper towel “bumper.” At the end of the day, hours later, the wet paper towels were removed and it looked exactly the same as it had earlier in the day! Very useful if your photographer had missed his flight.

Charcoal Starter Element Applied to Grill Marks

Painted with Kitchen Bouquet

Lightly Torched For Color

Voila! The Finished Dish

Safely Under the Bumper For The Day

Denise demonstrated creating a pasta dish using jarred Cheesy Ragu. She said you would never actually eat Cheesy Ragu, but you could make it look like any sauce you wanted by adding Kitchen Bouquet, ketchup or other coloring. You used a squeeze bottle to apply it and no matter what you did, it stayed where you put it.

Squeezing on the Cheesy Ragu Sauce

The Finished Pasta Dish

Then on to the hamburger demo. The hamburger patty was lightly sautéed, then torched around the edges and painted with Kitchen Bouquet. The top of the bun was hollowed out and its edges carefully trimmed with a scissor. Denise glued on some sesame seeds in bare areas. The ingredients were assembled and it was ready to shoot.

Cindie Puts the Final Touches on the Hamburger

Finally, Matt gave us an overview of what we would be doing the next day in the photography seminar. He showed us on his computer monitor the final photographs from the participants from the previous weekend. The photos were just amazing and inspiring, and I still had no clue what I was going to do for my setup.

I asked Cindie if she could help me figure out what I could photograph, so we looked at some cookbooks that Matt had in the studio. I liked an ice cream photo I saw, and decided my photo would be of raspberry sorbet. Cindie helped me pick out the glassware, the linens and the spoons. There were so many props to choose from in Matt’s studio, it was overwhelming. But Cindie, with her experience, knew exactly what I needed.

It was 4:00 and I was exhausted, my brain was giddy from processing all the new information, but I was ready for tomorrow.

Photo by Lynne ~Beautiful Food Styling by Heather Gill

See my next post about the photo shoot on Day 2 with Matt, Denise and Cindie.

I love to go to cooking classes. They can be participation or demonstration, it doesn’t matter, I love them all. If I’m lucky I will find a recipe I want to make myself or I may learn about a new technique, a new cooking gadget, or new product.  I get to be with people who are into food and I get to have somebody else cook for me. What could be better?

During the summer of 2009, I signed up for Tim Hogan’s participation cooking classes through the Manhattan Beach Parks and Recreation Dept because I was thinking of also teaching a class through them. I wanted to check out the kitchen and see what was involved in the logistics. I ultimately decided not to teach a cooking class, but to create this blog  instead. But I had so much fun going to his classes, it was totally worth it. He is teaching a new class beginning January 25, 2011, called Hearty Winter Cuisine that you might find interesting.

Tim’s classes were in sets of four and I took three sets – 12 classes.  At the beginning of the last four classes was when I decided to do this blog, and Tim graciously allowed me to photograph during each class.  Actually I was a total pain in the butt, like, wait, don’t move that pan until I can shoot it!

Here are some photos I took during the classes.

Tim shows how to make pizza dough and oversees pasta sauce

It was unfortunate that I didn’t have the chance to photograph during the first classes, because we made really wonderful food like homemade pasta Tagliatelle with Bolognese Sauce; Linguini, Green Bean and Chicken with Fresh Basil Pesto; Grilled Yogurt Curry Chicken Kabobs; and Carne Asada in a Mojo Marinade.

Tim is an attorney by day, and a gourmet cook and passionate foodie by night. He is one of those guys who cook by look, feel and taste. For him the recipe is only a guide, which had my OCD-must-measure-every-little-thing stomach in a knot pretty much the whole time I was there. We did a lot of cutting, chopping and laughing, and his food always turned out great.

This chopped salad that we made in class is extremely good, but what really sends me is the vinaigrette. I didn’t see Tim prepare it, but as he was walking by to put it in the refrigerator I stuck a spoon in it to see what it was about. It looked like a regular mustard salad dressing, so I just popped the spoon in my mouth. Whoa! An explosion of garlic, Poupon, parmesan and vinegar. It totally stopped me in my tracks. When I prepared it at home, I adjusted the ingredient amounts to the way I remember it tasting.