I haven’t always been devoted to the pastry arts. There’s a chance I wouldn’t be as enthusiastic about delicious foods at all if it weren’t for dairy, which is essentially my first love. Milk, cheese, more cheese. I’m not especially picky, I’ll try any kind of cheese no matter how pungent or generic it is although I’ll probably reach for the runny triple cream more often than not. So whenever I’m walking through Whole Foods or Murray’s in Grand Central there’s a good chance I’m picking up some cheese.

Now this cheese… tastes like barbeque.

I’m totally not kidding. This is the “Harbison”, a cow’s milk cheese by Cellars at Jasper Hill Farm in Greensboro, VT. Upon unwrapping it, the cheese had a very strong ripe and earthy scent. Admittedly, it’s not my favorite kind of cheese usually, but like I said, I’ll try anything. After cutting into the round the delicious insides nearly oozed out, how could I resist that? I slathered a little on a pita chip cracker and was surprised and delighted. It tastes like barbeque!!! Smoky and woody, with earthy flavors and ultra creaminess to boot. Of course, the flavor is no doubt derived partially from the spruce bark wrapped around the cheese, cut from the Jasper Hill grounds. This cheese isn’t dainty, and feels just right for these chilly winter nights.

I feel like it’s also a beer drinking kind of cheese. I’d pair it with the Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout for a rich wintery indulgence, or a Thomas Hooker Nor’Easter Winter Lager to accent its woodland aromas and keep the mouth feeling crisp.

This winter isn’t just for hibernation and cheese eating though. After thinking through a couple of typical new year’s resolutions (eat better, keep my house clean, save money, etc) I settled on the resolution to eat more DELICIOUS food, push myself to experiment with cooking new things, and to take more photographs of it all. Life has changed a lot in the past three months since I dedicated my time here, but all in wonderful ways. I’m really looking forward to keeping up with it and hopefully making some images and dishes that are truly inspired. Happy New Year!

Many months ago I was walking down 3rd Avenue on the way to something or other, and passed by 99 miles to philly, a Philadelphia style cheesesteak joint in the East Village. I scoffed, there’s no comparison to the real thing… or is there?

This past weekend we had tickets to a show at Webster Hall, so Greg and I decided to grab a quick bite before the show in the neighborhood. As we walked towards the restaurant I threatened, “If they’re serving steaks on Kaiser rolls, I’m out.”

The first thing we noticed when we walked in was the Phillies game on tv, of course. They were up and while we waited for our steaks, they racked up 3 more runs. I then immediately noticed that they were serving up their cheesesteaks on Amoroso’s Rolls. If you aren’t familiar, it’s the only roll for an honest cheesesteak. I became more hopeful. A quick look at the menu reassured me that I could order my steak with American, Provolone, or Cheez Wiz – just the way it should be, nothing fancy. Anyone who’s been to Pat’s in South Philly knows you order wit’ or wit’out (onions). I’m an extra American wit’out kind of girl. My mouth began to water.

Each second felt like a lifetime as the sound of metal spatulas scraped beef across the flat top grill and the scent of steak and onions permeated the air. When our order was up, I unwrapped the first half and dug in for a bite. It was…transcendent. I had to remind myself to stop and take a picture and wipe a dusty tear from my eye. For the next 20 minutes it all felt just like home with a cheesesteak in my hands, the Phillies on tv, and my best friend across the table.

I probably wasn’t hungry enough to eat the whole thing, but I couldn’t NOT eat the whole thing, you know? It was fantastic right down to the last crumb. And just like that I was on the streets of Manhattan again, a city that’s still not quite home – but closing the gap on those 99 miles.

99 miles to philly – Old Style Cheesesteaks
94 3rd Avenue (between 12th & 13th); (212) 253 2700/2730
Atmosphere: Philly dineresque.
Sound Level: Conversation, low television.
Price Range: $7.75 cheesesteak (meat, cheese & onions) extras $.25 – $3.50
CASH ONLY – ATM on premises

Saturday mornings in my house are something new and incredible. For the last year and a half I’ve spent Saturdays at work (or school), and very few weekends have passed spent with my own family and friends. When I signed up for a career in the kitchen I knew that’s what I’d be getting myself into.

As a little luck would have it though, and a great deal of reorganization, I’ve been granted Saturdays off! Knowing that this sort of thing is rare and probably won’t last forever, I’m determined to make the most of it.

Of course no weekend would be complete without something tasty for brunch. In my parents’ house it was often cinnamon rolls, which I adore. So I decided to give a batch of handmade rolls a go last Saturday.

Now I happen to think the folks over at Cook’s Illustrated/America’s Test Kitchen have it all figured out. So I based this recipe on the Quick Cinnamon Buns in Baking Illustrated. Of course, cooking on a whim means that occasionally I don’t have everything on hand that the recipe calls for, so I improvised a little.

Cinnamon-Sugar Filling
3/4 c. Light brown sugar, packed
1/4 c. Sugar
2 tsp. Cinnamon
1/4 tsp. Cloves
1/4 tsp. Salt
1 Tbsp. Unsalted butter, melted.

Stir all filling ingredients together until completely combined with a sandy texture. Set aside and preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Spray a 9″ cake pan with cooking spray and set aside.

Dough
2 1/2 c. All-purpose flour (plus more for rolling out)
2 Tbsp. Sugar
1 1/4 tsp. Baking powder
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 c. Milk (I had 2% on hand)
1/4 c. Heavy cream
6 Tbsp. Unsalted butter, melted.

Whisk all of the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder & salt) together to combine and break up lumps. Pour in the milk, heavy cream and 2 Tbsp. Of the melted butter, and stir with a wooden spoon or sturdy spatula until all of the liquid is absorbed and dough comes together.

On a floured surface, turn out the dough and knead together any pieces not completely combined. With your hands, smooth out and pat the dough until it forms a rectangle about 9″ by 12″. Brush the dough with melted butter and add the filling in an even layer on the dough, leaving a 1/2″ border of dough showing.

Gently roll the dough (with the long side, across the 9″ portion) with a bench scraper, and seal the edge by pinching the dough at the seam. With the bench scraper, trim the edges of the log, then cut the dough into 8 pieces. Put one roll in the center or your 9″ cake pan and surround it with the other 7 rolls. Gently pat down any pieces that may have popped out of place and brush with more butter. Bake until the buns are lightly golden, about 20 – 25 minutes.

Icing

8 oz. Cream cheese, room temperature
2 Tbsp. Light corn syrup
2 Tbsp. Heavy cream
2 c. Confectioner’s sugar
2 tsp. Vanilla extract

Beat all ingredients together with a stand or hand mixer until icing is smooth, creamy, and fluffy. Spread on top of biscuits after they’ve cooled for 5 minutes. Enjoy a tasty start to your weekend!

She’s the stylist. He’s the Photographer. Together they are pictures & pancakes and one powerhouse of a creative team! Their resume is enviable to the point of jealousy, with clients including Martha Stewart and Food Network publications, along with a slew of others. One look at their images and it’s clear why Carrie and Andrew are so sought after.

This is food, with a focus on food. The settings are often straightforward and chic, playing up the colors of each dish. Carrie & Andrew’s blog combines their talent for photography and constructing great images with their interest in cooking and little morsels of their travels and adventures.

…And now I have to have that. Luckily, I can make it! What’s also impressive is their interest in expanding their art forms outside of the boundaries of their daytime job. Mad Props, a collaboration with Sarah Cave explores the use of “orphan props”, where the styling comes first, and the food is displayed to highlight these unique pieces.

All images copyright Carrie Purcell and Andrew Purcell

Our little street in Montreal (on St. Dennis) was crammed with restaurants, lounges, and little speciality stores. The block is mostly 3 or 4 story townhouses, with the basement and first levels of each home all commercial. Tucked into the ground level of one of these buildings is Marius et Fanny Patisserie Provençale. This place has it ALL. Chocolates, cakes, savory goods and sandwiches, croissants, macarons, EVERYTHING.

So of course I had to get one of every macaron…for photographic purposes! They even made them all the way back to the states so I could photograph them. I honestly don’t even remember what flavor all of them are, apart from delicious. Some were filled with creams and ganche, while the fruity ones had jam sandwiched in between. Why haven’t I thought of using jam?!

I really adore the bold colors they used in creating these. I know some of the Parisian macaron makers prefer to be a little more subtle with their colors, but it’s great that they’ve created their own palette so to speak.

With the weather finally being cool enough to whip up a sturdy meringue, perhaps it’s time to give making macarons at home another shot. Since the possibilities are endless they’re a great treat for just about any occasion. Maybe a set of fall/Halloween colored macarons?

Montreal is rumored to have some of the best pastry shops this side of the Atlantic, and while I was skeptical (I’m coming from the NYC area after all) I was excited to try as many pastries and confections as possible. On a particularly overcast morning walking through downtown Montreal, I passed by Suite 88 Chocolatier which just looked so tasty and so damned posh that I knew after a museum visit I’d be returning to give it a try.

I ordered two of everything.

Even still, several pieces didn’t make it till the photo shoot. Which brings about another concern – how do you photograph delicious pastries while on vacation? Sure, taking photos of the store displays and local dishes is great and makes for amazing photos, but what if you’re doing it in your hotel room? Or in my case, a comfortable bed and breakfast in the Plateau/Mont Royal neighborhood. In the small shared kitchen was what amounted to a thrift store collection of plates, one small white one suitable for a truffle display, and a brown and silver patterned scarf I brought along for the possibility of chilly evenings. An open window and 20 minutes to goof off and I had a completely makeshift traveling photo shoot.

All of the truffles were gone by the next afternoon, just in time to try another pastry shop. Travel photography is definitely a skill I’d like to develop, but with New York in my back yard I think I’ll have a lot of opportunities to practice.

Most chefs that I’ve met will eat almost anything. They’ve got good taste, but that doesn’t mean that they’re picky. Even if it’s bad, they’ll try anything…because you just don’t know until you try. Furthermore, while professional chefs may eat and cook well now there’s still a good chance a little bit of fast food or microwave mac and cheese is comfort food.

In honor of these foods, here’s the quick roundup of some of the not-four-star but tasty foods I came across on vacation.

Vacation was kicked off at the Norwalk Oyster Festival, where I convinced myself to finally give oysters a try. To ease myself into it I ordered some fried oysters, which taste like generic fried seafood I suppose. Yummy! Next I tried a raw one , and well – I just can’t do them. After spitting out my first, last, and only raw oyster I headed back to the fried oyster booth and got another. Also, tartar sauce is pretty good. Why haven’t I tried that before?

The Marchiano’s Calzone. I’m not entirely sure this is actually a calzone, but it’s calzone-like. Sunday mornings living in the East Falls & Manayunk neighborhoods of northwest Philadelphia were some of my favorites because of this thing. After a typically obnoxious Saturday night on Main Street we’d wake up and walk down the hill to Marchiano’s Bakery for one of these delights, and wander on home in time to catch the football game. I don’t even want to begin to analyze the nutritional values of this (or lack thereof) but it’s the definition of comfort food. Unfortunately, I’ve never tasted anything like it.

The entire time we were in Montreal, we kept meaning to try Poutine. According to our trusty guidebook, “The legend is that sometime in 1957 a customer walked into Le Cafe Ideal…and asked owner Farnand Lachance to add a handful of cheese curds to his order of [fries and gravy]. He shoved the result in front of his customer and muttered “Quel poutine” – which could be roughly translated as “What a mess.” ” Finally, on the last evening of our stay we went down to the Rapido diner on the corner for a fresh plate of poutine, and were pleasantly surprised. So surprised and delighted that we nearly cleaned the plate.

After tasting them and deciding I liked them, I mentioned to Greg that it was just like cheese fries, but with gravy on them. He reminded me that it wasn’t the gravy that originally made the dish strange, but the addition of the cheese – which I’m still having a little trouble understanding.

Hello out there! I’m sorry for the interruption in posting, but fear not – I have not abandoned you! I’m currently traveling and eating my way across Montreal, and taking as many photos as I can of all of the lovely things I’ve come across. See:

Vacation started Friday night after work with a bottle of champagne and a trip to the Norwalk Oyster Festival, where I tried fried oysters for the very first time! It then spilled down into Philadelphia on Saturday and Sunday for a far-too-short trip, and then the long drive up to Montreal on Monday. I’ll be here exploring and discovering every nook and cranny till Saturday. In the mean time I’ll be away from the blog. Hoping you’re eating sweet!

xo, Jenny

This week I’ve had a one day weekend, (yesterday) and most of the day was spent casually baking peach cupcakes with brown sugar frosting, as found on Smitten Kitchen. Over the course of seven hours I baked, frosted, set-up, arranged, photographed, edited, and weeded 135 photos. Perhaps it should take more time or less time to really get through the whole process, but it’s rare that I get to cook and “work” so casually.

Two more days of work, and I’m setting out on an 8 day adventure! On Saturday morning I’m heading down to Philadelphia for a couple of days to see friends that I’ve really missed since moving, and then on to Montreal!!! I’ve never been to Canada before and am really looking forward to it. While my French-Canadian is really poor, I’m hoping I’ll be able to mumble my way through things with what remains of my high school French memory.

Of course, one of the things I’m looking forward to on my trip is getting the opportunity to taste new things and hopefully get some cool travel food photographs. I’ve travelled a lot in the past, but have somehow managed to avoid snapping any photos of some of the world’s most incredible meals. While I can still taste the fine French cheeses and delicious Argentinean steak, it would have been far easier to mesmerize people with photos.

Anyway, on to the good stuff – the recipe:

Peach Cupcakes - Makes about 30

3 or 4 Peaches (4 if medium, 3 if large) – Peeled, cored & chopped into smallish cubes, about 1/3″.
3 c. Cake flour
1 1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
1 1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
1 tsp. Salt
1/4 tsp. Nutmeg
3/4 c. (6 oz) Unsalted Butter at room temperature
3/4 c. Sugar
3/4 c. Light Brown Sugar
2 Eggs
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
1 1/2 c. Sour Cream

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg. In a mixer, beat together the butter and both sugar until it become fluffy and lightens in color (a minute or two). With a rubber spatula, scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the vanilla to the eggs, and add the eggs to the mix one at a time, beating to incorporate. Scrape the bowl again. Add the flour in two parts, alternating with the sour cream and taking care not to over mix. When the batter is fully incorporated, remove the bowl from the mixer and fold in the chopped peaches. Divide into muffin cups lined with cupcake papers and bake for about 18 minutes at 350 degrees.

Brown Sugar-Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 c. (4 oz) Unsalted Butter at room temperature
1 pound (two 8 oz packages) Cream Cheese at room temperature
1 1/4 c. Light Brown Sugar
1 c. Powdered Sugar
1/4 c. Cornstarch*
1/2 tsp. Vanilla Extract

In a mixer, beat the butter until it is completely smooth. Add the cream cheese and beat it into the butter until completely combined and smooth. In a small bowl combine the sugars and the cornstarch and whisk together until they are completely combined. Add the sugars to the cream cheese and beat on medium until the frosting has lightened in color and is very fluffy. Beat in the vanilla extract. Scrape the mixing bowl down occasionally while mixing.

*Note: The original recipe includes the 1/4 c. of cornstarch, added for the purpose of stiffening the frosting. I also added a little more powdered sugar to my recipe to give the frosting a little more body and sweetness. Next time though, I’m considering cutting the cornstarch down or out altogether (it just seems a little weird to me) and upping the powdered sugar to make it even sweeter. I like it sweet, what can I say?