Food Photography : Banana Strawberry Torte 24

kyung of David O'Conner & Lee Photography, in Portland, OR, graciously agreed to set up shop (i.e portable studio) one day after class, to photograph some of my plated desserts --- which were awaiting in the reach-in to be photographed. This was Kyung's first dabble into foodie photography --- as their company works capture more of the traditionally human element.

This dessert was my for my final presentation. It consists of French sponge, brushed with strawberry syrup, filled and finished with banana scented marscapone cheese, then garnished with fresh fruit and a chocolate screen, than drizzled with mango syrup. The plate design was given a stained glass effect , piped on first with tempered chocolate and then filled with honeydew melon -Midori syrup, Strawberry syrup, and mango syrup.

The flavor combination was very good --- the marscapone is so velvety, and it offset the banana wonderfully, and it didn't compete with the buttery layers of the sponge, just enhanced them.

I made all the components from scratch (with real fruit) and used my own recipes and calculated the per plate cost etc. I will post more of this experience in a post to come.

I really like plated desserts --- they are soo fun :)


Related Posts:

• Dessert Costing : Banana Strawberry Torte
• Food Photo : Chocolate Mousse with Strawberry Sauce
• Photography : Blackberry Granita w/ Banana Mouse
• Food Photography : Banana - Midori Strawberry torte

The Culinary School of Thought : Why Food Blogs should not "tickle-me-emo" 1

Should food blog authors talk about drama in their personal life , in their posts ? What separates a foodie post from an average blog post? Is it the willingness to obsess over food? Or is it the absence of teenage angst?

Something keeps me from describing my year. A year I will never forget. I could divulge the sketchy details...let them consume the page until your eyes grow watery and strained --- but something tells me to move on to less polluted and more food oriented subject matter.

I am really torn on posting events of my private life on this blog. Especially since in 2008, I have committed to being a better food blog author. It is kind of like I've taken an oath to blog food - and nothing but the food.

2007 was a year that did not slip quietly into the realms of ordinary. Not a chance, there was no meager repose. Topsy-turvy. Not only for the rest of the world, these indeed are strange times. Elections. World in Crisis. Fashion disasters. Inventions aimed at making people more lazy. Uncertain economy. Dollar value plummeting.


So I digress. This is a food blog after all, not a "tickle-me-emo ^w" teenager-on-Myspace sob-fest. As Jim Rome ^w would say:

"That IS NOT a reason to GO!" --- Jim Rome

So on a lighter , more nostalgic note - I have had a lot of time to think about blogging and what I am wanting to do with my food blog in the future. I have had this blog since Dec. of 2004 (WOW!) and in that time the blog has gone through many stages of metamorphosis - from template design - as I discover new info on html design ; to advertisements; to the content its self.

The readership has grown (THANKS!) and I think the blog template has become a more mature version of former ones . I have always tried to distance myself from blogging the same content as food blogs that fellow foodie Mahanandi says are:

"....traditional "always-all things-all-purpose flour" corporate promoted cooking..."

and in a way that suits my style of writing very well.

The thing that stays constant is my love of writing and the insatiable passion of learning everything I can about culinary : whether that means food / technique / history.

Merriam Webster lists the term Disciple as :

Main Entry:
dis·ci·ple
Pronunciation:
\di-ˈsī-pəl\
Function:
noun
1: one who accepts and assists in spreading the doctrines ^MW of another: as b: a convinced adherent of a school or individual.

That is one reason I leave "student" in my blog description --- I will and continue to be a life long disciple of the culinary school of thought.

I author this blog not only to give me an outlet for my writing, but also to make note of things maybe other foodies can relate to, or to offer some info on certain techniques or info that may be more in depth than say that page on "recipes-gone-wild.com", all the while documenting and archiving my school notes for reference at a later date.

I do interlace my love of photography and music throughout this blog and can't help throwing in a smidgen of sarcasm or poetry or irony, it's my nature.

I am here to let you know my food blog is here for the long haul. I will be introducing more content, more frequently in 2008 and hope this is a year to awaken more creativity and foodie fabulous.

Happy New Year!