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We've had many a discussion in our CRAFT offices with our photographer Sam Murphy about how hard it is to photograph food. For you budding food bloggers, take a visit to Chow.com's slideshow 10 ways to photograph food for more inspiration. I like the approach used by Jamie Olivier pictured above where it's real food in it's cooking environment. Sure I may not have a woodsy backyard in England with a brick wood-burning oven, but hey, a girl can dream!

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February 15 2010, 8:00am | More »

I posted to blog.craftzine.com

Happy Valentine's Day

http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2010/02/happy_valentines_day_1.html

Happy Valentine's Day! It's all about the sweets today so even if you haven't had time to think of anything at all for Vday, make some delicious desserts for your family, your honey, or just for yourself! I'm a chocoholic so I'm loving Epicurious' favorite chocolate recipes, perfect for Valentine's Day.

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February 14 2010, 8:00am | More »

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Flashback: Get a Rise Out of Sourdough

http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2010/01/flashback_get_a_rise_out_of_so.html

When the weather is cold and wet outside, one of my favorite things to eat is a nice hot bowl of veggie chili with a fresh slice of buttered sourdough. Mmmmmm, sourdough! Back in CRAFT Volume 04, San Francisco-based writer and "fermented-food devotee" Eric Smilie offered his clear and easy sourdough bread recipe. Check it out in this week's Flashback and get your bake on. You can also still pick up the full back issue of CRAFT Volume 04 over in the Maker Shed.

Get a Rise Out of Sourdough
The yeasty way to a truly good loaf.
By Eric Smillie

My heart sank as I stared at the dark, deflated crust, hardly the loaf I had hoped to bake using wild yeast from a home-fermented starter. I needed help. I found clarity in Laura McNall, a baker for 22 years with the Cheese Board Collective, a worker-owned cheese shop and bakery in Berkeley, Calif., that uses more than a dozen 14-pound buckets of sourdough starter every day. "When you're dealing with fermentation," consoles McNall, "it's alive and it's got a life of its own ... Sometimes it doesn't work out." Eventually, however, it did. Now my only problem is keeping my tangy sourdough loaves out of the hands of my ravenous roommates.

Materials

For the starter:
Flour
Filtered, non-chlorinated water

For the bread:
Active starter within half a day of climax
Unbleached white flour
2 tsp kosher salt

The magic of sourdough is that you can leaven bread with a culture of yeast and lactobacillus (the same bacteria that turn milk into cheese) drawn from thin air, just by mixing flour and water in a glass jar. The yeast creates gluten and makes the dough rise, while the bacteria produce acid that imparts a distinct flavor and keeps spoiling microbes at bay.

Every place has its own airborne microorganism population, and each can give rise to a starter with a unique character, says sourdough sage Ed Wood, the author of Classic Sourdoughs: A Home Baker's Handbook. Wood has been baking for some 50 years and sells heirloom starters collected from places like South Africa and Italy through Sourdoughs International (sourdo.com). Contrary to popular belief, he says, a starter can travel. Some people think "that if you send a culture somewhere else in the world, it will be contaminated by the local flora and fauna," he says. "That, basically, is a lot of baloney."

Once established, a healthy starter can last forever. Wood claims he collected a starter in Giza, Egypt, that hadn't changed much since about 2500 BC. The oldest sourdough cultures are in the Middle East, and, he adds, "by and large, were passed from father to son for hundreds of years." Here's how to start an heirloom of your very own.

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January 26 2010, 7:00pm | More »

I posted to blog.craftzine.com

Breakfast for Dinner Party

http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2010/01/breakfast_for_dinner_party.html

I decided to get the year started properly, with a "Breakfast for Dinner Party" last night. It was a great success, and the highlight was a make-your-own-waffle-bar. I set out a belgium waffle maker, and a friend whipped up Martha's batter. I included a ladle and a timer and the guests were responsible for everything else. (The smoke alarm only went off once!!) The toppings were decadent: maple syrup, chopped pecans, whipped cream, Mexican caramel, strawberries and bananas. It was a great food activity and people were really engaged with their creations. The dinner was rounded out with a frittata, Peanut Butter Puffins, roasted potatoes, fresh fruit, and a custom bloody mary station. I hope that all my parties will be that much fun for the rest of 2010, and that yours will be too! Cheers!

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January 2 2010, 5:09pm | More »

I posted to blog.craftzine.com

New Year's Eve Treats

http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2009/12/new_years_eve_treats.html

Going to or throwing a New Year's Eve party, but need a last minute snack idea? Make it Do has two ideas for some tasty and easy treats.

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December 31 2009, 11:00am | More »

I posted to blog.craftzine.com

Cardamom Citrus Coffee Cake

http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2009/12/cardamom_citrus_coffee_cake.html

Katie Goodman at Good Life Eats shares her recipe for this cardamom citrus coffee cake.

Katie writes:

What does cardamom taste like? It is described as having a strong, unique spicy-sweet taste, which is slightly aromatic (from RecipeZaar). What flavors go well with cardamom? It is common in Indian cooking and is said to match well with chicken, cinnamon, coffee, coriander, dates, curries, ginger, oranges, rice, and tea.

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December 30 2009, 7:00pm | More »

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Matsutake Sake

http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2009/12/matsutake_sake.html

I recently had the pleasure of drinks with Maker Faire's Sherry Huss and Joe Szuecs of Renga. They served me the most wonderful hot sake with sliced Matsutake. Joe hunted for the fungus and brought them home that very day. The mushrooms were sliced thin and simmered in the pot while the sake was heated, for about 7 minutes. This infused the sake with the most delicate, aromatic, and earthy flavors.

Sherry poured off the sake into handmade pottery by Make's Gerry Arrington. The cups were designed by Joe specifically with this drink in mind. The black glaze is the perfect backdrop for viewing the gills of the matsutake. The drink was served with chopsticks, so the slices could be eaten while you sip. It was an absolutely delicious and amazing, completely unique experience that I will not soon forget.

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December 6 2009, 8:00pm | More »

I posted to blog.craftzine.com

How-To: Pie Crust Cookies

http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2009/12/how-to_pie_crust_cookies.html

The baking bug has hit me in a big way in the last few weeks. With Thanksgiving, a gingerbread house adventure (which I'll share here soon) and preparation for Christmas, I find myself wanting to bake all the time. Today was no exception. I had a hankering for something baked, but not for major preparation and clean up. Pie Crust Cookies were the perfect solution. I'm sharing how I made basic ones here, but you can also search the web for variations on the basic recipe, many of which include honey. Yum!

Ingredients:
Ready-Made Pie Crust
Melted Butter
Cinnamon and Sugar

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December 6 2009, 5:20pm | More »

I posted to blog.craftzine.com

How-To: Rūpjmaizes kārtojums

http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2009/12/how-to_rupjmaizes_kartojums.html

Rūpjmaizes kārtojums means layers of bread, in Latvian. I think that I might also incorrectly translate it to super yum. Crumbled rye bread, whipped cream and mashed cranberries combine for a dessert with a look that is perfect for serving during the winter holidays. This spectacular recipe comes from Russian Season, an Eastern European food blog written by a mother and daughter. And in case you were worried about bad translations, it's written in perfect English with stunning step by step photographs.

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December 5 2009, 8:00pm | More »

I posted to blog.craftzine.com

How-To: Homemade Turkey (or Chicken) Broth

http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2009/11/homemade_turkey_broth.html

CRAFT: Thanksgiving

Homemade Turkey (or Chicken) Broth
By Katie Goodman

Thanksgiving Broth Boil
Making homemade turkey broth is relatively simple after your Thanksgiving feast. And it tastes absolutely delicious and rich. You can control what's in it — that means no MSG and lots of flavor — when you make it yourself. This recipe for broth assumes you have already picked off any remaining meat after your Thanksgiving feast. If you haven't already done that, make sure to do that first. Then, you can use the extra meat to make homemade turkey soup using your homemade broth if you'd like.

If you have a large slow cooker, you can make the broth in that as well. Just allow it to cook on high for 1½ hours, then on low for 4 hours (or more if you'd like).

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November 25 2009, 2:00pm | More »

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Recipe: Green Chile Stew

http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2009/11/recipe_green_chile_stew.html

A recent article in the Los Angeles Times reports that New Mexico expats (and those in the know) can now find good quality green chile in the freezer section of grocery stores in southern California. I've checked up here in northern Cali, and we're not so lucky. So, as a good NM native living elsewhere, I have my green chile shipped in.

Years ago I'd show up at the greyhound bus station to pick up a pungent burlap sack of fresh green chile. I'd rush it home and we'd grill them on the outside barbecue, let them cool, then stuff them in quart-sized ziploc bags and pop them in the freezer. If we were discriminating in our usage, this could last us 2 years.

When that process got to be too time-consuming (can you say kids?), we instructed any and all guests from New Mexico to bring a small ice chest with them when they came to visit. This ice chest needed to be crammed full of hot, roasted, frozen green chile.

TSA regulations messed up that plan, plus our friends and family grew tired of schlepping us heavy frozen items, so we've now taken to ordering them online. This works pretty well, although one person's "hot" might be my "mild," and some years the most popular varieties might sell out before I realize my stash is low.

My darling husband recently found 2 packages of roasted green chile in the bottom of our freezer, and there was much rejoicing! We'll use one package to add some spice to the leftover turkey in the guise of Green Chile Stew. Served with warmed flour tortillas and a Caesar salad, this is one of our family's favorites. Enjoy!

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November 25 2009, 1:00pm | More »

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Tips For Holiday Baking

http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2009/11/tips_for_holiday_baking.html

I always head in to the holiday season with grand ideas of baking cookies for decorating with the kids and giving to friends and neighbors. And, yet, I always seem to get slammed by the craze as we get close to Christmas and never make it happen. That's why I'm so glad to see these brilliant tips for holiday baking from Pam of Gingerbread Snowflakes. She give great tips on preparing cookies early and freezing and shows how to make the freezing a success. I'm already feeling more prepared for this holiday season!

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November 23 2009, 10:00am | More »

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How-To: Poach an Egg

http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2009/11/how-to_poach_an_egg.html

I love eggs Florentine, but poached eggs can be an intimidating project to take on. Not any more! Instructables user starburst552 shows us how in her poached egg tutorial.

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November 23 2009, 9:00am | More »

I posted to blog.craftzine.com

How-To: Homemade Crescent Rolls

http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2009/11/how-to_homemade_crescent_rolls.html

With Thanksgiving less than a week away, I'm already starting to drool over all the amazing food that we'll be having. These homemade crescent rolls from Calli of Make it Do look like they would be a mouth-watering addition to any holiday table. The pictures are making me so hungry!

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