If you’re wondering why I would take the time to post a recipe for a simple salami sandwich, I assure you that there is a very valid point behind this entry. The idea stemmed from a comment in a twitter conversation that got me thinking about a few things.  That idea simply could not go without being written because I think that it pertains to every food blogger in existence at least at one time or another.

This post is dedicated in particular to my good friend Judy from No Fear Entertaining. It was a the following tweet that got me thinking about food today.  In particular, it got me thinking about what food is good food, and what is worth serving to family, friends or acquaintances.

I was checking my twitterstream when the following popped up from Judy (You are following her on twitter, aren’t you?):

@nofearentertain Dinner tonight:  Ham and salami sandwiches…I suck :-(

Of course several of us chimed in to say there was absolutely nothing wrong with this idea as a meal (To be entirely honest, I was contemplating the sandwich above long before she brought the subject up), but the statement itself got me thinking about food bloggers and how the act of being a food blogger changes our idea of what food should be. It also started me thinking about how it changes our perspective in relation to every person out there who might someday read what we’ve written.

Regardless of whether we make our money directly from our writing, food bloggers are in a sense professional foodies.  We follow the latest news in food, chefs and restaurants.  We seek out unique and pristine ingredients.  We insatiably follow food trends and at times even create the trends that the rest of the world follows.  In one way or another we define our lives in the food that we eat, the places we congregate and the meals we prepare, but in the process we disconnect ourselves from the world at large.

The quest for perfection that we engage ourselves in has an unfortunate side effect for almost every one of us at one point. It causes our focus to shift from what good food is at its core to a strange belief that the ingredients make the dish.  Nothing is farther from the truth.  The primary ingredient in great food is the love that goes into it, not whether or not the cheese used on the side was organically cultured three miles underground and cased in fine port for seven years. (Though that does sound lovely!)

Art Smith attributes his success as as a chef to preparing the food he loves with all the love he can.  The world seems to agree.  Art is acclaimed for his dishes.  They aren’t fancy.  They aren’t pompous.  They aren’t even gourmet in the fashion that most would consider a meal called gourmet food. They’re just good modern interpretations of good old fashioned Southern American meals.

Take the humble sandwich above.  Today I think nothing of it.  It’s something I might make on any given day.  A simple assemblage of ingredients that are invariably on hand in my refrigerator and pantry. On any other occasion I would have enjoyed it without ever really appreciating it, but the thought of what makes up a truly great dish placed it firmly under scrutiny.

To a foodie it’s a simple sandwich.  To my younger self it would have been a gourmet extravaganza. As a child I had never experienced such things as spicy brown mustard or shaved Parmesan cheese.  Romain lettuce was something you found as a garnish on plates at some of the better restaurants, not something used on a sandwich. Parmesan cheese came in a green shaker can that went in the fridge next to the Miracle Whip and grape jelly.

The sandwich above was as far from my experience as escargot. I wouldn’t have gotten it.  It would have been gourmet in the extreme.

That is not to say w didn’t eat a lot of salami sandwiches.  Growing up in the primarily Italian California wine country gave me the opportunity to eat a great deal of salami.  It was generally enjoyed with sourdough bread from the Sonoma French Bakery and some wonderful aged cheddar from our local delicatessen, with a hint of mustard and all the love my mother could put into it.

I never noticed that it wasn’t up to par.

So to all food bloggers out there, and to any aspiring foodie who may find themselves looking at the ingredients list before they look at the faces around their table. Please don’t forget what the real meaning of great food is.  It’s not the ingredients.  It’s not the cost, nor the complicated French method necessary to create the sauce. It’s the love that went into the making of a dish that gives it value.

So to my good friend Judy I say again; There is absolutely nothing wrong with serving ham and salami sandwiches for dinner.  They may be more appreciated by the younger members of your clan that would a perfect Coq au Vin, they’re a lot less complicated to make and I have no doubt in my mind that when prepared in your household they are infused with all the love in the world.

Food is love.  Let us not forget that in the details.

Read more…

Popularity: 4% [?]

Grapes.  Specifically the grapes growing on a vine that’s overtaken a manzanita tree in my back yard.  These are just one of the surprises that our new home has given us.  This one is a California foodie’s dream, considering that the leaves can be used for so many wonderful things as well as the fruit that this lovely vine will gift us with for years to come.

The plant is technically my neighbors, but I’ll be encouraging it to grow and spread its vines along a trellis I’ll be building soon.  I’m sure he won’t mind if I foot some of the bill for watering this gorgeous plant either, so I think we’ll be O.K.

This year’s yield was two small bunches, but I’m hoping I can coax a bit more out of it next year if plenty of attention is given and the vines are laid out in a manner that appeals more to the plant.  This is a task I accept gladly, and an endeavor I’ll be sharing with all of you as time goes by.

I’ll let you know if we stumble across anything else really cool in the next few weeks!

Popularity: 1% [?]

Believe it or not, I haven’t gone anywhere.  I’m still cooking, reading and voraciosly watching food related TV.  unfortunately there are other things in my little sphere of existance that have been keeping me from sharing these things with all of you.

Firstly, my wife and I have been busily house hunting. If that wasn’t a daunting enough task, we’re doing it from 1,700+ miles away from where we’ll be buying.  We’ve already bid and lost a few, but our Realtor has been amazing and we’re loking at several prospects as I write this.  It’s slow going and exhausting.  (I’ll be honest.  It’s stressful enough that at times it turns my brain to mush and I think the guys from the hulu.com commercials are going to pop in and finish me off.)

Secondly, Our son has been progressing at a frightening rate.  This is a two sided coin though, because even though his communication skills are improving wildly, his frustration when he can’t get something across has gotten more pronounced.  This means far more of my day is spent making sure that his wellfare is met. (I’m a dad, it’s my job.  I’m not complaining, just explaining.)

Lastly, I’ve been in the process on writing an eBook on the subject of blogging.  It was an inspiration fueled by my frustration with the information available.  Too many people are publishing utter chaff with the promise of riches and charging an arm-and-a-leg for it.  I intend to put one out that can give both new and experienced bloggers asome valuable hints, tips and directions to follow.

The last has been taking the bulk of my time.  It’s ironic that writing a book on the subject of blogging is keeping me from doing the very thing that I’m writing about, but when your time is limited you have to set priorities and I need to get that prject finished if I want to get back to the full-time business of actually being a blogger.

So if you’ve been worried, don’t be.  If you think I’ve just lost the urge to write about food, cooking and recipes, don’t be silly!  I live for this, I’ve just been diverted for a bit.

Peace, Y’All.  I’m out

Popularity: 1% [?]

Not everyone loves Gordon Ramsay but his image definitely precedes him. So much so that even kids have gotten in on the act. I found this video early this morning and thought it might help to give someone else a chuckle. It did me.

Popularity: 1% [?]

This year is not only our last year at Sheppard Air Force Base, but very likely the last year for the BMET Christmas party as we have known it.  (For those of you not familiar with the acronym, BMET stands for BioMedical Equipment Technician, and it’s what my wife does for a living when she’s not instructing or writing.) Knowing that it could be the last of these get-togethers was the only reason we needed to attend and I’m glad we did.

My wife was lovely (as usual) in a little black patterned A-Line cocktail number and a set of killer stilettos.  Myself… well, I’m not as pretty as she is.  I also have an aversion to formal attire, so I just plopped in in a  set of khaki’s, black oxfords and a hunter green microfiber shirt.

The party started with the usual poorly made production-line barbecue (with sauce!  Gag!).  Dry brisket, destroyed pork and under smoked sausage were the main course.  Sides were a nasty potato salad, horrible beans and an even more disappointing something-or-other I can’t even remember.  I shouldn’t be surprised that I was not impressed.  I’m particular in my BBQ and these people apparently don’t believe in smoke.

The rest of the evening was dancing to some pretty random club music and a raffle (which we were not fortunate enough to win.) There was much drinking and carousing and several fools were made, but I won’t highlight that here.  In the end, it was a good evening with good friends and people we may never see again.  We made the most of it.

We sat with our friends Erick and Brie and even though I said I wouldn’t be caught incriminating myself, I couldn’t pass up a chance at a group hug with our newest friends. (I told you I’m not as pretty as my wife is! And yes, that’s Erick holding his wife, not me, LOL!)

In all it will be a party I remember.  Not so much for what was scheduled to happen, but for some of the more spontaneous moments that occured along the way.  It’s a good way to say goodbye to the place we’ve called home since 2005.  I can’t say I’ll miss the base, but I will always miss our friends.

Popularity: 1% [?]

This is a true story sent to my wife.  It was so hilarious I just had to pass it along!

*PREGNANT TURKEY STORY *

One year at Thanksgiving, my mom went to my sister’s
house for the traditional feast. Knowing how gullible my
sister is, my mom decided to play a trick.

She told my sister that she needed something from the
store. When my sister left, my mom took the turkey out of
the oven. She removed the stuffing, stuffed a Cornish hen,
inserted it into the turkey, and re-stuffed the turkey.

She then placed the bird(s) back in the oven.

When it was time for dinner, my sister pulled the turkey
out of the oven and proceeded to remove the stuffing.

When her serving spoon hit something, she reached in and
pulled out the little bird. With a look of total shock on
her face, my mother exclaimed,

‘Patricia,
You’ve cooked a pregnant bird!’

At the reality of this horrifying news, my sister started
to cry. It took the family two hours to convince her that
turkeys lay eggs!

Popularity: 1% [?]

Thanksgiving this year was both a challenge and a pleasure. The pre-Turkey Day prep didn’t go as planned, which left us making a full dinner, both indoors and out in less than four hours. (And Thank God for smoker grills!)  I’m not totally used to our new oven, and there just isn’t enough room for the two of us in that kitchen.  Thankfully we’ll be looking to buy a home at our next duty station.

The meal, however frazzled its prep may have been, was fabulous.  I started things off with something that was traditional at all of my holiday gatherings as a kid.  Growing up in a predominantly Italian community, the antipasto platter was present at any large gathering, and I couldn’t have friends over without laying out one of my own.

This one featured Prosciutto, Mortadella, Sopresetta, Mozzarella, Italian Dry Salami, Garlic stuffed olives, ripe black olives, pepperoncini, pepper jack cheese (a nod to Sonoma, my home town and the place that pepper jack was invented) a variety of veggies and the ranch dip that came with the store-bought veggie platter. Poor thing never had a chance

From there we moved to an abridged version of my original T-Day menu, but really there was still more than anyone could have put a serious dent into.

This year’s dinner was turkey, ham, roast beef, traditional Southern cornbread stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, turkey gravy, ham gravy collard greens, rolls and twice baked sweet potato casserole.  More than enough for four adults and 1 1/2 kids, wouldn’t you say?

The surprise star of the show was the ham.  Since I didn’t have enough time to cook it as I had planned to the night before, I fired up my smoker and tossed its spiral-sliced butt (pun intended) into a tray and into a 350 degree smoke box.  I’ve never had better, and it just became a hodidy prerequisite.  It’s simple and its fabulous.

After several hours of chatting and absorbing good company, we went our respective ways and a good portion of the food was packaged up.  The turkey I made the day before Thanksgiving, half the leftover dressing and the cranberry sauce was delivered to the dormitories for Airmen that could not make it home for the holidays.

My wife was showered with thank-yous and even a few tears. Good wishes sent to me through her and in the end, a few people that would have otherwise had a less than enjoyable holiday got to go to bed happy and full with a home cooked meal to warm them.  Whatever trouble I went through to make that happen was worth all the effort, and has already been forgotten.  I’ll do it again, happily.

And there you have it folks, a perfect day of giving thanks.  i’ll remember this one for a very long time.

Oh, and be looking for the perfect apple pie recipe to show on my front page very soon.  The one our friends brought is the best I’ve ever had.  Of course I got the recipe.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Well folks, it’s that time of year again. parties, gatherings, family, friends and food are the order of the day for the next month and a half or so. The holidays are here, and here at CbsoP, we’re gearing up for the whole thing, both sweet and savory. It’s looking like there will be a flurry of recipes posted over the next week. Way more than my usual. I hope none of them get lost in the shuffle.

Dessert recipes are on the menu for the next few days.  With Turkey day and thanksgiving approaching rapidly, we’re all going to be looking for all the sweets we can get, and I’m here for you… Or to defeat a year of getting in better shape, one of the two. We’re going to have a slew of tartlets, barks, cookies and who knows what else (I think there’s a pie or two coming… )  it’s gonna be great!

And I’m gonna be fat.  But I suffer for my art, you know?

And it is all for you.

Popularity: 1% [?]

As a first order of business for the day I would like to send my best wishes and heartfelt thanks to all of you who have ever donned a uniform in service of this great nation.  This is our day, people.  I hope that you have the opportunity to enjoy it.

Whether your service was long or short.  Whether you served in peace or in war, each of us took an oath to “give” for our country, and we all know what it was that we put on the table that day.  I’m glad that you are still with us.

You are an elite bunch of men and women. Be proud.  It was you who vowed to stand in harm’s way so that others could sleep in peace.  It was you who through your actions, whether they seemed important at the time or not, ensured that all of our children will have the opportunity to grow and pursue happiness in the greatest country in the world, secure in the knowledge that they are truly free to be what they want to be.

To all of my brothers and sisters, either currently serving or all of us who have served in the past, I salute you.  Raise a glass today in honor and memory for all who have served, all who are serving and all that will come after us.  They deserve our support and they have mine.

This sound is something that I cannot wait to hear every night.  It’s the sign that all is well and that all of the men and women, at least at this station, are safe and secure for just one more day.  Consider it a very small gift from one veteran to his country.  Please take a moment out of your day to listen, it means a lot to a lot of people.

Taps, With orchestra

For all of you who are still on the front lines or otherwise somewhere that could put you in harms way, I hope and pray that you hear this tonight as well.

Respectfully yours,

Jerry Russell, Veteran : United States Navy

Popularity: 1% [?]

I know a lot of people are going to think I’m out of my mind for talking about staging before either props or lighting, but there’s a reason that I feel that this is the most important place to start. As a matter of fact, both staging and props are the first two factors in any layout I do, whether it’s  soup, a salad or a piece of toast.  Experience has taught me that this is the case, and photos like the one below are the reason I’ve learned it.

The image above is horribly dark, under exposed and has far too much light coming only from the back of the subject.  To top that off, the shot is too far out and at a bad angle.  This is what you get for not setting your stage and then considering your lighting. (I was also horribly inexperienced at the time.) the recipe?  It’s fabulous.  but this picture isn’t going to convince anyone of that.

The photo at the top of the page shows what I’ve leaned put into action.  I set a full table.  The reason is that I wanted to shoot across the main dish and catch the serving dish and the other bowl in the final shot. In the end, this layout shot was all I got, as something or other came up and I had to scrap what I was going to make in favor of something quick.  I never got back to it.

Here are my pearls of wisdom on setting up for a shot:

• Consider the subject matter.  Will it look better shot low (tall foods tend to) or from a higher angle. (pizza is a great candidate for this).
• Will the shot benefit from table  settings, or would they distract from the overall?
• Do you happen to have anything lying around that could be used as an accompanying prop? (if you’ve got apples in your recipe, stack a few behind the subject, or off to the side, peppers, toss a few into the frame, it’s important stuff!)
• Is your shot seasonal?  If so, create a set that uses seasonal colors or patterns. It will “set” the picture in that time frame.
• How much room do you need?  For a low level shot, you either need to make sure there’s something interesting in the background, or that you’ve blocked off the view of your messy kitchen with something else, either a prop or a blind of some sort. (sheets of foam board work well for this.)
• Does your table or shooting surface match the shot?  If not, grab a large napkin, a tablecloth or a piece of colored paper.  Do something to make all of the pieces “feel” right together. (I’ve got shoting tables in three different wood tones, but I’m working on getting a few pieces of foam board covered with contact paper of different textures and patterns, just fo interest.  Again, colored foam board can be a lifesaver here.)

Note that in the layout above, I was planning on shooting with the focus tight in on the bowl toward the front of the shot, shooting across at a tight angle.  Everything in the near background would have been slightly blurred, and anything in the far background would have been little more than colors and vague shapes.  This method is ideal if you’re shooting across a room.

That’s it for this installment.  I hope I’ve given you some little bit of inspiration the next time you decide to get a great shot of “that perfect dinner”.  Any questions, leave a comment, i’ll get right to it.

Popularity: 1% [?]