britney spears chicken cheetos casserole (alleged). it's not pretty, but it's entertaining.
jess in a favorite shirt.
photographing this fresh green bean casserole was a little challenging. obviously, i was to make it look pretty and delicious...but it's a melange of cooked vegetables. it's very brown. even at the time, i was thinking, i'm not doing this justice. i covered it from various angles, but how many different ways can you photograph a cooked casserole in the casserole dish? after the shoot was over, i thought of different ways we could have approached it--which seems to happen after every shoot. but there is formula at PIYM, sort of dictated by time and space and the script. maybe in the new year, we'll try something different? i suppose it's fine, my little disappointments with the photos, because it's a reminder of things that i need to work on.***
what's great about piym shoots, is 90% of the time, jess makes real food--food that's ready to eat as soon as it's shot. i wouldn't advise this at most food shoots when the beauty of the shot supersedes all notions of clean food prep. even if the food is fresh and fully cooked through and free of the additives that make it more photogenic (glycerine, glue, soap suds...), it's been seriously manhandled, violated even.but when jess says that what she's prepared for the shoot is good for the eating (and if there is some left), i'll have at least a bite or two. i went a little bananas with this fresh green bean casserole, though. it's just so everything i'd want with my turkey. in fact, i'd make the turkey the vehicle for this creamy, onion-y affair.
i don't have a very long history with green bean casserole (it's relatively new to our family's thanksgiving table--we only started having turkey in the last 15 years or so, and only in the last five have one or two "traditional" sides, involving the beans or sweet potatoes or cranberries, made their unremarkable way into the buffet) so i never really understood its enduring appeal, other than the novelty of the store-bought fried onions? this fresh stuff, to me, was a revelation.
if you don't have a recipe that you're married to, try jess'. it's pretty simple. just don't skimp on the real heavy cream, and maybe approach the little bit of extra prep time, trimming and halving the beans, slicing the mushrooms and onions, as meditative act rather than a mandated chore. when it's served, people will talk.
and then they will eat. and then they will talk more and eat more. until pretty soon they will be harassing you for the recipe, while battling for the last bites. and if you are inclined to share, send them here.
probably not unlike a lot of kids, my first taste of an apple pie or any sort of cooked apple concoction was a mcdonald's apple pie. i remember thinking the packaging was quite special, but the pie itself, revolting. cooked fruit was just...weird. i was thereafter never tempted by any hostess fruit pie. and i didn't hanker for the little paper cups of apple sauce that were served up in our school cafeteria.but my palate has since evolved--i love any kind of cooked fruit, stewed in a compote (even prunes, for goodness' sake) or poached in wine, and especially when nestled in a tart, pie or pastry. any kind of tart, pie or pastry. (ok, i still might not be able to swing the mcd's or hostess...)i made an apple pie once, many moons ago--i tend to stick to the pecan and pumpkin, in the fall and winter months. i like how easy they are to make. but jess' apple pastry recipe, using ready-made crust, is appealing and seemingly simple to prep.check out the latest piym episode, celebrating "apple month," and her recipe for apple pastry cups with caramel sauce here...
did you know that today is national sandwich day?i actually did, but only because mike, jess and i shot this episode a couple of weeks ago (with a new show open, new photos--a knife-wielding, but not at all menacing, jess). for this holiday, she is offering a recipe for a mediterranean lamb burger, with a yogurt-mint sauce. i wish i could tell you exactly how good it is. i can't, but only because the team ravaged it on the set before i could get to it. rumor is it's very good. i do LOVE lamb burgers (a bar near-ish to my apartment, the perfect pint, has a nice one. i basically can't bring myself to order anything else when i'm there). jess' version has cinnamon and cloves, which intrigues me. once i figure out where i can find ground lamb in my neighborhood, i'll be making these at home.check out this and other PIYM episodes and recipes on the phoebeworks site...let me know what you think.
britney spears chicken cheetos casserole (alleged). it's not pretty, but it's entertaining.
jess in a favorite shirt.
