Game Day Menu

We wanted to create a menu for our game day party.  The problem with doing that when you're a photography studio is you can't just have a "word" menu.  We needed a photo menu!

When you have 15 people in your house, nobody wants to take the time to look at and read a regular menu; that takes valuable attention away from the game and commercials. Pass around a photo menu, and people just have to grunt and point.

Whatever you serve for game day, make sure its something good.  As long as its warm, heavy and goes well with beer, you should be good to go.

NOTE: Many of these recipes are already in our archive!

Morning Parfait...

Breakfast is often called the most important meal of the day. Some people see that as: “I know it’s important, but I don't have time, so I'll have to make it quick.” Quick is not always the best way to go, not only for the sake of your health, but also for your taste buds. What if you could have all three: quick, healthy and tasty?

The French parfait is a frozen dessert, dating from 1894.

 

A parfait is a great way to start the day, and not just for a special treat, like a brunch item for guests. This breakfast recipe includes everything you need to jump-start your day, even without coffee (haha). The natural sugar perk you get from fresh berries and fruit, the fiber and protein from the grains and nuts, and a splash of dairy with the yogurt – there’s no real need for anything else,
except a spoon.

Not all parfait has to be this elegant or complicated. It’s very easy to get a large mixing bowl, scoop in some cereal and nuts; add some yogurt, lots of berries, and mix. Then, spoon into individual bowls. You can always experiment with yogurt and fruit combinations to create something unique and delicious. But layering is the key to parfait, and its presentation in a transparent bowl or stemmed glass is perfection. As a matter of fact, parfait in French literally means something perfect.

Simple recipe for two

Steamed & Seasoned Baby Potatoes

The perfect side

Meat and potatoes, chicken and wild rice - some of the best foods in the culinary world are enhanced by their pairing. The side dish doesn't always get the credit it deserves for making the meal complete. These baby Yukon Gold potatoes are steamed perfectly, so when the skin is pierced, the potato is so soft and creamy, it practically melts in your mouth. The potatoes are buttered before cooking for even more savory flavor, and often get another touch before serving, for good measure.

To light this shot, we used a very large soft light source from the left rear, and a point light source from the right rear.  To fill in contrast, we had a light coming in from overhead, and a hand-held mirror, from the front.

These gems were pretty easy to shoot and even easier to make.

Chips with Parmesan Bits....

 Absolutely nothing satisfies a potato craving like a crispy chip. Oven fried or baked, they’re now essentially guilt free. Toss in some Parmesan cheese and coarse salt and these simple chips are ready to enhance a prime steak or chop. 

To light this shot, we started with a large soft light source from the rear left.  This gave us a general light and a little bit of direction.  We then came in from the rear right with a point source.  This light was low, as we wanted it to skim across the surface of the chips and show all the texture of the chips.  After those 2 lights, the shot was too contrasty for our liking, so we used another very large soft light source from directly above to fill in some of the shadows.

The shot was simple too, nothing complicated. Just a few browned and golden-edged slices with highlights in the foreground and enough charred cheese bits to inspire your taste buds.

Easy recipe ~

Steamy Apple Cider

Fall's bounty, with or without the rum.

Okay, so you spent the morning complaining about the end of summer and the afternoon raking leaves. After a long walk with the dog, wearing your favorite sweater, you reward yourself with a warm, golden nectar that fills your kitchen with the soothing aroma of fall. Add allspice, cloves, nutmeg and a cinnamon stick. Better still, add a splash of rum, whiskey or Port. You've come home to the magic of hot apple cider and you're almost ready to face the holiday season.

Make it quickly and easily...

When was the last time you made whoopie...

It sounds like a question from a bad game show, but when was the last time you made whoopie... pie?

Home-baked Whoopie Pies are an American tradition.

This was an obviously fun shoot.  Bad jokes and puns were flying across the studio.  But while we were having fun, we also had a somewhat difficult subject.  The combination of very dark chocolate pastry sandwiching a very white filling created a challenge.  The contrast between the two had to be brought closer together.  We firmly believe that being able to do a project like this 'in camera' is an art form. The term, 'in camera' dates back, and people may not know what we mean.  Doing a shot 'in camera' means no Photoshop!

We do have a practical side as well.  Technology is progressing, with the intent of making our lives easier.  Photoshop allows us to do some amazing things and saves us a lot of time. So we mixed the art form of shooting 'in camera' and the technology of Photoshop to help us finish this shot.

We used a soft light source from above. This gave us a starting point to control the contrast.  We then brought in a point light source, from directly behind the subject, to produce the highlights on the chocolate pastry.  This light was just blowing out the cream filling.  So we took a separate photo with the same light dialed down, so the filling was properly exposed.  The two photos were later merged in Photoshop

We also used a white card to reflect some of the point light source (from the rear) back onto the front of the shot.
 
Okay, so the story goes that as far back as the 1930s, Whoopie Pies, also known as ‘gobs,’ were made in New England, and when farmers or their kids found them in their lunch boxes, they yelled “Whoopie!” Supposedly, they were made with leftover cake batter, but who ever heard of leftover cake batter?

The real Whoopie Pie is a delicious dessert sandwich, about the size of a hamburger, made with two soft cookies and a cream filling. Today, if you want to make one, it’s just a matter of combining ready-made ingredients and baking. Or use your preferred chocolate cake recipe.

Easy Peasy Whoopie Pie Recipe

Granola and breakfast...

Some people think they don't have time for breakfast. That's because they're over-thinking it. Breakfast just doesn't have to be complicated. 

Granola clusters mixed with dried berries, shaved almonds and topped with honey.

Granola is a very easy, quick and nourishing early morning treat, and lighting this shot was just as simple. We wanted to give it the look of morning. To do so, we started with a very large light source to emulate window light. We put this light in the back of our shot, to the right. This gave the set up a beautiful natural light look, but natural light often needs a fill, so we brought in a white card at the front left to fill in the contrast. We needed to add some ‘action’ to the shot, so we added a point light source, from the back left, to add some spectacular highlights. To finish, we used a hand-held mirror to fill in at the front of the granola, just a bit more than the white card did.

With all the types of granola on the market today, you'd think you could find one that contained all of your favorite grains, nuts and fruit and nothing more. Don’t despair –you actually can make it yourself, with a minimum amount of time and trouble.

Granola contains rolled or flaked grains, like old-fashioned oats, raw nuts (chopped), honey (brown sugar or your favorite sweetener), your oil of choice, and salt. Seeds (like sunflower or pumpkin), dried fruit (don’t bake the fruit), unsweetened coconut, spices, cocoa – even an egg white – are all fine, but optional.

Here’s the concept: combine, spread out on cookie sheet, bake, add dried fruit and eat. Cool and store the remainder in an air-tight jar or even Tupperware. Nothing fussy.

Easy, Customizable Granola Recipe