Successful Failures

Working with food resembles working with paint.  I majored in art in college with a concentration in painting.  Always we were commended to think about the placement, hues, tones, shapes, shadows, representation or lack of, and what all that meant to us as the artist and beyond that, what might we be communicating to our viewers.  

But primarily we were taught to ask ourselves why did we chose our subject and how did we respond to it?    Critiques by fellow students could put our work in perspective, helping us remember our objective, even if that changed while the work was progressing.  

Beyond that there is the wet and messy part.

Food creations work much the same way.  Here I take in to account the placement, hues, tones, shapes and shadows of the item and its components.  But I have to add scent and taste, because, let's face it, if it doesn't smell or taste good, no one is going to eat it.  At least not a second bite.  

Oh, and food is also wet and messy.  

Choices now revolve around personal preferences, like chocolate.  My love affair with chocolate will trump most other options, unless there's coffee in the mix.  And regardless of the context, when the two are paired, it just doesn't get much better than that for me.

So this Easter season, I tried several new items and only one rose to the top as an item to add to our menu - Almond Meringue and Chocolate Ganache Layer Cake.  Some were beautiful to behold but lacked the sensational taste to meet the cut.  Some didn't even make the mark for execution, though all instructions were followed to the letter.  That's the way art is.  Some things work and some don't.  

Now it's time to decide.  Try the successful failures again, or, because there are so many other options, move on and leave them behind completely.  To determine if it was a success because now I know not to make it again, or was it a success because now, like Edison and the light bulb, I know not to make it that way again.  

One thing is certain, I'll not be making 98 of the same cake.  It's either that or get a new husband because tasting that many would put him in the grave and I'd rather keep him, if it's all the same.  

And whatever the outcome, it's definitely going to be wet and messy.  

Almond Meringue and Chocolate Ganache Layer Cake*

Don't judge a cake by its cover (or lack)

I was asked recently how I know that a particular dessert or bread doesn't need anything else, that this is it?  We were standing near a counter heavy with My Sister's Sweets desserts, so I looked down, spied the remains of our very simply dressed French Chocolate Cake, picked up a fork, cut off a morsel and responded, "Taste this and tell me what you think."  

She took a small bite, closed her eyes, and sighed.  To which I said, "That's how I know."  

Need I say more?  

Sweet pics

This photo shoot thing is not for dummies.  I've participated in several now, in preparation for and the continual upkeep of this web site.  And though I am not well-versed in all things, I am also not an idiot.  But professional photographs, this is where I'm in the proverbial dark without a flash.  

Here's how it works.  ​I play the artisan, with the food and its surroundings.  That's my forte.  But when it comes to what to do with that camera, I must step aside, giving way to the expert.  Kaitlin Mackenzie Photography steps in with her shield and lens and tripod and white balance, and oh, yes, her camera, and I marvel.  Again and again, such beautiful results.  I can only sing praises.  

When I have to take photos myself they are often too dark or too light, have too much shadow in all the wrong places, ​the color's off, they are shot too close or too distant, or worse yet, they are blurry.  That's when I am more than grateful for those who are truly gifted, like Kaitlin.  I can't even begin to imagine what my web site would look like without her expertise.  Kudos to you, Kaitlin Mackenzie Photography!