Summer may be over but the heat has yet to subside. And when it comes to low-heat/no-heat recipes, there’s more than just salad. Stay cool with these delicious yet easy recipes.
Malaga Gazpacho
This unusual, tomato–less gazpacho from kitchn is as smooth and satisfying as it is refreshing. Get the recipe from Kitchn
Cold Fruit Sushi with Honey Dipping Sauce
Put a new twist on this summer classic by serving it Japanese style. Get the recipe from Martha Stewart
Avocado Feta Dip
Refreshing and healthy – this colorful dip will delight your tastebuds. Get the recipe from MyRecipes.com
Open-Faced Tuna & Fennel Sandwiches
Cold, crunchy and full of flavor. This protein packed modern sandwich satisfies without weighing you down. Get the recipe from RealSimple
Cucumber Cream Cheese-Stuffed Cherry Tomatoes
These bite-sized bits will disappear quickly at the neighborhood BBQ. Get the recipe from Taste of Home
Pineapple Poppy Slaw
This sweet & tangy twist is a lighter version of traditional slaw. Get the recipe from Delish
Discover more refreshing recipes at the Epic Eats Celebration professional chef cooking event.
What is your favorite no-heat or low-heat recipe? Share with us in the comments.
Check out these ten food photography tips for high quality food photos from people who’ve been there and done that. Plus get links to additional food photo advice resources.
Capturing a beautiful image used to require an expensive camera, but these days, you need little more than a smart phone to snap a quality picture. We’ve rounded up the best food photo tips on the inter-webs. Whether you’re just getting started with food photography or looking to polish your skills, follow these simple tips to ensure you get your food on it’s good side.
“Good lighting is the single most important criteria for good photography, and the very best light is indirect daylight—a shady spot on a sunny day is the holy grail of natural lighting conditions. It gives your food a bright, even glow, and doesn’t tint colors in the way that indoor lighting typically does.But when it comes to natural light, direct sunlight tends to be harsh, creating dark distracting shadows and making whites and light colors so bright that they lose any discernible texture and shape. If you’re shooting indoors, your best bet is to set up during the day near a window, outside the range of direct sunlight.” – Serious Eats, Guide to Food Photography
Left: Unbalanced. Right: White balanced. (photo: Vicky Wasik)
White Balance
In getting good color, your white balance is the best thing you’ve got on your camera. Your white balance is what tells your camera what color is white, and accordingly what all the rest of the colors in the spectrum are as well. Most cameras have a feature where you can choose a pre-set white balance for a variety of environments – sunny, cloudy, fluorescent light – or set your own. I keep a couple of white cards with my camera so I can set the white balance by them when the light changes or I move locations.” – Faith Durand, Food Photography: Tips for Newbies
If your food still looks a shade of blue, yellow, pink or green, most photo editing programs have a correction tool to fix it.
“Make sure your main source of light is coming from behind the food and slightly above. You should see shadows under the front of the dish or plate. Sticking a plate in front of window light is a common way to photograph food on location. Extra tip: Try using a mirror opposite your main light source to pop some light back into the food.” – Zenologue, 8 Tips for Drool-Worthy Food Photography
“Everything looks better on a white dish, and it tends to reflect the light better. I have a whole collection of interesting little dishes that I use occasionally, but they are more challenging to photograph well, and I usually end up again with my favorite white soup plate.” – Faith Durand, Food Photography: Tips for Newbies
“When taking still-life pictures of fruit & veg a few misty bursts of water with an atomizer (Muji have a good selection) can transform a shot. Subjects that looked a bit lifeless will appear as if they’ve been plucked from a crisp, dewy garden.” – BBCGoodFood.com, How to Photograph Food
“Stabilize your camera. If you can’t use a tripod, brace it against a chair, wall, or sleeping giraffe. The food isn’t going anywhere, so as long as the camera is still, there is no reason the shot should be blurry.” Michael Natkin, Best Food Photograph Tips from 3 Pro Photographers)
“Just like human subjects can be photographed from more flattering angles, the same goes for food. It’s important to remember that the concept you see in your head might not always make the best photo. That’s one reason why I almost never shoot a dish from only one angle. Get the shot you think you want, but then take a few minutes to recompose and take another. Remember that an added benefit of shooting food is that it won’t get bored or frustrated with you while you take your time getting everything just right.”– Jeff Guyer, 15 Awesome Food Photography Tips
“When thinking about food photography, don’t just consider the finished product on the plate or the people eating it. Look at the ingredients—perhaps there’s a beautiful photograph waiting to be made. Think about how to tell a story with food: Use messy spoons to convey movement, add drips and crumbs for emotion, and give the scene tension with compositionally placed ingredients.” – Penny De Los Santos, National Geographic Photographing Food
“If you’re making a pie and a little of the filling oozes out – leave it. If you are photographing a cake with a slice removed, leave the mess, the crumbs, the drip of jam or cream. This gives food life.” – Mari Williams, Food, Beautiful Food Styling Tips from the Experts
Try using a shallow depth of field to focus on a specific section of your food (shallow depth meaning only a small portion is in focus), maybe a corner or closest piece of a group and the rest of the food/image will gradually blur out of focus. This creates nice soft edges and makes the focal point really pop in the picture. On most cameras this is achieved with the macro setting.
“With smaller cameras and camera phones, try placing items close to the lens to create a ‘blurry frame’ around your main subject. This will add visual impact to the food that you’re shooting.” – Adorama, Food Photography Tips
If you can’t get this effect to work in the field, many photo editor software programs & apps offer a blur vignette option you can size and center around your focal point.
“Keep it simple: it’s still the food that’s the hero. Try to avoid colors or patterns that clash with your food. You can use a chalkboard, a baking pan, or fancy linens or paper that you can put under your scene. Cutting boards or pastry boards also offer a great background for photos. Something about a marble pastry board always looks good in my opinion. For a rustic look you can build your own small wooden table. It’s easy to move, store and put it anywhere in the house.” – cookingwithoutlimits.com, Food Photography- Tips for beginners
Ready to shoot? Test these tips at the Epic Eats Celebration, September 30th as professional chefs from the DFW area will be competing for the “Photo Favorite” of the day. See the chef line-up here.
We’ve contacted a few pro chefs to find out which of the current cooking trends are worth the effort. Whether you’re looking to take your culinary skills up a notch, or just get back into it, try cooking tips to help you put your best dish forward.
As made prevalent by the ever growing number of culinary shows on TV today, the art and joy of cooking has made a come-back. With the kitchen un-officially designated as the primary room in the house, even children are getting involved in cooking. (Have you seen MasterChef Junior!?) So get your cooking game on with these top cooking trends from professional chefs.
1. Hydrate
Water is a fundamental element of our lives – its power harnessed for a variety of uses, from hydrating our bodies to generating electricity. If water can bring life to our bodies and our homes, why not our food? Enter the steam oven – one of the most sustainable, upcoming cooking trends according to BSH Professional Chef, Robbie Rensel.
Steam cooking infuses food and activates its natural juices. The hot moisture within as well as the hot steam surrounding it enables food to cook evenly. And unlike traditional cooking technology which draws moisture out of food and evaporates it, steam keeps all the juices and nutrients in place. The result? Plump, flavorful food cooked to perfection.
“Steam cooking allows even the most novice cooks to create a delicious and moist piece of lean chicken or pork.” insists Rensel. “Five years ago these cooking techniques were only found in restaurants, but now thanks to innovative kitchen appliance manufacturers like Bosch, Thermador, and Gaggenau, it has come to the home user in an easy and intuitive way.”
2. Focus on Quality Over Quantity
Following the demand for organic, unprocessed foods, a focus on simplicity is growing in kitchens across the country. Professional Chef and star of Cookin’ with Carol, Carol Ritchie, believes when it comes to ingredients, more is not always better. “I am trying to simplify, using a few ingredients of the best quality and freshness, and taking care in the preparation.” Says Ritchie.
Minimalist cooking is not only budget friendly, it’s usually healthier and keeps cooks focused on bringing out a food’s truest flavor. Locally grown foods rich in color often yield a higher quality taste, eliminating the need to add heaps of calorie and cholesterol filled spices and sauces.
If farmer’s markets are in short supply, try modern cooking appliances and techniques such as steam or sous-vide cooking to help revive and retain natural moisture and flavor. Or try a new combination of just two or three items for a unique flavor such as avocado and chocolate over cauliflower, or complimenting a meat with pomegranate.
3. Tap into the Past
While the Food Network channel, Bon Appetite Magazine and Epicurious.com can be great resources for perfecting your cooking technique, Chef Juan Rodriguez, owner and executive chef of Magdalena’s Cocina Mexicana Local, believes the best dishes come from heartwarming memories of home.
Think of Grandma rolling and pressing dough, surrounded by a floury aura. The sizzle of bacon and sweet aroma of Dad’s famous pancakes on a Sunday morning. Mom’s homemade chicken noodle soup with the power to cure any ailment.
“Cook from the cook.” Juan explains. Conjuring fond pastimes and kitchen moments brings forward the traditions and heritage which create true comfort food. You may even recall the techniques applied to ensure a dish turns out just as it should. Whatever the recollection, Rodriguez insists cooking from memories of your upbringing gives your food more flavor and love.
To get your memory juices flowing, check out Thermador’s video series “Real People. Real Food Moments.” which shares inspirational stories of people, cooking and the loving memories they make together.
Want to see these methods live in action? Check out the FBS annual Epic Eats cooking event September 30 & October 1. Watch as Chef Ritchie, Chef Rodriguez and other professional chefs demonstrate these principles and more in our live kitchens while competing for the title of Epic Eats Champion. Visit epiceatscelebration.com for more information.
Please excuse the mess…Exciting things coming soon. This is something we have been saying for 3 long months but the end is in sight and the anticipation is building!
September 18, 2015 our Dallas/Fort Worth Showroom will re-open to the public with a whole new look. Our new showroom has doubled in size and we have updated all our cabinets and appliances.
This unusual, tomato–less gazpacho from kitchn is as smooth and satisfying as it is refreshing. Get the recipe from Kitchn
Put a new twist on this summer classic by serving it Japanese style. Get the recipe from Martha Stewart
Refreshing and healthy – this colorful dip will delight your tastebuds. Get the recipe from MyRecipes.com
Cold, crunchy and full of flavor. This protein packed modern sandwich satisfies without weighing you down. Get the recipe from RealSimple
These bite-sized bits will disappear quickly at the neighborhood BBQ. Get the recipe from Taste of Home
Epic Eats Celebration 
