The course objective is to guide interested budding food photographers through the technical and creative barriers they may be experiencing with their Point and Shoot or DSLR cameras. In other words, this course will help you learn how to take better food photos with whatever camera you are currently using!

The course is an interactive one and will include an online forum as well as a Flickr group where participants can show what they’ve done and get feedback. One lesson will be covered per week with Nika first introducing the lesson and then Curt walking through the ‘how to’ part of the lesson.

This class will be great for anyone interested in learning more about food photography, regardless of skill level. For more detailed information and to sign up for the class newsletter, visit Bucky’s Barbecue and Bread and Nika’s Culinaria.

Update: I also just noticed that Kalyn has written a post at BlogHer with a whole list of Helpful Food Photography Tips from Fellow Bloggers. It’s definitely something to be bookmarked!

Although I probably don’t have to tell you guys this, Matt is an amazingly talented photographer and writer. His blog is one of my favorite reads and I’ve been following his photography on Flickr for quite some time. If you are a food blogger in New York, you should definitely try to attend this class! I just checked and registration is only $25 for a 2 hour class.

Visit Matt Bites for information on how to register for the class.

UPDATE:  I just registered for the class!  I’m not quite sure how I’m going to rearrange my travel plans, but I’ll figure out something.  Now I just need suggestions on where to stay in New York

If you’ve had a chance to visit any of the outdoor markets lately, you’ve seen them. Piles of bright red berries, gleaming in the sunlight, just waiting to be taken home and devoured! There are a variety of strawberries here in Sicily, from the impossibly tiny fragoline to the gigantic fragolone, and every size in between. Although strawberries are a wonderfully healthy, low-calorie treat when eaten plain, I look forward to strawberry season for another reason: Strawberry Shortcake!

The strawberry shortcake I grew up eating was assembled using those little yellow sponge cake cups that can be found right next to the strawberries in almost any grocery store in the United States. As a child, I thought those little pre-packaged treats were wonderful topped with strawberries and whipped cream. But after tasting homemade strawberry shortcake for the first time several years ago, I walked away from the little yellow cakes and I’ve never looked back!

I’ve been experimenting lately with my old shortcake recipe and I’ve come up with a new one that generously serves four people. If you have a large family, double the recipe. Shortcake is best eaten warm from the oven and since this recipe is fairly quick and easy, you can prepare it right before you want to eat it.

These shortcakes are simply butter-rich, slightly sweet drop biscuits (very close to a scone). And although they may not taste like dessert if you eat them on their own, they are the perfect accompaniment to the sweet strawberries and syrup.

For best results, make sure your butter is very cold and work quickly. Also, be sure to let the strawberry and sugar mixture macerate while you proceed with the recipe as the berries need time to release their tasty juices! For easy clean-up, try lining your baking sheet with parchment paper.

Strawberry Shortcake
4 C. fresh strawberries, rinsed and sliced
4 – 6 T. sugar (adjust to suit your own taste)
1 ½ C. all-purpose flour
1 ½ t. baking powder
4 T. sugar
1/3 C. butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 C. cold milk
1/2 t. pure vanilla extract
whipped cream (I prefer the real thing)

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees
• In a medium bowl, stir together the strawberries and sugar. Set aside while you prepare the shortcakes.
• In another medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and sugar.
• Using a pastry blender or your fingertips and working quickly, cut the butter into the flour until it resembles coarse crumbs.
• Add milk and vanilla all at once to flour mixture and stir until just combined.
• Using a large spoon, drop mixture into four equal piles on an ungreased baking sheet.
• Bake 12 – 15 minutes at 425 degrees.
• Remove biscuits to a rack and let cool for a few minutes.
• To serve, split a biscuit in two, spoon ¼ of the berry mixture over the bottom half (make sure you include lots of the juice), top with whipped cream and the other half of the biscuit.

More Ways With Strawberries

Last week, I asked for some strawberry recipe contributions to be included in this post. Thanks to everyone who responded, I received some really great ideas!

First I’ll start out with a drink recipe given by my friend Ruby. It’s a fresh strawberry margarita recipe and she says that the most important ingredient for a good blended margarita is a good blender!

Fresh Strawberry Margaritas for Two

wedge of lime and coarse salt to rim the glass!
2 cups of crushed ice
6 cut, fresh strawberries (minus stems)
1/2 shot of lime juice
pinch of coarse salt (optional)
pinch of sugar (optional, depends on how sweet you want it)
1 1/2 shots of tequila (good tequila)
1/2 shot of triple sec

• Rub lime on the edges of two margarita glasses and dip in salt (optional)
• Blend all ingredients to a fine puree.
• Divide drink mixture between the two glasses.
• Garnish with a strawberry and you have achieved total yumminess!
  Recipe source: Ruby Berry

Moving on…
Veronica from La Recette du Jour gives us a recipe for Strawberries Romanoff, a recipe she says is good for enhancing early-season, dull-tasting strawberries.

Next up, Sara from The Kitchen of San Lorenzo submitted the simple but elegant Strawberries with Balsamic Vinegar.

Then, Terry from Blue Kitchen chimed in with a sweet and tangy salsa recipe that stars both mangoes and strawberries! You must head over there and check out the Spicy Salmon with Mango Salsa!

Melody from Fruit Tart answered my request for Strawberry Pie recipes with her beautiful and rustic Strawberry Rhubarb Pie. In her own words, “This is ‚Äòfarm food‚Äô. It isn‚Äôt fancy gourmet stuff. This is the simple, rustic, real thing.”

Alanna from A Veggie Venture was way ahead of me when it came to rounding up strawberry recipes! She wrote about three of them — Strawberries in Wine, Strawberry Banana Chocolate Crumble and Strawberry Fool — in her Kitchen Parade Article.

Anne from A Foodie Froggie in Paris (I just love the name of her blog!), was also generous with her strawberry recipes! First there’s the Strawberry and Raspberry Tiramisu. And as if that’s not enough, she gives us two more — Strawberry Soup and Strawberry and Mango Tartare with Orange Blossom. Wow!

Mary from the aptly titled blog, Sweet Mary, gives us another unbelievably gorgeous, lattice-top Strawberry Rhubarb Pie. It’s beautiful, go check out the photos!

How does this sound? Camembert with Baked Strawberries and black pepper, Tagliatelle with Strawberries and Lemon Sole, Strawberry Lassi… Intrigued? Well, head over to Paulchen’s Food Blog for a strawberry-based menu that, to me, sounds out of this world!

And finally, go visit What Did You Eat for some Strawberry Coffeecake. This looks so good that I think it will be the very first new strawberry recipe I try!

Update: Just found another interesting strawberry recipe! Rachel at Coconut and Lime made some Lemon Cupcakes with Strawberry Centers and they look yum-my!

Oh, and one more! Deb from Smitten Kitchen just posted a beautiful beautiful Strawberry Rhubard Crumble!¬† If the pies seem like too much effort but you’re craving that strawberry rhubarb combination, this recipe might be right up your alley! If not, go check out Smitten Kitchen anyway, I guarantee you’ll find something to drool over!

Another Update: Have you ever tried Strawberry Bruschetta? I had never heard of it, but after reading the recipe over at Patty’s Pantry NYC, I can’t wait to try it!

And still another one… Go check out the Strawberry Rhubarb Sponge Pudding made by Susan over at Food Blogga!

Now for more shortcake recipes

Veronica from La Recette du Jour is back to give us a recipe for biscuits that she says are light and crumbly and would also make a nice base for other desserts.

Jen, from The Barmy Baker, gives us her Scrumptious Strawberry Shortcake with lots of mouthwatering photos! While you’re there, make sure to congratulate her, she was recently married

For more beautiful Strawberry Shortcake photos and another great recipe, visit Culinary Concoctions by Peabody and prepare to drool! Her Strawberry Shortcake using Cinnamon Scented Biscuits and Mascarpone Cheese really takes Strawberry Shortcake to the next level!

Now I know that there are tons of strawberry recipes out there, so feel free to add links to your favorites in the comments box below! Enjoy!

Subscribe to Pinch My Salt by e-mail

There’s a weekly food blog event that I have been meaning to participate in for quite some time now. It’s called Weekend Herb Blogging and it’s a great way for people who enjoy using fresh herbs to share tips, ideas, information, and recipes with one another. The event, now on it’s 82nd week I believe, was founded by Kalyn of Kalyn’s Kitchen and is still hosted there the first weekend of each month. During the other three weeks, the event roams around the food blog community, hosted by different bloggers each week. If you wish to participate, simply write a little something about a fresh herb and/or post a recipe featuring fresh herbs. Put it on your blog sometime during the week (any week, every week) and then e-mail the link to the person who is hosting the event. All of the links are compiled and then posted together at the end of the week by the host. Like all food blog events, it’s a great way to learn something new, find recipes, and also discover new food blogs.

Like many Americans, we didn’t eat a lot of dishes featuring fresh herbs while I was growing up. We always had a garden, ate tons of fresh fruits and vegetables, and both of my parents were great cooks. But for whatever reason, fresh herbs just weren’t a huge part of my early culinary experience. Cilantro is probably the first herb that I remember using on a regular basis but that was only for making fresh salsa. I didn’t even know that cilantro was used for anything other than Mexican food!

Well, I’ve come a long way, and spending a few years in Sicily has certainly helped me discover the joys of using fresh parsley, basil, oregano and rosemary. I’ve also discovered that cilantro is widely used in many different cuisines around the world and I now use it all the time. I am growing several different herbs in my backyard and am always trying to find new ways to use them. I currently have rosemary, thyme, oregano, basil, parsley, chives, savory and sage growing in a couple barrel planters in the back. And I generally have fresh cilantro on hand now that I discovered it in an international foods store here (cilantro isn’t a popular herb in Italy so I don’t find it in the open-air markets). But I still have a lot to learn about fresh herbs and I’m looking forward to sharing recipes and learning new things each week from all the other Weekend Herb Bloggers!

The recipe that I am submitting to the event this week is a tuna salad that features two fresh herbs: parsley and chives. My aunt Kathy is the person who turned me on to using fresh herbs in tuna. She likes to put cilantro in hers and so do I but the day I made this, I was fresh out! Parsley has become my go-to herb anytime I want to add a little something extra to a dish, so I threw that in. The chives I added just for the hell of it and the rest of the recipe just came together the way most of my recipes do — from things I happened to have on hand. The great thing about this tuna salad is that it uses very little mayonnaise and, even though I added some feta cheese and pine nuts, I think it’s much better for you than a typical mayo-laden tuna salad. On a whim, I substituted thickened plain yogurt for most of the mayo and it turned out great! I still added a little mayonnaise because I happen to really like it but I think you could leave it out completely and this would still be wonderful.

This tuna salad would be good on bread or in a pita but I’ve discovered that my favorite way to eat this is to scoop it right onto a piece of lettuce, pick it up, and eat it by hand. You can use the small inner leaves of romaine or boston lettuce and make several cute little snacks, or you can fill up a larger piece. And by all means, use a fork if you want to. But I’m warning you, it’s not as much fun

So, here is this week’s recipe for Weekend Herb Blogging, which will be hosted by Pat at Up the Creek without a PatL. Be sure to check her site at the end of the weekend to find out what everyone else submitted! And if you are interested in participating, you can find the official rules at Kalyn’s Kitchen as well as information about who will be hosting the event in upcoming weeks.

Herbed Tuna Salad with Feta and Pine Nuts

6 oz. can of tuna, drained
1/4 C. plain, thick yogurt*
1 T. mayonnaise
1/4 C. crumbled feta cheese
1 T. chopped fresh parsley
1 T. snipped fresh chives
1 – 2 T. toasted pine nuts**
a squeeze of fresh lemon juice
fresh ground black pepper
4 small to medium leaves of romaine lettuce

• In a medium bowl, stir together all the ingredients with a fork.
• Spoon salad into the middle of the lettuce leaves, garnish with extra chopped herbs if desired.
• Enjoy!

* If your yogurt is runny, line a strainer with cheesecloth, pour in one cup of yogurt and let drain over a bowl for half an hour or so. Measure out 1/4 C. of the thickened yogurt and proceed with recipe.

** Toast pine nuts in a small, dry skillet over medium heat. Shake the pan frequently and don’t leave them unattended, they will toast very quickly! When they start to turn a golden brown, remove nuts to a small bowl and let cool.

Update: See all the other Weekend Herb Blogging entries here!

Related Recipes:

• Creamy Blue Cheese Dip with Lemon and Chives
• Cheddar Chive and Sour Cream Omelette
• Sour Cream, Cheddar and Chive Biscuits

I have noticed that I am not the only one who has been enjoying fresh strawberries lately! I will be posting a homemade strawberry shortcake recipe soon and thought it might be fun to add some links to other fresh strawberry recipes that are floating around the blogosphere right now. So, if you have recently posted a fresh strawberry recipe or plan on doing so this weekend, send me your link in the next couple of days and I’ll include it in my strawberry recipe round-up! I would really love to see some fresh strawberry pie recipes — I’ll be making one as soon as my aunt tracks down my mom’s old recipe!

Well, it’s official, I WON!! First of all, you’ll have to excuse my excessive use of exclamation points in this post but…Pinch My Salt is officially the Best New Food Blog of 2006!! I would like to thank everyone who took a moment out of their day to go vote for me! And I would especially like to thank my friends who not only voted, but went out of their way (through blog posts and e-mail campaigns) to encourage others to vote as well, especially Emon, Jessica, Sandi, and Karen!

Another big thanks goes out to the Well Fed Network for hosting this great competition! There were so many great blogs nominated and my list of daily food blog reads has grown considerably since this whole thing started! And of course, I never could have won if I hadn’t been nominated, so a big thank you to Rachel for the nomination! In fact, Rachel’s blog, Coconut and Lime, won Best Original Recipes so some congratulations are in order over there too!

So once again, thanks so much to everyone for all the love, encouragement and support! And next time you’re in Sicily, you’ll have a cappuccino on me!

Ok, now that I’m done gushing, please take some time to go check out some of these other winners because there are some really amazing blogs listed below! But remember to stop back here soon because now that I’m through winning awards for a while and my houseguests are safely on their way back to the states, I’ll be busy posting lots of new recipes to start this new year off right!

2006 Food Blog Award Winners

• Best Food Blog - Chef – David Lebovitz
• Best Food Blog - City – Becks ‚Äòn Posh
• Best Food Blog - Drinks - Vinography
• Best Food Blog - Family/Kids – Vegan Lunchbox
• Best Food Blog - Food Industry – Eggbeater
• Best Food Blog - Group – Slashfood
• Best Food Blog - Humor – Smitten Kitchen
• Best Food Blog - Non-Blogging – Leite‚Äôs Culinaria
• Best Food Blog - Original Recipes – Coconut and Lime
• Best Food Blog – Overall – Simply Recipes
• Best Food Blog - Photography – La Tartine Gourmande
• Best Food Blog - Post – Amateur Gourmet
• Best Food Blog - Recipes – 101 Cookbooks
• Best Food Blog - Restaurant Reviews – Grab Your Fork
• Best Food Blog - Rural – Farmgirl Fare
• Best Food Blog - Theme – Kalyn‚Äôs Kitchen
• Best Food Blog - Writing – Orangette

Subscribe to Pinch My Salt by Email

What a way to start off the new year! First I find out that I’m in the running for Best New Food Blog in the 2006 Food Blog Awards and now I learn that I’m one of the winners in the latest round of DMBLGIT (Does My Blog Look Good in This), a monthly photography contest for food bloggers!

Thanks to Matt of Abstract Gourmet for hosting the contest and, of course, thanks to all the judges who must have had quite a time deciding between all of the beautiful photos submitted this time around!

Here is my winning photo but make sure you head on over to Abstract Gourmet to check out the rest of the winners!

Jennifer over at Bake or Break has tagged me to participate in The Foodblogger’s Guide to the Globe, a joint project started by Melissa at The Traveler’s Lunchbox. The goal is to compile a comprehensive list of foods from around the world that everyone must try at least once. The hard part is that each foodblogger must limit their list to five things so that it doesn’t get completely out of control!

It was extremely difficult to limit my list to five things, especially since I think there are at least ten “must-eat” things in Sicily alone! But I tried to diversify the list a little bit and limited Sicily to only two slots on the list.

1. Original Yumm! from Cafe Yumm! in Eugene, Oregon: Cafe Yumm! is famous for their Yumm! Sauce and they very well should be. This stuff is awesome. No, I really don’t know what it is but just go there and order a bowl of Original Yumm! and you will understand why it is on this list. The Original Yumm! consists of brown rice, red and black beans and the famous Yumm! sauce. The whole thing is topped off with organic salsa. It is so tasty and it is definitely the healthiest thing on this list!

2. Sweet Potato Tempura with Spicy Plum Sauce: My favorite restaurant in Eugene, Oregon is Ring of Fire. They serve Thai and Pacific Rim cuisine and although I haven’t tried anything there I didn’t love, my absolute favorite is the Sweet Potato Tempura appetizer served with a super yummy spicy plum sauce. These things are amazing. And if you can stand some heat in your drink, I also highly recommend the chili margarita to go with!

3. Grilled Tri-Tip: Although it has definitely gained in popularity over the years, I still run across people who have never heard of tri-tip. It’s a wonderful, lean, tender cut of beef that needs nothing more than a simple rub of garlic, salt, and black pepper (and occasionally some parsley). I grew up in central California where tri-tip is very popular.

4. Almond Granita with Brioche in Catania, Sicily: Granita served with a side of brioche is THE thing to have for breakfast in Sicily during the summer. Almond is my favorite and I think they do it best in Catania!

5. Pizza in Sicily: It doesn’t matter what kind. Just come here and eat some. Now!

Now it’s time for me to tag five other foodbloggers to make lists of their own. If any of you have already been tagged, let me know and I’ll update the list. Have fun!

• Sandy at Gardenpath
• Jessica at These are a few of our favorite things…
• Pearl at Eaten Up
• Nika at Nika’s Culinaria
• Curt at Bucky’s Barbeque Blog

I decided to get out and grill something before I missed the deadline for Carnival of the Grill…a blogging event hosted by Men in Aprons. I usually don’t need an excuse to fire up the grill but lately I’ve chosen to stay in my air conditioned kitchen and have kept my distance from fire-producing objects. Luckily, the mercury seems to be dropping and it’s actually pleasant outside in the evenings again.

So last night, in honor of my return to the grill, I opted for something fancy. And by fancy I don’t mean complicated, I mean expensive! But it’s nice to splurge once in a while and the thick beef tenderloin steaks looked so good that I couldn’t resist. Although I love a good porterhouse and rib eyes are always a good bet, there’s nothing like biting into a perfectly grilled tenderloin steak.

Usually I don’t do much to these steaks…a little olive oil, some salt and pepper and they taste amazing. But occasionally I wrap them in bacon and last night I took it a step further and crowned my effort with a slice of spicy, smoky compound butter. I was inspired to make up this butter a few days ago after visiting 101 Cookbooks. I love my smoked paprika from The Spice House and am always looking for new ways to use it. It tastes amazing in this butter and I can’t believe I didn’t think of it sooner! By the way, if you like to make your own barbeque rubs and you have never tried smoked paprika…go buy some now!!

Yes, a steak wrapped in bacon and covered in butter might sound like a heart attack waiting to happen but beef tenderloin is very lean and we’re only talking about one slice of bacon and maybe a teaspoon of butter. It’s not something I do often but adding a dab of compound butter to grilled meat takes it to a whole new level. Try some sage butter on a grilled pork chop if you don’t believe me!

On to the recipe…

Bacon-Wrapped Beef Medallions

4 beef tenderloin steaks, 1 1/2 inches thick
4 slices bacon
olive oil
kosher salt
freshly ground pepper

• 1. Take steaks out of fridge and let sit at room temperature for 20-30 minutes. While steaks are coming to room temperature, get your grill ready (gas or charcoal).
• 2. Rinse steaks and pat dry with paper towels. Tightly wrap one slice of bacon around each steak, securing with with a toothpick. Brush a thin layer of olive oil on each side of the steaks and season both sides with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper.
• 3. Place steaks over a direct medium-hot flame and cook for 4-5 minutes on each side. Move steaks to indirect heat, reduce grill temperature to medium, and continue cooking until the interior temperature reaches 145 degres for medium rare (medium 160, well-done 170).
• 4. Remove steaks to a platter, top each steak with a slice of Spicy Smoked Paprika Butter (if using) and resist the urge to cut into them for at least 10 minutes!! It is important to let ANY meat rest for 10 minutes after it comes off the grill so that the juices can redistribute throughout the meat. If you cut it right away, all the juices will run right out.

Spicy Smoked Paprika Butter

1 stick unsalted butter (1/2 cup) at room temperature
1 T. smoked sweet paprika
1 t. chili powder
1/4 t. chipotle chili powder (or substitute with cayenne pepper)
1/2 t. powdered cumin
1/2 t. garlic powder
salt to taste

• 1. In a small bowl, mix all ingredients into butter until well-combined. Add salt to taste and mix well.
• 2. Spoon mixture onto a sheet of waxed paper, roll it into a cylinder and twist each end tight. Refrigerate overnight or place the wrapped butter in a freezer bag and freeze until ready to use.

The butter will keep in the freezer for 6 months. When ready to use, defrost in the fridge to make it easier to slice.

Make sure you visit 101 Cookbooks to check out some other ideas for making and using compound butters.

Subscribe to Pinch My Salt by e-mail