Suzi's Gone Nuts! (And so have we!)

Talk about a fun day. 

Suzanne Glatt, founder of Suzi's Gone Nuts paleo nut mix contacted us to photograph her product and we jumped at the chance! Not only was it a super fun job, but her nut mix is exactly what it says on the label, crazy good. For real. We had to show some serious restraint from eating it all before we shot it! Suzanne uses the best ingredients she can find along with her secret spice mix and makes the tastiest snack mix ever. One shot we did was over some yogurt and I'm telling you that 10 seconds did not go by before I ate the entire bowl. The nut mix had so much flavor that my plain yogurt did not need any sweetener. It was awesome.

Did I mention that I love my job?

In the meantime, I'll be ordering a large supply for myself. 

Raspberry Frangipane Tart

I'm not a winter person. 

However, as fall settles in and I busy myself by trying not to think too much about what is to come, I force myself to find all kinds of reasons why fall is so wonderful.

After sweating all summer and running and playing and picnicking and swimming and traveling, there's something nice about slowing down. Reflecting. Finding moments to be present and still. 

Baking is just that. So when you start to feel that winter dread coming on like I do, make yourself a cup of tea, pull out your prettiest recipe, your measuring cups, bowls and spoons, and get to it. 

You'll soon forget why you ever felt blue in the first place. 

Raspberry Frangipane Tart

Adapted from the New York Times recipe for Cherry Frangipane Tart

For the tart dough:

• 1 cup/125 grams all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup/45 grams granulated sugar
• ⅛ teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons/86 grams chilled unsalted butter, in small pieces
• 1 egg yolk beaten with 2 teaspoons water

For the filling:

• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• ½ cup/90 grams granulated sugar
• 4 ounces/1 stick/112 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• Raspberries
• Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

PREPARATION

Make the tart dough: Combine flour, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl. Work in butter thoroughly. Stir in egg yolk mixture and knead briefly until dough is smooth, then form into a flat disk.

Roll dough to a large circle and lay it in a 10-inch/23-centimeter fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Press in well (patch any cracks with extra dough). Refrigerate or freeze for 1 hour.

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Blind bake tart shell until lightly browned, about 15 minutes. (You do not need to cover the shell or use pie weights.)

Meanwhile, make the filling: Put almonds, flour and sugar in work bowl of food processor and grind to a rough powder. Add butter and pulse until well incorporated. Add eggs and almond extract and process until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. (Alternatively, use ground almonds and make batter with a mixer instead.)

Pour almond batter into prebaked shell and smooth with a spatula. Press raspberries into batter in a single layer.  Lower oven temperature to 375 degrees and bake until golden, 30 to 40 minutes. (An inserted skewer should come out clean.) Cool on a rack and remove outer rim of tart pan. Place tart on a serving dish and dust with confectioners’ sugar.

Zucchini, Tomato, and Onion Frittata Recipe

Both Sue and I enjoy eating healthy (though, that's not to say we don't splurge from time to time. It's hard not to indulge when we work around great food!) 

Here is a healthy recipe we came up with for those of you, like us, who are finding yourselves with a counter full of amazing end of summer produce. Love this time of year!

This quick and easy recipe will also fall into almost all your friend's eating categories: vegetarian, gluten-free, grain-free, and dairy-free, and fits into the Whole 30 diet as well, so feel free to bring it along to a brunch with no worries about the variety of diet needs that may be there!

Zucchini, Tomato, and Onion Frittata

1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

¾ cup finely chopped onion

Salt to taste

1 garlic clove, minced

1 small zucchini, grated (about 1 cup)

1 diced tomato

6 eggs

Freshly ground pepper

Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium heat in a 8-inch cast iron pan and add the onion and a pinch of salt. Cook until the onion is very soft and sweet, about 10 minutes. Add garlic, tomato and zucchini, and cook until the zucchini has wilted, about 3 more minutes. Remove from the heat. Beat the eggs in a medium bowl and add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the onion and zucchini mixture and mix well. Clean and dry the pan. Heat remaining olive oil over medium-high heat in the pan. Pour in the egg mixture. Swirl the pan to distribute the eggs and filling evenly over the surface. Once a few layers of egg have cooked during the first couple of minutes of cooking, remove from stove and place under the broiler in the oven until the frittata puffs and becomes golden brown.

Enjoy!

Shooting (and laughing) at Kiabacca Bar

Sue and I had an amazing time yesterday shooting for Hell's Kitchen's Kiabacca Bar. It's a craft beer and specialty pizza restaurant on 10th avenue and 45th street. The menu looks like your typical pizza place, except the food is anything but typical. Starting with the names of the pizzas, from the "Come on Eileen" to the "All Choked Up" the pizzas definitely have some original and quite delicious combinations. The one above I'd have to say was my favorite from the shoot, the "Conflicted" which was prosciutto, garlic, olive oil, arugula, and fresh mozzarella. Though one of the best parts of the shoot was getting to know the owner, Pat Hughes. He kept us entertained with funny stories and an overall positive and fun energy the entire time. It was a pleasure working for him! 

Photo shoots for Food.com

We have the great pleasure of working for Food.com this year to shoot recipes from their incredible site. If you have never been to the website, it is a user generated recipe site which has been active for over 15 years, has over 20 million visits each month, contains over 500,000 recipes, and is the third largest food site on the web! Sue and I have been having a ton of fun making and shooting lots of different recipes. From pizza rolls to french fries, deviled eggs, dumplings, dips, flank steak, and much more...needless to say, we've been in the kitchen and the studio a lot lately! Our kids have been pretty psyched, too. (Especially to chow down on those pizza rolls!) Sue and I are thrilled to contribute to such an extensive resource of recipes!

Shooting at Jersey City's Razza

Dan Richer, owner of Razza, was barely through agreeing for us to come shoot his food for the restaurant before Sue and I were head over heels excited to have the chance to photograph there. Why? Dan chooses only the best, freshest ingredients for his restaurant. I told him that the way he prepares his food was going to make our job quite easy! Everything is beautiful! From the gorgeous, locally grown produce that was delivered that very day, to the simple preparations from everything from a bowl of chickpeas (the most delicious I've ever had!) to his famous pizzas. 

"Everything is on a strict schedule," Dan told us as we were preparing for the shoot. He starts making his doughs in the restaurant at noon since they need time to rise before forming them into rounds for pizza. "This is the way bread was traditionally made," he continues.

Dan's commitment to the process of making quality food sourced from the best local ingredients he can find is clear when you take the first bite. My favorite part of the shoot? Getting to try it all. The shoot was now a few weeks ago, but I still cannot get that hazelnut pizza out of my mind. It was such a treat to spend the time there. Go. It's a meal you won't forget. 

Farmer's Market Snap Peas and Mint Salad

When Sue showed up to my house with these gorgeous snap peas from the market, I was giddy with excitement. She styled them beautifully during our shoot, then shortly after I put them to good use. In a salad with quinoa and pine nuts, they were divine.

Quinoa Salad with Snap Peas and Mint 

1 cup cooked and cooled quinoa

2 T pine nuts

1 pound snap peas

1/2 cup mint

juice of half lemon

1/4 cup olive oil

chunky sea salt and pepper

Blanch the trimmed snap peas in boiling water and cool in ice water for a minute. Drain. Combine lemon juice, olive oil, sea salt and pepper in a small bowl with a lid and shake.Toast pine nuts in a pan until lightly toasted. Combine cooked quinoa, snap peas, pine nuts, chopped mint, and dressing and toss. Enjoy.