Make Me Cook

Silicon Mats that is!!
Ras gave me a silicon mat for Christmas, when I first saw them in the store I had my doubts. I squished it in my hands… how can you pour hot stuff on something that feels like rubber! Immediately my mind traveled back to the days of REAL rubber spatulas and the mishaps that would befall them if you dipped them into anything hot. You got back goo on a stick covered in whatever you dipped it in and there wrote the end of your rubber spatula. So after destroying my fair share of said spatulas I turned into a wood convert. It’s all been wood and steel in my kitchen since… until now. I’m hooked. I love the Silicon! Mats, Pans, grips… all of them GIMME!

I’m sure you have all seen the cake and muffin pans that are rubbery silicon. You look at them and think “Good grief that looks like it should come with a freakin’ Easy-Bake Oven!” But these are big girl (and boy) toys. They get down and dirty without getting dirty, your stuff just slips out of them like nothing. I swear to you it’s like magic!

I made some chocolate covered strawberries. So I broke down and unrolled the mat, placed it on the counter. I sat and looked at it, doubting it. Got my strawberries all washed and dried, all the while glancing sideways at this new “thing” that claimed to be non-stick. Yeah, we’ll see just how non-stick you are when I dump molten chocolate all over you. So the chocolate melted, the strawberries ready…. the dunk… the drip… the set down on the mat. I let them cool at room temperature, this would be the ultimate test. Anyone can shove them in the fridge and get that chocolate so hard that it has no choice but to come with the strawberry when you rip it from the parchment. No, here the test would be room temp, where the chocolate could give way as it was suctioned to this so called non-stick mat. Was I out to prove this thing wrong, to make it fail… yes, I guiltily admit that I was.

I put my fingers on the berry top. I gave a gentle pull and wouldn’t you know it the mat began to raise just a bit, and before I could victoriously yell “Aha! Told ya so!” the strawberry popped off, whole, perfect and beautiful. I sat in disbelief. I was so wrong, but I got over it with the excitement that this new discovery had opened up a myriad of possibilities for future non-stickiness.

So, my friends, those of you still in the steel, wood and parchement age it’s time to step into the future and give this new fangled goodness a try. I promise… you won’t be disappointed!
So thank you Rasmus, for bringing me out of the Dark Ages

Since we didn’t get to use all of the ingredients the last time I asked you guys and gals for suggestions for the first Reader’s Choice poll, I’ve grabbed the leftover ingredients that didn’t get picked the last time and put them into this challenge. I added a couple more based on email suggestions of what you folks would like to appear in future polls as well. Remember, feel free to post here what you would love to see in future polls, as I will be running Reader’s Choice polls on a regular basis and I’d love to be able to use your inspiring ingredients to create something delicious!

Now the main ingredient I picked kind of out of thin air with no rhyme or reason to it. Maybe it’s just been a little while since I had a Pork Chop and I have a secret hankering for one. Who knows! But it goes without saying that our Main Ingredient is: Pork Chops.

The Main Ingredient: Pork Chops

This poll will close on Monday February 20th.
The recipe will be posted between Tuesday February 20th - Friday February 24th.
The next poll featuring Fun With Fruits (this will be a short poll) will begin Monday February 20th and run until Monday Febraury 27th.

I do think that this is the first time that we have not run into a tie situation, the favorites were run away favorites! My wheels are already turning and smoking and I dare say that if you pair what I have in mind with the recipe result from our Tofu challenge you would have two nice courses to serve your guests.

The winners of the Global Atomic Fusion Halibut Challenge are: *drum roll*

• Macadamia Nuts
• Plantains
• Lemongrass

Well sort of…
Still working out all the kinks to the recipe index and moving the links to the various recipes we’ve come up with so far and all that. I figured it was better to get on this sooner than later, so if you are looking for one specific recipe you are not wading through the archives, and for our new readers just catching up it will make it a little easier on them as well. It’s all about the love

So in making this Recipe Index I came to the realization that there are some holes that need filling, so prepare for an onslaught of recipe madness coming at you along with the new digs! Hope you all find it useful!

Often I am asked if what I shoot can be eaten. You bet your butt it can! Alot of folks are under the notion that anyone who styles food has a bag of nasty tricks up their sleeves to get it to look so great, it may be true of some but not all. You won’t find motor oil syrup for your Pancakes, or mashed potatoes in your Ice Cream Sundae here. What you see is what you get. If you came over to my studio, as soon as I had finished taking my shots you could snatch the meal right off the set and eat it up… and often times this is exactly what happens, if I don’t get to it someone else surely does.

My belief is that food is a beautiful thing, without all the fakey nasty treatments. If you go to a magnificent 5-star resturant you are presented with a plate that deserves a reservation in a fine art gallery. Your food doesn’t come to the table with a warning about not eating the plastic platform, the metal pins or the tampon in your risotto… and it shouldn’t. So why should it be any different when you are taking a picture of food? Simple answer is.. it should not be any different at all. It’s all about freshness and taking care to love your plate enough to dress it beautifully, something that any foodie can appreciate.

So yes… what you see here, that’s what I am most likely eating for dinner (or snacking on) and loving it! And if you don’t believe me then you can ask my big butt… it’ll tell you what’s what.