Lara Ferroni

Scallion Salsa Verde

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 17:55:58 +0000

I was recently at a potluck and learned an important lesson about myself. I shouldn’t be allowed to stand next to the salsa verde. At least, not if anyone else wants to have any. Not only did I eat more than my fair share on whatever bread was around, I also had a bit more on the sausage, the veggies or anything else I could get my hands on. I might have picked up the dish and licked it clean. Except that I’m pretty sure that would have been a serious party foul.

The good news is that my garden is full of good stuff for salsa verde right now. I have a mini forest of scallions and herbs, so I was quick to make the Bobby Flay scallion vinaigrette recipe in the August Food & Wine. Green onions, cilantro and jalepeño with a healthy splash of sherry vinegar and dribble of honey. Sounds delicious, doesn’t it? It is. Hot, sour, salty, sweet. It’s great on fresh veggies, baguette, grilled chicken, my fingers.

It’s also easily adaptable. Yesterday, I made a variation with the addition of fresh shiso, padrons and agave instead of the honey. Yum.

Scallion Salsa Verde
adapted from Bobby Flay’s Scallion Vinaigrette in Food & Wine August 2010

6 scallions, pale and dark green parts only, coarsely chopped
1 or 2 peppers
3 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1 teaspoon agave nectar
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
2 or 3 shiso leaves, chopped
3 tablespoon olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste

Place all the ingredients except the oil in a blender, and pulse until well blended but a little chunky. Stream in the oil while blending, and season to taste.

Makes about 1 cup

Budget “Linen”

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 04:41:20 +0000

If you find yourself drooling over pricey French Linen tablecloths, head over to Home Depot and check out their canvas painter’s drop cloths. A 6′ X 9′ canvas is only $10, and the smaller 5′ X 5′ is only $5! Once ironed flat, they look great and provide a lovely, neutral texture to your photos.

Here are a couple of shots from my recent Food Photography classes, with the tarps in action.

SLW July/August Challenge: Matt’s Ultimate Summer Salad

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 16:53:51 +0000

It’s no secret around here that I am a huge fan of Matt Armendariz and Adam Pearson. Both personally and professionally, these guys are some of my favorite people around. And when I saw this salad posted as part of Matt’s new column on the Cooking Channel website, I immediately wanted to make it. And, to make it the new remake challenge.

photo courtesy of Matt Armendariz; Styling by Adam Pearson

See, this photo hits one of my own personal challenges in food photography: Making a landscape photo look great. Whenever I am required to shoot landscape (and it usually takes a requirement), I cringe a little inside. It’s quite a bit harder to get depth into a photo when you have limited vertical space… and I find myself trying to figure out what in the world to do with all that horizontal space around it (unless I know that some copy will run there).

For this challenge, make a simple, non-lettuce based salad (I highly recommend following or at least adapting Matt’s recipe, because tomatoes photograph beautifully) and shoot it in a landscape composition like the original photo. Note where the light is coming from here too… you are going to need some sort of bounce to offset that lovely backlighting.

It’s really helpful when you use the new diptych format when you post your results! For this diptych the original photo goes on the top, and your take on the bottom.

If you are new to the monthly photo challenges, head over to the Flickr group for the rules and to introduce yourself.

This challenge will run through the end of August.

Carob: Carob Mills Magazine by Polydorou Designs, Cyprus

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 22:15:41 +0000

S’mores: Seattle Magazine’s summer 2010 issue

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 22:00:58 +0000

Truffle Honey Whipped Cream: Seattle Magazine’s Key Ingredient by Lorna Yee

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 22:00:53 +0000

Cherry Bacon Bites

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 22:00:52 +0000

Sour Cherries: Seattle Magazine’s Key Ingredient with Lorna Yee

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 22:00:49 +0000

Artisan Beef Tasting: Edible Seattle

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 22:00:24 +0000

Rhubarb Bars

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 22:00:24 +0000