skiing is a dance, and the mountain always leads…

Posted on 01.18.2012 by

Have I mentioned how much I love Utah? It doesn’t matter if it is winter or summer, Utah is a great place to go for an active, yet relaxing weekend. My family has a house out in Park City/Deer Valley so we visit often. In the past month I went with my family and then again with a group of friends. It never gets old. The people are nice, the town is adorable, and the food is delicious! My favorite restaurant is Adolph’s. Their Shrimp Scampi and Tuna Tartare are spectacular! I hope they will let me photograph their food and restaurant sometime! We are frequent customers. One time I saw Katherine Heigl there and I, of course, freaked out. I think I have a problem with being star-struck… Others would agree.

In addition to being a quaint town with good food, Park City is beautiful. It has the best skiing in the winter and the best hiking and fishing in the summer. For now I have provided some pictures of the Deer Valley and Park City Ski Resorts. If this doesn’t convince you to go then I don’t know what will!


This is my mom after a long day of skiing. What the hell?? I did not get these genes.

So far all of the pictures above were taken at Deer Valley. The following are all from Park City. Deer Valley is a ski only resort, and in my opinion is nicer. Park City is for both skiers and boarders and is still a great place to go if you have a mixed group! One thing I love about Park City is the slopes are much wider than Deer Valley. But really, if the snow is good and it’s sunny out, who cares! Skiing is skiing and it’s a freaking blast!

I didn’t get to go downtown that much this trip so I only took a few pictures. When I go back this summer I will concentrate more on the details of Main Street.

When I went back to Utah with my friends I was lucky enough to have an amazing cook staying with me! Jeff is one of Jonny’s friends from William & Mary and has a passion for cooking. So one night he roasted some chicken for us. Not just any kind of roasted chicken though. He took three beers (one for each chicken), drank half of each (he had no problem getting help with this), cut the tops off of the cans, and then literally shoved the half filled beer cans up the chickens’ rear-ends! It was amazing. True talent there. Apparently when the chicken roasts with the beer inside, the moisture from the beer spreads throughout the chicken. Pure genius! And delicious! Thanks Jeff.

BESsBESsBESsBESsBESsBESsBESsBESsBESsBESsBESsBESs

(The chickens sit up like this while roasting so the beer doesn’t spill)
Well that’s all I have for now. Until next time!

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i heart new york

Posted on 01.10.2012 by

For those of you who do not know, my older brother lives in New York City. To live in New York City in your twenties… Everyone talks about it; but who actually ever goes out and does it? Needless to say, I’m jealous. So to get my big city fix, I jump at every opportunity to visit.

Now that I am becoming more comfortable with my photography skills I decided to pack all my gear and haul it with me. So many wonderful photographers come out of New York – Elliott Erwitt, Jacob Riis, Diane Arbus, Annie Leibovitz – to name a few. What is it about New York that is so inspiring for people? Is it the energy? The towering buildings? The history? Who knows…. Well, here’s what inspired me!

My mom thought these decorated poles were the coolest. Whoever made these pieces of art took millions of brightly colored zip-ties and wrapped several otherwise plain and mundane poles. What a creative idea! I’d hate to be the person that has to take these off though…

The Little Cupcake Bakeshop is a New York novelty. Ever time I have been to this shop it is ALWAYS crowded. It has a great atmosphere, splendid service, and of course, the food is delightful. My brother loves this bakery so much that one christmas he had cakes shipped to us all the way in Texas! Next time you’re in New York, make a point to visit and try their Red Velvet cake. AMAZING!Every time I walked by one of these stands my mouth watered… 

As you can see, I had amazing trip. Beautiful architecture, city lights, delicious treats… its easier for me to understand why so many talented people come from this amazing city. But now I’m home, back to my little apartment and ready to get back to work. Until next time, New York.

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san diego

Posted on 10.12.2011 by

This past weekend Jonny and I celebrated our 2-year anniversary. For those of you who do not know, Jonny and I met while studying abroad one semester on a program called Semester at Sea. This truly was a life changing experience. We made friends that we will be close with for the rest of our lives and we got to travel the world. We traveled by ship to a total of 10 different countries and created memories that will never be forgotten. So, for our anniversary Jonny surprised me by renting a yacht in San Diego for the night. I had no idea he was planning this! I thought we were going to go out for a nice dinner in LA Saturday night but I should know better than that. Jonny always likes to surprise me on big events. So we woke up Saturday and Jonny said to pack a bag for a nice long drive and to go ahead and bring a change of clothes for dinner. As we drove he gave me one little hint about our day. We were driving to San Diego. I begged him the entire drive to just tell me what was going on. He wouldn’t budge. Once we got to San Diego we ate lunch at this very nice restaurant called Island Prime, C Level. This restaurant literally sits right above the water, with an amazing view if San Diego. The weather was perfect, the service was great, and most of all, the food was delicious!

(Don’t forget: you can click on the pictures or recipes to enlarge!)

On the way to San Diego. Doesn’t he just look like someone thats got something up his little sleeve????

The beautiful view of San Diego. Our Semester at Sea ship docked in the same spot as the huge cruise ship.

Great Bloody Marys

Their Crab Cakes are particularly delicious with the tartar sauce they provide!

And the linguine with clams and bruschetta was worth every penny.

Once we left the restaurant Jonny said there was one more surprise. He drove me to where all the yachts are docked and a man named Ken walked us to one particular yacht. After Ken gave us a quick tour of the yacht and went on with his day Jonny was able to tell me he thought since we met on a boat that we should spend our anniversary on a boat as well. It was amazing… That night we bought some wine, bread, and soup and just relaxed. I could not ask for a better anniversary.

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chicken with mushrooms & oven-baked polenta

Posted on 10.12.2011 by

After a long day of work, and then sitting through the bumper-to-bumper traffic that L.A. is so notorious for, I walked into Jonny’s apartment to an amazing smell of hot oil and mushrooms. Jonny was cooking dinner for me! And boy was it good! Not only did he cook dinner for me but he also bought me flowers… So I had some fun doing a little photo shoot with them!

(Don’t forget: you can click on the pictures or recipes to enlarge!)

As for the dinner, Jonny made Braised Chicken with Mushrooms and Oven-Baked Polenta from one of my favorite cookbooks: Great Food Fast. I had never heard of Polenta before. It looks like mashed potatoes but it most definitely is not. It is made with cornmeal and is absolutely delicious. And you can never go wrong with chicken and mushrooms. Jonny and I are BIG fans of mushrooms so we always cook more than the recipe calls for. Dinner was amazing. Thanks Jonny!

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byop

Posted on 10.04.2011 by

This past weekend I threw a B.Y.O.P. (Bring Your Own Pumpkin) party. Fall is my favorite season, and Halloween is my favorite holiday. So it should be no shock that October is my favorite month. I was lucky that October 1st was a Saturday this year. I ran over to the adorable pumpkin patch (on Hope Ave – in case you live here and want to go!) and grabbed a few pumpkins. Shaun and Skyla made it to my apartment a bit earlier than everyone else to help me get set up. While Shaun was on the patio starting to gut out some of the pumpkins, Skyla and I decided we wanted to bake two pumpkin pies. One with fresh pumpkin and one with canned pumpkin. This way we could compare and contrast the two. One thing we learned is that getting the actual fresh pumpkin is no piece of cake! You have to cut the pumpkin into small chunks, peel the skin off the chunks, boil the pumpkin till it is nice and soft, and then smash it until it is all somewhat smooth. We had pumpkin flying all over the place!!! When we were trying to chop it into small chunks it kept slipping and falling. My poor small kitchen took a beating. There has got to be an easier way to do this…

We were still in the middle of getting the fresh pumpkin prepared when the rest of guests started to arrive. Poor Skyla got stuck with preparing the majority of the fresh pumpkin pie while I started to serve the other food I had prepared the night before. I made some of my mom and grandmother’s recipes: Fancy Franks, Hamburger Dip, and Tortilla Pinwheels. They were all a hit!

This Hamburger Dip is a secret family recipe so unfortunately I will not be able to post this recipe. But any kind of Hamburger Dip is a great option for a party!

After munching on the food and talking for a bit we finally started to carve our pumpkins. This all brought back childhood memories for us. Except Shaun! Since he is from South Africa, this was his first experience with Halloween. I think he had a blast with it. And since this is also Skyla’s favorite holiday, Shaun will have to love it too because they got engaged last week! Congratulations!

After the pumpkin carving, the pies had been sitting out long enough to cool and were ready to serve! We dug in. While both pies were delicious, they each have their pros and cons. The canned pumpkin made pie was MUCH easier to make, and had a smoother texture, but also tasted store-bought (and didn’t have as much love put into it!). This reminds me of the way my mom would compare Lunchables to her BPJs – her BPJs had all the love in them. The homemade pumpkin pie was very time consuming and a bit of a pain to prepare (but this was only our first time), but was absolutely delicious! All in all, you can’t go wrong with either pumpkin pie. It is just personal preference!

Happy Fall Everyone!

Posted in Appetizers, Desserts | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

steak & mushrooms – yum…

Posted on 09.25.2011 by

This past weekend I drove down to LA for a quick visit with Jonny. It was a nice, relaxing weekend; nothing big going on. Saturday night I cooked for Jonny and our friends Thomas and Genny. They have been the brave recipients of many of my first-time meals. This time I decided to cook this delicious recipe I found in Bon Appétit – Hanger Steak with Mushrooms and Red Wine Sauce. As this was my first time cooking steak, I was a little nervous. It was a little on the dry side but practice makes perfect! That said, the mushrooms and the sauce were superb. I wish I knew how to cook good medium-rare steaks without drying them out. Any suggestions?

One photography tool I have come to love is my diffusor! It helps the light not be so harsh and allows me to have a greater degree of control over the light on the plates (because they’re white, a harsh reflection causes the whites to become blown out and lose detail). Between composition, style, quick shooting, and learning more about lighting food, I’ve come a long way, but still have so much to learn. The next big step will be food styling. Help!

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home sweet home

Posted on 09.18.2011 by

This weekend I went home to Fort Worth. My brother had come home from New York City for a doctor’s appointment so my mom thought it would be nice for all of her kids to be home. As usual, the first night in town Blake and I wanted to go to Joe T. Garcia’s. Joe T’s has been our family’s favorite restaurant since I can remember. Now in case ya’ll have never been to Fort Worth, Joe T.’s is the best Mexican restaurant in town (probably in Texas) and I am sure plenty of other Fort Worthians’ would agree with me. The atmosphere, food, and service are all amazing. The queso is my favorite thing to order. It’s a secret family recipe that I have been trying to get my hands on for years!!! I’m telling you, this stuff is addicting. And don’t even get me started on the margaritas. AMAZING. Needless to say, if you ever go to Fort Worth eating here is a MUST. But I will warn you – when you leave Joe T.’s expect to be miserably full for the rest of the night and following morning (its worth it!)

(FYI – If you click on the photos or recipes you can enlarge them)

Joe T’s started out as the Garcia’s family home that they turned into a restaurant. Over the years they have bought more and more land around their family restaurant to make it into the huge and gorgeous atmosphere it is today! This picture above actually use to be their family pool. Lots of people have been thrown into it as a joke or prank. The fountain in the pool is a new addition.

There are several fountains throughout the restaurant. I particularly like this one because you can always find young children tossing coins into it and making their wishes! My favorite Queso! My little sister was so excited to take a picture.Since it is becoming more and more rare for the three of us to be together in one place my mom always has to get a picture when the opportunity arises!

The next night we went to my little sister’s football game (she’s a cheerleader). I was so excited because I wanted to blog about the Texas football scene – tailgating, the fans, the players, the environment, etc. Unfortunately it started to rain cats and dogs and I was unable to bring my camera out for play. It’s ok though because Texas desperately needed the rain. I will have to save that blog for another time!

Now, onto the good stuff: food. Today, I have an extra special recipe to share with you all for I am the daughter of a woman who makes the best banana bread ever. My brother begged her to make a big batch so he could take some back to New York with him. Luckily, I benefitted from this as well.

Finally on Saturday night we were able to relax and make a nice home cooked meal. My mother’s favorite show on the Food Network is Barefoot Contessa. Who can blame her, right? We were in the mood for fish so we pulled out one of Ina Garten’s cookbooks and found a few good recipes – Garlic Sautéed Spinach, Tuna Tartare, and Linguine with Shrimp Scampi. Around 3:00 Blake wanted mom and I to try these supplements that are suppose to help boost your energy a bit. This is something you would buy at a GNC. Now normally I wouldn’t take an energy supplement but Blake is very stern about having a healthy diet so we trusted him. By the time we started cooking in the kitchen mom and I had so much energy we didn’t know what to do with ourselves! We were running around the kitchen like mad men (well, women)! I told mom that I felt like Cameron Diaz in What Happens in Vegas when Ashton Kutcher sneaks energy booster in her morning shake and she ends up crazy hyper at work. Some how through all the madness we ended up with a delicious, refreshing dinner. Thanks Ina!

Before we dined, I made sure to snap some photos. As you can tell, I love photographing food and am learning more and more every time I do it. One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is that you have to pay very close attention to detail. I know that seems obvious, but what may seem petty at the time could potentially take hours to fix in post. Luckily, I like the challenge and am growing more passionate everyday.

It was so nice to be home for a few days. I always miss how cozy my mom makes the house and how it always smells like somethings cookin’. Not to mention it’s nice to have access to a washer and dryer! Thanks, mom, for everything this weekend.

Posted in Appetizers, Desserts, Main Course | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments