Say cheese...

Food presentation is not my strong point.

I can make a mean apple pie, but I have never cared much about being able to cut the perfect piece. I know the importance of enticing as many senses as possible with your culinary creations, I just have never seen the point in adding a garnish that does not enhance taste or using molds to create perfect round circles of rice. Up until recently this has not been a problem...

Until I started having to take pictures of my food for my cookbook.

I am a decent photographer, no where near as good as my father who's work is amazing, but good enough to take pictures of food that make you want to eat the page. I am a great cook. I am a perfectionist. So why is it that I have zero desire to put this all together to create perfect photos for my cookbook?

I think that the answer lies in the fact that I have never wanted to make fussy food. I guess that is a somewhat weak excuse, but I feel like food that looks perfect on the plate just is not my style. I like my pie to have apples pouring out the sides. I like my lasagna to be oozing cheese. I like my burgers without lettuce, toothpicks, or wax paper. I know that professional food photographers can overcome all of these issues, while still managing to make the food look delish, but this cookbook is for the home cook and the photos should be as well.

Does this mean that my photos will stink? NO. This means that I will take photos that truly focus on the food and what it looks like in my home instead of some out of touch glossy pic that depicts a meal that you probably will never visually duplicate. Furthermore, there is some food that just calls for color and beauty, like my apple tart or my tortellini salad, and those photos will be similar to what you see in the glossys...

BUT they will also look that way when you make them in your very own kitchen...