http://blog.ruhlman.com Michael Ruhlman translates the chef's craft for every kitchen Tue, 09 Feb 2010 02:20:07 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Photo by Keith Farris/CIA Tonight at 10 pm eastern, Travel Channel. I haven't seen any of the footage from this and so am a little nervous about what was going on with the High Tea and that little boat ride. Original post here. All comments welcome. http://blog.ruhlman.com/2010/02/anthony-bourdain-no-reservations-in-the-hudson-valley.html It snowed last night and at around noon today the sun was coming through a thin layer of clouds—perfect for shooting food with available light. That's the view out the window and that's my setup for this photo. I did this just to talk about using available light, white fill cards ... http://blog.ruhlman.com/2010/02/available-lightsnow-and-using-fill-cards.html Today, this is my favorite shoot of these rolls. They were photographed last night before dinner, edited after dinner and delivered via email to Michael before I went to bed. I decided quickly and now I've changed my mind. I really want the table in the shot. Another request to pull ... http://blog.ruhlman.com/2010/02/buttermilk-dinner-rolls-making-quick-decisions.html [caption id="attachment_4039" align="aligncenter" width="440" caption="Buttermilk Dinner Rolls, photo by donna"][/caption] I almost never tear recipes out of magazines, but leafing through Saveur on the 8 a.m.  Houston to Cleveland flight, this recipe caught me because I’d been wanting a soft, comfort-food, James-friendly dinner roll, the kind of Parker House roll that’s ... http://blog.ruhlman.com/2010/02/buttermilk-dinner-rolls.html When Michael asked me to do a salt shot, I thought, "what can I photograph the salt on that's interesting and makes sense?" Salt—mined—rock—salt of the earth—Hey, I can use my Home Depot slate floor tiles. I bought some that are 12X12 inches and some 5X5 inches.  I'm the kind ... http://blog.ruhlman.com/2010/02/getting-creative-with-salt-and-slate.html [caption id="attachment_4003" align="aligncenter" width="440" caption="My scale, measuring 7 grams or 1/4 ounce of yeast, photo by Donna"][/caption] Over the weekend I made a recipe I tore from the recent issue of Saveur.  I don’t use many recipes but I’ve been looking for a flavorful, soft, comforting roll to make and this ... http://blog.ruhlman.com/2010/02/youre-kitchen-needs-a-scalespecial-opensky-offer-1-99.html [caption id="attachment_3991" align="aligncenter" width="440" caption="Equal weights of different salts, photo by Donna. Notice the difference in volume between the kosher and fleur de sel."][/caption] After my minor salt rant, a number of people asked which salt to use and what I thought about various salts.  There are a mind-numbing array of ... http://blog.ruhlman.com/2010/02/what-salt-should-i-use.html [caption id="attachment_3982" align="aligncenter" width="440" caption="Apple-Cinnamon Granola, photo by Donna"][/caption] This granola smelled so good when it was baking it actually drew Donna out of bed early on a weekend morning—she's a winter bear and not easily extracted from within the comforter.  So I had to post, even though I've already posted ... http://blog.ruhlman.com/2010/01/apple-cinnamon-granola.html After the last shot that ran—Styled Chicken & Dumplings—I am so glad Michael asked for this roasted chicken shot that I just took on Monday. Every Monday Michael serves a roasted chicken, and when this came out of the oven, I decided we should quickly shoot it because; 1: He talks ... http://blog.ruhlman.com/2010/01/completely-unstyled-roasted-chicken.html [caption id="attachment_3963" align="aligncenter" width="440" caption="Herb-brined, roasted chicken, photo by Donna"][/caption] I normally don't brine chicken.  I roast a chicken about once a week and it's a step I just don't think about since salting the bird before I roast it works perfectly fine.  Also, I don't like the skin of a ... http://blog.ruhlman.com/2010/01/lemon-tarragon-brine-for-roasted-chicken.html Because of a few great tips I got from food stylist Adam Pearson at blogger camp, this photo probably looks a lot better. I'm a big fan of showing food in it's natural state, but rich stews can look like ugly creatures in a dark lagoon. First I paid a lot ... http://blog.ruhlman.com/2010/01/styled-chicken-and-dumplings-photo.html [caption id="attachment_3907" align="aligncenter" width="440" caption="Photos by Donna"][/caption] I lead my too-stupid-to-cook post with Donna’s roast chicken photo (a spur of the moment shot while I finished the meal) because roast chicken is the iconic home meal.  It’s delicious, satisfying, economical, and easy. But why I love roast chicken is that it ... http://blog.ruhlman.com/2010/01/chicken-and-dumplings.html [caption id="attachment_3888" align="aligncenter" width="440" caption="Photo by Donna"][/caption] The salt issue.  People keep bringing it up as though it’s news. A new report says reduce your salt by 1/2 teaspoon a day and you will be more healthy (as though that alone would do it). The fact is, we have struggled to make our ... http://blog.ruhlman.com/2010/01/salt-is-it-good-or-bad.html I love travel photography because you can shoot anything you want, especially when I go off by myself and can really observe and concentrate on the light and what it creates. Here human beings are being silly thinking they can make this beautiful palm tree more beautiful. You have to be ... http://blog.ruhlman.com/2010/01/my-first-animoto-photo-video-ixtapa-mexico.html Hola! Food bloggers camp rocked. The place, weather, food and free flowing booze was a spectacular break from frigid Cleveland, but it was the bloggers and their significant others that filled me with inspiration and warmth. Having been a photojournalist, it was also fun to be shooting not just food, but ... http://blog.ruhlman.com/2010/01/ixtapa-mexico-travel-photography.html [caption id="attachment_3725" align="aligncenter" width="440" caption="All photos by Donna"][/caption] If you’d have told me four years ago that I’d be tweeting from a beach in Mexico, while at a blogger camp, discussing social media, SLRs and SEOs, twaudio and animoto, I’d have looked at you as if you were flapping your arms ... http://blog.ruhlman.com/2010/01/food-blogger-camp.html This will be my last post before MR get's back home, but it's been a lot of fun and certainly won't be the last time, so let me know what you'd like to see in the future. I'll try to answer any dangling questions left from the week and am leaving ... http://blog.ruhlman.com/2010/01/wishing-you-good-fortune-with-spring-rolls.html Here's how the cool toys really work. This is a demo clip from Day 1 in K1 when we cover Chinese cuisine. The students arrive at 7:00 AM armed with their knife kits, a course guide and recipe manual. I usually meet with the incoming students the week before and ... http://blog.ruhlman.com/2010/01/tangerine-chicken.html Mike Pardus here. Thanks for the welcoming comments and encouragement. I'm posting this "Intro to the Wok" video used for students to view before beginning my course. It's pretty monotone and dry, but your comments induce me to put it up for those who wanted a more complete explanation. I ... http://blog.ruhlman.com/2010/01/thanksand-yeah-its-a-wok-range.html I'm taking a break from the blog this week but my friend Michael Pardus, the chef I wrote about in The Making of a Chef, the guy who called me a wuss and set into motion what would become a dualcareer of cooking and writing (some people learn to cook ... http://blog.ruhlman.com/2010/01/in-the-kitchen-with-chef-pardus.html