Sweet paul

Hellman's mayo.

I did the food styling for some images for Hellman's a few weeks ago.
I really liked this dessert witch has a dash of a mixture of mayo, cream, sugar and cinnamon.
Sounds gross, but it was really good.
Photo by Don Penny.

Recipe monday

If you have been following this blog you will know by now that Im such a chocolate junkie.
I mean, is there anything better in the world then chocolate?
I don't think so.
But it has to be good chocolate, and yes, there is a difference.
Low quality chocolate leave this waxy feeling in your moth, while good quality stuff just melts and leave nothing but pure happiness.
So always spend a little extra if you can.
And make this tart please.
Your mouth will thank you!

Chocolate and hazelnut tart
Serves 6

1 1/2 cup plain flour
1/2 cup conf sugar
1/2 cup ground hazelnuts
1/2 cup, 125g cold butter, cut into small cubes
1 small egg yolk
2 tablespoons cold water
3/4 cup heavy cream
10 ounces good quality dark chocolate, broken in pieces

Place the flour, sugar, hazelnuts and butter in a large bowl.
Use your fingers and rub until a grainy texture.
Add egg yolk and water and mix the dough well with your hands.
Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Press the dough into a 12 inch tart pan.
Bake at 350F for 12-15 minutes or until golden.
Cool on a wire rack.
Bring the cream to a boil, remove from heat.
Pour into a bowl with the chocolate.
Stir well and pour the mixture over the tart.
Cool and serve.
Enjoy!
Photo by Colin Cooke

Crafty friday!

LOVE THIS!
This is a craft idea I made for Country Living.
Its a tree cut out of vintage wallpapers and glued directly on the wall.
Great in any kids room.
Looks hard, but its not.
Make a template on a roll of finger painting paper.
Cut it out and tape it to your wall.
Then its easy to see if it needs to be bigger or smaller.
Cut out the tree in a wallpaper and glue it to your wall using wallpaper paste.
Cut out leaves in at least 3 different wallpaper patterns.
You will need about 60-80 of them.
Glue them on the tree with the same paste.
Sing a little song and maybe the birds will come and sit in your new tree.
Photo by Philip Friedman.

Introducing

Please give a warm welcome to my new sponsor Ph Design Shop.
For me its love at first sight with their really cute website.
They can custom design any invitation or card with their polished, innovative design.
They also have a really cool on line shop where you can get the coolest cards ever.
I really like their kits.
Check them out here.

Recipe monday

I went apple picking yesterday upstate New York.
It was such a great day for it, a bit cold with some glimmer of sunshine.
I don't eat that much fruit here in NYC, its difficult to find really good fruit.
But boy did I make up for it yesterday.
What can be better then picking apples direct from the tree and taking a big bite?
Not much, I promise you that.
So today I have a big bag of freshly picked apples that I have to turn into something.
I remember this pai I made some years ago.
Its sweet, tasteful and even better easy to make.
Enjoy!

Apple pie
Serves 6

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 apples, peeled, cored and cut in wedges
4 egg yolks
4 tablespoons sugar
1 cup cream
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla. Gradually blend in the dry ingredients. Roll out the dough to a thin layer on a piece of wax paper.
Turn the paper upside down in a greased pie tin and drag of the paper slowly.
Trim the edges.
pre bake 6 to 8 minutes in the preheated oven, or lightly golden. Cool on wire racks.
Fill the pie with apples.
Whisk egg yolks and sugar light and creamy, add cream and vanilla and mix well.
Pour into the pie and bake for another 18-20 minutes, or until the pie is set.
Cool and serve a la mode.
Photos by little old me and studio Dreyer Hensley

Crafty friday!

Country Living asked me to come up with a fun pumpkin idea for their halloween issue thats out now.
I wanted something that looked like a Lite-Brite.
I just came up with the idea, the styling was done by Matthew Mead and his assistant made the pumpkin.
Cut your pumpkin around the stem, remove the top and scoop out the pulp.
Make a crescent moon with an awl. Push the outline of the design through the pumpkin's flesh.
Fit each hole with a bulb from a set of battery-powered string lights.
Put the top back and you are ready to go.
Photo by Dana Gallagher

Put on your hat and be happy!

Just a little cute something on a windy wednesday.
I made this hat out of small flags for a Parents shoot.
Turned out really cute.
Photo by Frances Janisch.

Recipe monday

Pumpkins is not a big ingredient in Norway.
So when I moved to New York 4 years ago I had to get "friendly" with this big vegetable.
I made a whole pumpkin story for a scandinavian magazine, it was such a great way to test recipes with pumpkins.
One of my favorites was this pumpkin soup. Sweet and a little spicy.(Just like me, hehe)
So here it is.
Enjoy!

Pumpkin soup with cranberries
serves 4

2 tablespoons butter
1 large cheese pumpkin, 1,5 pounds, halved and seeded
2 tablespoons butter
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
4 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup cream
salt
pepper
Cranberry compote for serving

Heat oven to 375.
Line a baking sheet with baking paper.
Spread butter on paper and place the pumpkin cut side down.
Roast until tender, about 45 minutes.
Melt the butter in a saucepan and saute onion and garlic until soft.
Add curry and stock.
Use a spoon and scrape the pumpkin flesh into the soup.
Let the soup simmer for 30 minutes.
Blend the soup using a blender.
Add cream and taste with salt and pepper.
Serve with cranberry compote.
Photo by Colin Cooke.

Crafty spooky friday!

Im so happy to share this spooky halloween craft with you.
I created these scary portraits for Country Living's latest issue.
First make black and white copies of portraits.
To age the image, brush it with a sponge dipped in a little black paint mixed with water.
Cut a piece of card stock the same size as the photo and glue it to the photo's back.
Cut out the eyes using an x-acto knife.
Fit the portraits in vintage black frames.
Insert red mini LED christmas lights through the back of the eyeholes.
Secure with tape.
Turn on the lights and scare the family.
Photo by Philip Friedman

Katie Lee

Katie Lee is coming out with a new cookbook soon. Its called The Comfort Table, Recipes for everyday Occasions. And who did the food styling in this book? Yes, little old me. You can pre order the book here.