food photography

Piri Piri chicken, baked potatoes & zucchini

With all the rain last week, cold wind and gloomy faces outside, it sure is time for comfort food. Had 3 large chicken legs, cut into parts and rubbed with Piri Piri spice mix then set it aside to marinate. Half of the time when cooking I whiz up the dishes without thinking too much, even when I am experimenting I should write it down immediately not to forget even to photo record the little tweaks.

Cooking with a camera in the kitchen, nearly broke the damn thing because it almost slipped off the counter. Or had to throw away cooking attempts because it burned while being distracted with other devices not being cooking utensils. Ever since the smartphone arrived featuring 5 or higher megapixels camera, combined with options for HDR settings I have become a die-hard fan. Using mobile photography as long as I don’t forget to pick it up and make shots in between. It is also the main reason why I am searching for photo apps as an amateur to make better photography shots of ingredients, dishes and fun things.

A while back I wrote a post about new photo video app, referring to Everlapse an iPhone app with PC version, well Flipagram is a newer app free download for iPhone, Android and Windows version. I have started using this app and become a fan, am really pleased with the results. While the photo video story below has an intense glow, it’s not because I used a filter but they were made in the kitchen at dinner time with only kitchen lightening hence the slight distortion.

In the kitchen busy cooking, background music entered the kitchen from the living room playing fittingly “I just wanna make you smile”. Now you know how this little photo video story came together. You can find the recipe here under attached to this post.

Piri Piri chicken, baked potatoes mix and zucchini

 

Instead of regular chicken seasoning give it a try with a Piri Piri spice blend, choose a Portuguese, African or original South American mixes or make your own mix it’s worth the try. You will grab this more often and not only for chicken, very versatile uses with all kind of meats, shrimp and prawns. Share your dish and favourite cooking method with us, leave a comment and like us on Facebook Asianfoodtrail page.

Piri Piri spice blend it’s just a tiny bottle, little bag or packet but it carries a long and interesting story. A history of slavery and an origin far from what most people believe they know about this pepper, watch here for the upcoming post.

[recipe]

Apricot Almond Cake recipe

Apricot Almond Cake slice

Seasonal fruit in abundance, the fragrance, the colors, the shapes, taste and textures everything awakens all your sensory feelings. The thought of biting into juicy fruit stimulates a neurons overflow of flavors, watering my mouth instantly. In a flash sparking all the creative possibilities of how-to cook, bake, stew, grill, with knowing taste buds enjoying foresight of a gratifying experience. Mmmhmm….

Still contemplating on choosing the right recipe and ultimate dish, I started first by macerating the fruits in a little bit of sugar. While it is not necessary I like to add a liqueur to enhance flavor. The choice was made on the first bottle in direct view an almond liqueur this time, but other favorite choices are Cointreau or Grand Marnier both combine and infuse well too.

Over time I also experimented by using Cremoncello di Sicillia Mandarino liqueur, while enjoying Limencello original mostly in the summers this is a very nice surprise. Limoncello and other fruit variations are traditionally served chilled after meals in Italy, it is quite popular around the Mediterranean coasts. 

A sprinkle of sugar draws out their juices and mixing the fruits starts blending the liqueur, it creates a syrup and as you can see it coats the fruits with a beautiful gloss. After 20-30 minutes when you transfer the fruits on top of the cake batter, save the infused syrup as a glaze for later.

Fresh apricots, macerating fruits

Choosing  between Apricot-Almond Clafouti recipe by Eating Well and a Cake I choose the latter, since I started preparing in the morning. A Cake can be enjoyed cold anytime of the day, but a Clafouti is slightly cooled right after dinner enjoyed at its best. While Cherry clafouti is one of my favorites, haven’t tried yet using Apricots another reason to follow up soon while this fruit is at its peak.

Apricot Almond Cake

When I started mixing I discovered too late that I hadn’t had enough self-rising flour so I had to do a little improvisation by adding flour and one teaspoon of baking soda, it worked out just fine. After creaming the butter with sugar I added the eggs one by one and finally a drop of vanilla essence, when I realized I could have used almond essence too, will leave that for the next bake. Normally milk is one of the ingredients but I only had soy milk and used it without a problem in the batter. Having done that I need to mention that I used a commercial brand not my own homemade unsweetened soy milk which has a more pronounced bean flavor. For the inexperienced tasters it can have an impact on appreciating the final result in complementing tastes. Press the  apricots into the batter and drizzle a bit of the juice syrup on top and pop it into the heated oven.

Apricot Almond Cake - Springform

By the time the bake is nearing its end our kitchen is filled with an incense and I…..

“Heaven… I’m in heaven,
And my heart beats so that I can hardly speak.
And I seem to find the happiness I seek,
When we’re out together dancing cheek to cheek.”                  – Cheek to Cheek by Irvin Berlin –

Apricot Almond Cake Recipe

This is one of my favorite recipes, without fail it turns out great every time with all stone and soft fruits. Once you macerate the fruits, the batter is easily mixed under 10 minutes since the magic happens during baking which takes around 50-60 minutes depending your oven. Just check towards the end with a wooden skewer whether it comes out clean.

The Springform straight from the oven, say no more, say no more. Let it cool slightly than brush the syrupy liquid on top of the fruits to finish off with a beautiful glaze.

Apricot Almond Cake - Plate

My hubby was in a hurry he didn’t realize that the baking paper lining was not yet peeled off the bottom. That didn’t stop him to cut a slice on the go and munching happily away.

 

Food photography: The images in this post were all made with a smartphone camera, Samsung Note 2 model. Pixlr image editing tools was used; to crop and a vignette no color or enhanced editing on the images.

[recipe]