PHOTOGRAPHY
Food styling and photography for a weekly feature highlighting cookbook and restaurant recipes I recreate at home. Also experienced capturing behind-the-scenes snaps at a number of photo shoots and on-location coverage of events.
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Make-at-Home Pumpkin Spice Latte
At Nordstrom, we make Pumpkin Spice Lattes with real pumpkin purée, Nordstrom Debut Espresso Blend Coffee Beans, Torani Pumpkin Pie Flavored Sauce and (what I think is genius) Nordstrom Spiced Chai mix, which is available to buy at our Ebars. They’re delicious and perfectly fit the season. To enjoy them at their best, drop by one of our stores for a steaming cup—but anyone can recreate just about the same experience at home, even without a fancy espresso machine or milk steamer setup. Though, if you do have one of those, check out the video from ChefSteps on how to steam milk like a master barista below.
One 15-ounce can of pumpkin purée is enough to fill up to 10 large mugs. Make these wildly popular lattes for your next holiday party crowd–or a cozy evening in for two (or one!), and see my Editor’s Note for freezing the pumpkin spice mix to use anytime. And, if you just can’t get enough pumpkin spice in your life, grab a 30-ounce can and use the remaining half to create our recipe for Pumpkin Frangelico Cheesecake.
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Classic Clam Chowder RECIPE
There’s something about a creamy, comforting chowder that seems pretty magical, not to mention somehow difficult to make. But a warming bowl of our Classic Clam Chowder is actually quick and easy to pull together. This recipe–from our Family Table Cookbook and restaurants–is just the right thickness and isn’t stingy on the clams. A bit of dicing, sautéing and gentle simmering is all it takes to have this satisfying soup ready in about 45 minutes or less.
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GRILLED SHRIMP, CORN AND POLENTA SALAD WITH ROASTED GARLIC VINAIGRETTE RECIPE
Succulent grilled shrimp. Seasonal at-their-peak ingredients. Herby, roasted garlic dressing and a nutty Parmesan crisp garnish. Combine them all, and meet the perfect summer lunch or dinner.
Ripe, red tomatoes and freshly picked sweet corn (especially grilled) are two of my favorite summer ingredients. I look forward to them all year, since they aren’t much worth bothering with any other time. So, when I saw this recipe, I had a pretty good feeling we’d be good friends.
Peppery baby arugula makes a delicious bed for all these flavorful salad components, including the grilled polenta croutons. And, with fresh herbs, garlic, scallions, a dash of mayo and the perfect amount of acid and sweetness, our light but creamy dressing that tops it all deliciously straddles the line between ranch and green goddess dressing. Substantial but not too heavy, this salad (also served at our Marketplace Café) has everything going for it. File this recipe under “Going to make again and again”.
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Spring 2016 Nail Color Trends: Pastel Inspiration | Beauty On Set
At our spring 2016 beauty photo shoot, we couldn’t get enough of pastels. Why? Our makeup artist extraordinaire, Kali Kennedy put it best: “‘Fresh’ is the first word that pops into my mind when I think about spring beauty. Something that’s exciting and new and trend-driven that you really just knock out of the park with all of the energy you’ve been keeping inside through the fall and winter.” And right now, nothing is saying fresh and full of energy to us more than subtle-but-punchy pastels.
Nails are the easiest place to experiment with trends and colors. With countless shades out there, we love the look of one on every finger, so go get crazy all you want. The best part of all: these looks are totally doable at home–no special tricks, tools or mani appointment required. Just a few good old fashion pretty pots of nail color.
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CLASSIC FRENCH ONION SOUP RECIPE
Alors! Leave it to those clever French to find a way to throw a bunch of nothing-special onions in a pot, add some stock, stale bread and a bit of cheese and have the results magically turn out full of rich, refined flavor that you never want to stop putting in your mouth. French onion soup has an air of sophistication that makes it seem impossibly hard to make. But really this is an easy, old peasant’s dish (the most delicious ones often are), and if you’ve got the patience to stir a pot of thinly sliced onions for about 30 minutes, then you’ve got all the sophistication it takes to create this classic soup.
If you want to serve this recipe as a first course at a party, complete step one a day ahead, then just reheat it on the stove before moving on to step two. For best results, take your time with the onions over medium heat; much like the French, they don’t like to be rushed. And slice them pole to pole, as opposed to across the equator—you’ll get a less stringy finished product.
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LEMON SHRIMP AND ASPARAGUS RISOTTO RECIPE
You don’t need to be a chef to make risotto. Seriously. Especially with this easy shrimp and asparagus version. The preparation isn’t the only thing that’s simple. Fresh shrimp and asparagus get dressed with just a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper and are then grilled for a smoky flavor that still lets the essence of the briny shrimp and crisp-tender asparagus shine through. This creamy risotto also includes a good bit of freshly squeezed lemon juice, which pairs beautifully with both stars of the dish. Add friends, a warm summer night and a glass of great wine, and you couldn’t ask for anything better.
In case you missed it, you can also make risotto in advance for less stressful entertaining. Just follow the method described in our Make-Ahead Risotto Recipe.