July 17, 2010
Erin, we thought you'd love a bright pink one so we got her for you as a thank you for all your hard work while we're away enjoying the highlands of Central America!
Seriously though, Guatemala is an amazing, beautiful, and complicated country and we'll have a lot more to write when we're back but for now, here's a picture from the market in Xela.
(no, we didn't buy one)
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Guatemalan Chicks
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June 24, 2010
I've always loved the Pentax 67 and a few weeks back, while visiting my favorite camera store Camera Exposure, I noticed the most mint condition Pentax 67 II combination kit with a 100mm Macro Lens one could ever imagine. As always, their pricing was hard to resist so, with the most intense loving eyes I could muster...Jaime felt it was a sensible business decision to go ahead with the purchase. The camera has an adapter that gives it true 1:1 micro capabilities which I haven't used yet but so far, so great!
The Pentax is photographed using our other new recent acquisition, a complete Nikon Camera/Lens/Flash system! The shot was made with the ridiculously amazing 45mm f/2.8 PC on our D700.
The other photos represent an extremely random collection of testing the first few rolls through the camera around the house and at Lake Powell, UT.
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New Camera(s)!
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May 27, 2010
Since our new Studio Diplomat, Erin has arrived - she has told us that we have to start being better at bigging ourselves up. I have always taken the mind set that if our photography is good, people will hire us. But I guess when you are hiring a photographer, it is nice to see that they are recognized in their field as well...
We do enter contests now and again and I always forget to post what we win. Since Hardy has joined the Viera Family photography business, he has been entering some as well. He has been cleaning up! But I supposed I should have know that he would, that is why we hired him! Great job Hardy!
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Big ups
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May 11, 2010
Trying to come up with a job title that fits Erin was really difficult for us... Studio Manager just didn't fit. We tossed around: Organizational Wizard, Post-production Genius, Re-touching Master, Marketing Guru, Personal Relations Expert, Album Design Pro... though she is all of that and more... none of them really encompassed who she is. So we came up with Office Diplomat - and we think it fits.
"A diplomat is a man who remembers a woman's birthday but never remembers her age" - Robert Frost
"A diplomat is a person who can tell you to go to hell in such a way that you actually look forward to the trip" - Caskie Stinnett, Out of the Red
For us, having more time to think outside our current workload is a luxury. We got really spoiled because one of our original applicants for the studio manager position followed up with us and offered just what we needed; an all around talent to help more our business move forward, thus giving us a bit of freedom to do more of the work that we love to do.
Erin grew up on an island in Ohio in an area world famous for it's roller-coasters. She would prefer not to use a mobile phone (although we're working to change that), she is a ballet dancer, she is a photographer, she has supersonic hearing that could rival the bionic woman...and she's going to be a mom! Until that day arrives, we have her here to use her mad skills to help continue our business' evolution. Lucky us!
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[May 12, 2010]
Catherine Douglas said:
Yeah - Cedar Point - that place rocks!! I've ridden many a roller coaster there. Congrats on snagging Erin for the company. Very exciting!
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May 10, 2010
I could blame a lot of things for not having a recipe on time this week (family overload, Jaime battling walking Pneumonia, Jicama and Watermelon salad not really that exciting, travelling to shoot a wedding, Mother's day, etc...) but I saw a sign today that read "no excuse is better than a bad excuse" so do not pity me.
Here's something I made for my sick and deserving wife (for holiday purposes, we'll call her my baby-momma) for Mother's Day yesterday. Happy belated Mother's Day to all the overworked, underappreciated mother's of the world; I wish I could've made you all chocolate pudding...
P.S...when I get the formula for this pudding perfect (currently close but room for improvement), I promise to post it!
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Excuses, excuses...
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May 4, 2010
I have to be honest, I had chosen another ingredient for this week's recipe but as I got an hour or so into the prep and realized I had family coming over for dinner and was not even close to having any food ready...decided to opt for something simpler - but no less tasty - than my first choice.
I have little experience with Jicama other than remembering it's consistency to be like a crispy pear so I experimented a little and looked into traditional preparation methods to see where to begin. I came up with a side-dish that can be snacked on alone, served with spicy appetizer-type foods, or beefed up and made into a salad.
Sweet and Hot Jicama
As an hors d'oeuvre best with Mexican/Spanish food, serves 6.
Ingredients:
1 Large Jicama (1 1/2 - 2lbs)
3 Tbsp lime juice
*2-4 Tbsp of Pico de Gallo spice mix
Handful of fresh spearmint
*You can make this mix yourself but the brand I use is so good, I can't use anything else. I use Madrecita, a San Diego company. The spice mix is roughly a blend of Salt, Chilies (dried Cayenne, New Mexico, Ancho, Chipotle), Lemon Peel, and Sugar.
Preparation:
Peel the Jicama and slice into 1/4" sticks or cubes and transfer to a large mixing bowl. Add the lime juice, the spices, and the mint and mix well. Chill until ready to serve and enjoy!
I realized after making this that it could be turned into a really nice, refreshing summer salad by adding Watermelon. I was actually very inspired by Jicama and thought of so many great things that it could be used for with it's unique, subtle flavor and fresh, crispy consistency. Look for it to feature again soon...
P.S...sorry for the late post!
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[May 4, 2010]
Jason C said:
Looks puuurty.
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Jicama!
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April 19, 2010
Although it may seem to my friends and family that I never sit still (true most of the time), I do fully relax when the sun goes down and I have a delicious beer and some nice music in my listening lounge. Here I am hard at work, relaxing. Notice the dazzling unicorn hanging in the corner, an amazing find from artist Tara Knutson while visiting a cozy little wine bar in San Francisco last year. More on the Unicorn soon...
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[April 19, 2010]
Jason C said:
Nice Unicorn.
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My Man Cave (Girls Allowed)
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April 16, 2010
So for the first installment of our new weekly personal culinary challenge, I took a difficult item, something I've never made before just to keep it real. I decided to make oven roasted Cornish game hens in a woodsy, European style. Being this was my first effort, I'll be candid in admitting that it was challenging and I probably should've chosen something a bit more within my comfort zone for the initial endeavor... but it did pass the independent taste test of some friends and family keen to join the party.
We decided to use several of the suggested ingredients - thanks so much for the suggestions, hope you enjoy the postcards (and the recipe)!
Justin - Currants
Anonymous (please identify yourself!) - Morels
Brian - Sage
Wild Northern Woods Cornish Hens with Herb Morel Stuffing
Serves 4
HERB MOREL STUFFING:
4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
5-6 slices of hearty, whole wheat bread chopped into small cubes
16-20 cloves of garlic
1 small yellow onion
2 small celery stalks, diced
1 small carrot, diced
1 Tbsp chopped sage
1 Tbsp chopped thyme
1/2 cup currants
1 apple, peeled and diced
1/2 cup (if you're Portuguese), 1/4 cup (if you're non-Portuguese), diced, pre-cooked chourico (chorizo)
1/2 cup morel mushrooms (either fresh or re-hydrated)
2/3 cup toasted pine-nuts
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
Sea salt and ground pepper to taste
FOR THE HENS:
2/3 Cup black-currant preserve/jam
2 Tbsp fine sugar
3 Tbsp fresh kumquat (or orange or meyer's lemon) juice
1 Tbsp orange liqueur
2 Tbsp chicken stock
1 Tbsp of grapefruit (or orange) zest
Pinch of coarse ground black pepper
Salt
4 20-26 oz. thawed Rock Cornish game hens
Herb morel stuffing
1 Large onion
2 Tbsp salted butter
STUFFING PREPARATION:
Preheat oven to 400ºF. Spread bread cubes out onto a baking sheet and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper. Bake for 15 minutes or until slightly brown on the edges. Remove and set aside.
Place garlic cloves in an oven safe bowl just large enough to hold them and almost cover with olive oil. Roast for approximately 20 minutes or until light brown. Remove from oven and drain excess oil into heavy skillet over medium heat. Add onion, celery stalks, carrot and chopped herbs and stir until onion becomes translucent and then add currants and apple. Transfer to a bowl.
Add a bit or olive oil to the skillet and add chourico and mushrooms with pinch of salt and pepper. Sauté for 3-4 minutes then pour this mixture over the vegetable and herb mixture and mix together well. Let stand.
Add this mixture to the bread cubes, mix well and slowly add chicken stock allowing it to evenly coat mixture. Cover and set aside.
HEN PREPARATION:
For blackcurrant reduction sauce: Over low heat, combine blackcurrant preserve, sugar, kumquat juice, orange liqueur, and chicken stock, stirring constantly. When sauce begins to bubble, add zest and pepper and set aside.
For hens: With oven still at 400ºF, rinse hens inside and out with cold water and pat dry with paper towels. Remove any excess fat from around the body cavity and neck. Salt cavities of the hens and stuff gently with mix. Tie legs together and tuck wings underneath.
Slice onion into thin rings and line the bottom of a large roasting pan.
Place hens on top of onion rings.
Melt butter in a saucepan over low heat and brush hens before placing into the oven. Place roasting pan on the center rack of the oven and roast for 20 minutes. Reduce temperature to 375º and add enough chicken stock to just touch the bottom of the hens. Roast for another 55 minutes, basting every 10-15 minutes with blackcurrant reduction.
Transfer hens to a platter, untie legs, cover with foil and let rest for at least 10 minutes. If you have any blackcurrant sauce left, you can add remaining juices from the roasting pan and reduce over low heat in a saucepan for 5-10 minutes while hens are resting.
Drizzle remaining sauce over hens once they've been plated. At this point, you can serve hens whole or cut down the middle and serve halved.
Whew! I served with fingerling potatoes and a light arugula salad but you can get creative. It's a pretty earthy dish and would suit an earthy pinot noir if you're looking for a wine pairing.
Next week's dish may just be a corndog!
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[April 24, 2010]
dre and jimbo said:
YUM, jimbo's up for cooking tonight might have inspired him a little, although he's been talking getting a goat, hmmm...... whats for dessert?
[April 20, 2010]
Scotty Blenkarn said:
Morels was US! =) Steph and Scotty Blenkarn (www.stephandscotty.com). We said morels and pork shoulder, not sure why our info isn't coming up.
FYI, your plating looks beautiful! Well done!
[April 17, 2010]
Sinead said:
Woah, they look amazing! Love the shot of the hen's bums casting a shadow.
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What's for dinner? Cornish Game Hens!
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April 15, 2010
We love food. Who doesn't?
You have to eat, and it's recommended that you do it at least 3 times a day...so why not enjoy it?
In the spirit of the Iron Chef Japan series (one of my favorites of the 90's), we have decided to give ourselves a weekly challenge. Each week, we will prepare a dish using a special ingredient selected by you! Send us your ingredient by posting a comment to the Facebook page and on Friday, I will come up with a recipe, prepare the dish, and photograph it! Each week we'll give the person with the winning suggestion a set of 10 custom made postcards with the recipe and a photo of the dish.
We need all the suggestions in by 8am each Friday! Bring on the suggestions... your chance to be Chairman Kaga!
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[April 15, 2010]
Dennis Viera said:
Don't worry about dietary concerns. NO INGREDIENT IS TABOO!
[April 15, 2010]
Anonymous said:
Morels for Jaime, and Pork Shoulder for Dennis...
k go!
[April 15, 2010]
Jason C said:
I would say bacon, but Jaime wouldn't eat it. So I'm going with CAPERS!!!
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What's for dinner?
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April 8, 2010
More than anything, we hate bigging ourselves up... so it is great when someone else does it for us!
PDN is a highly respected industry magazine, so we are honored to be published amongst the best.
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Top Knots!
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