The Raw Food Revolution Diet by Cherie Soria

Blog Mistress Mandy, here. I just read Cherie Soria's book, The Raw Revolution Diet, and all I can say is oh my Chocolate Velvet heavens (I made this for my husband and he ate the entire batch right out of the blender-classy)! If you think eating raw is about deprivation, it is not so.

The book teaches how to incorporate raw food into your lifestyle, whether your goal is weight loss, greater health, increased vitality, reducing your carbon foot print...or all of the above! I was very impressed by Cherie's knowledge and was comforted by her down to earth, gentle approach (I am turned off by the holier-than-thou organic rawism that sometimes exists-blog mistress opinion only!). Cherie's approach makes me feel like I can embrace raw recipes without overhauling my entire diet (I'm not ready to give up roasted chicken, or bacon, or sourdough bread, or...).


Watch Cherie prepare her delicious Kale Coleslaw



We were delighted to have Cherie attend our Master Class I in San Francisco in January and we believe she enjoyed her experience:

"Denise and Cindie's Master Food Styling Class was absolutely packed with
tasty tidbits of knowledge gleaned from their years of experience in the
business. I've written 3 recipes books and had dozens of articles published
in magazines over the years, and what I learned in that class will take my
food design skills to the next level! I can't wait to share this information
with my culinary students and write my next cookbook!"

~ Cherie Soria, director Living Light Culinary Arts Institute, Author of Raw
Food Revolution Diet: Feast, Lose Weight, Gain Energy, Feel Younger!

What Food Stylist's Do With Their Blood Orange Post Maim. By Cindie Flannigan

Photos Courtesy of Ed Covello

This recipe came about because I was talking to my friend Paty Winters about all the blood oranges I have on a tree in the back yard. She suggested making a blood orange syrup that would last forever so I could use it whenever I wanted. I thought this was a great idea so I got right to it. Unfortunately, it was taking so long to reduce down, that I started doing something else and forgot about it until I smelled a burning sugar aroma wafting in from the kitchen. When I got to it, my beautiful blood orange syrup was dark brown and boiling over the saucepan and all over the stove. I couldn’t bear to admit defeat. So this is what I ended up with.



Tart Blood Orange Caramels
with Toasted Almonds and Sea Salt

There’s more sugar in the recipe below than in my original test but if you like very tart candy you can cut the brown sugar in half. These caramels are soft. They are best stored in an airtight container and refrigerated.

3 cups blood orange juice, strained
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup toasted almonds
2 teaspoons sea salt flakes

Line the bottom of an 8-inch square baking dish with parchment paper. Butter parchment paper and set aside.

Place blood orange juice in a 4-quart heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Let boil until liquid is reduced to 1/3 cup.

Remove from heat and stir in sugars, butter, and cream. Return to high heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Turn heat to medium and let boil until a candy or deep fat thermometer reads 248 degrees F (or when a half teaspoon placed in a glass of icy cold water turns into a firm, chewy ball), about 17 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

Scatter almonds on bottom of parchment paper. Pour caramel over almonds. Let sit until cool and firm, about 2 hours. Remove from baking dish and sprinkle salt flakes over top. Cut into 1-inch pieces.

What Food Stylist's Do In Their Spare Time

The short life and tragic death of Benjamin Bloodorange

by Cindie Flannigan

How To Bake Bread by Michael Kalanty. Review by Blog Mistress Mandy

As a cook, I am afraid of baking. I know I'm not alone in this. The precise weights, measures and formulas make this girl shake in her Dansko clogs (math not a strong suit-I promptly dropped out of Algebra 2x as soon as I got a college acceptance letter).

Michael took all the fear away as he patiently and clearly explains each step of the bread making process.

He starts by uncovering The Five Families Of Bread:

Lean Dough (ie Baguettes)
Soft Dough (ie Ballons)
Rich Dough (ie Butter Bread)
Slack Dough (ie Focaccia)
Sweet Dough (ie Cinnamon Buns)

Reading this book reminded me of culinary school. In school, you learn that it is one thing to have a margin of talent and be able to create delicious dishes by following a recipe. It is another thing entirely to LEARN and know your food by touch, look, taste and feel. When you understand food as product and how to apply techniques to enhance the product, you are completely empowered.

Michael's book made me feel this way about the world that is bread.

Not wholly unrelated to his bread bible, we happened upon this delightful video of Michael demonstrating pizza throwing with his students at the CCA and just had to share it with you.


I decided to try the simplest of bread "formulas": the baguette. Please enjoy my pictorial bread adventure!




Ingredients couldn't be simpler: yeast, flour, water, salt



The dough pre-knead. I love kneading. So satisfying.




After two rests, my "baguette" was ready to hit the oven. Yeah, it ended up kinda big, and kinda wide...first attempt, y'all!




It smelled amazing as soon as it hit the oven. Here it is, golden brown.







Okay, so it felt very dense and I honestly did not have high hopes. When I cut into it, I was pleasantly surprised. Cooked all the way through, a touch moist...then husband and I tasted it. I'M A BREAD BAKER! So good. Thank you, Michael! I think I have found a new hobby (well, my first hobby-I'm not big on fun).

To purchase Michael's book,call 1 800 BOOK LOG and use discount code RSB2010XF. Bloggers can get a 50% publisher discount, making the price only $25.00!

Teaching At The Art Institute. Fabulous!

We just had the most fun last weekend teaching at The Art Institute of California in San Francisco. The design of the school, the kitchen and the staff were all amazing. The Art Institutes have over 40 locations, 30 of which offer culinary arts programs.

Click here to learn more. We hope to teach food styling at many Art Institutes in the future!

Our dear friend, Linda Carucci, is the culinary director in San Francisco and we cannot say enough good things about her.

Blog Mistress Mandy found this video of Linda on View From The Bay (we're a little behind as it was shot last January, but just in time for Superbowl 2010! Her muhammara recipe demo is making us very, very hungry).



Back to the Master Class...click here to view Anita's photo pictorial of the weekend. Gorgeous work as always, missy!

What An Infomercial Omelet Looks Like

Jenny's beautiful omelet.




Now it is time to plate the omelet. This is the "hero" or "beauty" plate. Cindie is sprucing.




Omelet is ready for her close-up.




When working on infomercials, one thing you can count on is too many shots in one day. This makes (many, many) lists absolutely essential. A good checklist means when you're brain dead and hypoglycemic at 4:30pm, you can consult the list you made when you still had all of your marbles.




More supplies. This is (part of) the dry goods section. Mandy was eyeballing the Entenmann's cinnamon rolls. A lot. Down, girl.

Back On The Infomercial Wagon

We haven't taken you into the bowels of food styling for an infomercial for awhile, and know you have been feeling a little deprived.

Here you go, lovelies:



The rented fridge. This is the food we need today. Only today. This is only the beginning.



Cindie cooling off for a brief moment.



Jenny is getting ready to make an omelet with the rented stove, which is next to the rented sink.



Jeff is strategizing the what food will look best on which plate.


Yes, we are working in a garage. This is not unusual, and we are grateful for the shade!

More pictures to follow...