Tres Leche - Dessert with Violas

Today I needed to bring a dessert to a luncheon for the Piedmont Herb Group.  I decided I did not have time to make any dessert from a recipe.  I had tasted a Tres Leche a friend had purchased at Costco.
However, since this was an herb group and violas are edible, I decided to decorate the top with various colored violas from my garden.  I had difficulty trying to get an image of just the dessert on the counter and had to crop. This, of course, resulted in some pixalation of the image.   There was a little left over.  Perhaps I can  take a different image tomorrow where you can actually see the layers by showing a slice and the violas close up with my choice of better lighting and background.  The taste reminds me of a cross between Tiramisu  and a Flan.  It does require refrigeration.

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Pavolova - New Zealand Dessert H.S.A. Culinary

Pavolova is a famous dessert in New Zealand. Our H.S.A. member, Caryl Talcott, made this for our culinary group 2 weeks ago. She was originally from New Zealand. Had to use overhead ceiling lighting and used HDR mode. Minimal editing, i.e. cropping, sharpening. It was delicious. It is difficult to see the meringue crust. I have made a fruit pizza which can be a cookie crust or thin cake crust. I like to decorate with edible flowers --violas are great this time of year. Kiwi is a major fruit in NZ as are bananas. Bon Appe'tit!!

NZ and Australian Desserts H.S.A. Culinary 2/9/2015

On Tuesday the Herb Society of America - NC Unit had a luncheon. Members brought foods commonly served in Australia & New Zealand. One of the members attending was originally from New Zealand. She made several desserts. I took a picture of what was on my dessert plate but I think I skipped a few. I cropped and had to rotate the photo due to the position of the plate on a granite counter. This worked because the plate was round. Overhead kitchen lighting was used - HDR mode. I added some highlights and sharpened the image to show more texture. Then I added numbers to help with identification in PSE 11.

The meringe shell with the whipped cream, topped with various fruits is Pavlova (#6). It is served at special holidays and celebrations. Anzac(#3) was a (biscuit - not cookie) served to soldiers during the World Wars. It contains oatmeal, but requires Golden Syrup as do the Ginger Fingers (#4). This is available at Whole Foods. I bought the last one on Wed. at the Friendly Center store. There is a partial scone (#2), kumara pie (#1) It contains a root vegetable like sweet potato), and there is another Herb and Cheese biscuit (4). Bon Appe'tit!!

Blueberry-Cherry "Dump Cake" with Ice Cream

Some photos are meant to be a learning experience for future photography efforts.  I made this dump dake and decided to take a picture of it outside. Had everythihg ready on the plate except the ice cream and it was probably 40 degrees F. 

At any rate I went to a Scott Kelby seminar in Raleigh on Friday and learned more about taking pictures of food.  He did say that you could hire a food stylist (their ratres are about $150.00/hr).  I think I will keep practicing.  He also said it was 

not necessary to include the whole dish with the silverware et al. He routinely tilts his camera at a 45 degree angle. Should have used a diffusion screen or used window lighting. The depression milk glass had glare in addition to the food making shadows. There are numerous recipes available on line, just search for "dump cake". This was a combination of cherry pie filling with a pint of fresh blueberries which I baked in a Corningware Quiche dish.