Homemade Soft box Continuous Lighting

• 1 Clamp Utility Light 10″ – Cost $6.86 @ Lowes
• 1 5500k compact florescent bulb – $1.99 @ Lowes
• 12 inches square piece Rip Stop Nylon – Cost $5.99 a yard @ Jo-Ann Fabrics, only need about 1/9th
• 12 inches elastic band – $0.39
• Magic marker
• Stapler

To start you need to purchased a clamp light and a 5500k compact florescent light bulb.  Make sure that when the bulb is screwed into the clamp light, that it does not protrude past the edges of the clamp light cone.  If it does, you need to get a bigger clamp light with a deeper cone, or a shorter compact florescent bulb.

Next lay out the Rip Stop Nylon and place the cone of the clamp light onto the fabric.  Then using a marker, draw an outline of the clamp light cone onto the fabric.  Make sure to make the outline about 1 inch bigger than the actual size of the cone.

Trim the Nylon so that it is slightly bigger than the outline.

Next staple one edge of the elastic to the fabric on top of the outline.  Then stretch the elastic and staple it to the fabric following the outline.  Make sure to stretch the elastic as you go around the outline.

When you are done you will have a round piece of rip stop nylon that resembles a shower cap.

Stretch the fabric around the cone of the clamp light.

The nylon with keep the fabric taught and it with further catch the edge of the clamp light keeping the nylon filter attached to the light.

Clamp the light where you need extra light and you have the perfect soft box lighting for little to no money.

It is noted that you need to utilize a compact florescent bulbs for this project as they do not produce the heat of an incandescent bulb.  Plus you can purchase compact florescent bulbs in the required 5500k frequency.

Warning - if you use a standard bulb it will heat up and melt the fabric.  This can cause injury or damage.  Make sure to use a compact florescent bulb.

• Sugar Loaf Crafts Festival — Oct 8, 2010 10:00am – Oct 10, 2010 6:00pm
  Lovers of fine crafts and art will find more than 250 top artisans displaying and selling their unique creations in pottery, sculpture, glass, jewelry, fashion, home décor, furniture and home accessories, items for the garden, and photography. In addition to top national artists, the Festival will also introduce new and emerging artists showcasing the latest trends in handmade fashion and accessories, statement jewelry and fine art.

  The Sugarloaf Crafts Festival experience is enhanced with dozens of specialty gourmet foods available for sampling and purchasing. This show features German-style almonds, soup mixes, English toffee, fresh breads and so much more.

• DC Curbside Cookoff — Oct 8, 2010 11:30am – Oct 8, 2010 8:00pm
  The District’s 20 most popular street vendors will converge in downtown DC today and tomorrow for two full days of art, music, dance and of course the best …food the vendors have to offer. AND IT ALL STARTS RIGHT NOW (admission is free!)

  The Department of Consumer and Affairs (DCRA), in proud partnership with the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, Brightest Young Things, and the Downtown BID, presents the city’s first annual Curbside Cookoff.

  The vendors invited to participate were selected from a week-long online open voting process and the vendors chosen can satisfy anyone’s cravings including:

  Red Hook Lobster Truck
  DC Slices
  District Taco
  Eat Wonky
  BBQ Bandidos
  Yellow Cart
  Pedro and Vinny’s Burrito Cart
  Curbside Cupcakes
  DC Empanadas
  Eat Sauca
  El Floridano
  Fojol Bros.
  Food Chain DC
  Fry Captain
  Yellow Truck
  Pleasant Pops
  Rebel Heroes
  Sweet Bites
  Sweetflow Mobile
  Takorean
  Attendees will be able to vote for their favorite vendor on-site via paper ballot and via American Idol-style SMS text messaging. More details on the voting process will be announced in the next few days.

  11:30am-2:00pm
  Curbside Cool: A calming afternoon of music and yoga with Yoga Artist Julie Eisenberg. There’s a yoga pose to help you digest all that food you’re sampling! In the crowd, more artists to keep the cool vibe include the “Acro-Yogis” and Pastorale.

  5:00-8:00pm
  Curbside Culture: An electrifying experience of percussive dance and drum featuring a stage performance by Farafina Kan and dance demonstrations with crowd participation by Sahara Dance and Farafina Kan.

Pick Your Own Apples and Pumpkins

Heartland Orchards

3064 Hartland Lane, Markham, VA 22643

540.364.2316

http://www.hartlandorchard.com/

Homestead Farm

15600 Sugarland Road, Poolesville, Maryland 20837

301.977.3761

http://www.homestead-farm.net/

Larriland Farm

2415 Woodbine Road | Woodbine, MD 21797

301.854.6110

http://www.pickyourown.com/

The Camera

I do not use a crazy expensive camera, but I did splurge for a Digital SLR.  I use a Nikon D60.  It is a great beginner camera with a few extras.  I also use a standard 18-55mm 3.5-5.6f lens and a 35mm 1.8f lens.

The 18-55mm lens works great for work photos.  It has zoom and allows you to get the perfect shot while making the food.  The 35mm is a prime lens with a low aperture for those money shots.  The low aperture allows for you to focus in on food and then blur everything behind it.  It gives you those amazing shots that you have always wanted.

Lighting

Nothing beats natural lighting.  Turn off your flash and use as much natural lighting as possible.  Try to take your photos near a window and during the day.  If you are stuck taking your photos at night, try using natural light lightbulbs.  They are a bit more expensive, but don’t throw off the yellowish hue.  Most Digital SLR’s allow you to adjust for lighting conditions.  If you are in an area with florescent lights, switch to a florescent mode.  This will make up for the yellowish tinge.  This is the biggest step to getting great food pictures.

For some of the finish photos I utilize a light t.  It is a small 18″ cube that contains back drops and lighting.  I use it to get those perfect photos of the food with nothing around it.  The light box provides the perfect backdrop for the photos.  It has four color backgrounds, includes the lights and a tripod.  Everything that you need to get started.

Dishes

Food does a great job on its own, but the perfect dish can make your food shine.  I hate to pay a lot for plates so I do my shopping at Marshall’s, TJ Maxx and Homegoods.  They have a fabulous selection of random plates, bowls and trays.  You can purchase a single dish and they are super cheap.  The most I have ever paid for a single dish was $4.  You can build up a nice collection of random dishes.  Nothing says dinner party like a collection or random dishes.

my Cupboard is a little messy, but I have a great collection of plates. Different sizes and colors.

As for glasses I pick them up at the dollar store.  Even TJ Maxx usually makes you purchase a whole set of glasses.  I need the perfect photo not the perfect set of glasses for a party.  Dollar stores usually have every type of glass that you need.  The bonus, they are only a dollar.  I have picked up martini glasses, margarita glasses, rocks glasses, collins glasses, everything known to man.  Yes it is only a dollar.

Finally have fun.  The more fun you have the better your food will turn out, and in turn, the better your photos will turn out.

-Rex

As always, if you have any questions drop me a line at rex [at] savoryreviews (dot) com.

Topped with parmesan and parsley these potatoes are awesome!!

Parmesan Oven Fries – (from Tyler Florence)

• 3 russet potatoes, cut in 1/2 lengthwise, halves cut lengthwise into fourths to make 16 big, fat wedges
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley leaves
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Preheat a baking sheet in the hot oven for at least 5 minutes.  Get the pan super hot.  This will help sear the potatoes and prevent them from sticking.

Wash and slice the potatoes into wedges.  Slice the potatoes into 1/8ths.

While the baking sheet is heating, toss the potatoes with the olive oil and 3/4 teaspoon salt in a large bowl.

Then dump the potatoes out onto a baking sheet, spreading to a single layer.

Place the wedges onto the preheated cookie sheet.

Roast for 30 to 35 minutes, shaking the pan and/or flipping the potatoes on the pan every now and then, until the potatoes are cooked through, brown and crispy.

Remove the potatoes from the pan and place in a large bowl.  Toss the fries in the bowl with the parsley and cheese. Be careful when tossing the fries.  They will break apart if you are too rough.

These potatoes were amazing. They were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.  The cheese added a great flavor that enhanced the natural flavor of the potato.

Deep Fried Thanksgiving

Deep-frying gives you crispy skin and some of the juiciest turkey around.

Deep Fried Turkey

• 10-15lb turkeys work the best
• Marinade – Made thin as the injector had small holes
  • 2 sticks of butter
  • 1/2 cup water or beer
  • 2 tbs garlic powder
  • 1 tbs Cajun seasoning
  • 1 tbs onion powder
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tsp cayenne pepper

Hardware

• 1 turkey fryer
• 3 1/2 to 5 gallons of oil
• meat thermometer
• meat injector
• fire extinguisher

Prepping The Fryer

The first step is to setup the fryer.  Place it in a open space away from your house on a level surface.  Make sure to fry on a non-flammable surface.  Yep, stay away from your deck.  A driveway works, but remember there will be some oil spillage and it will stain your driveway.  We chose to fry in the backyard on the grass.

Next fill the fryer up with oil.  A simple way to determine how much oil you need is to place the turkey in the pot and then fill it will water, just until it covers the bird.  Next remove the bird from the pot.  When you remove it, take note of the height of the water remaining in the pot.  That is exactly how much oil you will need.  Sounds like a unnecessary step, but too much oil, will cause the oil to overflow and then you have a giant grease fire.  That is totally not cool.   Remove the water from the pot.  Completely dry the pot and then add oil up to the previous water level.

Light the fryer and bring the temperature up to around 375 degrees.  This is a little hot for frying turkeys, but remember the bird will be cold and the oil temp will drop.

Marinating the Bird

Now it is time to prepare the bird.  A nice flavorful injection will give you a great tasting bird.  You can do a rub, but in my experience the rub usually burns in the oil and doesn’t always give you the best results.  The no fail method, marinating.

In a pan, add the butter, beer or water, and the seasonings.  Heat till the butter is melted and the ingredients are all incorporated.  Remove from the heat and let cool.

Making the Marinade

Rinse the turkey and dry it off completely.  Water is not your friend when you deep fry.  Next inject the turkey all over with the marinade.  Make sure to inject the breast, thighs and legs all over.

Inject Inject Inject

Place the turkey on the deep fry stand and then wipe the outer surface to soak up any marinade that might have oozed out.  Let the turkey sit and marinate while the oil is coming to temperature.

Cooking the Turkey

When the oil is to temperature, slowly place the turkey into the oil.  Take your time.  It took about 2 minutes to slowly lower the turkey all the way into the oil.  If you rush it, the oil will boil over and once again, you have a grease fire.  Not cool people.

Slowly lower the turkey

Monitor the oil and make sure the temperature stays around 350 degrees while the bird is in the oil.  Since we started at 375 it should be at or near 350 after the bird is placed in the fryer.

350 People

Cook the bird for roughly 2 1/2 minutes a pound.  12 pound bird would approximately take 30 minutes.  When this time is up, lift the bird and take the temperature in the breast.  If the bird is at 165 in the breast,  it is done.  If not slowly lower it and cook for 5 more minutes and repeat until the breast is at 165.

Looks like one tasty hot tub

- Cool tip.  The oil temperature will start to steadily increase as the bird cooks.  When you see a major spike/increase in the temperature of the oil, you can be pretty sure that that the cooking of the bird is nearing completion.

When the temp reaches 165 remove the turkey from the fryer and place on a sheet pan.  Then cover in foil and let it rest for 15 minutes before carving.

So Tasty....

Make sure to utilize all of the skin when you carve the turkey.

Safety Tips

• Never leave the oil unattended
• Don’t let your kids or pets play around the deep fryer
• Make sure to pre-measure the oil needed
• Let the oil cool completely before disposing of it
• Have a fire extinguisher handy, just in case
• Don’t cook inside your house or garage
• Don’t cook in the rain – This is a big one people
  • If it is raining, don’t decide to cook in your garage, see the warning above.
• Start by cooking the turkey for 2 1/2 minutes a pound.  It could take up to 3 minutes a pound, but it is easier to cook the turkey for a bit longer than to explain to your guests why the turkey is overcooked.

Overall had a great time in Michigan.  Like I said, Tucker loves the car rides.  Here is a pic of him getting a little wind in his face and blowing his cheeks out.  I know he shouldn’t stick his head out, but he loves it so much.

Tucker having fun on the road trip

Enjoy

-Rex

Macys.com

• KitchenAid Classic 4.5-qt. Stand Mixer (After Rebate) $179.99
• Cuisinart 7-cup Food Processor $79.99
• 40% off All Hot Beverage Makers, Coffeemakers, Espresso Makers and Tea kettles
• 40% off All Blenders, includes Cusinart, KitchenAid, Breville and Others
• Martha Stewart Collection 8.5-qt Stainless Steel Casserole $19.99
• Martha Stewart Collection 2.75-qt. Round Enameled Cast-Iron Casserole $24.99
• Martha Stewart Collection 20-Piece Essential Cutlery Set $37.99

More Deals After the Break

Costco

• Kitchen Aid professional 5-qt Mixer Color – $199

Walmart

• Walmart.com has the KitchenAid Classic Stand Mixer for $139 Model: K4SSWH

Lowes

• Waring PRO Electric Food Slicer – 79.95
• Waring PRO Professional Food Grinder – 79.95

Kohls

• KitchenAid Pro 600 Stand Mixer $289.99
• KitchenAid Classic Plus Stand Mixer $149.99
• KitchenAid Artisan 5-Quart Stand Mixer $224.99
• Hamilton Beach Cappuccino Plus Espresso Maker $39.95

Abes of Maine

• Henckels 15707-000 17 PC Block Set $89.99
• Wusthof 9314 Gourmet 14 piece Deluxe block set $174.99

Rex

Rex's Lemonade

Topped with not one but two cherries emphasizes the royal nature of this drink.

Rex’s Lemonade

• 1 ounce crown
• 1 ounce sweet and sour mix
• 0.5 ounce triple sec
• 3-4 ounces lemonade
• 2 maraschino cherries

Ingredients - Don't forget the cherries

Fill a collins or rocks glass with ice.  Use the cup that you have available, actually it doesn’t really matter.  If it were up to me, I would always make drinks in a pint glass.  That way you don’t have to get so many refills.

Next add the Crown, Sour, Triple Sec and lemonade.  Stir thoroughly.

Garnish with not one but two cherries and you have a drink fit for a Rex.

Time to drink up

If you like this drink try one of these…

• The Old Fashioned
• Crown and Ginger
• The Super Drink – The Pomegranate Martini
• Bloody Mary
• The Perfect Vodka Martini