white heat

we thought this all white, no-cook, shaved veggie salad seemed the perfect way to keep cool on a record breaking hot temperature day in the city. we've been busy shooting fall root vegetables for FNM and got to come home with lots of goodies, but the last thing we wanted to do was turn on the oven to roast them. this post is adapted from an old bon appetit recipe inspired by a salad from al di la in brooklyn. we had never eaten many of these ingredients raw but think you'll love the crunchy texture & earthy flavor - a delicious and beautiful start or side to any meal!

check out andrew's new photography facebook page here and like it to keep up to date on recent work and other fun stuff - thanks for your support!

White Salad

serves 2

1 medium parsnip, peeled & julienned

2 small sunchokes, peeled & thinly sliced

1 small bulb fennel, trimmed & thinly sliced

1 head white Belgian endive, thinly sliced

1/2 small celery root, peeled & julienned

1/2 small head cauliflower, trimmed & thinly sliced

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons champagne vinegar

salt & pepper

1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese

in a large bowl, combine parsnip, sunchoke, fennel, endive, celery root and cauliflower and toss lightly. drizzle with oil and vinegar and season to taste with salt and pepper - toss to coat. divide between two shallow bowls and garnish with crumbled blue cheese. enjoy!

gorgonzola risotto

we have a favor to ask of you! whether you read regularly or just found us, we'd love your help in nominating pictures & pancakes for saveur's best of 2011 awards for food photography! go here and vote to get us on the ballot. the previous year's lists are filled with amazing artists we'd love to share company with - thanks for your help everyone!

the sun came out for a bit today and we pretended it was warm by having our first kelvin slush of the season - ginger and white peach, yum! we are headed to Birmingham, AL next week to work on a project we're excited to share. any food destinations we can't miss while we're there? also can't wait to share a recent shoot we did with adam richman of man vs. food. some great new cookbooks are out - can't wait to pick up this book on all things goat, heidi's latest and matt's book as well!

here's an easy, indulgent risotto recipe perfect for lunch with a salad or as a side paired with a nice piece of beef and a good bottle of red wine. it's so good and incredibly rich - you'll want to eat the entire pot!

Gorgonzola Risotto

serves 4

2 tbs olive oil

1 large onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 cup arborio rice

4 cups chicken stock

1/2 to 1 cup water

1/2 cup heavy cream

8 oz gorgonzola dulce

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

salt & pepper

parmesan cheese for garnish

heat oil in a medium pot over medium high heat. add onion and saute 5 to 8 minutes or until translucent. add garlic and cook 2 minutes more. add rice and stir to coat with oil, cooking 1 minute. add 1 cup of stock and stir constantly until all of the liquid is absorbed by the rice. add remaining stock, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring until each portion is absorbed and rice is tender. add water 1/4 cup at a time if rice is not tender enough after 4 cups of stock have been added. reduce heat to low and stir in cream and gorgonzola. stir and cook until thickened. remove from heat, add walnuts and season to taste with salt and pepper. divide between bowls and garnish with parmesan cheese. enjoy!

blue

hi all, we wanted to tell you how blue we are that we haven't posted in a while, but it's all for good reason!! we recently decided that after a year and a half, we needed a blog change, an update. new york can make you rethink everything... it just happens to coincide with changes in our professional life as well. we are excited to report that we are both now represented by big leo productions, happy to be part of mary, mason and willie's amazing team!! we are currently working on updating portfolios, websites, new promos, our blog and everything in between. we are looking forward to sharing new work, new ideas, new loves, new recipes and new blog posts with you. we recently worked on a job for a cheese company overseas and we still have enough cheese in our fridge to open a cheese shop. check out this new promo we put together featuring just a taste of the masses of cheese! we have had our fill with all the different things you can do with blue, but this english stilton makes a wonderful blue cheese dressing that is so simple and we can't get enough of. it's great on an iceberg wedge with crumbled bacon and slices of heirloom tomatoes or as a dip for celery and carrot sticks!

Blue Cheese Dressing

makes 1 1/2 cups

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup greek yogurt

1 cup blue cheese, crumbled plus 2 tbs

fresh cracked black pepper

in a blender, combine buttermilk, yogurt, 1 cup blue cheese crumbles and black pepper. blend until smooth. stir in remaining 2 tablespoons crumbled cheese and serve. can be refrigerated for up to 4 days.

scalloped

we're still recovering from this year's urban family easter and definitely still enjoying all the leftovers! doctor pepper & mustard glazed ham, horseradish deviled eggs, homemade pickles, burrata with melted leeks and italian style cheesecake with blood orange marmalade were just a few of the favorites. lots of leftover ham so we had to make some scalloped potatoes with ham, fennel and irish cheddar. this dish makes a nice meal for two with a simple side salad.

we've also got a a few other things we're excited about right now. thrilled to get this book in the mail yesterday - we love the art of jason munn, and so do our walls which are covered in his fabulous concert posters. check out jen's newest etsy shop, feather & bone, filled with beautiful prints from a trip to the university of colorado museum of natural history. and finally, we're very excited to see molly speak at her book signing here tonight! oh, and yesterday was opening day in ballparks around the country, so make some purcell dogs and start watching baseball!

Scalloped Potatoes & Ham

serves 2

2 tbs olive oil

1 red onion, peeled and thinly sliced

1 bulb fennel, thinly sliced

2-3 small russet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced

1 cup thinly sliced ham

2 cups shredded cheese, such as sharp irish cheddar or gruyere

fresh ground black pepper

preheat oven to 400 degrees F. grease a 1.5 quart baking dish and set aside. in a medium saute pan, heat olive oil and add red onion and fennel. cook over medium high heat until wilted, about 6 minutes. layer 1/3 of the potatoes on bottom of baking dish, overlapping slightly. layer with 1/2 of the ham, then half of the onion and fennel, and top with 1/3 of the shredded cheese. continue with another layer and finish with remaining potatoes, a few grinds of pepper and remaining cheese. loosely cover with foil, tented so as not to stick to the cheese, and bake 35 minutes. remove foil and bake 15 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and brown. let cool 10 minutes before serving. enjoy!

thanksgiving favorite

thanksgiving was a great meal and we had a lot of fun cooking for everyone. the spread included spinach souffle, wild rice salad, roasted winter vegetables, mashed potatoes with caramelized shallots & creme fraiche, whipped sweet potatoes with orange, buttermilk biscuits with green onion, cranberry tangerine conserve and, of course, turkey. i highly recommend brining a turkey overnight, which we tried for the first time this year. but with all those delicious sides to choose from, our favorite by a landslide was the baked mac & cheese. gooey, oozy, and oh so comforting, this is a dish i'll be making again soon . . . maybe for christmas!

Baked Mac & Cheese

1 pound macaroni or shells

1 quart milk

6 tbs unsalted butter

1/2 cup flour

12 oz Gruyere, grated

8 oz sharp cheddar, grated

salt & pepper to taste

1 cup bread crumbs

preheat oven to 375 degrees F. bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta according to package directions. drain well.

heat the milk in a small saucepan over low heat but do not boil. in a large pot, melt butter and add flour. cook over low heat for 2 minutes and stir with a whisk. slowly whisk in the hot milk and cook for 2-4 minutes until smooth and thickened. take off the heat and whisk in cheese, salt and pepper. add the cooked pasta and stir to combine.

pour into a 3-quart baking dish and top with bread crumbs. bake 20-30 minutes until the sauce is bubbly and top is nicely browned. enjoy!