Simple Cauliflower Cheese Soup | Food Photographer Columbus Ohio

The best meals are usually the simplest ones. This is a simple recipe for a quick, hearty meal. It's helped me through many a cold winter's day. Potatoes can be substituted for the cauliflower, just add a couple of extra cups of water and you're good to go. Though I don't have kids to test it on, I'd imagine as a child I would've been all over this. You could easily throw it in the blender to make an even creamier soup so the kids can't pick out the carrots and celery.

Cauliflower Cheese Soup

1 large cauliflower, chopped into small pieces
1 large onion, chopped
2 large, peeled carrots, sliced thin
4 stalks celery (with leaves), chopped
4 cups water
4 cups half and half cream
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cheddar cheese soup
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups shredded cheese, to sprinkle on top

Directions
1. In a large stock pot add water, cauliflower, onion, carrots, and celery. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer until vegetables are tender.
2. Mash with a potato masher (including cooking water), and add butter and cream.
3. Gradually bring mixture to a simmer. Add condensed cheese soup and blend. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cover with shredded cheese and serve while hot. Serves 8.

Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies | Midwest Food Photographers

Sugar cookies are the most versatile cookie for decorating. Perfect for any shape, icing, and sprinkle you can imagine. I can't say this is the best sugar cookie recipe in the world, but it might be your favorite. How do you know unless you try it?

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For a little while when we were younger, my brother and I spent a LOT of time icing cookies. His was done at Cheryl's Cookies and mine was at a deli that had a large variety of pastries and sweets. We both got really good at it, and I still find it comforting to take out a tray of cookies and smear the icing on. Maybe he and I will do a How-to video someday.

Cream Cheese Sugar Cookies

Ingredients

* 1 cup white sugar
* 1 cup butter, softened
* 1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 egg yolk
* 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine the sugar, butter, cream cheese, salt, almond and vanilla extracts, and egg yolk. Beat until smooth. Stir in flour until well blended. Chill the dough for 8 hours, or overnight.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
3. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough 1/3 at a time to 1/8 inch thickness, refrigerating remaining dough until ready to use. Cut into desired shapes with lightly floured cookie cutters. Place 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Leave cookies plain for frosting, or brush with slightly beaten egg white and sprinkle with candy sprinkles or colored sugar.
4. Bake for 7 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until light and golden brown. Cool cookies completely before frosting.

Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookie | Professional Food Photographer

My first experience with sweet treats made spicy was actually in Mexico, in 2002. We were at a resort that served Mexican Coffee after dinner, and it had cinnamon and something some type of pepper in it. It was wonderful. It took a few years before I saw anything similar back home, and that was of course Jeni's Queen City Cayenne ice cream. I always try the most unusual flavor on any menu, and when I saw chocolate and cayenne together, I had to have it. Sometimes I love unusual things just because of their uniqueness factor, but later the novelty will wear off. Many years later, Queen City Cayenne is still my favorite of Jeni's signature flavors.

When I saw Martha's take on a spicy sweet treat, I jumped on it. The only downside to these cookies was the need for a warning label, so kids wouldn't assume they were just chocolate cookies. Oh well, it makes for cuter packaging with the little warning label attached.

Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookie
from Martha Stewart

    * 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
    * 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
    * 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
    * 1 teaspoon baking soda
    * 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
    * 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
    * 1 3/4 cups sugar
    * 2 large eggs
    * 2 teaspoons cinnamon
    * 1/2 teaspoon chile powder (I used ground cayenne)

Directions

   1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down side of bowl. Add eggs and beat to combine. With mixer on low, gradually add flour mixture and beat until combined.
   2. In a small bowl, combine remaining 1/4 cup sugar, cinnamon, and chile powder (if using). Using heaping tablespoons, form balls of dough and roll in cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place, about 3 inches apart, on two parchment-lined baking sheets. Bake until cookies are set in center and begin to crack, about 10 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Let cookies cool on sheets on wire racks 5 minutes, then transfer cookies to racks to cool completely. Makes 32. Store in an airtight container, up to 1 week.

Galaxy Cookies | Food Photography and Styling

These Galaxy Cookies may look humble, but believe me, they're out of this world. (Ha! That was a pun I stole from my sister.) Really, these are one of my all-time favorite cookies. I loved making them as a kid. The best part is you can decorate and fill them with anything you love. Hands down, my favorite is Maraschino Cherry.

It's a simple colored dough wrapped around a candy or nut and topped with sprinkles. You can also cover them in icing. What should you put in them? How about...

Galaxy Cookies

from Betty Crocker

1/2 cup butter or 1/2 cup margarine, softened

3/4 cup confectioners' sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla

food coloring

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/8 teaspoon salt

anything you want to put in the middle

Icing

1 cup confectioners' sugar

2 1/2 tablespoons light cream or 1 1/2 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

Mix thoroughly butter, sugar, vanilla, and, if desired, a few drops of food coloring. (Or you can wait to add the food coloring when the dough is finished in order to split it into batches and make multiple colors instead of just one.)

Work in salt and flour until dough holds together. If dough is dry, mix in 1 to 2 Tbsp light cream.

Mold dough by tablespoonfuls around date, nut, candy, cherry, or a few chocolate pieces. Roll into balls. Here, you can choose to decorate with sprinkles, or wait until they're baked and top with icing.

Preheat over to 350°F. Place cookies about 1-inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 12-15 minutes until set but not brown.

Prepare icing by mixing confectioners sugar with light cream or milk and vanilla until smooth. If desired, stir in a few drops of food coloring. For a tasty chocolate icing, increase light cream to 3 tbsp and stir in 1 oz melted unsweetened chocolate.

Let cookies cool, then dip tops of cookies into icing several times to get a good layer. If desired, immediately decorate with coconut, nuts, colored sugar, candies, chocolate pieces or chocolate shot.

Makes 20 to 25 cookies.

Cocktail Couture: OYO Vodka White Russian

White Russian sounds and looks like the perfect drink for a snowy winter day. Since we'll be seeing many of those coming up soon, why not cheers to one right now? For this final drink in our Cocktail Couture series featuring local spirits from around Columbus, Jenna Sais Quois, a super-talented graphic designer and my favorite fashion blogger, lent us her amazing collection of white and silver jewelry. Staring at all the glittering white reminds me of freshly fallen snow, which I absolutely love. Yes, an Ohioan who loves snow. Feel free to hate, I'm used to it. Many times I've been blamed for the very existence of snow.

We've featured Middle West Spirits once before in this series for their whiskey, but their first love was vodka. When touring the distillery, they share that vodka is often described as flavorless and odorless, but they didn't want to rid the drink of all it's naturally occurring flavors and odors. In fact, the International Review of Spirits describes OYO vodka as “Clear, bright aromas of dried pear, custard and buttery honeyed praline with a supple, soft off-dry medium-full body with a long, spicy apple pie crust, cream and mineral finish. Exceptional, flavorful and delicious.”

OYO Vodka White Russian

Fill a lowball glass with ice

Add 1 oz. of OYO Vodka

1.5 oz. Kahlua

1 oz. of Cream, or half & half

The recipe calls for 1 oz. of cream, but I pour enough to fill the glass. Otherwise I find it to be too strong. To drink, stir well, but I think it looks prettier with the cream floating on top and the swirls of brown running through. To create this effect, turn a spoon upside down and pour the cream over it and into the glass. It stops the pour from disturbing the liquor in the bottom of the glass. 

For our other Cocktail Couture posts, visit:
Tessora Lemon Cappuccini  
Watershed Gin Pumpkin Drop
OYO Whiskey Hot Apple Toddy
Camelot Cellars Pinot Noir
And visit Jenna Sais Quois for her super cute recipe cards and her take on these delicious local spirits.

Cocktail Couture: Camelot Cellars Pinot Noir

Just in time for happy hour, take a sip of Camelot Cellars' Chilean Pinot Noir. Jenna Brucoli (of the inspiring blog Jenna Sais Quois) and I have been following the changes at Camelot Cellars for the past year, and knew right away that this wine had a place in our Cocktail Couture series. Having relaunched this past July, new owner Janine Aquino has brought new life to the business. She has a deep-rooted history in the world of wine, and is the perfect fit for this Short North store.

Adding more focus on events, Camelot Cellars has hosted a number of big bashes in the last few months, including their grand reopening, Yelp's Meet-the-Owner, a Cbusr Meetup and Celebrity Bartender Nights. Janine is partnered with Edible Columbus' cooking classes, offering wine specifically paired to the evening's dishes.

Enough with the introductions, now feast your eyes on this dark, rich wine.

I got lucky and was given a leftover bottle of this Chilean Pinot Noir at the end of an Edible Cooking Class. I enjoyed it so much, I went out and bought another bottle. It has a scent similar to strawberry jam, but the flavor is smooth, rich, just slightly fruity, and a little smoky. I won't claim to be a wine expert, but what I love about wine is each person tastes something different, and there are millions to choose from to find your own favorites. This is number one on my list of Pinot Noirs, and probably in my top 10 reds.

Because the wine is so simple, we went simple on the accessories. A few beaded necklaces from my own collection brought out the reds and purples of the wine. The props were picked up locally, at flea markets and garage sales, including the tray from Worthington's flea market Treasure on the Green, and the plates of stained glass came from the Columbus Architectural Salvage. If you've never been to either, you really should. Some of my best props have come from both.


One last note: A group of my friends spent a birthday making wine at Camelot Cellars and had a great time. Now every time I see a bottle of the wine we made, I remember the fun we had. What a great, drinkable souvenir.

Check out our previous cocktails from our Cocktail Couture series here:
Tessora Lemon Cappuccini
Watershed Gin Pumpkin Drop
Oyo Whiskey Hot Toddy

Cocktail Couture: OYO Whiskey Hot Toddy

Continuing with our Cocktail Couture series with Jenna Sais Quois, we've come up with the perfect fall recipe for Middle West Spirit's OYO Whiskey!

Hot Toddy's are not a new invention, but they're new to me. I've never liked whiskey, until I tried OYO Whiskey. My interest in Middle West Spirits isn't just because they're local, though of course I appreciate that. I love their products because I can taste the care that's put into them. They take nothing for granted, every step of their process has been considered. The depth of flavors is incredible, and while there is so much flavor in every sip, they're still easy mixers, blending well with all sorts of other ingredients.

You can read more about what makes Middle West Spirits special in Edible Columbus' Winter 2010 issue (starting on p.46). I was thrilled to photograph them for this piece, and learned so much while touring their distillery, which, by the way, you can do, too!

Hot Apple Toddy

2 oz. OYO Whiskey
2-3 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup (or so) apple cider
Cinnamon Stick (garnish)

Start by adding a little Ohio honey to the bottom of your mug. Next add the OYO Whiskey and sugar and then fill the rest of the glass with hot apple cider. Use the cinnamon stick to stir the honey into the drink. The longer the cinnamon stick stays in the drink, the more spiced your drink will become.
This is a great party recipe. Just heat a gallon of apple cider and the sugar on the stove and have the mugs ready with the honey, whiskey and cinnamon stick. Then have your guests ladle the apple cider into their mug when they're ready for a drink!

Apple cider and honey are two Ohio staples, and are super easy to source locally. To see more about the different honey varieties, check out our honey post on Design Sponge.

The locket necklace featured here is from Substance, a great store for accessories in the Short North. But lucky you, this necklace is available online, too! The string of gold beads is from Jenna Brucoli's accessory collection, along with the dangling gold bands, but none of the sparkly jewelry can outshine the golden whiskey. Now go build a fire and heat up the cider for a great evening curled up inside.

Check out our previous cocktails here:
Tessora Lemon Cappuccini
Watershed Gin Pumpkin Drop