Showing posts with label Entree. Show all posts

Food Photographer Wesley Chapel Florida





So I had the pleasure of photographing some amazing food for a new restaurant at the Wiregrass Mall call Union 72 Bbq. They have a new take on bbq without taking away from the classic style of our american made dish. Go check them out because you will not be disappointed. Also check out their menu here :http://union72.com/

#photographers #wesleychapel #tampa #dadecity #commercial #food #bbq #union72bbq #wiregrassmall #www.christinastrongphotography.com #foodphotography #menu #foodphotographer 

Balsamic Chicken with Carrot Mashed Potatoes and Steamed Asparagus


Oh how I love anything with balsamic on it.  When I find something I like, I perfect it until I love it and it becomes something we eat regularly.  I usually make this dish with rib eye steak but all I had was chicken.  Chicken is healthier right?  But really, I am a steak person.  And for the mashed potatoes, well they were supposed to be mashed potatoes but I ran out.  All I had left were carrots to substitute for the potatoes.  In the end I really forgot how much I like carrot mashed potatoes.  I used to make these often when we lived in Colorado. For the asparagus, I didn't do anything special.  Just steamed them for 4 min. or so then sprinkled with salt.  As usual, this meal is for two.  So enjoy :)


Ingredients

2 boneless chicken breast
1/2 Cup Gorgonzola cheese separated
Olive oil to coat frying pan
Large bottle of frying oil
tbsp truffle oil 
1 medium onion
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup milk
1 egg white
4 medium potatoes
large handful carrots (I used the small snack ones)
tbsp butter
1/4 cup half n half
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup chicken broth
salt 
pepper 
garlic powder 
onion powder
thyme

Carrot mashed potatoes:  
Cube carrots and potatoes and add to pot boiling water and cook until a fork easily pierces them.  Drain. Add butter, half n half and truffle oil. I usually add a few good sprinkles of garlic powder to this also.  Add salt to taste. Blend well with mixer adding more half n half or milk until they are a good consistency.  The secret to good mashed potatoes is a lot of salt.  This is why food in restaurants tastes so good but is so bad.

French fried onions:
Add frying oil to a deep pan. Heat on medium high.  Be aware that some stoves are hotter than others and may need adjusting.  Too hot and you burn everything. Thinly slice onion into strips separating the onions.  Have two good sized bowls ready.  In one bowl add milk and egg white.  Mix well.  In other bowl add flour, salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder.  I use about 1 tsp each. Mix well.  Add sliced onions to egg mixture.  Coat well.  Remove just the onions from mixture and then add to flour mixture.  Coat well.  Add onions to hot grease and fry until golden brown. {save flour}  Remove and set on plate with paper towels to drain grease.   

Balsamic Chicken:
Add generous amount of olive oil to frying pan {1/4 inch}. Heat stove to medium heat. Slice chicken 1/2 inch thick.  Add to frying pan when hot.   Sprinkle salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and thyme over chicken. Enough where you can see the seasonings but don't overdo it.  Cook about 6 min. each side. When you flip chicken, season other side.  When chicken is done, remove it from stove and cover to keep warm. Reduce heat to low.  Add a few more tsp of olive oil to pan.  Add  2 to 4 tbsp of flour mixture from onion batter to pan just enough to almost saturate the oil.  Too much and it will be too dry.  Let fry on low until bubbling.  Add chicken broth.  Mix well.  Add balsamic.and 1/2 the cheese and let simmer until it is the consistency of gravy.  Remove from stove.  

 On plate layer food starting with chicken, then balsamic gravy. Top with cheese and onions.  

Margherita Pita Pizza




Ingredients

Pitas
Fresh Mozzarella
Fresh Basil
Fresh Tomatoes
Infused Olive Oil  {make ahead of time}
Pastry Brush

Infused Olive Oil 
Olive oil bottle
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
One lemon
Fresh spring basil
2 small pieces fresh garlic

Fill olive oil bottle with oil using a funnel.  Stuff entire spring of basil and garlic pieces into bottle.  Using grater, grate lemon peel off lemon and add to bottle.  Let sit a day.

Pita Pizza
Brush top side of pitas with oil.  Dice tomatoes.   Top pita with tomatoes, basil leaves {discard stem}, and small chunks of mozzarella.  Drizzle oil on top and sprinkle with salt.  { I used truffle infused salts} Bake on 350 until pita is crisp and cheese is melted.  {about 5 min.}  I also added a few olives to it.  This of course is optional.  {got them from the farmers market :)}
I can really live off this stuff.  It is healthy, vegan and yummy!










Chicken Fried Steak with Peppered Country Gravy


Ingredients

Cube Steaks {about 3 large}
1 1/2 Cups Flour
1 egg white
2 cups milk
1/2 cup oil divided{ I use olive oil or canola}
1 tsp salt
1/2 Tbsp pepper {divided}
1 tsp garlic powder
2 cups chicken broth

Heat oven to 200 degrees. 
Batter for steaks 
Add flour, salt, garlic powder, and half of pepper to wide bowl.  Mix.
Egg mixture 
Mix egg white and one cup of milk.  Whisk together in separate wide bowl.
Heat large non stick frying pan to medium/med. high adding half of oil to coat bottom of pan.
Put steaks one at a time into egg mixture, coat, and then into flour mixture, coating generously.  Add to hot frying pan and fry for about 8 minutes on each side until golden brown and cooked.  Transfer to oven safe pan and then to oven to keep warm.
Gravy

Add remaining oil to pan and cut down to medium low.  Add pepper and let fry for about a minute.  Slowly add remaining flour to pan, one Tbsp at a time trying not to add too much flour. { Refer to the too dry/just right photos}.  When flour is bubbling, slowly add chicken broth and milk until thickened to the consistence of gravy.   Serve over warmed chicken fried steaks.  Enjoy!













New Mexico Green Chile for Breakfast- Christina Strong Photography

Hello and welcome to my first entry. My intentions for this blog is to create spectacular photos and tasty food that looks good, tastes good and is just plain good. So I am starting off with a bang with the only way to eat green chile. My creation and take on green chile. In 2007 I move from Virginia to Denver Colorado, and all the gossip was about green chile. What is green chile I asked? Back home chile was chile. Yeah that red stuff with beans, meat and tomato sauce. Yeah that is chile. That was until I moved to Colorado. My now husband Steve, is a huge fan and although I can cook, I didn't have a clue what green chile was, what was in it or how to make it. So my journey began. I made it several times and thought, this stuff is terrible. Maybe it was because I was hard headed and insisted on not following a recipe. Finally a friend of mine made it and it was incredible and she included a recipe. Too bad that recipe lasted for one batch before I lost it and I finally created my own home recipe of green chile aka: green chile stew. You can find a recipe for this stew @ and although you can find tons of these recipes, I am not willing to share mine but I am willing to share the style in which I eat it. This is requested from my family several times a year aka: all the time. Pictures of how I make my own creation are as followed:
Fry some diced potatoes. I add a few chucks of onion. It takes a while to make potatoes so give yourself at least 20 min. And when the potatoes are done, fry a few eggs according to your liking. I fry mine in butter or olive oil.
So when your potatoes are finished, add them to the plate, followed by fried eggs, green chile and finally cheese. Although I didn't have any, I like avocado on top and sometimes cilantro to make it pretty. Tada, my take on green chile. Yum!!!