This month, I’m thrilled to be hosting the peer-judged food photography contest Does My Blog Look Good in This? - May 2008 edition. You can find the results from April’s edition on Ms. Adventures in Italy.

The rules are explained in further detail below, but the gist of it is - submit a food photo that you posted to your blog in April 2008 for a chance of winning fame, fortune, acclaim from all, and one of those nifty colorful banners up above!

First, for anyone new to my blog, let me introduce myself. I’m an attorney with a solo practice in Brooklyn, New York. I live in a little hobbit hole of an apartment in Park Slope with my partner, Dave, and our cat, Katya. Dave and I run and cook at Jack: an occasional restaurant every two weeks or so. I love to cook, and I love my Canon 30D! Dave does at least half the cooking for the blog and the restaurant, but he backs off and leaves all the photography to me.

I’ll put up a post introducing the judges in more detail later on, but for now I am simply pleased to announce that aside from myself, your judges this round will be Baconbit from Greenmarket Report, Aran from Cannelle et Vanille, Bron Marshall, and Brilynn from Jumbo Empanadas.

Like Sara, I’ve been lucky enough to be recognized by DMBLGIT in past editions, and it’s one of my favorite food blog events out there. I love discovering new bloggers and amazing food stylists and photographers by skimming through the galleries every time, and I can’t wait to see who I find as I go through the entries while hosting this month.

Rules

Each food blogger can submit one photograph that was posted to their blog during the contest month (April). Photographs are reviewed by a panel of judges, who score them in three categories: edibility, aesthetics, and originality. The host then compiles the scores to determine the winners. The specific things the judges will be looking for are as follows:

* Aesthetics: composition, food styling, lighting, focus, etc.
* Edibility: “does the photo make us want to dive in and eat the food?”
* Originality: the photograph that catches our attention and makes us want to say “wow!”, displaying something we might not have seen before.
* Overall Winner: top overall scores in all three categories combined

There are three overall winners for photographs with the highest point totals in all three categories combined, and one winner in each of the three individual categories.

How to enter your photograph:

* Only one entry per person (a single photograph, no diptychs)
* The photograph must have been taken by you.
* The photograph must have appeared on your blog during the month of March.
* Entries must be received by May 23, 2008

Send your entry to habeasbrulee@gmail.com, with DMBLGIT as the subject. Please include the following:

* your name
* your blog’s name and URL
* your photograph’s title
* the URL of the post containing the photograph
* type of camera used
* Please send photos of no more than 500 pixels in width

All submissions will be posted to the May 2008 DMBLGIT gallery, which will be updated as I receive entries. (I will edit this post to add in a link to the gallery as soon I get it set up.) Please give me a few days to update the gallery with your submission!

Good luck!

Just a few announcements here, as I share the recipe for the pork shanks we served at Jack last weekend.

If you’re a blogger of any sort living in NYC, you should come join us at the Brooklyn Blogfest tonight. It will be held at (hold you breath, wait for it, wait for it…) the Brooklyn Lyceum in Park Slope - yes, the very same fabulous location where Dave and I hold our restaurant nights twice a month.

I’ll be there to help set up and participate. I was interviewed for a video of Brooklyn Bloggers that will be played at the event. And, most importantly from your perspective, I’m sure, we’ll be giving away samples of Dave’s brilliantly fantastic homemade marshmallows in a selection of flavors - kahlua, lemon/rose/almond, and Aztec 3.0. I think our plan is to have about 200 bags of marshmallows to give away, so with an expected turnout of closer to 300 people, you better get there early if you want marshmallows tonight!

And speaking of the our restaurant, the May 24, 2008 menu is finally up.

Okay, back to the recipe. These pork shanks were loosely based on some of the fruity tagines we’ve eaten. Since Morocco is an Islamic country, making what basically amounts to a pork shank tagine is probably unheard of in traditional Moroccan cuisine. Sure is tasty, though!

Archives
2007: Amaretto Brownies with Saffron Creme Anglaise and Bee Pollen Spice Mix
2006: Paprika Sticky Rolls

This was our amuse bouche for our opening night at Jack. I’m a bit obsessed with nicoise olives at the moment, because I absolutely hated all olives until I discovered these at the Park Avenue Bistro not too long ago. So now I’m using them to add depth to stews, intricacy to cookies, and inspiration all around.

I love alternating sips of chilled, tart rhubarb soup with bites of crumbly, salty olive cookies. I know it sounds odd, but they really were quite lovely together! Brave the olive cookies; you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Also, my apologies for the radio silence lately. It’s been spring on and off, and I just want to go out and wander the streets and parks whenever the sun comes out. I treasure every evening spent having dinner outdoors in a tank top, every smell of earth and green growing wonder, and even the comforting smell of rain first hitting the pavement. I spent last Sunday night in Prospect Park at a marching band scavenger hunt and capture the flag game. Not to mention the lawyering that takes up time, too. Life is grand, every moment of it.

Speaking of which, if any of you locals like playing board games (such as Scrabble or Go), stop by the Brooklyn Lyceum and say hi on Monday night. I’ll be there.

Archives
2007: Sour Cherry Braised Lamb Shanks
2006: Pear and Basil Tart

There’s something about temperature contrasts that really works for me, so I love the hot soup and cold salsa here with every bite. The salsa is also pretty key for me because when it come down to it, I just don’t like smooth soups without any texture to them.

The greenmarkets are full of these big, meaty parsnips lately - take advantage of them!

In other news, there are still a few seats available for the May 3rd dinner at Jack, and we just announced the May 10th menu yesterday.

Archives
2007: Persimmon Mint Salsa
2006: Striped Bass with Ramps

Well, we survived our opening night at Jack! It was tons of fun, and I hope that everyone outside the kitchen enjoyed it as much as we did. We’re gearing up for our next dinner on May 3rd, and oh, oh, did all the locals see? Apparently ramps finally hit the Union Square greenmarket as of this morning! Spring has sprung. The cherry tree in front of our apartment is in bloom.

That said, here is a winter squash dish that makes even devoted carnivores like me happy and satisfied.

Spring recipes coming soon, I promise. Just as soon as Dave brings home those ramps tonight!

Archives
2007: Turkish Red Lentil Soup with Urfa-Biber Mint Sizzle
2006: Stuffed Zucchini Blossoms

This is another recipe adapted from A Drizzle of Honey: The Life and Recipes of Spain’s Secret Jews by David M. Gitlitz and Linda Kay Davidson, a cookbook full of recipes for foods cooked and eaten by Jews and conversos in the Iberian Peninsula during the time of the Inquisition. About a year and a half ago, I posted my adaptation of the Crypto-Jewish Brazilian Yellow Stew from this book, which was absolutely splendid.

This goose stew is a bit harder to put together, but it is tasty as well. In fact, one of the adaptations we made here was adding bulgur to soak up some of the spiced goose stock and add heft to the stew, which I realized later makes it somewhat more similar to the Crypto-Jewish Brazilian Yellow Stew than the cookbook authors intended.

I shared the recipe with my friend Cat, who made a completely different adaptation of it. She used pomegranate seeds, as the recipe originally called for, and didn’t add in the bulgur. She left out the rose hips (as we did) and the ginger (which we left in). And most drastically, she used lamb instead of leftover roast goose. Oh versatile recipe! She and her fiance said that their version was mindblowingly delicious as well.

We made it with goose because we just happened to be roasting a goose anyway, for our belated second (or perhaps fourth, depending on whose count we use) Thanksgiving dinner in March. It’s never too late for an extra Thanksgiving, and it’s always worth making the time for more food, family, love, and gratitude for the time we share with each other. Also, goose.

Although I described A Drizzle of Honey when I posted that last recipe we adapted from it, I feel compelled to repeat the description here:

The recipes in this book were mostly gleaned from testimony denouncing the Jews during the inquisition. Jews were often identified by cultural signs, such as their culinary customs, and servants would be called to testify on the types of food their mistresses would cook. Testimony against them would often allege that they cut the fat and veins from their meat, salted their meat, would not eat pork, or cooked stews on Friday afternoon to eat cold on Saturday. Even cooking meat in olive oil was seen as evidence of secret “Judaizing,” because most Christians preferred to cook their meat in rendered fat, particularly lard.

Jewish women were cited as having myriad creative excuses, such as claiming that they ate cold meat on Saturday because it tasted better cold. Many really did seem to believe that they removed the fat and veins because the meat tasted better that way, or salted the meat in order to better preserve it. We do these things because our mothers did them, and we do not always quite remember why.

Many of the women whose recipes I have here were murdered for cooking these meals. It is a strange feeling, going through this book and reading stories of betrayal and death, each followed by a description of an intriguing dish. Following their recipes feels like a very delicious act of remembrance.

Archives
2007: Baby Lion’s Head Meatballs
2006: Freeform Caramel Prawn Pies

When Aki and Alex posted about making kimchi broth, I was inspired. It seemed like the perfect excuse to finally make some grits, which I’ve been meaning to do and yet not getting around to for a long time.

These grits are spicy, brilliantly flavored, creamy, meaty from the pork stock, and just an all-around success. I love them to bits, really. The shredded brussel sprouts are crispy, satisfying, and also meaty from bacon grease. And who could complain about shrimp with pork and kimchi? (Only my mother, and she only keeps kosher on the high holy days as is.)

I actually made this a few weeks ago, when Dave was sick with some sort of food poisoning or stomach bug that laid him low for two weeks. Despite his stomach cramps and general misery, he wanted to go back for second helpings. If that’s not a great endorsement, I don’t know what is.

Archives
2007: Raspberry Pomegranate Urfa-Biber Brownies
2006: Carrot Cake

The theme for this month’s Sugar High Friday was Sugar High Friday #41: Sweet Gifts, where I asked you to tell me about a dessert you made (or want to make) for somebody else.

What an amazing group of people you are, to have created such a huge collection of sweet gifts for your friends, family, and loved ones all over the world! I’ve enjoyed reading all of your stories and imagining the tastiness of your desserts. Thank you so much for participating and sharing your stories with me here.

Next month’s Sugar High Friday will be hosted by La Petite Boulangette, and the theme is Asian Sweet Invasion.

Big Blondes
Elle from Feeding My Enthusiasms
Elle made these cookies from a recipe from Jill O’Connor’s Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey as a gift to her mother, to thank her for the gift of the cookbook. Way to go positive reinforcement!
 
 

Honey Bears for my Honey Bear
Kiriel from The Papillon Pantry
These bears were sent as a care package to a far-off friend, to help him eat properly even without Kiriel there to cook for him each day.
 
 

Rum Baba
Cakelaw from Laws of the Kitchen
Cakelaw made her very first Rum Baba to thank her friend for her generosity in inviting her to stay at her house in a beachside suburb for the Labour Day long weekend. I’m sure her friend loved receiving her favorite dessert as a thank you gift.
 
 

Flourless Peanut Butter Cookies
Mrs. W from Mrs. W’s Kitchen
Mrs. W’s dear friend is going through a hard time with her granddaughter, and Mrs. W is trying her best to help by being there to listen, to share driving and lunches, and to bake cookies to help her friend through this difficult time.
 
 
Nega Maluca
Sarah from What Smells So Good?
Sarah made this cake for her mother’s surprise birthday party. What a treat!
 
 

Whole Grain Biscotti
Smita from Smita Serves You Right
Smita gives these biscotti out for all sorts of occasions - Bon Voyage! Good luck before an exam! Welcome back (to work!)! Happy Friday! And they’ve always gone over well.
 
 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffle Cupcakes
Holly from PheMOMenon
Holly made these cupcakes for her four-year-old, Aidan, as a special treat that won’t trigger his allergic reaction to too much dairy. What a lucky kid, to have such a sweet Mom!
 
 

Chilled Pandan Soufflé
Rachel from R khooks
A sweet gift for Mr Soul & City and Mr Bump.
 
 

Espresso Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Amy from Eggs on Sunday
Amy made these cookies for her family, who all love chocolate and coffee combined as much as she does.
 
 

Nutella Crêpes w/Strawberry & Banana
Mike from Mike’s Table
When Mike was younger, he and his brother tried to make crepes for their mother on Mother’s Day, and, well, I’m sure she appreciated the gesture, at least. But now that he is older and more skilled in the kitchen, he was able to get over the anxiety of that memory to make these beautiful crepes for his wife.
 
 

Marzipan Mushrooms
Zlamushka from Zlamushka’s Spicy Kitchen
Every year, Zlamushka’s mother grumbles, revolts, and eventually whips up a beautiful batch of these candies for her devoted husband.
 
 

White Chocolate Irish Cream Marbled Loaf
Ngoc from Professional Bakist
This was a belated birthday cake for Ngoc’s father, who usually gets his own birthday cake but somehow failed to do so this year.
 
 

Vanilla Panna Cotta
My kitchen treats
This was made from V, who got a sore mouth from spicy food and deserved something sweet afterwards.
 
 

Bring Back the McDonald’s Shamrock Shake
Susan from Food Blogga
When Susan had her wisdom teeth removed and couldn’t eat solid food, her father waited on line to bring her a McDonald’s Shamrock Shake after work every day for a week. 15 years later, she recreated the shake as a thank you for her father.
 
 

Mint Oreo Truffles
Steph from Cooking In An Apron
Steph made these truffles as a St. Patrick’s Day present for her Irish boss and the rest of the work clan.
 
 

Time for Key Lime
Saralynn from Happy Baker
Key lime pie is Saralynn’s husband’s favorite, and his eyes light up when she makes it for him. It’s her way of thanking him for being a wonderful helpmeet to her.
 
 

Orange Date Cake
Miri from Peppermill
Miri used orange extract she received as a gift from another food blogger to create this cake for her orange blossom, her almost-three-year-old daughter.
 
 

Milk Chocolate Cookies and Cream Bark and a White Chocolate Fruit and Nut Bark
Nicole from Sweet Tooth
I’m not sure who Nicole gave these candies to, but whoever the lucky recipient was, I’m sure they enjoyed them very much.
 
 

Chocolate Pound Cake
Sihan from Walking in the Rain
Sihan’s babe never had much of a sweet tooth, but he sure loved this cake!
 
 

Matcha White Chocolate Pralines with Pistachios
Meeta from What’s For Lunch, Honey?
Meeta made these treats for her lucky local friends right before she left to visit her family for Easter, so they wouldn’t forget her while she was gone. I wish I lived in her neighborhood!
 
 

Pralines
Ann from Redacted Recipes
Ann’s grandmother used to make pralines each Christmas for her father, who liked to greedily hoard them for himself. The last time Ann made some for him, she had to make an extra batch for her children, because he still wouldn’t share. The man likes his pralines. And I’m sure he loves his daughter, who just made yet another batch to put in the mail for him.
 
 

Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Alanna from A Veggie Venture
While working on this post, Alanna discovered the unthinkable - she’s lost her carrot cake recipe. The one her grandmother made for her 17th birthday, which she made for her grandmother’s 80th birthday, and which she made year after year to celebrate her grandmother’s birthday after her death. She’s searched and searched, but she just can’t find. And while I’m sure the carrot cake recipe she’s shared with us is wonderful too, I’m so sorry to hear that her grandmother’s recipe is lost, and so grateful to hear the tale of the love and cake they shared together.
 
 

Lemon Sandwich Cookies
Katie from Salt and Chocolate
Katie made these cookies for her father’s birthday.
 
 

Chai Latte Cupcakes
Joanna Mong from Salute to Sanity
These cupcakes were a gift for a worthy cause, baked for a bake sale that was being held to raise money for the university’s library.
 
 

Swirly Macarons With Bittersweet Chocolate Ganache
Helen from Tartelette
This is my favorite entry, because not only did Helen make these gorgeous macarons for her friend’s wedding, she even agreed to mail me some to eat! Thank you, Helen!
 
 

Eggless Cranberry-Walnut Scones
Mansi Desai from Fun and Food
Mansi makes these for her husband’s breakfast, and she likes knowing that she’s serving him something that is not only delicious, but also healthy and nutritious.
 
 

Almond Butter Cake with Lemon Thyme Cream
Brittany from The Pie Lady
Brittany made this cake for her sister, who sounds like an awesome person and a life-long friend (and who declared this cake a mouth-gasm).
 
 

Vermicelli Kesari ~ Semiya Kesari!
Srivalli from Cooking 4 all Seasons
Srivalli made this thinking of Amma, who used to make it specially for her.
 
 

Orange Truffles
Linda from make life sweeter!
Linda made these truffles for two lucky girlfriends of hers.
 
 

Colomba Pasquale with Candied Peel
Louise from Knit1Bake2
Louise shares this recipe with a wonderful story about a girl who saved herself from the king by baking this cake for him.
 
 

Dark Chocolate Toffee Cookies
Mary Lynn Allen from Sweet Mary
Mary Lynn made these cookies for another worthy cause, a bake sale to raise money for the March of Dimes (a/k/a the March for Babies).
 
 

Coconut Toffee Almond Crunch Cookies and Cinnamon Raisin Bread
Brilynn from Jumbo Empanadas
Bri, this is only the easiest thing ever because you’re all such loving, giving people to begin with! And I love the cookie system idea: “Everything seems so much better when you’re handing someone an amazing cookie. Arrive late to work? One cookie. Need to take the weekend off? Two cookies. Want your co-workers to be nice to your? Three cookies. Handing in a resignation letter when three other people have just quit and the store is uber-busy? Tin of cookies. See, if everyone worked on the cookie system, life would be so much easier.”
 
 

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Zarah Maria Food & Thoughts
Zarah made these cookies for the amazing woman and new mother who has been her best friend since they were 12 years old.
 
 

White Russian Cake
Chriesi from Almond Corner
When Chriesi surprised her mother with this cake, her mother said it was even better than her own. Now, that’s a compliment!
 
 

Milk Chocolate and Passion Fruit Truffles
Aran from Cannelle Et Vanille
Aran made these beautiful truffles to welcome her friend Deena’s new baby into the world. Congratulations, Deena! And with such a sweet welcome, I’m sure that child will have the sweetest of lives. Welcome to the world, welcome to chocolate, welcome to life!
 
 

Vegan Caramel Candy
Maggie from Dog Hill Kitchen
These vegan caramel’s were Maggie’s son’s first taste of caramel candy!
 
 

Chocolate & Cornflakes nests with Mini Eggs, Chocolate Eggs, Milky Truffles, and Easter Egg Cookies
Isabel Cholaky from Isa’s Cooking
Isa made overflowing easter baskets for her cousins this year.
 
 

Lavender Shortbread and Nutella Cupcakes
Yoko from Virtual Frolic
Yoko made these when she visited her friend Sarah, and lucky her, Sarah made her dinner that evening as well.
 
 

Quadruple Chocolate Cookies
ashleystravel from Introducing Ashley
This was a gift for her husband right before he left for a month-long work trip to the Netherlands.
 
 

Chocolate Walnut Brownies
Deeba from Passionate About Baking…& beyond
Deeba made these for a dear old lady who lives near her, who is 78 years old and still makes sure to greet her at the children’s bus stop each morning.
 
 

Carrot Muffins
Nora from Pipe Dream Pastries
Nora’s family is obsessed with carrot cake, so she made these somewhat healthier than usual carrot muffins for them.
 
 

Peach Kuchen
Kate from A Way To Eat
Kate delivers extra kuchens to her lucky friends around Easter.
 
 

Peanut Manjar Balls
Gretchen Noelle Jones from Canela & Comino
Gretchen loves hospitality, and she brought these treats to the new wife a pastor she’s worked with for several months when she was invited over for lunch.
 
 

Irish Cream Truffles and Grand Marnier Truffles
Mandy from Fresh From The Oven
Monica made these for OTC’s colleagues, in thanks for the wonderful farewell party they threw for them.
 
 

Coconut Cupcakes
Mimi from Mimi on the Move
Mimi made these cupcakes for her friend SV, who declared that they were as good as the cupcakes from Magnolia bakery! (What, not better?)
 
 

Vegan Animal Crackers
Maybelle’s Mom from Feeding Maybelle
Maybelle’s Mom made these cookies for her as a low-sugar Easter treat.
 
 

Caramel Cake with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting
Ashley from eat me, delicious
Ashley made this cake for her sister-in-law’s birthday.
 
 

Banana Jam
Joy from Joy Of Desserts
Joy has wonderful childhood memories of receiving homemade jams from her aunt, and now she shares with us one of the jams she makes herself.
 
 

A Rainbow of Fortune Cookies
Michelle Safirstein from Big Black Dogs
Michelle even typed up her own personalized messages to put into these fortune cookies for her nieces. Too cute!
 
 

Move Over Bugs Bunny, This Carrot Is For Cake!
Danielle Deskins from Colin’s Mom
Danielle made this cake for two co-workers of hers who share the same birthday, but have very different tastes in sweets.
 
 

Grandpa BB’s Red Hot Baked Apples
Lisa from Confessions of an Apron Queen
Lisa’s theory is that her Grandpa baked these red hot apples for her Grandma, and that’s why she fell in love with him and they had 50 wonderful years together.
 
 

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I just wanted to announce that we just posted the menu for our May 3, 2008 dinner at our occasional restaurant, Jack. You can check the Jack website for more information.

Here is the May 3, 2008 menu:

These are my words of wisdom to you: Go make kumquat marmalade while you still can.

Get 1.5 lbs kumquats and slice them up thinly, reserving the seeds. Tie the seeds in a cheesecloth bag. Put the kumquat slices and the bag of seeds together in a non-reactive pot with 4 C water and cover it and let it sit for 24 hours.

The next day, put the pot on the stove and bring the mixture to a boil over moderate heat. Once it boils, reduce the heat to a simmer and let the mixture reduce down for 45 minutes to an hour, or until it has reduced down to about 4 C.

Once that’s done, 4 C sugar goes in with constant stirring, and everything cooks for another 15-20 minutes, or until it hits about 215-220 F and a teaspoon of mixture dropped onto a cold plate gels. Actually, you don’t even need a cold plate - just drip a bit onto a spoon and blow on it until it cools. It’s easy to see it gel that way, even.

Remove the bag of seeds at this point, and the marmalade is done. You can safely seal it in canning jars, freeze it, or keep it in the fridge.

This stuff is seriously simple and sublime. We made a batch using earl grey tea instead of water, too.