Thursday Favorites and Happy New Year!

You know the holidays are wonderful indeed, but all the food and presents and festive gatherings can really make you feel spun about and hardly able to tell head from tail. To the point that your usual "Monday Favorites" were buried and forgotten until this morning! (This being a completely hypothetical example, of course =p) I hope you're all similarly and quite happily occupied and thus not too disappointed when my Monday post failed to materialize on time. Well fret not for I have returned ;)...and with not only my trusty selection of drool-worthy food photography features but a few trailers for movies and shows I'm particularly excited about at the moment. The BBC show, Sherlock, is actually going into its 2nd season on New Year's Day (*squee*) but I've opted for the season 1 trailer below since you simply must start at the beginning (easily done as it's only 3 episodes, all of which are on Netflix Instant!).

And both because I'm currently digging all things Benedict Cumberbatch (he's the star of Sherlock) AND because it's a genuinely addictive show, I recommend you check out the British radio show Cabin Pressure, which follows the crew of a hilariously problem-prone single-plane "airline." As always, enjoy! I won't be checking in again 'til next week, so I hope you have a fun and safe New Year's!

Mini Meringue Tart Photograph from Jan Luijk

Raspberry Ice Cream-Filled Eclairs and Almond Cream Puffs Photographs from Taste.au

Draped Wedding Cake by Sharon Wee Creations

Chestnuts Photographs from Rikkims

Sunday Favorites and Some Thoughts on "Shame"

UPDATE: Michael Fassbender just won Best Actor in this year's British Independent Film Awards for his performance in Shame! Congrats, Michael! You really earned it =D.

I was actually planning a recipe post for this weekend, but what can I say but that life had other things in mind 8). Instead I'm now gonna post my weekly favorites a day early and hope to have some pastries up by mid-week!

Among the things that kept me from baking this weekend was the D.C. premiere of Michael Fassbender and Steve McQueen's incredible movie, Shame, about a sex addict in NYC whose predicament only gets worse when his unstable sister drops in to live with him. Yes, it's NC-17 but NO it's not at all like porn or even a sexy movie. I didn't find any of the scenes gratuitous and would even say that a story like this simply could NOT be told without graphic scenes.

The point of the movie, at least for me, was not necessarily about just sex addiction but about the desperate lengths many of us go to in order to numb the pains of our past, the loneliness and isolation of the present, or whatever other demons we each carry invisibly on our shoulders like so many Atlas's. It's definitely not easy to watch Shame, but I strongly urge that you do. For one, you won't want to miss Michael Fassbender and Carey Mulligan's Oscar-worthy performances. Morever, with sex addiction becoming more and more common these days, I hope this movie will spark more dialogue and understanding, and discourage blind judgment.

Thanks to any of y'all who read through my 2 cents on Shame. But I think the food photos are why you're really here. Right, right? This week was fabulous for finding inspirational food photography because Donna Hay magazine finally joined Zinio!! If you're not familiar with Zinio, it will allow you to read Donna Hay electronically on a subscription that is MUCH cheaper than imported copies ($60 versus $13/year). And noooo iPad required! So I hope you'll understand that my excitement about this resulted in adding a lot of Donna Hay photos to this round-up. They're plenty easy on the eyes, though, so I assume you won't mind ;p.

Raspberry Ice Cubes Photograph from Donna Hay (Issue 59)

Mushroom Pasta with Cream Pesto Photograph from Aisha Yusaf

Plums and Grapes Photograph from Dolce Vita

Chickpea Tomato Spelt Soup from Martha Stewart

Tuesday Favorites!

Having just finished several posts and 3 exams in less than a week and then gotten hit today with bad news that I won't go into here, I have to say I'm not in much of a chatty mood. So none of my rambling today (lucky for you guys ;p)...let's get straight to the photos, shall we? Hope your week is starting off a bit better than ours ^_^.

Apple Jelly (Tribute to Steve Jobs) from My Cooking Hut

Blueberry Dutch Baby Pancake from Always with Butter

Stick Maple, Apple, and Ginger Cake from Donal Skehan

Flowery Wedding Cake Photographs from Cake Power

Toast with Ricotta, Grapes, and Honey from In the Mood for Food

Acorn Squash and Sweet Potato Soup from Tartelette

Rose Heart-shaped Macaron Photograph from L' Atelier Vi

Homemade Royal Icing Googly Eyes from How Does She

Fall Cupcake with Chocolate Maple Leaves and Acorn from Duncan Hines

Beetroot Ricotta Apple Cider Tart Photograph from Oxana_Pane&Miele

Totem Pole Marshmallow Pops from Frog Prince

Pumpkin Pie Coffee Cake from Food for My Family

Peeling Apples Photograph from Stephsus

Tuesday Favorites!

I'm literally just back in town from a fun weekend in NYC catching up with old and new friends. Thanks C, J, W, L, and Joanne for making this a weekend to remember! Before we get to this week's favorite food photos, I just want to quickly share that a food photo of my own (last year's bloody rat cupcakes) has been published by the Danish magazine BoligLiv, both online and in print! I was especially awed when I got my complimentary hard copy and saw the gorgeous food photos published in the same issue as my photo (including the first photo below). On top of that, I'm bursting with joy to announce another big milestone for 6 Bittersweets: the number of you subscribing to this blog has now surpassed 2,000! Thanks, as always, from the bottom of my heart. I wouldn't have accomplished any of this without your incredible support and kindness!

Barmbrack Bread with Fruit Compote and Cheese Photograph from BoligLiv Magazine

Laduree French Macarons Photograph from Licking the Plate

Fried Okra from Dine & Dish

Marshmallow S'more Pops by One Stone Events via Hostess with the Mostess

Brush Embroidery Flower Cake Pops from The Cake Poppery

Wedding Cake with Lace Pattern, Fabric-look Ruching, and Buttons by Amy Beck Cake Design via Elizabeth Anne Designs

Chicken Salad Wrap from La Petite Cuisine

Spring Peas Soup Photograph from Cintamani

Pea, Lamb, Mint, and Potato Stew from Island Menu

Strawberry Cream Shortbread Cookies from Il Cavoletto Di Bruxelles

Pirate Ship Fondant Cupcake Toppers by Lynlee's Petite Cakes via Pure Joy Events

Apple Zucchini Bread from Citrus and Candy

Adorable Owl Treat Boxes (with Template) from Paper Crave

Tuesday Favorites!

Are you guys as excited about Halloween as I am?! Some of my friends think it's too early to be planning...HA! I've been brainstorming for this Halloween ever since the last one ^_^. For those of you who love Halloween as much as I do, I just want to remind you of the fun Halloween cupcake recipes I've posted in the past (pictured above). And if none of these suit your fancy, fret not! I've got at least 4 new ideas coming your way next month so stay tuned! For those in the DC/VA/MD area, I'll be offering all 7 options on my menu. Please email me if you're interested in ordering =D. Now it's time for my latest food finds -- enjoy!

Artichokes Photograph and Beet Chips with Fennel Salt from Appledrane

Roasted Potatoes Photograph from Margaret & Joy

Ginger Ice Cream from Have Cake Will Travel

Salted Buttered Popcorn Macarons Photographs from Foodagraphy. By Chelle.

Lemang (Sticky Rice Wrapped in Banana Leaf) from From My Lemony Kitchen

Spicy Chipotle Tofu Sandwich from Healthy. Happy. Life.

Shell-shaped Vanilla Whoopie Pies from Gilt Taste

Zha Jiang Mian from He Needs Food

Apple and Cinnamon Crumble Muffins from Donal Skehan

Mexican Grilled Corn from Gourmand Recipes

Wednesday Favorites!

Thanks to all my friends who checked on me after hearing about yesterday's earthquake on the East Coast. I was actually still in the air on my way back from Singapore, but all the friends and family I've talked to have been okay. And other than a few things knocked out of place, our apartment was fine as well. If any of you or your friends and family are in the effected areas, I hope everyone is safe and sound. I've heard from some sources that there may be more quakes to come. So I'm trying to brush up on earthquake preparation info on the 'net right now and recommend you do so, too. Here are some tips from FEMA for before and during an earthquake.



On a more chipper note, I am back of course with another weekly helping of favorite food photo/recipe links. I'd like to continue with last week's topic of "reading" photographs to improve our own photography. The analyses in your comments last time were really well-done and helped me see some photos in a new light. I hope even more of you will take the challenge this week to focus your attention on lighting. Please pick one (or more) of the photos below and share your analysis of both the quality and effect of the light present. You'll probably want to ask yourself (1) what direction the light is coming from, (2) whether the light seems hard (strong) or soft (diffused), (3) whether the light is coming from a high or low angle, (4) whether the light is natural or artificial, (5) whether the food is outside or inside (if inside, how far is the subject from the window(s)?), and (6) what type of story or mood the specific lighting creates. A good way to answer most of these is to observe the highlights on the food as well as the shadows around it. Again I wish you Happy "Reading"!

Sweet Potato Brown Butter Soup with Goat Cheese from Verses From My Kitchen

Hanging Lightbulb Vases from Free People

Candy Caramel Apples from Snippets of Thyme

Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream Cones Photograph from Margaret and Joy

Baby Eggplant on Gorgeous Ceramic Bowl Photograph by Matt Armendariz for Newly Launched Fifty One and a Half Homemade Ceramics Line

Avocado Pudding with Chocolate Shavings from Cooking Tackle

Bourbon Peach Homemade Ice Cream with Rice Krispies Cereal from Magpie's Recipes

Bridal Shower Popsicle Bar from Green Wedding Shoes