Star Food Stylist - Chris Oliver of HollywoodFoodStyling.com

Manatees 'R' Us

2011-03-20T20:34:00.000-07:00

man•a•tee

noun \ˈma-nə-ˌtē\

According to Merriam-Webster, the definition of a manatee is...

: any of a genus (Trichechus of the family Trichechidae) of chiefly tropical aquatic sirenian mammals that differ from the related dugong especially in having the tail rounded
Now, you’re probably wondering why I am giving you the definition of this marine mammal? I was asked to create SIX of these lovely creatures for ABC’s hit show, Cougar Town!

I have many resources here in Southern California, but I sure wish I had access to a Manatees ‘R’ Us at the time! When I received the call, I had approximately 12 hours to create SIX chocolate manatees. Each manatee required 10 pounds of chocolate…EACH! (Did I mention that I had to make SIX of them??)

My job is exciting and unpredictable! Besides having a same day deadline, and only ONE manatee mold to work with, it took multiple steps to create each one. We made a dye, poured a cast, and let the chocolate set. Because I couldn’t refrigerate the chocolate, I had to wait patiently for each chocolate manatee to set at room temperature...

Here's a clip of Courtney Cox with one of the chocolate manatees we worked so hard on. =)

Hungry Girl Goes Hollywood!

2011-03-20T20:33:00.000-07:00

Last summer, I had the pleasure of working with “The Hungry Girl,” Lisa Lillian to show her some tricks of the food styling trade. The photos I posted here show us practicing and perfecting our grill marks!

Her motto is “Tips and Tricks… For Hungry Chicks!” Besides being a best-selling author and having millions of fans that subscribe to her daily emails, she is also the host of a new hit show on the Cooking Channel which launched January 2011. To find your local listings, you can visit http://www.hungry-girl.com/show Look out for the “Rise and Dine” breakfast episode which airs this Saturday, March 12th!

Hollywood Food Styling presents... REEL Meals!!

2011-02-07T14:15:00.000-08:00

I’m so excited to write about my newest endeavor, REEL Meals! As owner of Hollywood Food Styling for over 20 years, I felt the need to expand my business into something I love to preach…and that is good health! Having graduated from the CIA in New York, I wanted to utilize my culinary background to come up with delicious meal plans that are prepared fresh and delivered to your door.
Basically, I want to show busy people that eating healthy can be simple, easy and satisfying. If you’re looking for a fad diet, REEL Meals is not for you. My goal is to assist people in developing good eating patterns and to learn the importance of portion control and how to recognize good carbohydrates and lean proteins. I’m here to demonstrate that healthy food doesn’t always have to taste like cardboard! Included in the calorie controlled (1200/1500/1800) plans are breakfast, an AM snack, lunch, a PM snack and dinner for 15 days.

REEL Meals are a perfect solution if you are seeking good health, but may not necessarily have the time or know how to get started. I’m here to empower you and give you a jump start to your well-being!

A REEL Meals website is still in the works. For more information, feel free to visit my Hollywood Food Styling website at http://www.hollywoodfoodstyling.com/ Click “REEL Meals” to check out our flyer and a sample menu. You can also contact us at (818) 439-1996.

REEL Meals. Real Food. Real You.

Grilled Teriyaki Salmon Salad…Delish!!!

Healthy Eating with Dr. Phil and Dr. Mike Moreno

2011-01-23T20:02:00.000-08:00

Hollywood Food Styling was recently on the set of the Dr. Phil Show for the “The Holiday 12” episode. I had the pleasure of working with Dr. Mike Moreno, author and creator of “The 17 Day Diet.” I must say, he was quite the sweetheart! With his approving eye, we showcased some healthy dishes such as scrambled eggs with grapefruit, yogurt with fresh berries, a “super salad” full of healthy veggies and protein-packed hard-boiled eggs, and a roasted turkey dinner with asparagus and steamed carrots. Each of the meals was accompanied by a cup of green tea, which is known for its anti-oxidant properties. (And who doesn’t want that!?!) Not-so-healthy dishes that were featured included a mound of egg salad swimming in mayonnaise, goat curry with rice, peach cobbler, greasy macaroni and cheese, and get this… frosted flakes in milk… topped off with an ENTIRE can of condensed milk! I couldn’t believe that a family ate that as a “midnight” snack almost every night!

The point of all this was to show a real-life family what they were consuming, and the alternatives for a healthier lifestyle. According to Dr. Mike’s book, The 17 Day Diet, you can lose 10-15 pounds in as little as 17 days!!!

A fun fact about this shoot was that we were told our peach cobbler initially looked “too pretty.” Even Dr. Mike wanted us to save him a piece! It’s challenging to make peach cobbler look unappetizing, but we definitely made it happen. With the help of the microwave and some disintegrating canned whipped cream, we achieved the results we were looking for!

Here’s a healthy, yet satisfying and delicious protein-filled dinner to get 2011 started right…

Coriander Chicken Tostadas with Refried Beans and Grilled Fennel

Bon Appétit
January 2011
by Sarah Dickerman

yield: Makes 6 servings
active time: 40 minutes
total time: 40 minutes

Beans:
2 15-ounce cans pinto beans (preferably organic), liquid drained and reserved
1/2 cup chopped white onion
2 tablespoons dried oregano
2 garlic cloves, peeled
2 teaspoons minced canned chipotle chiles in adobo
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Coarse kosher salt

Fennel and chicken:
1 large fresh fennel bulb, trimmed, cut through core into 1/3-inch-thick slices (some slices will separate)
6 tablespoons safflower oil, divided
4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves
1/3 cup coriander seeds (about 1 ounce), coarsely crushed in plastic bag

Assembly:
6 purchased corn tostada shells
3 cups thinly sliced romaine lettuce
6 radishes, trimmed, thinly sliced
6 fresh cilantro sprigs
Lime wedges

For beans:
1. Place beans and next 5 ingredients in processor; blend to chunky puree.

2. Heat oil in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add bean mixture and 1/2 cup reserved bean liquid. Stir over medium- low heat until warmed through, adding more bean liquid if dry, about 5 minutes. Season with coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill. Rewarm before using.

For fennel and chicken:

1. Brush fennel slices with 1 1/2 tablespoons oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add fennel slices. Sear until lightly browned and crisp-tender, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer to plate. Cut into strips. Reserve skillet.

2. Using rolling pin, flatten chicken between sheets of plastic wrap to 1/4- to 1/3-inch-thick cutlets. Spread out coriander seeds on sheet of foil. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper; coat with coriander seeds.

3. Heat 4 1/2 tablespoons oil in reserved skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, if necessary, add chicken to skillet. Sauté until cooked through, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to work surface. Cool 5 minutes. Cut chicken in half lengthwise, then crosswise into 1/3-inch-wide strips.

Assembly:
Top each tostada shell with beans, lettuce, radishes, fennel, chicken and cilantro sprig. Serve with lime wedges.

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Coriander-Chicken-Tostadas-with-Refried-Beans-and-Grilled-Fennel-362970#ixzz1ABsF74Pj

Turkeys, Turkeys, and MORE Turkeys

2011-01-19T17:06:00.000-08:00

I’ve done more Thanksgiving episodes than I can count. One thing is for sure… I have never been asked to construct a “turturkey!” What is a turturkey, you may ask? Leave it up to our friends over at How I Met Your Mother to come up with a new take on the classic Thanksgiving focal point. Turturkey= a turkey stuffed inside a turkey. (This isn’t to be confused with a turdurken, which is the common name for a chicken stuffed inside a duck, stuffed inside a turkey)

Check out the cast as they sit down for their “Blitzgiving” meal, with my turturkey front and center...

Besides working on How I Met Your Mother, Hollywood Food Styling also took on the task of creating the Thanksgiving feast for NBC’s hit show, Parenthood. Parenthood is inspired by the movie of the same name and features the large and somewhat imperfect Braverman family. At the head of the family are Zeek (Craig T. Nelson, “Coach”) and Camille (Bonnie Bedelia, “Heart Like a Wheel”).

Like myself, Camille likes things organized and in their place. The Thanksgiving episode starts out in Camille’s kitchen at 5:00 am. The casserole dishes are neatly labeled with post-its to show what will be filling them, and an oven schedule is taped on the refrigerator. I worked hand-in-hand with property master, Jeffrey Johnson to make sure I had the right dishes to take back to the shop with me. We both had flashbacks of Pushing Daisies when we realized that this episode was going to require a ton of pies...apple, sweet potato and mince meat!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-13T00:45:00.000-08:00

I’m back! I know it’s been ages since my last post, so I thought I would give you guys a quick update and let you know that I’m still alive! It’s amazing to think about the great things that have happened at Hollywood Food Styling in the last few months. I’ve been super busy moving into a new shop, settling in and making it my “home away from home.” I’m fortunate that the film industry has kept my assistants and I lined up with scores of fun and exciting projects that I can’t wait to share with all of you. More posts and pictures to follow!

4th of July

2010-07-03T12:20:00.000-07:00

The 4th of July is here again and I am completely overjoyed to say it's not just a holiday but this Hollywood Food Stylists actual birthday. The 4th is one of my favorite times because of all the great festivities that occur through out the long weekend. Independence Day is commonly known as the Fourth of July and is a federal holiday commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July- 4- 1776 when independence was declared from the Kingdom of Great Britain. Translation- another great opportunity to ham it up and show off your incredible cooking skills. I absolutely 100% love to BBQ and I am happy to announce it can be easier then you think its . I am a huge fan of this mouth watering tri-tip steak and know you will be to.
Enjoy

Grilled Tri-tip

Ingredients
• 2 (3-pound) tri-tip roasts • Basting Sauce, recipe follows • Seasoning Salt Mixture, recipe follows

Directions Heat grill to low. Coat both sides of the tri-tips with half of the seasoning mixture, rubbing it in as you would a dry rub. Let rest for 30 minutes at room temperature. Place the tri-tips over a low temperature fire, 1 with fat side up, and the other with fat side down. Turn as the first side gets crispy, approximately 6 to 8 minutes. Be careful of flare-ups, as the dripping fat will fuel the fire. Turn the tri-tips before the heat pushes juices out the top, and continue to turn using this timing method throughout the cooking process. After turning, baste with sauce and season lightly, 4 times per side. Continue turning until the tri-tips are cooked to your liking. Remove from fire and let rest for 10 minutes before cutting into 1/2-inch slices against the grain.

Seasoning Salt Mixture
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons white pepper
• 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 4 tablespoons granulated garlic
• 6 tablespoons salt

Basting Sauce
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup garlic-infused vegetable oil
• Whisk together vinegar and oil in a small bowl.

Mix together all ingredients in a small bowl.

European Trip #4

2010-05-16T10:25:00.000-07:00

Last year I took an amazing trip to Europe where I traveled through Germany and Austria. During my trip I kept a journal of the things we did and the sights that were seen. Every now and then I like post an excerpt from the journal I kept while abroad.

Journal Entry
Today is another day in Europe and I can't wait to explore further. It was very quiet when I awoke this morning in Salzburg Austria and I know why, turns out it's a Catholic holiday and everything in town is closed except restaurants and museums. No worries I'm a tourist and I'm ready to explore anything and everything I can no matter what. I think inspiration comes in many forms and traveling Germany/Austria has given me a ton of amazing ideas to incorporate into my food styling. My traveling partner Ruth and I decided to head to old town to walk around and enjoy the art. It was a very nice day but I must admit it was a tad bit windy which I enjoyed I felt the weather really added to ambiance it was great. Everything in Salzburg is so amazing and the architecture is phenomenal. After our extensive exploration Ruth and I opted to try a little Italian restaurant for lunch this time. We shared Swordfish Siracusa and a turkey salad . All good, I can barely believe it but food wise we haven't been disappointed yet and neither should you.

Swordfish Siracusa

Ingredients
• 1 1/2 lb swordfish steaks, cut 1/2 inch thick
• Flour for dusting, semolina if possible
• Kosher salt
• 4-6 T. olive oil
• 1 medium onion
• 1 small celery stalk
• 2 T. capers, small if possible
• 16 large green olives, pitted and chopped
• 1 quart crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 T. white wine vinegar
• Chives or celery leaves to garnish (optional)

Preparation
Salt the swordfish well and set aside at room temperature.
Cut the onion in half and grate it through a rough grater. Chop the celery stalk very finely -- or run it through the grater, too.

In a large frying pan or wide, shallow pot, heat the olive oil and saute the onions and celery gently for 3-4 minutes over medium heat.

Add the tomatoes, white wine, capers, bay leaf and olives. Mix well and bring to a simmer. Simmer uncovered until it gets thicker, about 10 minutes. Taste for salt and add some if needed.

Dust the swordfish in the semolina or regular flour. Semolina is a traditional Southern Italian flour used to make pasta, and I like it better because it gives you more texture. You can find it in bulk bins in large supermarkets, or packaged with specialty flours.

Lay the swordfish on the sauce and spoon a little over the fish. Sprinkle the vinegar over it all and cover. Let this cook over medium heat for 6-8 minutes, then uncover and cook for another 3-4 minutes.

To serve, gently lift the swordfish out and set aside. Spoon some sauce on a plate and place pieces of the fish on top. Garnish with chives or celery leaves and serve at once with crusty bread and a dry rose wine. You could drink Pinot Noir or a Chianti with this dish, too.

My First Avocado

2010-05-12T08:00:00.000-07:00

As you guys may remember I have a fantastic garden in my backyard that I love. I am proud to say I have a bit of a green thumb and I grow many wonderful things like tomatoes, carrots, basil and other seasonal vegetables. Being a Hollywood food stylist and chef really makes me appreciate organic or in my case home grown food. I am totally thrilled to say I am the proud grower of my very first avocado. It took months to grow but let me tell ya it was well worth the wait and as you can see in the picture above it looks gorgeous. all it took was a little love, care and time and voila you have an avocado to enjoy. Avocados don't only taste good but they provide a number of health benefits like they can protect from cholesterol related heart disease, they are antioxidants and they contain necessary minerals and dietary fiber so you can't go wrong. I had a fine time deciding exactly what to do with my avocado other than admiring it and I came to the conclusion guacamole was just the thing. So I thought we all could celebrate what was the newest addition to my garden with a mouth watering dip.

Guacamole

Directions
• 3 Haas avocados, halved, seeded and peeled
• 1 lime, juiced
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
• 1/2 medium onion, diced
• 2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
• 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
• 1 clove garlic, minced

Directions
In a large bowl place the scooped avocado pulp and lime juice, toss to coat. Drain, and reserve the lime juice, after all of the avocados have been coated. Using a potato masher add the salt, cumin, and cayenne and mash. Then, fold in the onions, tomatoes, cilantro, and garlic. Add 1 tablespoon of the reserved lime juice. Let sit at room temperature for 1 hour and then serve.

Happy Mother's Day

2010-05-09T11:15:00.000-07:00

Mother's Day is finally here again and I'm extremely excited to have a wonderful Sunday to spend with my family. There are so many great things one can do to celebrate Mothers Day. The obvious thing being, do something great and let your mother know you love her. My suggestion is if your family is feeling up to the task they most definitely can cook their mom a Delicious gourmet meal at home or vice versa. There is nothing wrong with a good home cooked meal everyone can enjoy together so lucky for you guys I have just the recipe to make the celebration for mom an unforgettable one. Please enjoy and Happy Mother's Day to all.

Roasted Lemon Herb Chicken

Ingredients
• 1 (4 1/2-pound) whole chicken, rinsed and patted dry
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 6 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 1/2 bunch fresh thyme
• 1 head garlic, cut in 1/2 horizontally
• 1 lemon, halved
• Olive oil, for brushing
• Special Equipment: butcher's twine; a roasting rack

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Generously salt and pepper the inside cavity of the chicken, and add 4 rosemary sprigs, thyme, garlic, and half of the lemon. Slice the remaining lemon half into thin slices and slide them under the exterior skin of the chicken breasts. Take the remaining 2 rosemary sprigs and slide them down along each side of the breast bone under the skin. Tuck the wings back and under the chicken and tie the legs together for even cooking.
Place the chicken, breast side up, on a rack in a roasting pan and brush the top and sides with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Roast chicken in the oven, basting with drippings at least once, until juices run clear and leg bone easily pulls away from the meat, about 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour and 30 minutes.
Remove chicken from oven and cover with foil. Allow to rest for juices to redistribute, at least 15 minutes.
Carve the chicken and place on serving platter.

Scripted Food

2010-05-06T20:30:00.000-07:00

Preparing and styling on camera food can most definitely be a challenge which is great because I love to experiment with any and every way to make food look picture perfect. Scripted food is exactly as it sounds - Food written into any movie or sitcom script to be seen on camera by you. Sometimes when food is scripted it can be extremely specific or very non specific. My job as a food stylist is to give as many different options as possible. If the food is to be eaten it's important to check with the actor to see what they will eat. Many actors stick to strict diets and will avoid eating certain things even if scripted so my job is to make some food appear to be other food. a very interesting fact is that not all food can withstand the hot lights on set and will simply melt. Often times I'm asked to make substitutions for chocolate and candy because the real thing makes for a bad prop. The truth is I love being inventive and through the years as a food stylist and chef I've been able to develop a lot of great tricks which you guys can check out while watching any of the shows I've been lucky enough to have been apart of. In the meantime give this sinfully delicious recipe a shot.

Triple Chocolate Brownies

Ingredients
• 3 sticks plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 12 ounces best-quality bittersweet chocolate
• 6 eggs
• 1 3/4 cups superfine sugar
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup white chocolate buttons,chips, or morsels
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate buttons, chips or morsels
• Approximately 2 teaspoons confectioners' sugar, for garnish
• Special equipment:Baking tin (approximately 11 1/4 inches by 9 inches by 2 inches), sides and base lined with baking parchment.

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Melt the butter and dark chocolate together in a large heavy based pan over a low heat.
In a bowl or large measuring jug, beat the eggs together with the superfine sugar and vanilla extract.
Allow the chocolate mixture to cool a little, then add the egg and sugar mixture and beat well. Fold in the flour and salt. Then stir in the white chocolate buttons or chips, and the semisweet chocolate buttons or chips. Beat to combine then scrape and pour the brownie mixture into the prepared tin.
Bake for about 25 minutes. You can see when the brownies are ready because the top dries to a slightly paler brown speckle, while the middle remains dark, dense and gooey. Even with such a big batch you do need to keep checking on it: the difference between gooey brownies and dry ones is only a few minutes. Remember, too, that they will continue to cook as they cool.
To serve, cut into squares while still warm and pile up on a large plate, sprinkling with confectioners' sugar pushed with a teaspoon through a small sieve.

Natural Product Expo 2010

2010-05-02T11:45:00.000-07:00

This last March I was a very lucky food stylist, I am very pleased to say that I was in fact able to attend the 2010 Natural Product Expo and let me tell ya it was spectacular. It was indeed a massive event held at the Anaheim Convention Center. The event drew over 56,000 people from all over the country and focused on hundreds of natural food products. The vendors peddled everything from health and beauty to natural foods. My vegetarian daughter Evan and I collected a giant goody bag filled with natural snacks, organic sauces, buttons & bracelets. It was so much fun we definitely had a blast being apart of the natural food experience. Many countries were represented at the expo which made it even better for me since I love trying new things produced from all over the world. There were so many amazing products we collected to sample so I guarantee I will be blogging about some brand new products from the expo in the future. Until then I will leave you guys with a really great organic recipe.

Roasted Organic Moroccan Chicken

Ingredients
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons Hungarian sweet paprika
• 1 tablespoon ras-el-hanout*
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 garlic clove, peeled
• 1 4 3/4- to 5-pound whole free-range organic chicken
• 2 small whole lemons, pierced all over with fork
• 6 garlic cloves, unpeeled

Preparation
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 400°F. Blend first 9 ingredients in blender to moist paste. Remove neck, giblets, and excess fat from main cavity of chicken. Rinse chicken inside and out; pat dry with paper towels. Rub 1/3 of spice paste into main cavity and neck cavity, then rub remaining spice paste all over outside of chicken. Place lemons and garlic cloves in main cavity of chicken. Tie legs together. Place chicken on rack in roasting pan. Roast 45 minutes; tent with foil to prevent over browning. Continue to roast chicken until instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh registers 170°F, about 45 minutes. Transfer chicken to platter; let stand 10 minutes (internal temperature will increase by 5 to 10 degrees).

Pie Closet

2010-04-24T08:45:00.000-07:00

While visiting one of my very best friends in Colorado I was astonished to find this amazing piece of workmanship sitting right there in her dining room. Turns out it was an antique pie closet who knew. Well it definitely captured my attention so I thought I would share a little bit about what a pie closet actually is. So here goes .... a pie closet is used to cool baked pies and they can be made out of wood or tin. What makes pie closets so efficient is that they have a special ventilation system allowing the pies placed inside to cool just right. My favorite part about my friends pie closet (featured in the picture above) is that not only is it a useful contraption it's also an absolutely gorgeous piece of furniture should you choose to store things in it other then pies.

Apple Pie

Ingredients
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup shortening (recommended: Crisco)
• Ic e water
• Filling, recipe follows
• Serving suggestion: warm with vanilla ice-cream

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
In a medium-mixing bowl cut the shortening and salt into the flour by hand or with a pastry blender hands until it's the texture of cornmeal. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of ice water over the mixture and mix just until the dough is moistened. Repeat by adding 6 to 8 tablespoons water (one at a time) until all the dough is just moist. Take care not to over mix.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Divide the dough in half and roll into a ball. Roll 1 ball into a circle to fit a 9 to 10-inch pie plate. To transfer the pastry to the pie plate, wrap it around a rolling pin and ease it into the pie plate. Be careful not to stretch the pastry. Trim it even with the edges of the pie plate. Add the apple filling into the pastry lined pie plate. Make sure they are laying flat. Cut butter into small pieces and put on top of the filling.
Roll the remaining pastry into a 12-inch circle. Place on top of the filling. Trim off 1-inch beyond the edge of the pie plate. Crimp the edges as desired. Cut slits to allow steam to escape when baking. Sprinkle a little sugar and cinnamon over the pie.
Cover the edges with foil to prevent over browning. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 20 to 25 minutes, or until it is golden brown. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Filling
• 1/2 cup to 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 6 to 7 cups apples cut into thin slices (recommended: Green golden and Johnathons)
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons butter
In a medium bowl combine the apples, with the brown and white sugar. Add flour, cinnamon and continue mixing until they are well coated.
Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Culinary Institute of America at Greystone

2010-04-17T09:30:00.000-07:00

If you have been to my web site Hollywoodfoodstyling.com or just googled me you would know I am a classically trained chef and I attended C.I.A. aka The Culinary Institute of America located in New York . I learned so much at culinary school and was able to take that knowledge and parlay it into a wonderful career as a food stylist. The Culinary Institute just opened their second school called C.I.A. at Greystone it's a continuing education school and is considered one of the Napa Valley's most historic and majestic properties. I was lucky enough to have had the opportunity to visit the new campus and I must admit the school and the location is absolutely breathtaking. Before It was a school it was a brotherhood of monks called the Christian Brothers Brandy. The new school is wonderful it sits on fifteen acres of vineyard and has a restaurant located inside. The programs and facilities emphasize the cooking and baking traditions of many cultures, fresh, seasonal ingredients, health and nutrition, and sustainable agriculture. I really enjoyed my experience on the new campus and would love to come back and visit as a guest seminar speaker.

Apricot Brandy Cake

Ingredients

1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 (18.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix
1 (3.4 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
1/2 cup apricot brandy
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup water
4 egg
1/4 cup butter
2 teaspoons apricot brandy
2 teaspoons water
1 cup confectioners' sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 10 inch Bundt pan. Sprinkle pecans on the bottom of the pan.
In large mixing bowl, combine cake mix, pudding mix, apricot brandy, oil, water and eggs. Beat on medium speed for 10 minutes. Pour batter over pecans in prepared Bundt pan.
Bake in the preheated oven for 50 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.
To make apricot brandy glaze: In medium pan, combine butter, apricot brandy and water. Bring to boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Cool slightly. Stir in confectioners' sugar until of desired consistency. Drizzle over cake.

Life After People

2010-04-10T14:30:00.000-07:00

Life After people is a fascinating History Channel series that I had the wonderful opportunity to style for. The shows basic premise is to explore the fate of man's world if it were to become uninhabited by people. The show I worked on explored the destructive forces that turn supermarkets into breeding grounds for insects and rodents. My episode titled "The Last Supper" was quite a challenge, my crew and I used many interesting methods to age food over a span of a week, a month, a year and 1 million years. We styled and recreated a market in my actual shop that I style food out of every day as well as styling the food for the market used on the shows regular set. There were live rats, maggots, flies and red ants that were depicted as consuming the food and eventually dying off. In addition to styling the fruit stands we did a deli counter filled with chicken, ribs,rotted ox tails and hamburger meat.I was really proud of the work we did and as you can see it looked fabulous. We also were responsible for the markets canned food and honey display. After a period of time beans will explode but honey in glass jars will last for a million years which I found to be absolutely astonishing. Styling Life After People was no easy task but we definitely had a lot of fun coming up with creative ways to age the food . Even though the food appeared extremely rotted it was all 100% edible and 100% realistic. Below are additional pictures that were used for the shoot as you can see food styling is indeed alive and well in Hollywood. Life After people "The Last Supper" can be seen on History Channel or their web site so be sure to check you local listings.

Aged Beef

Ingredients
• 1 (4-bone-in) standing rib roast, preferably from the loin end
• Canola oil, to coat roast
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, to cover entire roast
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup red wine
• 4 fresh sage leaves

Directions
Remove any plastic wrapping or butcher's paper from the roast. Place the standing rib roast upright onto a half sheet pan fitted with a rack. The rack is essential for drainage. Place dry towels loosely on top of the roast. This will help to draw moisture away from the meat. Place into a refrigerator at approximately 50 to 60 percent humidity and between 34 and 38 degrees F. You can measure both with a refrigerator thermometer. Change the towels daily for 3 days.
Place a 16-inch round azalea terra cotta planter into a cold oven. Invert the planter to become a lid over a pizza stone or the bottom of the planter. The oven should be cold to start, to avoid any cracking in the terra cotta pieces. Turn the oven to 250 degrees F.
Remove the roast from the refrigerator and rub with canola oil. Remember to rub the bones with oil, as well. Once the roast is completely coated with oil cover the roast with kosher salt, about half a teaspoon per bone. Next, rub with freshly ground pepper to coat the surface. Place the roast over a glass bake-ware dish slightly smaller than the length of the roast. This will catch the drippings needed for the sauce. Finally, place a probe thermometer into the center of the roast and set for 118 degrees. Put the roast and the bake-ware dish onto the pizza stone, cover with the terra cotta pot, and return to the oven. Turn the oven down to 200 degrees F and roast until internal temperature is achieved.
Remove the roast and turn oven up to 500 degrees F. Remove the terra cotta lid and recover with heavy-duty foil. Allow the roast to rest until an internal temperature of 130 degrees F. is reached. Place the roast back into the preheated 500 degree F oven for about 10 minutes or until you've achieved your desired crust. Remove and transfer roast to a cutting board. Keep covered with foil until ready to serve.
Degrease the juices in the glass pan. Place the pan over low heat and deglaze with 1 cup of water. Add the wine and reduce by half. Roll the sage leaves in between your fingers to release the flavors and aroma. Add to the sauce and cook for 1 minute. Strain and serve on the side.

The Benefits of Omega 3s

2010-03-21T08:45:00.000-07:00

Being a Star Food Stylist and chef has definitely given me a heads up through the years on what foods are healthiest and the most beneficial for our bodies. I'm sure you have heard me say it before and the truth is Omega 3s are extremely important fatty acids which you have to get from food. Omega-3 fatty acids can be found in fish, such as salmon, tuna, halibut and other seafood including algae and krill, some plants, and nut oils. The reason I always incorporate omega 3s into my diet is because I know they have many benefits and can improve certain health conditions. Omegas help to reduce heart disease and arthritis, aid brain function as well as normal health and development. It's not difficult to eat the right foods especially when they can contribute to our overall health in a very positive way. Being aware of the right foods to eat can make all the difference when grocery shopping and I'm sure you'll find it's just as easy to eat the right things as it is to eat the wrong things. Here's a wonderful recipe for salmon packed full of omega 3s I'm sure you'll enjoy.

Honey Soy Salmon

Ingredients
• 1 scallion, minced
• 2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
• 1 pound center-cut salmon fillet, skinned (see Tip) and cut into 4 portions
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds

Directions
Whisk scallion, soy sauce, vinegar, honey and ginger in a medium bowl until the honey is dissolved. Place salmon in a sealable plastic bag, add 3 tablespoons of the sauce and refrigerate; let marinate for 15 minutes. Reserve the remaining sauce.
Preheat broiler. Line a small baking pan with foil and coat with cooking spray. Transfer the salmon to the pan, skinned-side down. (Discard the marinade.) Broil the salmon 4 to 6 inches from the heat source until cooked through, 6 to 10 minutes. Drizzle with the reserved sauce and garnish with sesame seeds.

How to skin a salmon fillet: Place salmon fillet on a clean cutting board, skin-side down. Starting at the tail end, slip the blade of a long knife between the fish flesh and the skin, holding down firmly with your other hand. Gently push the blade along at a 30° angle, separating the fillet from the skin without cutting through either.
To toast seeds: Cook in a small dry skillet over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until fragrant and lightly browned, 2 to 4 minutes.

Time Warner Commercial

2010-03-17T13:30:00.000-07:00

I love styling buffets so I was completely thrilled to style a buffet scene for the phone, cable and Internet provider Time Warner. You guys may have already seen the commercial playing on television. The commercial takes place in a woman's living room she explains how her time Warner phone package is so reasonably priced. She goes on to express how much money she saves and how pleased she is that she is now able to converse over seas to a large network of very prestigious friends including royalty It's really an entertaining commercial and was a lot of fun to work on. Sometimes though beautiful food scenes get cut out of commercials and movies never to be viewed again . This was indeed the case with Time Warner a few shots may have been cut, no worries though I'll tell you about the buffet anyways. It was gorgeous There was roast beef, shrimp cocktail, a whole turkey, pastries and a cheese and cracker platter. It was arranged perfectly and color presentation was wonderful. Take my word for it everything was edible and absolutely mouth watering .

Roast Beef With Garlic & Thyme

Ingredients
• 1 tablespoon butter, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 clove garlic cut in half
• 2 to 3 pounds beef roast - eye of round or rump roast
• thinly sliced red onion and tomato slices for garnish

Preparation
In a small bowl combine butter, lemon peel, thyme, salt, and pepper. Rub garlic halves over surface of beef roast. Spread butter mixture over roast, coating thoroughly on all sides. Place meat on rack in a shallow roasting pan. Roast at 450°, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Reduce temperature to 325°; roast beef about 1 hour to 1 hour and 30 minutes. A meat thermometer should register about 150° for medium. Remove roast from oven, cover loosely with foil, and let stand for 10 minutes before slicing. Place slices on a serving dish, and place onion and tomato slices around the edge. Serve immediately. Roast beef serves 6 to 8.

European Trip Day #3

2010-03-03T12:45:00.000-08:00

Last summer I took an amazing trip to Europe where I traveled through Germany and Austria. During my trip I kept a journal of the things we did and the sights that were seen. Every now and then I like post an excerpt from the journal I kept while abroad.

Journal Entry
Day #3I just love being in Germany. Today was wonderful I woke up and headed to Karlstadt Department store where I had a really great breakfast (eggs and toast). It totally hit the spot and as guys should already know breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Afterward Ruth and I went to Pinakothek Museum which is filled with Flemish and German Renaissance art from the 1200-1600s. As you can see in the picture above The Pinakothek is amazing next time your in Germany I highly recommend checking it out it is worth the visit. After the museum we took a drive around to the breathe taking English Garden it was so beautiful I hope I get another chance to see it again. The afternoon was extremely productive we got a lot of really great sightseeing in so by 7pm we were ready to head out for a Bavarian dinner. The restaurant we dined at was wonderful It was a ton of food but really quite good. I had Wiener schiet and Ruth had the best encrusted white fish with potatoes over a light cream sauce It was perfection. I just love having such a great opportunity to sample authentic German cuisine it's the best so In honer of Ruth's successful dinner selection I leave you with.......

White Fish in Cream Sauce

Ingredients:

As many white fish fillets (cod, sole, whatever) as there are people.
Half a container of fresh single cream per person.
One bunch dill.
Butter.
Salt and Pepper.
White wine vinegar.
Nutmeg

Preheat oven to about 190-200C.

In a large baking tin, place fish fillets flat (so that they don't cover each other), season, sprinkle generously with nutmeg and scatter about 6-8 small knobs of butter (the size of your thumb).

Wash and chop the dill coarsely by folding the bunch in half and using a large knife to "slice" the bundle. Scatter evenly over the fish.

Cover the fish with the cream and add a tiny drop of vinegar(use your thumb to cover the bottle neck so that only droplets get through).

Cover the pan with a sheet of tin foil and place in the middle of the oven for 15 minutes. The fish is ready when it's all white and the butter is bubbling Place fish on plates and spoon some of the sauce over it.

The Benefits of Honey

2010-02-21T12:30:00.000-08:00

Not long ago I worked on the wonderful History Channel show Life After people which I will talk about more later . The episode was titled the Last Supper and chronicled what would happen to food as it decayed and was ravaged by vermin and bugs over a span of 1 day, a few weeks, 100 days and a 1,000 years. It was really informative styling for that series I learned a ton of interesting things about honey. The truth is honey is a wonder food that can survive in jars virtually forever. Honey has amazing health benefits it's an incredible antiseptic, antioxidant and contains many cleansing properties for our body and health. Honey is a organic, natural sugar alternative with no additives It can treat almost anything from eye conjunctivitis to athletes foot. Honey not only fights infection and aids tissue healing but also helps reduce inflammation and scarring. In addition, it is often used for treating digestive problems such as diarrhea, indigestion, stomach ulcers and gastroenteritis. Honey has been used for thousands of years to treat various ailments no one can deny it's a natural resource we can all eat to stay healthy. Not only is is it good for us but my favorite part is that it tastes wonderful. Whether your spreading honey on a piece of toast or simply eating it straight from the jar you must know your doing something good for your body's over all health.

Honey Glazed Ham

Ingredients
• 1 (5 pound) ready-to-eat ham
• 1/4 cup whole cloves
• 1/4 cup dark corn syrup
• 2 cups honey
• 2/3 cup butter

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. Score ham, and stud with the whole cloves. Place ham in foil lined pan.
3. In the top half of a double boiler, heat the corn syrup, honey and butter. Keep glaze warm while baking ham.
4. Brush glaze over ham, and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Baste ham every 10 to 15 minutes with the honey glaze. During the last 4 to 5 minutes of baking, turn on broiler to caramelize the glaze. Remove from oven, and let sit a few minutes before serving.

Exciting News At Hollywood FoodStyling.com

2010-02-18T11:30:00.000-08:00

A lot of exciting things have been happening at HollywoodFoodStyling.com like This gorgeous oil/vinegar & spice set that I sent out this last Christmas as a gift . The oil and vinegar are flavored, the salt is blended with only the best most delicious herbs and the red pepper herb blend does not disappoint. This set Is a Chris Oliver original that should be available on my web site for purchase sometime this year. The important role seasoning plays in every meal can not be denied and is something I learned early on in my cooking career. The truth is the seasoning you pick to marinade and cook your food with can make or break a meal. I know food and having been a celebrity guest judge on Top Chef Masters as well as being a working chef and food stylist in the culinary and movie industry for over 20 years has given me a great perspective on what is really in a wonderful flavor. I can't wait to let everyone have a chance to taste and cook with my upcoming brand of spices. As soon as it becomes available for sale I guarantee you all will be the first to know. Til then here's another one of my favorite recipes I hope you will enjoy.

Grilled Halibut with Fennel, Red Onions and Oregano

Ingredients
• 4 (6-ounce) halibut fillets
• Extra-virgin olive oil, 2 tablespoons plus some for drizzling
• Salt and pepper
• Crusty bread, cut into thick slices
• 1 orange
• 1 bulb fennel, quartered, core removed, thinly sliced
• 1 red onion, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, a couple of splashes
• Handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano leaves, 2 sprigs

Directions
Heat a grill pan or outdoor grill over high heat.
Drizzle extra-virgin olive oil over the fish and season with salt and pepper. Grill 4 minutes on each side until fish is firm but not tough and cooked through. Grill bread alongside or char under broiler then dress with extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper as well.
Preheat a skillet over medium-high heat.
While fish cooks, peel the orange as you would a melon: cut off ends, stand it upright and cut off skin and pith in thin strips from top to bottom. Cut orange across into thin slices.
To preheated skillet add extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan, the fennel and onions, season with salt and pepper and cook 3 to 5 minutes until seared and beginning to soften. Add vinegar to the pan and give it a shake. Remove from heat and toss in the oranges, the parsley and oregano. Adjust seasoning and serve salad on dinner plates topped with fish, and seasoned bread alongside.

Happy Valentine's Day

2010-02-14T09:05:00.000-08:00

As I am sure you're all aware Valentine's Day is indeed upon us again. Some may say it's a Hallmark holiday but I like to think it's another excuse to cook a fantastic meal for the ones you love. I do believe food makes the world go round and it's not as difficult a task as you may think to cook something truly delicious. Before I give you guys your must have Valentine's recipe I want to give you a little background on the origin of our highly celebrated day of love. Valentine's day contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. The holiday first became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the high middle ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished. Modern Valentine's Day symbols include the heart shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged cupid. The giving of greeting cards made popular in the 19th century are still very much apart of our modern day Valentine's tradition. With that being said here's a lovely recipe for all to enjoy.

Valentine's Beef Wellington

Ingredients for Duxelles
• 3 pints (1 1/2 pounds) white button mushrooms
• 2 shallots, peeled and roughly chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the Beef
• 1 (3-pound) center cut beef tenderloin (filet mignon), trimmed
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 12 thin slices prosciutto
• 6 sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves only
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• Flour, for rolling out puff pastry
• 1 pound puff pastry, thawed if using frozen
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
• Minced chives, for garnish
• Green Peppercorn Sauce, recipe follows
• Roasted Fingerling Potatoes
• Warm Wilted Winter Greens, recipe follows

Directions
To make the Duxelles: Add mushrooms, shallots, garlic, and thyme to a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add butter and olive oil to a large saute pan and set over medium heat. Add the shallot and mushroom mixture and saute for 8 to 10 minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated. Season with salt and pepper and set aside to cool.
To prepare the beef: Tie the tenderloin in 4 places so it holds its cylindrical shape while cooking. Drizzle with olive oil, then season with salt and pepper and sear all over, including the ends, in a hot, heavy-based skillet lightly coated with olive oil - about 2 to 3 minutes. Meanwhile set out your prosciutto on a sheet of plastic wrap (plastic needs to be about a foot and a half in length so you can wrap and tie the roast up in it) on top of your cutting board. Shingle the prosciutto so it forms a rectangle that is big enough to encompass the entire filet of beef. Using a rubber spatula cover evenly with a thin layer of duxelles. Season the surface of the duxelles with salt and pepper and sprinkle with fresh thyme leaves. When the beef is seared, remove from heat, cut off twine and smear lightly all over with Dijon mustard. Allow to cool slightly, then roll up in the duxelles covered prosciutto using the plastic wrap to tie it up nice and tight. Tuck in the ends of the prosciutto as you roll to completely encompass the beef. Roll it up tightly in plastic wrap and twist the ends to seal it completely and hold it in a nice log shape. Set in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to ensure it maintains its shape.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
On a lightly floured surface, roll the puff pastry out to about a 1/4-inch thickness. Depending on the size of your sheets you may have to overlap 2 sheets and press them together. Remove beef from refrigerator and cut off plastic. Set the beef in the center of the pastry and fold over the longer sides, brushing with egg wash to seal. Trim ends if necessary then brush with egg wash and fold over to completely seal the beef - saving ends to use as a decoration on top if desired. Top with coarse sea salt. Place the beef seam side down on a baking sheet.
Brush the top of the pastry with egg wash then make a couple of slits in the top of the pastry using the tip of a paring knife - this creates vents that will allow the steam to escape when cooking. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until pastry is golden brown and beef registers 125 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer. Remove from oven and rest before cutting into thick slices. Garnish with minced chives, and serve with Green Peppercorn Sauce, Roasted Fingerling Potatoes, and Warm Wilted Winter Greens.

Green Peppercorn Sauce
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 shallots, sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only
• 1 cup brandy
• 1 box beef stock
• 2 cups cream
• 2 tablespoons grainy mustard
• 1/2 cup green peppercorns in brine, drained, brine reserved
Add olive oil to pan after removing beef. Add shallots, garlic, and thyme; saute for 1 to 2 minutes, then, off heat, add brandy and flambe using a long kitchen match. After flame dies down, return to the heat, add stock and reduce by about half. Strain out solids, then add 2 cups cream and mustard. Reduce by half again, then shut off heat and add green peppercorns.

Better Off Ted

2010-02-11T10:30:00.000-08:00

Better Off Ted Is a wonderful comedy on the ABC Network starring Jay Harrington and Portia de Rossi. Better off Ted is about Ted Crisp the head of Research & Development at Veridian Dynamics, a top-line corporation, striving to make it to the top where plenty of antics ensue. For B.O.T. I had a lot of drop offs sprinkled throughout the season. In case you guys don't know drop offs are when my crew and I prepare the food for the scene at my personal Hollywood Food Styling shop then drive it to the set to be displayed in the show by the propmaster or set decorator. One of the episodes I styled for took place at a Airline Admirals Club. I had a total blast dressing beautiful plates of cheese, meats and fruits. I've said it before and I'll say it again making platters are one of my favorite things to do and let me tell you there is nothing better than knowing your craft and having the ability to play with different food and color combinations. Always remember when making a platter balance is a very necessary part of the presentation. I thought I would mix up the traditional fruit platter just a little bit, enjoy.

Tropical Fruit Platter

Ingredients
• 1 papaya, sliced, reserve seeds for dressing
• 2 to 3 kiwi fruit, sliced in rounds
• 1 1/2 cups fresh cherries
• 2 oranges, unpeeled, sliced in rounds and quartered
• 2 bananas, sliced diagonally
• 1 1/2 cups fresh strawberries
• ------Papaya Seed Dressing-------
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. dry mustard
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 1 1/2 cups salad oil
• 1 Tbsp. chopped green onion
• 3 Tbsp. papaya seeds

Directions
1. Arrange the papaya, kiwi fruit, cherries, oranges, bananas and
2. strawberries around the edges of the serving platter.
3. Prepare dressing. Pour into small serving bowl and place in center
4. of platter.
5. Serve fruit with dressing spooned over individual portions.
6. -----Papaya Seed Dressing-----
7. Place sugar, salt, mustard, egg and vinegar in blender container or the container of a food processor fitted with a steel blade.
8. Turn blender or processor on, and very slowly add the oil, blending until a thick dressing forms.
9. Add the onion and papaya seeds. Mix to blend —do not process to puree, as dressing is more attractive with onion and seeds still visible. Store leftover dressing in refrigerator. Makes 3 cups dressing.

Turkey Is Great

2010-02-06T13:07:00.000-08:00

Yes it's true turkey day has come and gone but you don't have to wait til the next holiday to enjoy a delicious mouth watering turkey for dinner. I think turkey is totally underrated all you need is the right marinade and your on your way. Think about it leftovers can be made into many things like turkey sandwiches one of my faves. I've been a fan of turkey for many years and have a few interesting turkey facts for you. Turkeys are the largest living birds. The modern species of turkey and the California Turkey seem to have been in existence for approximately one million years and oh yeah they taste fantastic. Every now and then I Chris Oliver get an undeniable craving for turkey. Just keep in mind even though turkey can be known for easily drying out during cooking It doesn't have to be dry. Over cooking is most likely the culprit so I have included a recipe below designed to keep your bird moist.

Roast Turkey

Ingredients
• 1 (14 to 16 pound) frozen young turkey

For the brine:
• 1 cup kosher salt
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 gallon vegetable stock
• 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
• 1 1/2 teaspoons allspice berries
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped candied ginger
• 1 gallon heavily iced water

For the aromatics:
• 1 red apple, sliced
• 1/2 onion, sliced
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 cup water
• 4 sprigs rosemary
• 6 leaves sage
• Canola oil

Directions
2 to 3 days before roasting begin thawing the turkey in the refrigerator or in a cooler kept at 38 degrees F.
Combine the vegetable stock, salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, allspice berries, and candied ginger in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally to dissolve solids and bring to a boil. Then remove the brine from the heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate.
Early on the day or the night before you'd like to eat:
Combine the brine, water and ice in the 5-gallon bucket. Place the thawed turkey (with innards removed) breast side down in brine. If necessary, weigh down the bird to ensure it is fully immersed, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area for 8 to 16 hours, turning the bird once half way through brining.
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Remove the bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard the brine.
Place the bird on roasting rack inside a half sheet pan and pat dry with paper towels.
Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and 1 cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Add steeped aromatics to the turkey's cavity along with the rosemary and sage. Tuck the wings underneath the bird and coat the skin liberally with canola oil.
Roast the turkey on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F for 30 minutes. Insert a probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Set the thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees F. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting. Let the turkey rest, loosely covered with foil or a large mixing bowl for 15 minutes before carving.

Dollhouse

2010-02-05T11:21:00.000-08:00

Dollhouse created by Joss Whedon is another wonderful show on Fox that I was blessed to a apart of. If you guys are not familiar with it you should be . One thing that really stands out to me is the premise which is very unique compared to a lot of the shows on today. Dollhouse stars Eliza Dushku who plays "Echo" a member of a highly illegal and highly underground group of individuals who have had their personalities wiped clean so they can be imprinted with any number of new personas . The dolls are hired by the wealthy & powerful and have the ability to become anyone. The scene I styled for dollhouse was a bit gruesome. The script called for one of the characters to eat his legs. My role was to recreate an edible leg that looked very real. The fake leg meat was made out of thinly cut flank steak, seared than put on top of his real leg so the actor could eat it. My crew and I really pulled it off the leg looked wicked.

Grilled & Marinated Flank Steak

Marinade Ingredients
 1/3 cup olive oil 
2 cloves garlic, minced 
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar  
1/3 cup soy sauce 
1/4 cup honey 
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Other Ingredients
2 pounds flank steak
 Kosher salt
 Freshly ground pepper

Directions
1 Score the surface of the steak with 1/4 inch deep knife cuts, about an inch apart, across the grain of the meat. Combine the marinade ingredients. Place steak and marinade ingredients in a large freezer bag. Coat the steak well with the marinade. Seal the bag and place in a bowl. Chill and marinate for at least 2 hours and up to overnight.
2 Using olive oil soaked onto a paper towel, coat the grill rack of your grill with olive oil. Preheat the grill with high, direct heat. The grill is hot enough when you hold your hand about an inch over it and you can only hold it there for about a second.
3 Take the steak out of the marinade bag and sprinkle generously on all sides with coarse salt and freshly ground pepper. The salt and pepper will help form a savory crust on the steak. Place steak on the hot grill. If you are using a gas grill, cover the grill. Grill for 4-6 minutes on each side. Half way through grilling on each side, turn the steak 90° so that you get more grill marks.
How do you know if the steak is done? The best way to tell is to poke it with your finger tips. While the steak is still raw, test it with your fingers; it will be quite squishy. That's what a very rare steak feels like. As the steak cooks the muscles contract and firm up. Touch the tip of your nose and that's what a very well done steak feels like.
4 Flank steak is best eaten medium rare; well done will make it too tough. When the steak has cooked to your preferred level of doneness, remove from the grill and place on a cutting board. Cover with aluminum foil to hold in the heat and to keep the steak from drying out, and let rest for 10 minutes.
5 Make very thin slices, against the grain, and at a slight diagonal so that the slices are wide.
If you want, you can take the excess marinade and bring it to a boil, simmer for several minutes, and serve with the flank steak.

Starbucks

2010-02-02T13:30:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite brands of coffee has got to be Starbucks so I was absolutely thrilled when I got the call to style for Starbucks new instant coffee commercial. My crew and I had the wonderful task of preparing and styling instant coffee and tiramisu. In the commercial the actors take part in a civil war reenactment . After the soldiers come off the field they go to a refreshment table set up with cups of coffee marked x & y they then take a taste test picking their favorite cup of java Starbucks of course. You wouldn't know it just watching the commercial but you do need a foodstylist like me to brew the coffee and set the tiramisu up picture perfect. Making the scene look as natural as possible isn't as as easy as one may think. You truly need a trained eye to strategically place items without over doing it. The truth is Starbucks new instant coffee singles taste really great and I was proud to be apart of a brand I stand behind in everyday life.

Tiramisu

Ingredients
• 6 egg yolks
• 1 1/4 cups white sugar
• 1 1/4 cups mascarpone cheese
• 1 3/4 cups heavy whipping cream
• 2 (12 ounce) packages ladyfingers
• 1/3 cup coffee flavored liqueur
• 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder, for dusting
• 1 (1 ounce) square semisweet chocolate

Directions
1. Combine egg yolks and sugar in the top of a double boiler, over boiling water. Reduce heat to low, and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and whip yolks until thick and lemon colored.
2. Add mascarpone to whipped yolks. Beat until combined. In a separate bowl, whip cream to stiff peaks. Gently fold into yolk mixture and set aside.
3. Split the lady fingers in half, and line the bottom and sides of a large glass bowl. Brush with coffee liqueur. Spoon half of the cream filling over the lady fingers. Repeat ladyfingers, coffee liqueur and filling layers. Garnish with cocoa and chocolate curls. Refrigerate several hours or overnight.
4. To make the chocolate curls, use a vegetable peeler and run it down the edge of the chocolate bar.

Rex Is Not Your Lawyer

2010-01-17T09:58:00.000-08:00

Rex Is No t Your Lawyer is a pilot I recently had the pleasure of working on. For propmaster Gary Antista I styled an upscale restaurant scene that took place in a french bistro with three heroes eating. I prepared slugs, Brie & grapes, salad and Duck al'Orange as you can see in the pictures everything looked stunning. Rex is not your Lawyer was a really great show to work on and I enjoyed being apart of this pilot. A few years back I took the most wonderful vacation to Paris and as you can imagine dining in variety of bistros while abroad gave me a lot to pull from while styling for this the scene. R.I.N.Y.L. for short stars David Tennant as Rex Alexander, a top Chicago litigator who begins suffering panic attacks and takes up coaching clients to represent themselves in court. It also Jerry O'connell and Jane Curtin. This NBC pilot is yet to air or be put on the T.V. schedule but should be due out sometime this year so keep your eyes peeled.

Duck a l'Orange

Ingredients
• 2 cups freshly squeezed orange juiced, about 6 oranges, orange rinds reserved
• 1 (5-pound) duck, cleaned, with innards, wing tips and excess fat removed
• 2 oranges, zested
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon Peychaud Bitters
• 1 1/2 cups duck or chicken stock
• 2 tablespoons arrowroot dissolved in 2 tablespoons cold water
• 1/2 cup Grand Marnier liqueur

Directions
Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Roughly chop the orange rinds and place in the cleaned duck cavity. Place the stuffed duck on a baking rack over a baking sheet with 1/2-inch of water. Bake until skin turns golden brown and lightly crisps, about 30 minutes. Reduce temperature to 300 degrees and continue cooking until duck reaches an internal temperature of 170 degrees, about 1 hour.
In a medium heavy saucepan combine the orange juice, zest and sugar over medium high heat and reduce to 3/4 cup. Add Peychaud Bitters to orange juice gastrique and set aside.
Add hot duck stock to reduced orange gastrique and simmer over medium low heat for 10 minutes to reduce. Add arrowroot mixture, to thicken.
Remove duck from roasting pan, and discard the fat from pan. Remove orange rinds from duck cavity. Let rest 10 minutes before carving.
Add the Grand Marnier to roasting pan and place over 2 burners on medium high heat. Deglaze pan, scraping continuously with a large wooden spoon. Reduce for 5 to 10 minutes. Pour the orange sauce in the pan into a gravy boat and serve with carved duck.

Black Garlic

2010-01-14T11:36:00.000-08:00

Sometimes being a foodstylist isn't just about color and creation often times it involves quite a bit of discovery. One of my newer finds is black garlic. I never even knew black garlic existed until my grocer California Specialty Farms turned me on to it. Black garlic has a long history within Thai and Korean cuisine. Black garlic is made by fermenting whole bulbs of garlic at high temperature, a process that results in black cloves. The taste is sweet and syrupy and the garlic is very high in antioxidants. I think it's wonderful to cook with and is great way to add a little variety to many types of dishes.

Black Garlic with Scallops

Ingredients

3 tablespoons butter, divided
16 extra-large scallops, patted very dry (about 1 ½ pounds)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 cloves black garlic, thinly sliced (or use regular garlic)
1-2 teaspoons finely minced jalapeno pepper
¼ cup white wine
2 teaspoons good balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Directions
Heat a large frying pan with just 2 tablespoons of the butter over high heat. Season the scallops with salt and pepper, and when the butter is bubbling, gently lay the scallops in the pan, not touching. Sear the scallops and cook for 4 minutes, turning once. They should have a lovely golden brown color on both sides. Transfer to a platter.

To the same hot pan on high heat, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter. Add the garlic slices and the jalapeno pepper and fry until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Pour in the white wine and the balsamic vinegar into the pan. Let simmer for 1 minute, season with salt and pepper and add the fresh parsley. Pour over scallops.
Serves 4

V.W Commercial

2010-01-12T07:31:00.000-08:00

I don't just style food for feature films and sitcoms I also style for commercials. One of my latest commercials was for V.W. automobiles and boy did we have fun . The scene we worked on took place in a diner . The diner was rented out by the production company and closed down to shoot the scene. My crew and I got to make fake ice cream because real ice cream would melt under the hot lights. We had a great time coming up with different ways to visually trick anyone watching the commercial. We also got to make hot dogs, french fries, and a gorgeous linguine and clam platter. A really interesting fact about being a food stylist is that we don't work a regular 9 to 5 job we work all night sometimes til 6 in the morning which was the case for the V.W. shoot. No matter the time the food looked fantastic and scene came out great.

Linguine with Clams

Ingredients
• 14 ounces dried linguine
• 12 littleneck clams, steamed
• 2 ounces crushed garlic
• 6 ounces garlic butter plus extra for bread, recipe follows
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 2 lemon wedges, juiced, plus 1 wedge, for garnish
• 1/2 ciabatta bread, toasted
• 1-ounce shredded Parmesan
• Pinch minced fresh parsley leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Directions
Cook pasta in boiling water until al dente. Steam 12 littleneck clams and set aside. In a saute pan over medium heat, add crushed garlic and then add the garlic butter and wine. When butter starts to bubble, add clams and mix around until clams are coated. Add lemon juice, and toss to coat. Place pasta in a serving bowl, and top with the clam mixture.
Cut toasted bread into slices and brush with garlic butter. Garnish with Parmesan, parsley and crushed red pepper. Serve with a lemon wedge.
Garlic Butter:
Melted unsalted butter
Lemon juice
Minced fresh garlic
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Crushed red pepper
White wine
Parsley

Old Dogs

2010-01-09T10:36:00.000-08:00

As you guys may or may not know sometimes when I style for a movie It can take up to a couple of years until it is finally released which is the case with the new Disney movie called Old dogs starring John Travolta & Robin Williams. The movie was originally shot in New York City but the reshoots were done right here in Los Angeles. The reason for reshoots can be continuity problems or if a line is accidentally left out of the movie. We filmed part of the reshoots at Santa Ana Zoo and Griffith Park.For the scene I prepared hot dogs , ice cream and cotton candy for different food carts. The parks were actually meant to double for Central Park and looked amazing I was totally blown away by how great Santa Ana Zoo is. It is definitely one of Santa Ana's best kept secrets so check it out if you get chance. For Old Dogs We also recreated a sushi restaurant which was quite a challenge considering the original restaurant the scene was filmed at had closed down. I love being a food stylist and getting creative so of course it was no problem for me and my crew to match photos from the restaurant and recreate it perfectly. Working on Old Dogs was a wonderful experience and lot of fun to style for. Old Dogs is now playing in theaters.

Hot Dogs & Homemade Relish

Ingredients
• 8 link hot dogs
• Assorted mustards (brown, horseradish, sweet and hot, Dijon, etc.)
• Ketchup
• Best-quality hot dog buns
• Homemade Pickle Relish, recipe follows

Directions
Heat grill to high. Grill the hot dogs until golden brown on all sides. Place in buns and top with your favorite mustard and the homemade pickle relish.
Homemade Pickle Relish:
1 1/2 cups cider vinegar
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
2 tablespoons sugar
8 large dill pickles (sour, not half-sour), finely diced
1 small red pepper, grilled, peeled, seeded, and finely diced
1 small yellow pepper, grilled, peeled, seeded, and finely diced
1 small white onion, finely diced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
Bring vinegar, mustard seeds, and coriander seeds to a boil in a medium non-reactive saucepan on the grates of the grill; cook until reduced by half and slightly syrupy. Remove from the heat, add the remaining ingredients, and gently toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

Sand Point Alaska

2010-01-06T15:26:00.000-08:00

Sand Point is a very small island on the Aleutian chain, But some really big stuff comes out of there, like the sounds that D.J. Sharon spins on the local radio show and the Million pounds of delicious wild salmon that my honey catches on the Sea King the boat he fishes on. I've been visiting Alaska every summer for a number of years and I absolutely adore the fishing community. You can catch a glimpse of me in the picture above sailing the sea on a genuine Alaskan fishing boat. When I visit Alaska I stay on a small island on the Aleutian chain called Sand Point. Sand Point is also known as Qagun Tayagungin it is located in the Aleutians East Borough and almost half of the 952 inhabitants are of Aleut decent mainly from Qagun Tayagungin tribe. Spending time on the island is truly wonderful I've met so many interesting people on the island including D.J. Sharon. D.J. Sharon started working at the sand Point Radio station in 1996 and was on the general radio from 1999 to 2000. After that she moved to Anchorage but still d.Js in Sand point for k.S.D.P. on the weekends. She is my very favorite D.J. so be sure to check her out. Another one my favorite things about Sand Point has got to be the mouth watering wild salmon that comes from just off the coast. There is nothing like it and wild salmon has the most wonderful taste especially when it can be prepared just after being caught. Here is another great recipe.

Garlic & Dill salmon

Ingredients

2 (1.5 pound) salmon fillets
1 head garlic, peeled
1 ounce fresh dill, chopped
1/2 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon salt and pepper to taste

Directions

In a food processor, process garlic to a rough mince, add dill and olive oil and pulse a few times to combine.
Lay fish fillets in a baking dish, skin side down. Rub garlic mixture over fish. Refrigerate for 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees F).
Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Do not overcoo

Three Rivers

2010-01-04T09:41:00.000-08:00

Three rivers is a new show I recently got the opportunity to style for. It premiered October 4, 2009 on CBS. It's a medical drama about a fictional hospital specializing in transplants. For the series My crew and I styled an upscale roomservice scene. I prepared chicken breasts, mac & cheese, sauteed potatoes and delicious fruit salad.It was wonderful being on set and I must admit I love working on so many different types of shows it really allows me to style and prepare a variety of dishes. I also love playing with color and presentation because it's a great way to develop new techniques. Three Rivers was great to work on and I just wanted to give my friend and propmaster Angela O'neill a big thank you for having me style for her show so thanks again.

Mac & Cheese

Ingredients
• 2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni (an 8-ounce box isn't quite 2 cups)
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stuck) butter, cut into pieces
• 2 1/2 cups (about 10 ounces) grated sharp Cheddar cheese
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 (10 3/4-ounce) can condensed Cheddar cheese soup
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Directions
Boil the macaroni in a 2 quart saucepan in plenty of water until tender, about 7 minutes. Drain. In a medium saucepan, mix butter and cheese. Stir until the cheese melts. In a slow cooker, combine cheese/butter mixture and add the eggs, sour cream, soup, salt, milk, mustard and pepper and stir well. Then add drained macaroni and stir again. Set the slow cooker on low setting and cook for 3 hours, stirring occasionally.

Avatar Is Finally Here

2009-12-29T09:31:00.000-08:00

Avatar has finally arrived and I'm so excited that it's currently showing in theaters. Avatar is James Cameron's epic adventure movie that I had the wonderful opportunity to be a part of about a year ago. the movie is jam packed with a large well known cast it stars Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, and Siguerny Weaver to name a few. The movie focuses on a paraplegic marine dispatched to the planet Pandora on a unique mission but becomes torn between following his orders and protecting the world he feels is his home. The technology used for the graphics in the film are cutting edge and look absolutely amazing just like the food I styled for the movie. I know I blogged about Avatar a few months earlier but I urge you all to go see it in the theater and keep your eyes peeled for the futuristic freeze dried vacuum packed tofu I made for the movie. Making the tofu was a bit of challenge but experimenting with many different ways to pack the tofu was a blast. I can't wait for guys see Avatar I expect you will enjoy seeing it as much as I enjoyed styling for it. Here is a really cool vegetarian/vegan recipe for ravioli.

Tofu Raviolis

Ingredients

1 pkg won ton wrappers (or vegan pasta dough rolled out)
1 lb extra firm tofu
1/2 lb fresh spinach finely chopped
5 oz mushrooms chopped
1/2 a red bell pepper finely chopped
1 large bunch chives or scallions chopped fine
1/3 c. gr sunflower seeds (use spice grinder)
4-6 sundried tomatoes soaked in boiling water
3-4 baby carrots finely grated
3 Tbsp nutritional yeast flakes (optional)
1 tsp crushed rosemary
2-3 cloves garlic crushed
splash of lemon juice
soymilk to thin
fresh cracked pepper to taste
sea salt to taste

Directions

Mill sunflower seeds into meal consistency then set aside
Drain sundried tomatoes and finely chop
Blend sliced tofu, lemon juice, sea salt, nutritional yeast and soy milk until ricotta like consistency in a food processor OR by hand (NOT a blender - you'll get paste!)
FINELY dice tomatoes, red peppers, and chives
Blend with tofu mixture by hand with a fork just until well mixed
In a small bowl combine tofu mixture with remaining ingredients and mix until thoroughly combined
Place a scant 1 Tbsp of mixture in center of wonton wrapper (or other vegan ravioli dough rolled out). Wet, crimp and seal edges of wrapper SECURELY (or the wrapper will open in the pan and contents will spill out)
Cook a few at a time in your vegetable steamer making sure to not crowd pan or they will stick to each other and be glue-ey
Keep warm on a covered dish while the remainder cook
Toss with a bit of olive oil when they are cooked to prevent sticking
Top with a little fresh chopped parsley or cilantro, your favorite sauce and vegan parmesan cheese as desired

European trip Day#2

2009-12-12T10:28:00.000-08:00

I'm so excited to let everyone in on the wonderful trip I was blessed to have taken last summer. I was able to keep a journal documenting all the fantastic experiences I had while in Germany and Austria. I know there is a slight delay on posting my journal on the blog but these last couple of month's have been jam packed with projects and wonderful movies I'll be blogging about soon. I hope you all enjoy reading about my trip as much as I enjoyed taking it.

Here is where I left off from the last post...

Journal Entry #2
Last Summer's European Trip
The next morning I could barely believe I was waking up in Germany. I started my day at 5 a.m. and was rearing to go. I did the tourist thing and went sightseeing. We went to The Frauenkirche, Karlstor, Burgersaal. In between, we stopped for lunch. I dined on sauerkraut & sausage and finally had my first Bavarian beer. It was wonderful. Next we saw Altes Rathaus, Residenz, and of course St. Mic hael's Cathedral. I was completely blown away by how gorgeous everything was. Time flies by when exploring something new. It is really quite inspiring and gave me million ideas I can't wait to incorporate into my food styling. That night I dined on the most wonderful Bavarian pork loin with mushrooms in a cream sauce, and tender veggies. The food was spot on.

Bavarian Pork Loin

Ingredients

4 boneless pork sirloin chops

2 to 3 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons cooking oil, divided

1/2 cup seasoned flour

1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced

1 bunch scallions, sliced

1/2 teaspoon thyme

1 can dark beer, room temperature

1 to 2 Tb. sour cream, optional

Preparation In 1 tablespoon of oil, saute garlic; then lightly flour pork and brown until golden. Remove pork and set aside. In same skillet, add another tablespoon of oil; saute scallions and mushrooms. Return pork to pan; sprinkle with thyme. Add 8-12 oz beer, depending on thickness of cut; bring to boil. Cover and simmer 8 minutes for thin, 15-20 minutes for thick. Spoon sauce over meat to serve. For a richer sauce, add 1 or 2 tablespoons sour cream just before serving. Pork Recipe serves 4.

European Trip Day #1

2009-12-07T12:51:00.000-08:00

Journal Entry Day #1

I'm leaving today headed for Munich, traveling on Air France flight #65. I can barely believe it but the airplane food was pretty good as you can see in the picture above since it photographed wonderfully. I am so over joyed I have never been to Munich and can't wait to experience the culture and food with my good friend Ruth. I love food styling and being on set but couldn't wait to take a vacation with a little business mixed in - a couple of speaking engagements.

I'm now giving lectures about being a culinary chief and food stylist in the movie biz. In my lectures I discuss diverse culinary opportunities and give a sense of the many types of jobs you can perform as a professionally trained culinary chief both in and out of the entertainment industry.

After many many hours on the plane, Ruth and I finally arrived. We landed in Paris and changed our money to Euros. From Paris we caught our connecting flight to Munich and were ever so delighted to have made it to the lovely Kings Hotel in Munich. Since the creme brulee I had on the flight left such a sweet taste in my mouth I thought you all should enjoy it as well.

Creme Brulee

Ingredients

1 quart heavy cream

1 vanilla bean, split and scraped

1 cup vanilla sugar, divided

6 large egg yolks

2 quarts hot water

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Place the cream, vanilla bean and its pulp into a medium saucepan set over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat, cover and allow to sit for 15 minutes. Remove the vanilla bean and reserve for another use.

In a medium bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup sugar and the egg yolks until well blended and it just starts to lighten in color. Add the cream a little at a time, stirring continually. Pour the liquid into 6 (7 to 8-ounce) ramekins. Place the ramekins into a large cake pan or roasting pan. Pour enough hot water into the pan to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake just until the creme brulee is set, but still trembling in the center, approximately 40 to 45 minutes. Remove the ramekins from the roasting pan and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 3 days.

Remove the creme brulee from the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes prior to browning the sugar on top. Divide the remaining 1/2 cup vanilla sugar equally among the 6 dishes and spread evenly on top. Using a torch, melt the sugar and form a crispy top. Allow the creme brulee to sit for at least 5 minutes before serving.

European and Cross Country Trip

2009-12-01T13:19:00.000-08:00

Hi guys I know it's been a while but I've been doing some serious traveling up until now. These last six months or so have been extremely busy. I went from Los Angeles to Munich flew home for a couple of days then off to Alaska. A few days after Alaska I drove cross country to Philadelphia to work on the new James L. brooks movie which I not only do the food styling for but star in as well. Back home again for a few more days then again to Philly where me and my crew wrapped the movie. I then packed up my equipment into my new second mobile kitchen and made my way back to Hollywood. This past summer was definitely non stop but I had the most wonderful experiences. While in Germany and Austria I managed to fulfill a few speaking engagements .I'm very pleased to say I'm now available in the U.S to give lectures to culinary schools so for more info go to my website at HollywoodFoodstyling.com. I'm so excited I can now let you guys in on What I've been up to and can't wait to share my European trip. I kept a journal while abroad and promise I'll be blogging regularly. In the meantime you can keep busy with this great recipe for Austrian Schnitzel.

Austrian Schnitzel

Ingredients:

4 veal cutlets (traditional) pounded to 1/4 inch thickness (about 5 oz. each) (you may use chicken or pork, as well)
1/4 c. flour (all purpose or brown rice)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. bread crumbs
2 eggs
Oil or lard for frying (lard is traditional)

Preparation:

To pound meat thin you may want to place the cutlet between sheets of plastic wrap for easier washing up. Use a heavy, flat-surface pan to pound if you don’t have a meat mallet.
Pound the meat evenly to 1/4 inch thickness for best results.
Do not press the bread crumbs into the meat. The crust should not adhere completely, but form a loose shell around the schnitzel.
Make sure the breaded meat “swims” in fat. Contrary to instinct, the breading will take on less oil than if the meat is sticking to the pan. Also, the breadcrumb topping has a chance to puff up a little, and your clean up is easier!
Set up 3 shallow dishes. Place the flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt in one and breadcrumbs in another. Beat eggs well and place in the third dish.

Heat at least 1/4 inch of oil in the pan to 350°F.

Working one at a time, dredge cutlets first in flour until the surface is completely dry. Dip in egg to coat, allow the excess to drip off for a few seconds and then roll quickly in the breadcrumbs until coated. Do not press breadcrumbs into the meat. Place meat immediately in the pan with the hot oil. Do not crowd the pan. Cook the schnitzel in batches, if necessary.

Fry the schnitzel for 3-4 minutes on one side. You may want to swish them around a little with your fork to make sure they are not sticking to the pan. Turn them over once and fry until both sides are golden brown. Remove from pan, allow the oil to drain off, place on a plate with lemon slices and potato salad or green salad and serve.

November Newsletter

2009-11-06T15:30:00.000-08:00

Hello Everyone,

I hope you have had a wonderful year. I've had a great season and just wanted to give you a little update on my 2009. A lot of exciting things have been happening at HollywoodFoodStyling.com like becoming a bi-coastal Food Stylist, starting a series of Culinary School Lectures and thanks to the lovely and talented cook book author Joann Cianciulli having the opportunity to guest judge for Bravo's Top Chef Masters.

This has been an extremely productive and busy summer for me. I was even blessed enough to take a wonderful trip to Europe. I traveled through Germany and Austria and managed to fulfill a few speaking engagements while abroad. I truly enjoyed my travels and will be updating you further via my blog at StarFoodStylist.blogspot.com about the experiences I had overseas.

As you may know, there are a number of amazing shows that I'm lucky enough to work on and I just wanted to give a huge congratulations to all who won an Emmy this year. Congratulations to Pushing Da isies "Best Set Design" for the episode "Dim Sum and Lose Some" pictured above and to the left. Pushing Daisies is such wonderful show and even though it has been off the air for almost a year the phenomenon continues. A big Thank You to Prop master Jeffrey Johnson and set decorator Halina Siwolop for hiring me for the food scenes and giving me the opportunity to be apart of such a great show. Also congratulations to "How I Met your Mother" for the "Best Comedy" nomination.

Changes have been occurring in the motion picture industry since last year and like most businesses the studios have had to make budget cuts and downsize. A lot of shows are filming out of state to save money, so we felt it was time to make some changes too. It is always our goal to support Prop Masters and their assistants with safe and healthy foods no matter how demanding or complex the food scenes may be. We take pride in the fact that actors always have all their dietary needs met and that continuity exists while working with real food products. That said, Hollywood Food Styling decided to become a bi-coastal business so we could continue to work with crews near and far. Though my company is still based on the West Coast we have a 1000 ft commissary and a great professional team now available on the East Coast. This summer my son Quinn and I had some interesting adventures while driving cross country on Route 66 on our way to work on the amazing new James L Brooks movie which filmed in Philadelphia. I'll tell you more about it via my blog.

I'm glad to have let you in on some of the exciting things that have happened this summer and will have plenty more to share in my blog. For any additional information about me Chris Oliver be sure to check out my website at HollywoodFoodstyling.com and my blog at StarFoodStylist.blogspot.com for the latest updates on what shows and movies I'm currently styling in addition to a ton of great recipes.

Community With Pictures

2009-09-18T12:44:00.000-07:00

If you can recall I worked on this great NBC pilot Community. Community can be described as stripes at a community college and stars Joel McHale as a lawyer who returns to college after his degree is deemed invalid. SNL alum Chevy Chase is also in the cast and plays a student that has been married five times. I'm excited I can finally let you guys in on the cafeteria scene I styled. The set looked great and the food stayed true to what a college cafeteria looks like. There were hot dogs, fried chicken and of course the great American classic 'mac & cheese' and boy was there a ton of fruit. With so much color the challenge is always in the visual balance of the foods arrangement. The premise of the show combined with the set dressing of the cafeteria really gave off a comedic tone for the scene. I have a great recipe below for fried chicken. I hope you enjoy it!

Fried chicken

Ingredients

1 broiler/fryer chicken, cut into 8 pieces

2 cups low fat buttermilk

2 tablespoons kosher salt

2 tablespoons Hungarian paprika

2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Flour, for dredging

vegetable shortening, for frying

Directions

Place chicken pieces into a plastic container and cover with buttermilk. Cover and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours.

Melt enough shortening (over low heat) to come just 1/8-inch up the side of a 12-inch cast iron skillet or heavy fry pan. Once shortening liquefies raise heat to 325 degrees F. Do not allow oil to go over 325 degrees F.

Drain chicken in a colander. Combine salt, paprika, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper. Liberally season chicken with this mixture. Coat chicken in flour and shake off excess.

Place chicken skin side down into the pan. Put thighs in the center, and breast and legs around the edge of the pan. The oil should come half way up the pan. Cook chicken until golden brown on each side, approximately 10 to 12 minutes per side. More importantly, the internal temperature should be approximately 180 degrees. (Be careful to monitor shortening temperature every few minutes.)

Drain chicken on a rack over a sheet pan. Don't drain by setting chicken directly on paper towels or brown paper bags. If you need to hold the chicken before serving, cover loosely with foil but avoid holding in a warm oven, especially if it's a gas oven.

Deadwood

2009-07-07T08:47:00.000-07:00

Deadwood, an HBO show has been one of my favorites to watch and lucky me, I even got to work on it! It's been a few3 seasons since it's been on the air but I caught myself thinking about what a pleasant and unique time I spent styling for Deadwood. The best part of working on Deadwood was that no matter what scene I was doing the food had to be absolutely authentic looking for the specific time period. Details, like the color of the food had to be just right and whatever fruit or vegetable used had be indigenous to that time and location. It sometimes was a bit of a challenge. Finding certain produce required for Deadwood was a feat in itself but me and my crew always pulled off every last detail no matter how specific the request. I really miss working on deadwood it had a really great cast & crew and I always enjoyed how well written and thought out the food scenes I got to style were. As you can imagine attention to detail was payed in every aspect of the show. The Deadwood sets were indeed straight out of the wild wild west and filming was in the middle of nowhere with snakes and all sorts of scary critters. I can safely say the location where we filmed at really did set the ambiance for the show, it was quite the adventure. Since I had such a great time filming on set in the wild west I thought you all might have a go at making this delicious trail recipe .

Chuck Wagon Stew

2 lb. beef chunk, 1 1/2 inch cubes
2 tsp. flour
2 tbsp. fat
2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. thyme
1 bay leaf
2 tomatoes, quartered
1 green pepper, cut in pieces
1 c. beef stock or 1 can condensed beef broth
1 c. water
6 sm. potatoes, halved
6 sm. carrots, halved
6 sm. whole onions
3 or 4 stalks green celery, cut in large slices
1 c. peas

Dust meat lightly with flour; thoroughly brown on all sides in hot fat, turning often. Add next 10 ingredients. Cover; simmer over low heat until meat is almost tender, 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Add potatoes, carrots, onions and celery. Cover; cook 30 minutes longer. Add peas; cook 15 minutes or until vegetables are done. Serves 6 to 8.

Top Chef Masters featuring me "Chris Oliver" food stylist as a guest judge

2009-07-01T16:36:00.000-07:00

I was absolutely thrilled when I was contacted by Bravo to participate as a guest judge on an episode of Top Chef Masters, the spinoff of the celebrated show Top Chef. I've been in the culinary industry since the 80's and to this day it’s flattering to be recognized by the ‘best of the best’ for my food styling expertise.

It’s funny to think back to when I started out at “Gladstone’s for Fish”, a cool restaurant on the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu where I met my mentor, Emerson Holmes. Emerson really believed in me and happened to be one of the founders of the Culinary Institute of America (where I later became an alum). Becoming a chef, having a great mentor, graduating from the Culinary Institute of American and parlaying my experience into a successful career as an on camera food stylist has been quite a ride. I’ve even recently put a couple speaking engagements on my calendar this year. Who would’ve guessed Chris Oliver would be a guest speaker? Life is full of surprises!

Did I digress? Well, it tends to happen. So, Top Chef Masters pits 24 of the country's most successful and renowned chefs against each other in groups of four for weekly competitions. Guest judges sample and judge the food on presentation and taste. I was asked to be a guest judge along with the lovely stylist and cookbook author Joanne Chenchuly and food photographer Christina Peters for an episode that tested the chefs’ skills with different colored foods. Ludovic Lefebvre made Steak Tartare with watermelon, red onions and red beet gazpacho. Cindy Pawlcyn made Yellow Vegetable Curry over corn with grits with fried corn tortillas. Rick Bayless prepared a vegetarian dish made with roasted vegetables and mole verde with tomatillos, green chilies & pumpkin seeds. The final contestant, Wilo Benet, prepared Smoked Salmon Tartare with coconut milk & tomato paste sauce which proved a winning combination and was ultimately awarded first place! In honor of Wilo's win and a little homage to a seafood restaurant I used to work at, I thought a recipe for Salmon Tartare was in order. Enjoy!

Salmon Tartare

Ingredients:

1 lb. very fresh skinless salmon fillets
2 T freshly squeezed lemon juice
Fine sea salt to taste
3 firm, ripe tomatoes, cored, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 small onion
2 T fromage blanc (or substitute whole-milk yogurt)
4 T finely minced fresh garlic
Freshly ground white pepper to taste
1 cucumber, rinsed and trimmed

Directions:

1. Up to five hours before serving this dish, carefully cut the fish into 1/4 inch cubes. Transfer to a small bowl and toss with the lemon juice. Season to taste with salt. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until serving time.

2. Place the drained tomatoes in a fine-mesh sieve set over a bowl to drain. Season with salt, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until serving time.

3. At serving time, peel and very finely mince the onion. In a large bowl, combine the salmon , tomatoes, fromage blanc and chives. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.

4. Slice the cucumbers into thin rounds and arrange in an overlapping circle on a small salad plate Spoon the tartare on top of the cucumbers. Repeat for the remaining portions. Serve.

Serves Four

Paired with a tossed green salad, this tartare makes a perfect luncheon dish alone, or a great starter for spring and summer dinners

Hung Makes It's First Debut

2009-06-27T18:05:00.000-07:00

Hurray pilot season is finally here, I love working on new shows and have been working on a new HBO Pilot called Hung created by Dmitry Lipkin and Colette Burson. My crew and I got yet another great opportunity to get creative. It's always a fun challenge to arrange and visually balance food. As you can see from the buffet table above our mission was accomplished. The buffet looked amazing and had a ton of color. For the backyard BBQ scene I prepared a succulent rack of pork ribs, chicken, sausages and roasted bell pepper as you can see in the picture below. To the left you can see my hor d'oeuvre platter made of deli meat, gouda and provolone cheese and garnished with grapes. Hung focuses on Ray Drecker played by (Thomas Jane). He's a high school teacher and basketball coach who is underpaid, uninsured and bitter because his wife of twenty years (Anne Heche) left him. Ray enters a self help class whose mantra is to identify a personal winning tool to market for financial success. He decides to exploit his best asset in a final attempt to change his fortunes. Hung airs tonight on HBO and is sure to be packed full of comedy and fabulous on camera food. Be sure to Catch Hung if you can and enjoy this wonderful BBQ Pork rib recipe.

BBQ Pork Ribs

BBQ Sauce Ingredients

1/2 cup cider vinegar

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce

4 tablespoons paprika

2 tablespoons chili powder

2 tablespoons ground cumin

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons salt

2 tablespoon ground black pepper

1 tablespoon ground oregano

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon cayenne

Preparation
Mix spices, sugars and salt in a nonreactive bowl. Add remaining ingredients and mix well.
Brush ribs with sauce and let stand one hour. Heat barbecue on medium high. Turn pieces once during cooking. Brush with the remaining sauce. Cook for 35-45 minutes

Monk

2009-06-21T07:47:00.000-07:00

Monk has got to be one of the funniest lite hearted detective comedies to air now a days. Monk can be currently seen on the U.S.A Network and stars the very funny Tony Shalhoub. I've followed Monk for a little while and am pleased to say I was lucky enough to work on a upcoming episode. For my episode I had the unique opportunity to make a Popsicle. Sounds simple enough but you all would be extremely surprised to find how difficult it can be to keep the freezer containing the Popsicle at the proper temperature. I must admit keeping the Popsicle in a solid form may have been a bit of a challenge but after a little research I came up with a solution I would love to share. I found that 10 degrees is the perfect temperature to keep a Popsicle just right. The Popsicle won't melt and it's not solid enough to break a tooth. A very interesting fact about the origin of Popsicle's is that In 1905, Frank Epperson, then 11 years old, left a stir stick in a mixture of powdered soda and water out in the porch. That night, temperatures in San Francisco reached record low temperature. When Epperson woke the next morning, he discovered the drink had frozen to the stir stick, creating a fruit flavored 'icicle,' a treat he had named the Epsicle which eventually was renamed the Popsicle. I always find it fascinating how often a simple accident can change history. Since I had such a wonderful time making Popsicle's for Monk I thought I'd leave everyone with a simple and quick Popsicle recipe you can enjoy for the summer.

Strawberry Popsicles

Ingredients:

2 cups whole strawberries (topped)
1 cup milk
Sugar to taste

Preparation:

1. Place all of the ingredients into a blender, and blend until smooth.

2. Taste, and add sugar as needed.

3. Pour into popsicle molds and freeze.

(makes 6-8)

Avatar Coming Your Way

2009-06-13T23:32:00.000-07:00

Avatar is a really exciting James Cameron movie I styled a few months back. It's slated for release sometime this summer so I can finally tell everyone about the fantastic time I had being apart of this really great new feature. An interesting fact is that a very large portion of the movie was filmed in Australia but the reshoots were done right here in Los Angeles. The scene I styled required me to do my favorite thing which is get creative and have a great time. I got to make futuristic vacuum packed freeze dried tofu. It was fantastic I experimented with what seemed to be a million different ways to vacuum pack tofu. What fun it was and of course a really cool learning experience. I used glad bags, food savers and every thing in between just to get the overall look picture perfect. I'll let you guys have a little fun and leave it up to you to try and guess what product I ended up using for the film. The Avatar was written and directed by James Cameron and stars Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver and Michelle Rodriguez to name a few Avatar is of course set in the future and is about a band of humans pitted in a battle against a distant planets indigenous population, sounds exciting doesn't it? It was such a great experience working on this flick, I'm so excited and can hardly wait for you guys to see it! In the meantime I'll leave you with a great tofu recipe.

Miso Soup

Directions

4 cups water
1/3 cup miso
3 green onions (scallions), chopped
1 tbsp shredded nori OR wakame (seaweed)
1/2 block firm silken tofu, cut into 1 inch cubes
dash soy sauce (optional)
1/2 tsp sesame oil (optional)

Preperation
Bring water to a slow simmer and add seaweed. Allow to simmer at least 5-6 minutes. The longer you simmer the seaweed, the less of a salty fishy flavor it will have.

Reduce heat to very low and add the rest of the ingredients. Stir until miso is well dissolved. Its best not to boil the miso, as this will ruin some of it's healthy properties as well as change the flavor of the soup. Makes 4 servings.

Roomates

2009-06-10T12:00:00.000-07:00

Well guys I'm happy to say thing s are back in full swing . It was a tad bit slow for a little bit but things are picking up and I just wanted to share a couple projects I've been currently working on. The Roommate is one of my latest movies and I was absolutely thrilled to have anther great opportunity to work with one of my very favorite prop masters Tommy Tomlinson. The Roommate is a Screen Gems production. It takes place on a college campus and one of the places we shot was a frat house. The Roommate stars Minka Kelly & Leighton Meester, it's directed by Christian E. Christianson and is a crime/mystery/ thriller. I don't want to give away to much but what I can say is that I got to style a Thanksgiving dinner and three cafeteria scenes which I will update everyone on fully as soon as I can. I also have another movie which I've been styling for called (Easy A) which is another Screen Gems production. I'll definitely will be blogging about it in the future so keep your eyes peeled. I'm really excited about these up coming projects and so very extremely happy to be working. In honor of Screen Gems Here's another fun recipe for everyone to enjoy.

Orange Cranberry Gems

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
2/3 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup orange juice
1/3 cup butter, melted
2 teaspoons grated orange peel
3/4 cup dried cranberries or raisins
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions
In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, combine the egg, buttermilk, orange juice, butter and orange peel; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in cranberries and pecans.
Fill greased muffin cups three-fourths full. Bake at 375° for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to wire rack. Serve warm.

It's Austin Powers "Yeah Baby"

2009-06-07T09:51:00.000-07:00

I'm still amazed that so much of my food styling work is on syndicated TV. Just the other day I flipped on the tube and was greeted by an Austin Powers Marathon. I couldn't believe how long it had been since the movie premiered. I had a really fun and rewarding time working on the Austin Powers set. To this day, Austin Powers was one of my favorite films to work on. You should definitely catch the flick the next time it's on TV and of course keep an eye out for my food. The comedy stands the test of time especially when you're just in the mood to watch something light. Mike Myers is such a talent. I still remember watching his skits on Saturday Night Live. He really knows how to deliver a scene with impeccable comedic timing. The scene I styled was absolutely and undeniably ridiculous. Austin Powers enters the room totally naked. He is seen eating asparagus, which I of course prepared to look especially good on film which also had to double as an edible treat for Mike to eat. After the Austin Powers character visibly eats the asparagus he precedes to urinate then sniffs his pee. If you've seen Austin Powers, it's no secret the site gags are a huge part of what makes the comedy what it is. When I fondly reminisce about my Austin Powers experience, I am reminded how lucky I am to have a job I truly love. The on set food I created will stand the test of time and is forever captured on film. Austin Powers 1, 2 & 3 are now on DVD so if you get a chance, check it out and just enjoy the silliness of it all.

Asparagus with Balsamic Vinaigrette
ingredients
2 pounds asparagus stalks, washed and trimmed 3 tablespoons good-quality aged balsamic vinegar 2 tablespoons minced red onion
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
Coarse salt to taste

Blanch the asparagus in lightly salted boiling water for about 3 minutes or until crisp-tender; do not overcook. Remove from heat and refresh under cold water; drain well. Arrange asparagus on serving platter or individual serving plates.

In a bowl or jar, whisk together balsamic vinegar, red onion, olive oil, garlic, and pepper.

Spoon the vinaigrette over the asparagus, allowing a little to puddle on either side. Sprinkle lightly with coarse salt.

Makes 4 servings.

A New Pilot to Get Hung Up On

2009-06-02T13:03:00.000-07:00

I recently worked on a pilot called Hung. It was a great experience and I was lucky to work with an amazing cast and crew. Above is a picture of Thomas Jane, the show's star. Jane plays a high school coach going through a divorce with his ex wife (played by Anne Heche). In the process of trying to find himself he realizes his greatest attribute may be his physical endowment. It sounds pretty steamy to me and a little off beat, so you know it's gonna be a fun to watch. The scene I styled was a stunning backyard BBQ. We had chicken, ribs, steaks and of course all the fixings like mashed taters and fruit salad. I was really pleased with the outcome of the food translation on camera. My team did a great job. Hung was originally shot in Detroit, but I lucked out when they decided to do re-shoots in California, cause I got the opportunity to be apart of this wonderful new show, especially since things have been a little slow in LA lately -even with pilot season in full swing. So hopefully Hung shooting in LA is a sign that more shows will be coming back to Hollywood to shoot as well. I took some great on set shots of the food, so I'll fully update you with pictures from the pilot as soon as it airs . In the meantime enjoy this delicious Pork Roast recipe.

Crock Pot Pork Roast

Ingredients

4 large garlic cloves, quartered

1 pork loin roast, boneless, about 4 to 5 pounds

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground thyme

1/2 teaspoon dried leaf sage, crumbled

1/4 teaspoon rosemary, chopped

1/4 teaspoon dried tarragon, crumbled, optional

dash ground cloves or allspice

1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

1/3 cup water

3 tablespoons cornstarch, optional

3 tablespoons water, optional

preparation

Cut 16 small pockets into roast and insert garlic slices. In a small bowl combine salt, herbs, and lemon peel. Rub seasoning mixture into the roast. Pour 1/2 cup water into slow cooker; add the roast. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 to 10 hours. Pork roast should read at least 160° on an instant-read thermometer.

Serves 8.

If desired, thicken juices. Remove roast from juices. Combine cornstarch with the 3 tablespoons water; stir until smooth then stir into the crockpot juices. Cook on HIGH until thickened. Serve with the pork roast.

The 26th Annual Paley Fest Rocked the Archlight

2009-05-27T21:18:00.000-07:00

The Paley Festival held at the Arc Light Cinerama Dome has come and gone. The two week celebration of popular television definitely made it's mark on 2009. The fest was presented by The Paley Center for Media which was founded by William Paley. The Paley festival focuses on the preservation of our cultural heritage as expressed through television and radio. It's a an interactive festival that consists of viewings of popular TV shows accompanied by Q&A discussions with the cast and crew. Many of the shows I food style were honored guests at the fest and were recognized by The Paley Center as a very important part of our pop culture . Pushing Daisies, How I Met Your Mother, Brothers and Sisters and another one of my favorites, True Blood (the cast is pictured above) were all present. I was a little disappointed that I couldn't attend this year, but I'm so very proud of the cast and crews for representing their shows and carving out a piece of television history. There were many highlights. For instance, the screening of the last 3 episodes of Pushing Daises gave a fond farewell for the fans with previously unaired episode Kerplunk which helped to tie up a few loose ends. I also heard Pushing Daisies will be launching a comic book series later this year so the spirit of the show will carry on in one form or another. The True Blood cast was there to answer questions about their characters. Alan Ball, the shows creator spoke about Charlaine Harris the author who originally penned the StackHouse Novels. He spoke about the process of how he transitioned the book into a pilot and the character development that occurred during the transition. Anna Paquin and the cast explained when questioned that each one of them had worked very hard to land their roles. True Blood is a favorite among many and it definitely has a huge cult following. I'm looking forward to the new season and Alan Ball promises some great new plots as well as a new supernatural creature which will be joining Sookie and the vampires in Shreveport for season 2. True Blood makes its season premiere June 14 on HBO and season one is now on DVD so you can brush up on any missed episodes. In honor of True Blood's much anticipated return I'll leave you with a recipe for Southern Fried Catfish and a promise to blog more about True Blood as soon as the season is back in full swing.

Southern Fried Catfish
Ingredients

4-5 lbs catfish fillets

1 cup finely ground yellow corn meal

1 cup all purpose flour

2 tsp salt

½-¾ tsp ground black pepper

2 tsp granulated garlic

2 tsp granulated onion

ground cayenne pepper to taste

2 eggs, beaten

½ cup buttermilk

1 Tbsp Louisiana style hot sauce

oil for frying, enough to completely submerge fish

Directions

Heat oil to 375.

Rinse catfish fillets and place on paper towel to drain.
Place corn meal, flour, salt, black and red pepper, granulated garlic and granulated onion in a large shallow bowl and mix well.
Place eggs, buttermilk, and hot sauce in a bowl and mix well.
Soak catfish fillets in buttermilk/egg mixture for 5-10 minutes.
Remove fillets a few at a time from the buttermilk/egg mixture, shake off excess and roll in cornmeal flour mixture.
Fry in hot oil until golden brown. Season as necessary and serve up hot.

Note: I use catfish fillets for convenience. The fillets are simple to rinse and cook. If you like, you can use whole catfish. Try to avoid frozen fish. Select smaller fish such as Channel Catfish, dress and skin, leaving tails and fins on. Prepare as noted above.

CSI NY - Greek Street

2009-05-19T20:00:00.000-07:00

CSI New York is a thrill to work on because I'm always surprised with the interesting food scenes that come up for me to style. One day I might be working on a murder scene and the next I could be styling and dressing an outdoor market scene. I love the range. For my latest CSI challenge my crew and I 'recreated' a street in Greece. There were beautiful little cafes, stores and outside markets as you can see pictured above. I dressed the scene with wonderful fruits and vegetables, but everyone on a crew works hard to duplicate the essence of a particular country, town and street. Each team member pays attention to details like the pavement of the roads, the look of the shop windows and the age, color and style of cars and motor scooters that cruise by. CSI New York stars Gary Sinise and Melina Kanakaredes on CBS. Keep an eye peeled for my food and enjoy watching with this delicious hummus recipe.

Hummus With Tahini
Ingredients

2 1/2 cups of canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1/3 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/4 cup of tahini

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

1-2 tablespoons of olive oil

1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper

pinch of freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon of salt

1/3 cup of water

parsley and olive oil to garnish

preparation

Put 1/2 the lemon juice and all ingredients into the blender except the chickpeas (and the parsley and oil for garnish) and blend for 5 seconds. Add the chick peas and blend on high until it reaches the the consistency of sour cream, but granular, about 10-15 seconds. Blend in remaining lemon juice to taste. If the dip is too thick but you don't want to add more lemon juice, add a little water slowly and blend until it reaches the correct consistency.

Transfer to a serving bowl, cover and refrigerate for a few hours before serving. (It can be eaten immediately, but becomes even more flavorful if left to chill well.)

Drizzle of olive oil over the top and add a garnish of parsley or black olives before serving. Serve with pita wedges or slices of whole grain breads.

Obsessed

2009-04-29T12:08:00.000-07:00

All is fair in love and war so they say in Obsessed the new drama/thriller I just finished working on staring Beyonce Knowles, directed by Steve Shill. It was a challenge, but my crew and I put in 200% to make these gorgeous displays happen. The scene we styled for Obsessed was a very food elaborate Christmas scene. We made a ton of camera ready hors d'oeuvres as y ou can see above and below.To the left you can see me on set diligently putting together the centerpiece that was used in the movie and just below that you can see the fruit of my labors. I had a fantastic time working on this project. Obsessed is slated for release April 24th, 2009. The film focuses on an asset manager who has just received a huge promotion, is happy in his career and marriage, but trouble arises when a temp secretary starts stalking him. Everything he has worked so very hard for is placed in jeopardy. Here's a great fruit platter recipe for any occasion.
Fruit Platter
ingredients

2 small ripe melons

1 "golden" pineapple

2 bunches grapes

1 pint fresh figs

1 pint raspberries

1 pint strawberries

1 pint blueberries

1 red papaya

Directions

Peel the outside of a whole melon. Cut it in half through the stem end, and scoop out the seeds. Place the melon halves cut side down on a board, and slice them straight across into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Fan each half-melon out slightly and arrange it on the platter. Next, cut off the top and bottom of the pineapple, remove the skin, and use a sharp knife to remove the "eyes." Cut the pineapple in half lengthwise and remove the core by cutting a "V" down the center of each half. Again, place the pineapple halves, cut side down, on a board and slice them straight across into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Fan the slices out and arrange them next to the melon on the platter.

Once the base is set, you can add any kind of fruit that's available. I like to create some height with a large bunch of grapes. Then I add raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, and fresh figs in casual but organized groups. Then you can add flat green leaves around the outside of the fruit, to set off the colors. Use lemon and galax leaves from your florist, or fig leaves and grape leaves from your garden. Make sure they are pesticide-free and well washed.

Community Pilot

2009-04-22T14:48:00.000-07:00

Community is another great pilot I've been working on. The wonderful prop master Todd Ellis brought me onto the show. When I saw the call sheet before we started, I was excited to see the fabulous comedic actors cast in the show . There's Saturday Night live Alum Chevy Chase and Joel McHale from The Soup. The show is directed by Anthony and Joe Russo and can be seen on NBC. It is described as Stripes at a community college. It centers on Jeff (Joel McHale), a lawyer who is back in school after his college degree is deemed invalid. Chase plays another student at the community college who has been married five times. For Community, I styled a college cafeteria which I'll show you pictures for after it airs .I just wanted to give you all a sneak peak of what I've been working on. Here's a soup recipe I think you will enjoy.

Chicken Corn Chowder

Ingredients
5 bacon slices, chopped
1 tablespoon butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup chopped red or orange bell peppers (about 1 large)
1/4 cup all purpose flour
6 cups low-salt chicken broth
2 cups 1/2-inch cubes peeled seeded butternut squash
1 extra large or 2 medium russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
1 16-ounce bag frozen corn kernels
1 cup whole milk
1 cup diced skinned roast chicken (1/2 the rotisserie chicken)
1/2 plus 1/4 cup chopped green onions
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
salt & pepper

Cook bacon in large pot over medium-high heat until crisp. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels to drain. Pour off all but 1/4 cup drippings from pot. Add butter to pot; melt over medium-high heat. Add onions and 1/2 cup of bell peppers. Sauté until onions are soft, about 10 minutes. Add flour; stir 2 minutes. Mix in broth, then squash, potatoes, and thyme; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer uncovered until squash and potatoes are tender, about 12 minutes. Add corn, milk, and 1/2 cup bell peppers. Simmer until corn is tender, about 10 minutes. Add chicken, 1/2 cup green onions, and 1/2 cup cilantro; simmer 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Japanese Food & Saki Festival

2009-04-17T10:44:00.000-07:00

I've got to admit there are a lot of great perks being a food stylist. One is gorging yourself on exquisite cuisine prepared by master sushi chefs at the Japanese Food & Saki Festival where I was invited to attend as a special guest -before it was even open to the public. How cool is that? The fest held in Anaheim was absolutely fantastic. They had Kobe beef, Miso Soup, Sushi, and of course a ton of Saki (so we had to pace ourselves). I was completely fascinated by the mini sushi. There was yellowtail, salmon, octopus and tuna. The best known chinmi of Japan also known as 'delicacies' are pickled sea urchin roe (uni), pickled mullet roe (karasumi), and pickled sea cucumber guts (konowata) -which of course I tried. I love variety and I always taste dishes prepared by other chefs from other cultures. It was an inspiring experience and gave me a ton of great new ideas. The next time the festival comes to town I'll be sure to post something here so you can come too!

California Roll
Ingredients

4 cups sushi rice

4 sheets of nori (dried seaweed)

1 avocado

3/4 cup crab meat

2 tbsp mayonnaise

1/2 tsp salt

Preparation
Peel an avocado and cut it into strips. Put crab or imitation crab in a bowl and mix with salt and mayonnaise. Cover a bamboo mat with plastic wrap. Put a sheet of dried seaweed on top of the mat. Spread cooked sushi rice on top of the seaweed and press firmly. Sprinkle sesame seeds over the sushi rice. Turn the sushi layer over so that the seaweed is on top. Place avocado and crab lengthwise on the seaweed. Roll the bamboo mat forward, pressing the ingredients inside the cylinder-shaped sushi. Press the bamboo mat firmly with your hands, then remove the rolled sushi. Cut the sushi roll into bite-size pieces. Makes 4 rolls.

Paley Festival

2009-04-13T11:41:00.000-07:00

The Paley Fest is coming to town again and I thought you guys ought to know. The fest will be featuring many TV shows including Pushing Daisies , True Blood and Desperate Housewives all of which I have personally styled. I wish I could go to the fest but unfortunately I'll be unable to attend this year due to prior commitments, but hopefully some of you can make it! Presented by The Paley Center for Media founded by William Paley the Paley festival focuses on the preservation of our cultural heritage as expressed through television and radio. Basically what it consists of are viewings of popular TV shows accompanied by Q&A discussions with the cast and crew. Pushing Daisies is a show that I food styled numerous times and it was no surprise to me that it's once again part of the annual Paley Festival. It was announced that Bryan Fuller the shows creater will be screening the final three unaired episodes of pushing Daisies titled Window Dressed to Kill, Water and Power, and Kerplunk. You can catch the special screenings Sunday April 19th at 1pm at the Cinerama Dome at the Arclight in Hollywood. The Paley Fest begins April 10th and ends April 24th. In honor of Pushing Daisies being a part of the Paley Fest here's a recipe for candied flowers which can be used to garnish any cake or sweet treat.

Candid Fresh flowers

For candied flowers: 1 egg white, at room temperature

20 to 30 pesticide-free fresh flowers violets,

small roses,or Peruvian llies

Sugar for sprinkling

For candied zest: 2 oranges

1 lemon

1 1/2 cups plus 1/3 cup sugar

3/4 cup water

1 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Preparation

1. To make candied flowers, line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a bowl, beat the egg white until it is covered with a light foam. Using a clean, small paintbrush, lightly and evenly coat the flowers with egg white and sprinkle with sugar. If the sugar is absorbed after a few minutes, sprinkle again. Put the flowers on the prepared baking sheet and let dry at room temperature for 24 hours. Use your fingers to transfer them carefully to a cake. The candied flowers can be stored between layers of waxed paper in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

2
To make candied zest, thoroughly wash the oranges and lemon. Cut a slice from the blossom end of each fruit so it stands upright on a work surface. Working from top to bottom, use a small, sharp knife to cut strips of zest, leaving the white pith behind. Stack the strips and cut them lengthwise into narrow strips 1⁄4 inch wide. Bring a saucepan of water to a boil over high heat. Add the zest strips and cook for 5 minutes. Drain the zest, refill the pan with water and repeat.

3
In another saucepan over medium heat, bring the 1 1⁄2 cups sugar, 3⁄4 cup water and lemon juice to a boil, stirring occasionally. Add the zest strips, reduce the heat to very low (barely a simmer), and cook until the strips are translucent and tender, about 30 minutes. Using a fork, lift the strips from the syrup and place on a wire rack set over waxed paper, making sure that the strips are not touching. Let dry overnight at room temperature.

4
Put the 1⁄3 cup sugar in a small, wide bowl. Toss the zest, about 10 strips at a time, in the sugar. If not using the zest immediately, store in an airtight container at room temperature. It will keep for up to 1 month. Makes 20 to 30 candied flowers or about 1⁄2 cup candied zest.

5
Note: Candying flowers calls for uncooked egg whites. Small children, the elderly, pregnant women and people with compromised immune systems should not eat undercooked or raw eggs. If you are concerned about egg safety, use pasteurized whites in place of raw.

Hannah Montana

2009-04-05T12:00:00.000-07:00

I had a great time working on the set of Hannah Montana seasons one and two. Miley Cyrus is not only a very respectful young lady and a total sweetheart, she also happens to be extremely fun to work with. There were tons of food gags on Hannah Montana. I remember one time when I was called upon to make the food for a spaghetti fight. The kids on the show loved getting crazy and pelting each other with the pasta. The silly antics keep the show fun and lively. It's always a pleasure to work with that crew. You can catch Hannah Montana on the Disney Channel or the ABC network. Here's a quick and easy spaghetti recipe you'll enjoy.

Spaghetti Sauce
1 pound hamburger
1 onion chopped
1 clove garlic crushed
1 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried majoram leaves
1 bay leaf
1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste

Cook and stir hamburger, onion and garlic in 10 inch skillet until light brown,
drain and stir in remaining ingredients. Heat to boiling,reduce heat. cover
and simmer ocasionally stiring for 1 hour. Serve over hot spaghetti, sprinkle
with parmesan cheese.

King of Queens

2009-03-29T12:30:00.000-07:00

I was thrilled to be able to work on the last season of King of Queens. There was so much great stuff going on food wise and I was very happy to be there contributing. One job I did for the show was to dress the set for a food market scene. Me and my crew arranged the fruits, vegetables, and meats seen on camera. It was our job to make the scene look picture perfect and we did it with panache. The Actors were a ton of fun, easy to work with and loved food. It's a treat for me when I get to work with real 'foodies'. King of Queens focuses on a blue collared married couple. It stars Kevin James, Leah Remini, and Jerry Stiller. The show is currently in syndication so you can check it out on TBS or you can pick up seasons one through nine on DVD. In the spirit of everyday royalty, here's a recipe for you.

Chicken Ala King

3 tablespoons butter

1 cup fresh sliced mushrooms

1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

2 cups evaporated milk or half-and-half

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

3 cups diced cooked chicken

1/4 cup chopped pimiento

Melt butter in a medium saucepan. Add mushrooms and green pepper; cook for 5 minutes. Blend in flour, salt, and pepper. Continue stirring and cooking until smooth and bubbly. Gradually add milk and chicken broth, stirring constantly. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. If you'd like a thicker sauce, blend 2 tablespoons of cornstarch with 1/4 cup cold water; add to sauce, a little at a time, until desired thickness is reached. Cook for a few more minutes. Add chicken and pimiento; heat through. Serve on toast points or pastry shells or rice. Chicken a la King Recipe serves 6 to 8.

For My Fans

2009-03-26T13:34:00.000-07:00

Over the last year, I've really enjoyed sharing my experiences working as a food stylist on amazing movies and sitcoms. I'm very blessed to be apart of such a creative industry. I figured it was time to welcome you all to pick what I write about next. You are loyal and wonderful fans and I'd love for you to feel free to ask questions about any of the shows I've worked on over the years like; Jimmy Kimmel, Ugly Betty, Alley McBeal, CSI New York, Big Love, Everybody Loves Raymond, How I Met Your Mother, Dr.Phil, Friends, Tracy Takes On, Brothers and Sisters, Entourage , and of course Pushing Daisies -to name a few. For my complete Television and Film work history go to my website Hollywood Food Styling. I'm so excited to hear your feedback and look forward to writing about the shows that interest you. As you can see I've posted a picture above of one of my absolute favorite fruit displays featured on the hit show True Blood. Taking inspiration from this display I leave you with a recipe for Fruit Salad. Enjoy!

Fruit Salad

Ingredients:

6 peaches, peeled, pitted, and chopped

1 pound strawberries, rinsed, hulled, and sliced

1/2 pound seedless green grapes

1/2 pound seedless red grapes

3 bananas, peeled and sliced

1/2 cup granulated sugar, or less, to taste

juice of one lime

1/2 cup pineapple juice

1 teaspoon ground ginger

Preparation:

Combine chopped and sliced fruits in a large serving bowl; toss gently. Sprinkle with sugar. Whisk together remaining ingredients in a small bowl or 1 cup measure. Pour dressing mixture over fruit and toss gently to combine. Cover and chill the fruit salad thoroughly before serving.
This fruit salad recipe makes enough to serve about 10 to 12 people.

food network challenge

2009-03-23T11:45:00.000-07:00

Food Network Challenge is a new show that I was recently invited to appear on. Unfortunately, the timing was a little off and I was too busy with my different shows. However, I hope to be a part of it in the near future, because it's a cool concept.

Food Network Challenge can of course be seen on the Food Network. Twenty eight episodes are currently being shot for the new season and one of them features Food Stylists specifically. I can't wait to check out the food stylist episode when it airs. It's always great for me to see what other folks in my industry are doing.

The challenges are hosted in Denver Colorado. I absolutely adore Denver's amazing community and of course the skiing -which isn't' too far from town. It would have been a blast to make it out there. Well, perhaps another time.

Be sure to check out Food Network Challenge, because I know you'll have fun watching it. With that said, I leave YOU with a challenge. Can you whip up a Denver Omelet in ten minutes or less? Give it a shot. Here's a recipe...

Denver Omelet

4 large eggs

1 cup onion - chopped

1/2 cup red bell peppers - chopped

1/2 cup green bell peppers - chopped

1/2 cup cooked ham - diced

8 slices cooked bacon - drained and crumbled

2 Tablespoons butter

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

a couple drops drops of your favorite hot sauce (optional)

Melt butter in a large skillet or on a griddle.

Saute onion, bell pepper, ham and bacon in the butter until the onion starts to become opaque.

In a small bowl, whip the eggs lightly. Add salt and pepper and hot sauce if desired.

Slowly, stir the eggs into the mixture in the skillet. Lightly brown on one side. Turn over and lightly brown other side.

Voila!

Scorpian King

2009-03-19T11:05:00.000-07:00

What is old is new again. I was sitting home enjoying a little time off and while flipping through the channels I landed on The Scorpion King playing on the USA network. It had been so long, that I almost forgot that my food was in nearly every scene. There were platters of fruit, nuts, and dates that we made. There was even the scene in a camp with pigs and goats on spickets along with meat kabobs that my team spent hours preparing and styling.

It truly was an amazing display of food if I don't say so myself and it's pretty cool to think that since the beginning of time food has played such an important role. It's not only a necessity; it often serves as a part of the decor of an event, celebration and even a basic meal.

The Scorpion King starring Dwayne Johnson aka The Rock focuses on a desert warrior that rises up against an evil army that is destroying his homeland. He captures the key enemy sorceress, takes her deep into the dessert and prepares for the final showdown. From a scene straight out of Scorpion King, I give you Beef Kabobs.

Beef Kabobs
1 pound top round
1 large green, red, or yellow bell pepper, cut into 1 1/4-inch pieces
12 large mushrooms
1/4 teaspoon salt Seasoning
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon water or Red wine
2 teaspoons Dijon-style mustard
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1/4 teaspoon pepper

1. In large bowl, whisk together seasoning ingredient; add beef, bell pepper and mushrooms, tossing to coat. Alternately thread pieces of beef, bell pepper and mushrooms on each of the 12-inch metal skewers.

2. Meanwhile, place kabobs on rack in broiler pan so surface of meat is 3 to 4 inches from heat. Broil 9 to 12 minutes for medium rare to medium doneness, turning occasionally. Season with salt. Or grill over medium heat about 15 minutes, turn occasionally

Top Chef Masters

2009-03-15T12:20:00.000-07:00

I met Cat Cora's producer JoAnn last October and was elated to get to work with her again recently on a Dr Phil Valentines episode featuring Cat Cora and Cat's recipes from her fabulous cookbook Cooking From the Hip. JoAnn and I had a great connection and though I can't say much (because it's top sercret), I can tell you that JoAnn and I were both recently chosen along with a food photographer to judge a segment for an episode of the NEW show Top Chef Masters .

Top Chef Masters is a spin off of Top Chef the Emmy nominated Bravo series. Top chef Masters unites some of the brightest stars in the world of food. It features award winning, highly renowned chefs that compete against each other in a series of weekly challenges. We'll keep you posted as to when it airs and in the meantime I'll leave you with a classic salad recipe.

Chef Salad
Ingredients

-		8 cups salad greens, washed and torn into bite sized pieces
-		1 cup ham, julienne strips
-		1 cup turkey, julienne strips
-		1/2 cup green onion, chopped fine
-		1/2 cup celery, chopped fine
-		1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
-		1/2 cup Swiss cheese, julienne strips
-		1/2 cup cheddar cheese, julienne strips
-		2 eggs, hard boiled, peeled and sliced
-		1/4 cup bacon bits, for garnish
-		8 ounces salad dressing, of your choice

Directions

Prepare salad greens of your choice by washing and tearing them into bite sized pieces; place in a large bowl.

Toss the greens with remaining ingredients, reserving some julienned pieces of meat and cheese for garnish.

Just before serving, toss with a dressing of your choice and garnish with strips of meat, cheese and hard cooked egg slices

Were All In The Same Boat

2009-03-12T21:14:00.000-07:00

We're all pretty much in the same boat right now. No one can deny our economy is in a bit of a pickle. So, these days I feel extra fortunate for the TV shows I get to work on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Dr. Phil, The Suite Life, How I Met Your Mother , Nip/Tuck, True Blood, Heroes , Little Britain, My Name is Earl , Starter Wife, Private Practice, Leverage, Bones, Sons of Anarchy and CSI New York. These shows keep me afloat and I am so proud to be a part of them.

When it comes to film production in L.A., there have been a slew of cut backs and it's taking a toll on those who depend on the industry. So, we all need to keep our eyes on the prize, hang in there and appreciate what we do have. I'm lucky I have a job I love and fantastic crews that back me up. I'm definitely grateful for many things I have and thought I'd leave you with Charlie Chaplin's favorite recipe for Sour Cream Hot Cakes. Hope you enjoy.

Sour Cream Hot Cakes
2 cups sour cream 1 tsp salt
2 eggs ¾ cup flour
1 tsp soda
Stiffly beat egg whites, add yolks. Beat together; then add sour cream, soda and salt. Beat all together and add flour. This makes batter for approximately 30 small pancakes.

Heroes

2009-03-05T12:03:00.000-08:00

Heroes has got to be one of my favorite shows to work on as well as watch. From the back streets of Tokyo to the Tajmahal I get to show a range of food for anything and everything you could possibly imagine. I love working on this show and just adore the cast and crew. For those of you who may not know, I even appeared in the show twice. Once styling Monica's tomato rose and once as a cooking show host. I had a blast last doing what I love in front of the camera, but it's definitely a different experience than being behind the scenes.

Heroes is a combination of drama, science fiction, and action adventure. It's about people all over the world as they discover they have super powers. This awesome series revolves around their lives and the connections they have to one another. Heroes can be seen on NBC and now the BBC . The show stars Hayden Panettiere, Masi Oka, Jack Coleman, and Ali Larter just to name a few. If you like sandwiches like me, you'll be sure to enjoy my recipe for 'heros'.

Hero Sandwiches

Ingredients:

1 loaf french bread, unsliced

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 Tbsp. honey mustard

1 tsp. prepared horseradish

6 slices deli swiss cheese

8 slices deli smoked turkey

8 slices deli American cheese

8 slices deli sliced ham

1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced

1 tomato, thinly sliced

lettuce leaves

Preparation:

Cut bread in half lengthwise. In small bowl, combine mayonnaise, honey mustard and horseradish. Spread on both cut sides of loaf. Layer cheeses, meets, tomato and lettuce on bottom half of loaf. Replace with top half of loaf, securing with wooden skewers, if desired. Cut diagonally into slices to serve. Serves 8

Reno 911

2009-03-02T22:02:00.000-08:00

Reno 911 pokes fun at police reality shows as it follows the adventures of the Washoe County Sheriffs department and its inept officers played by Thomas Lennon/Lt Jim Dangle, Wendi McLendon Covey/deputy clementine Johnson, and Kerri Kenney Silver/Deputy Trudy Wiegel.

I had a great time working with the Reno 911 cast and crew while we worked on three different scenes at the Landmark Sportsmans Lodge known for it's bar, restaurant, banquet hall and of course ...lodging. Me and my crew styled a seafood restaurant, an Italian wedding reception and a room service scene. Our presentations looked amazing and it was great to see all eight of the lead actors eating my food. Reno 911 is a fun and upbeat show to work on. I expecially enjoy watching the actors ad lib between takes. They are real comedy heroes.

I have frequently shot movies and sitcoms on location at the Sportsman's Lodge for years and can say it was indeed a familiar friend. Sadly after failing to obtain a new lease it closed on December 31. I have many fond memories of the Sportsman's Lodge and I'm glad I got to visit before its closing. I know it will be missed by many including me, so be sure to catch a last look at the Sportsman's Lodge on Reno 911 now on Comedy Central and check out the first five seasons on DVD. Here's a fun recipe which speaks to the whole idea of a cop's favorite treat.

Homemade Doughnuts

1 1/3 cups warm milk, 95 to 105 degrees (divided)
1 packet active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
2 tablespoons butter
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
5 cups all-purpose flour (alternately, white whole wheat might work - haven't tried it yet)
A pinch or two of nutmeg, freshly grated
1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Place 1/3 cup of the warm milk in the bowl of an electric mixer. Stir in the yeast and set aside for five minutes or so. Be sure your milk isn't too hot or it will kill the yeast. Stir the butter and sugar into the remaining cup of warm milk and add it to the yeast mixture. With a fork, stir in the eggs, flour, nutmeg, and salt - just until the flour is incorporated. With the dough hook attachment of your mixer beat the dough for a few minutes at medium speed. This is where you are going to need to make adjustments - if your dough is overly sticky, add flour a few tablespoons at a time. Too dry? Add more milk a bit at a time. You want the dough to pull away from the sides of the mixing bowl and eventually become supple and smooth. Turn it out onto a floured counter-top, knead a few times (the dough should be barely sticky), and shape into a ball.

Transfer the dough to a buttered (or oiled) bowl, cover, put in a warm place (I turn on the oven at this point and set the bowl on top), and let rise for an hour or until the dough has roughly doubled in size.

Punch down the dough and roll it out 1/2-inch thick on your floured countertop. Most people (like myself) don't have a doughnut cutter, instead I use a 2-3 inch cookie cutter to stamp out circles. Transfer the circles to a parchment-lined baking sheet and stamp out the smaller inner circles using a smaller cutter. If you cut the inner holes out any earlier, they become distorted when you attempt to move them. Cover with a clean cloth and let rise for another 45 minutes.

Bake in a 375 degree oven until the bottoms are just golden, 8 to 10 minutes - start checking around 8. While the doughnuts are baking, place the butter in a medium bowl. Place the sugar and cinnamon in a separate bowl.

Remove the doughnuts from the oven and let cool for just a minute or two. Dip each one in the melted butter and a quick toss in the sugar bowl. Eat immediately if not sooner.

Makes 1 1/2 - 2 dozen medium doughnuts.

Dr Phil &Cat Cora

2009-02-27T12:45:00.000-08:00

I was recently called to work on The Dr.Phil show to create a gorgeous vegetable display. Why? Well, in this particular episode, Dr.Phil was sharing the benefits of a healthy diet. Featured in a kitchen setting Dr Phil was joined by Cat Cora from Iron Chef to help explain the fundamentals of a well balanced diet. They were sampling a couple of stress reducing recipes from Dr Lawlis' new cookbook. Dr. Lawlis' book focuses on eating healthy and feeling better. It contains information about a number of foods sources rich in omega 3s or good fats. These foods when regularly eaten can help combat stress and aid in brain function, memory and learning.

My team and I had a great time arranging healthy and wholesome examples of delicious foods you can eat to feed your brain. A lot of people aren't aware of how easy it can be to prepare tasty food that keeps you healthy. Salmon, flax seed, winter squash, walnuts, soy foods, Quinoa, bell pepper and spinach are good sources for getting your omega 3s and nutrients.

I'm a big believer in DIY when it comes to heart healthy foods. I've had fresh vegetables growing in my backyard for years. So, I pick tomatoes right off the vine, grab a head of lettuce for dinner, pull some basil and rosemary leaves to season a salad, cooked veggies or some fish and voila, there's a meal. You can do it too!

My team and I always enjoy working on Dr.Phil's show, but this show topic was a special bonus because it gave us the opportunity to be creative and set the tone for a healthy and feastable spread. For those of you who are new found fans of salmon and its omega 3 value, here's a recipe for that fabulous fish on a bed of spinach.

Salmon Fillets Marinated with Lemon & Dill

Ingredients:

4 salmon steaks or fillets

Marinade:

juice of 1 large lemon or 2 small lemons

1 teaspoon lemon zest

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 teaspoon dried fresh or dried dill

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp cayenne pepper

Preparation:

Place salmon in a shallow, non-reactive dish. Combine marinade ingredients; pour over salmon. Cover and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours. Grill salmon directly over medium coals, basting with marinade, for about 4 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily.
Serves 4.

Spinach Salad
4 cups fresh spinach
2 small red tomatoes diced
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup feta cheese crumbles
1/4 of 1 finely chopped onion
1 cup of sliced raw mushroom

Preparation
1)thoroughly wash all produce before use
2) combine the above ingredients in a large bowl
3Mix 4 tbsp balsamic vinegar and 1 tbsp of olive oil
4) add desired amount of salt and black pepper to taste
5) Toss dressing into the salad
6) place salad on the plate then put your salmon fillet on top of your spinach salad
7) garnish salmon with lemon rind and a sprig of dill

CSI NY Miracle Fruit

2009-02-23T10:30:00.000-08:00

Leave it to the creative minds behind the CBS crime drama CSI New York to create an episode centering around the miracle fruit. The miracle fruit or miraculin changes the perception of taste by causing sour things to taste sweet The exact cause for this change is unknown but its believed to distort the shape of our sweetness receptors . I had a great time working with this premise. It's always fun staging a scene that has a little grit to it. A pretty cool aspect of of my job is that I get to create a visual picture that narrates a story, in this case a disheveled crime scene as you can see . Set in the Big Apple CSI NY follows a team of forensic investigators Gary Sinise and Melina Kankaredes as they use high tech science to follow the evidence and solve crimes. If you like a good a case of who done it like me you can catch CSI Wednesday nights, so be sure to tune in and watch . Inspired by the mysterious miraculin fruit why not enjoy my favorite crime drama while sipping on a crisp and refreshing Apple Martini.

SOUR APPLE MARTINI
2 oz citrus vodka
1/2 oz Dekuyper Sour apple pucker Schnapps
1/2 o z Cointreau orange liqueur
3/ 4 oz fresh lemon juice
Assemble all ingredients in a cocktail shaker and shake well with ice.
Strain into a chilled cocktail glass, garnish with a slice of apple, and serve.

My Name Is Earl / Creepy Crawlers

2009-02-17T15:45:00.000-08:00

Earl, played by Jason Lee has taken one too many wrong turns on the highway of life. A twist of fate changes Earls life permanently when he wins the lottery, which leads to his decision to right the wrongs from his past. Recently, I had a fun premise to work with when I was asked to create edible crickets and other creepy crawlers. We decided to make them from marzipan. It was a challenge, but me and my crew made it work on camera. In the scene, while actually mailing themselves to Earls ex wife Joy (Jaime Pressly), the two brothers manage to get stuck in a crate and instead of go hungry, Earl and his brother Randy played by Ethan Suplee get to eat these inventive Fear Factor type creations. There's plenty of antics , drama and of course laugh out load comedy, so be sure to catch My Name Is Earl on Thursday nights on NBC or on TBS Monday nights. Here's a fun recipe I thought everyone might enjoy.

Creepy Crawly Chocolate Mud Cups

Ingredients

Chocolate cookie dough from scratch, see recipe below or 1(18 ounce) package of chocolate cookie dough
3 (4 ounce) containers chocolate pudding
1 1/2 cups crushed chocolate sandwich style cookies, crumbs
Gummy worms
Chocolate cookies
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 ounces unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened
1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cups finely chopped walnuts or pecans, optional

Preparation:

Sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt together. Set aside.

Cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in vanilla.

On low speed, beat in flour mixture a little at a time, until well blended and smooth. Stir in chopped walnuts.

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease 12 muffin cups.

Remove dough from wrapper and shape into 12 balls.

Press into bottoms and up the sides of muffin tin to create a cup

Bake about 10 minutes, or until set on the outside but gooey in the middle.

Gently press down with a spoon in the center to creat a hollow again.

Cool in pan 10 minutes.

Remove cups from pan.

Fill each cup with pudding and sprinkle with cookie crumbs.

Top with gummy worms.

Dr Phil Valentines Day

2009-02-12T14:25:00.000-08:00

It's Valentines day and love is in the air at Dr Phil. Featuring the beautiful Cat Cora from Iron chef the show focuses on a Valentines day feast. I always have such a great time working on the Dr Phil show I just wanted to thank
producer JoAnn who follows Cats recipes to the tee and always gives me complete control to style the way I want. On the left is a picture of me and Cat Cora on the set of Dr Phil. To the right is a picture of the phenomenal spread I got to create for Valentines day. If you don't know what to get your sweetheart go to DrPhil.com from perfume and truffles for her to high tech gadgets and sporting gear for him Phil and wife Robin share their favorite gift giving ideas plus what heart felt ideas touched them the most. For a wonderful Valentines dinner I suggest this great recipe from Cat Cora's new book Cooking from the hip as seen on Dr Phil.

Cat Cora's Valentines Dinner
Spicy Ancho-Cocoa Soup with Fresh Cilantro
Makes about 6 servings
1 TBS extra virgin olive oil
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 carrot, sliced
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 medium zucchini, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 ancho chili pepper, seeds removed, sliced
3 TBS unsweetened cocoa powder
1 TBS all-purpose flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 quart chicken or vegetable broth
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Low-fat sour cream/crème fraiche
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Finely grated chocolate, for garnish
Over medium high heat, heat olive oil in large soup pot and stir together onions,
carrots, celery, zucchini, and peppers about 3-4 minutes, or until onions sweat.
In small bowl, combine cocoa powder, flour, cinnamon, and cumin, and sprinkle
into vegetable mixture. Pour in chicken/vegetable broth, bring to a boil over
medium-high heat, stirring constantly.
Once soup reaches a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally, 5 to 10
minutes or until soup thickens slightly and veggies are tender.
In batches, puree soup in food processor or blender until smooth. Season to
taste with salt and pepper, and serve immediately in bowls with sour
cream/crème fraiche on top, sprinkled with fresh cilantro and grated chocolate.

Cocoa-Chile Beef Tenderloin
Serves 8
1 whole beef tenderloin, (3 1/2 pounds) cut into - inch long strips
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 TBS cocoa chili blend
1 tsp sea salt
Rub the tenderloin with salt and pepper first so that is stays on the beef. Then
rub the beef with the cocoa-chili spice blend and 1 tsp salt until well coated.
Let sit for at least 30 minutes.
Preheat the grill.
Skewer the tenderloin over bamboo skewers that have been soaking in water.
Place the skewers on an area of the hot grill with no direct flame. Grill on both
sides until browned and caramelized, about 4-5 minutes per side.
Serve with Oaxacan Mole and asparagus lime cream alongside warm tortillas, if
desired.
Simplified Cocoa Chile Oaxacan Mole
Yield: 4-6 servings
1 (4-oz.) can tomato paste
½ - 1 ½ cups chicken stock, as needed
1 green bell pepper, chopped fine
1 TBS ground chili pepper
1 chipotle chili and/or 1 green chili pepper chopped (both if prefer extra spicy, to
taste)

True Blood Season 2

2009-02-03T15:36:00.000-08:00

For those of you True Blood fans like me the filming of the first episode of the second season has begun. I'm so excited to be back on the show . To let you guys know I Chris Oliver have been the food stylist for the first season and to clear up any confusion there was a typo. Congratulations to Anna Paquin 2008 golden globe winner and Alan Ball creator/executive producer for bringing his adaption of the Stackhouse Novels written by Charlaine Harris to the small screen for yet another wonderful season of True blood on HBO. This supernatural series focuses on a small town in Louisiana where vampires now coexist with humans as fellow citizens. It follows Sookie Stackhouse a telepathic waitress and her open mindedness of vampire integration . Enjoy the new season and be sure to watch for plenty of southern flared cuisine.

LOUISIANA GUMBO
2 lbs chicken
2 lbs breakfast sausage (Hot)
3 lbs shrimp (peeled and deveined)
1 lb craw fish tail (peeled)
1 lb okra
8 ounces clam juice
4 bell peppers
2 chili peppers (Cayenne)
3 tablespoons ground sage
3 tablespoons chicken boulien
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon gumbo file
1/2 cup flour

Directions
In a large (I mean large) stockpot boil chicken (completely covered by 2 inches of water), chopped okra, sage, bouillon, oregano, black pepper until chicken is done. Remove chicken and set aside to cool, leave the stock in the pot. When cool debone the chicken and shred the meat. Set aside for now.
Crumble sausage and fry in a skillet. Remove sausage and set aside. Reserve 1/2 cup of the drippings. Add flour and make a very dark roux (dark brown). Add the sausage and roux to the chicken broth and let simmer 10 minutes.
Chop bell peppers and cayennes at this time. Add to pot and let simmer 10 minutes.
Add shrimp, clam juice, crawfish tails to the pot and let simmer 15 minutes.
Add the chicken and gumbo file to the pot and bring to a boil.
I like to let this gumbo rest for a few hours and then reheat it before serving. Serve over rice with crackers and Louisiana hot sauce.
This gumbo only gets better the next day. It freezes well to make a quick simple meal anytime.~

Hotel for Dogs

2009-01-28T16:03:00.000-08:00

Hotel for dogs here we come. This canine comedy follows two mischievous orphans Andi played by Emma Roberts and her brother Bruce played by Jake T Austen as they attempt to hide dozens of stray dogs in a abandoned hotel. They must find their own dog a home and in the process they transfer a rundown inn into a four star retreat for dogs. When neighbors get suspicious hilarity ensues. The cast also includes Don Cheadle and Lisa Kudrow.

This Rock n' roll themed birthday cake - is a great example of the creative thing we get to make in order to complete the scene. I had a great time being on the set especially with all the dogs. I am definitely a dog person and have two wonderful four legged friends of my own named Skippy and Moose. In honor of them here's a recipe your dogs can enjoy.

Basic Dog Biscuit Treats
Homemade dog treats are fun to make and healthier than many of the store-bought versions.

I N G R E D I E N T S
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup corn meal
1 teaspoon iodized salt
2 teaspoons bone meal (optional)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
2 large eggs mixed with a 1/4 cup beef broth beef broth

I N S T R U C T I O N S
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease cookie sheets. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add oil, peanut butter and egg mixture and stir to combine. Knead the dough for 2 -3 minutes until it holds together well adding additional broth if the dough is too stiff. Allow the dough to rest for 30 minutes. Roll dough out to about 1/2" thick on a lightly floured surface. Cut into shapes with a knife or your favorite cookie cutter. Place 1 inch apart on greased cookie sheets. Bake for approximately 30 minutes until golden brown. Turn off the oven and allow the biscuits to dry in the over for 2 hours or overnight. Once cooled they can be stored in zip lock bags.

Happy New Year to All!

2009-01-09T00:33:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year Everyone!

I just wanted to thank those of you who have been my faithful employees, employers and to the rest of you who read this blog. 2008 was a great year. There were a number of cool shows we worked on such as the HBO hit series True Blood, How I Met Your Mother, Nip/Tuck on FX, Pushing Daisies, Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC, The Suite Life, Heroes, Brothers and Sisters , CSI New York, My Name is Earl, Private Practice, Deborah Messing's Starter Wife on USA, Bones, Leverage, Sons of Anarchy and the hilarious Little Britain USA. I'll miss the shows that have moved out of state or come to an end like Ugly Betty, Lincoln Heights, and Las Vegas. My team also worked on a bunch of features, some of which included Don’t mess with the Zohan, The Bucket List, Charlie Wilson's War, Accepted, Enchanted, Love In the time of Cholera, Meet Dave, Pirates of the Caribbean, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Hotel for Dogs, the upcoming remake of Fame, Will Smiths' 7 pounds, Adam Sandler’s Bedtime Stories, House Bunny, A Christmas Carol and the academy nominated Frost/Nixon.

A couple of the movies are already running on cable, some are available in stores on DVD and the rest are soon to be released in theaters. So, check em out and enjoy the amazing on-camera food. There are a number of new shows slated for 2009 and I’ll be sharing new stories and recipes, so be sure to check back.

Best Wishes to All!! I hope everyone has a prosperous 2009.

New Years Day Hip Hip Hurray

2009-01-01T11:04:00.000-08:00

I can barely believe it but today is the first day of the New Year. Reflecting back I have to say the year in rewind was fantastic. I love being a food stylist to the stars and know how blessed I am to work on so many amazing shows and movies. The New year brings many new things like resolutions and even yearly traditions. A well known tradition is cooking black eyed peas which is always great. My family and I enjoy the tradition of cooking Spicy Cioppino. Spicy Cioppino is a dish that Italians cook for Christmas Eve but In my house we do things a little differently and enjoy it for New Years Day. Whatever your yearly tradition may be I wish all and everyone a healthy and happy New Year and promise to post more great blog entries and recipes. Below I've included a wonderful recipe for Spicy Cioppino I know you all will enjoy.

Spicy Cioppino

Ingredients
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large fennel bulb, thinly sliced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 large shallots, chopped
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 4 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 3/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper flakes, plus more to taste
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes in juice
• 1 1/2 cups dry white wine
• 5 cups fish stock
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 pound manila clams, scrubbed
• 1 pound mussels, scrubbed, debearded
• 1 pound uncooked large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 1/2 pounds assorted firm-fleshed fish fillets such as halibut or salmon, cut into 2-inch chunks

Directions
Heat the oil in a very large pot over medium heat. Add the fennel, onion, shallots, and salt and saute until the onion is translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and 3/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes, and saute 2 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste. Add tomatoes with their juices, wine, fish stock and bay leaf. Cover and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer until the flavors blend, about 30 minutes.
Add the clams and mussels to the cooking liquid. Cover and cook until the clams and mussels begin to open, about 5 minutes. Add the shrimp and fish. Simmer gently until the fish and shrimp are just cooked through, and the clams are completely open, stirring gently, about 5 minutes longer (discard any clams and mussels that do not open). Season the soup, to taste, with more salt and red pepper flakes.

"How I Met Your Mother's" Best BURGERS!

2008-09-30T08:33:00.000-07:00

How much did you love looking at all those yummy and juicy hamburgers last night on “How I Met Your Mother”? Let me tell you… it was even more fun to make them! Whenever something is spotlighted on camera, meaning there’s a close-up or it’s focused in on, it’s called a “hero” in Hollywood lingo. Making a ton of hero hamburgers for this episode was really a treat. My crew and I made over 300 burgers for this one episode. Now, there may not have been 300 hero burgers in this episode, but I have to make a lot of extras. First of all, I have to have a fresh new burger for each take. If the script calls for a character to bite into a fresh burger, then I have to make enough burgers for as many takes as it might take! And in this episode, the gang tries out a lot of hamburger joints! And, of course, the extras in the background have to have burgers in front of them as well. They can’t be sitting at a restaurant with no food in front of them.

But one of the best parts was working with Regis Philbin. What a blast it was to have him on board! He was such a good sport throughout the entire shoot, even when I played a little joke on him and served him a burger that was 24 patties tall! I knew he’d have a little trouble biting into that one :)

Simple Gourmet Burger:
Serves 4

1 pound lean ground beef
2 tbsp curry powder
½ yellow onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt, pepper
sharp cheddar cheese
4 onion rolls, toasted
tomato
lettuce

1) Combine ground beef, curry powder, onion, garlic, salt, and pepper. To test seasoning, place a tablespoon amount of mixture between tin foil and cook quickly on the grill or stove. When cooked, take a bite and determine if more salt or pepper is needed.
2) Form into patties and cook on a grill or stove-top. Melt cheese on top if desired.
3) Serve on rolls with all of the fixings that you like!

I Cut Hamburger Buns... REALLY!

2008-09-15T08:36:00.000-07:00

If you watched Jimmy Kimmel Live! last Wednesday night then you saw the final Arby’s integration commercial for the year. Instead of spending over a million dollars on creating, writing, filming, and producing a regular commercial, companies often choose to do “integrated” commercials. In this case, Jimmy Kimmel and Guillermo had a little joke and promotional speech about the new Arby-Q sandwich.

I was brought in to style the Arby-Q sandwiches to make them look gorgeous. The local Arby’s in Huntington Beach gave me a ton of meat, buns, and Arby’s secret sauce. First, I started off with preparing the meat. I cut the giant meat pieces into circles about the size of a hamburger bun. Then, I prepared the buns. Using itty bitty scissors, I trimmed the buns, sawed off the “foot” on each bun, and made them level. Then I toasted the insides of the buns so that they wouldn’t absorb the Arby’s sauce and become all mushy. The point was to make the buns look less tall so the meat would look bigger. Next, I arranged the meat on the buns very elegantly and then, using a paint brush, dabbed them with secret sauce. The finished product was truly a sight to be held and everyone loved my burgers!

In addition to playing with food all day, we got to hang out in the green room, full of some great free snacks and drinks, catch a glimpse of the special guest—Martin Short, and sneak a peak at Beyoncé’s sister, Solange. All in all, it was a fun day spent on Hollywood Boulevard, but I’m always happy to leave the rat race and return home to sunny Huntington Beach.

"True Blood" Makes a Splash

2008-09-11T09:14:00.000-07:00

So did you watch the premiere of True Blood on HBO created by Allan Ball on Sunday night? Wasn’t it wonderful?! It was everything from fabulous and clever to creepy and bizarre. And I loved every minute of it! If you didn’t get a chance to watch the series premiere, it follows Sookie Sackhouse, played by Anna Paquin, who is a telepathic waitress in post-Katrina Louisiana. Meanwhile, a Japanese company has created and marketed synthetic blood that now allows vampires to come out from the shadows and mix and mingle with regular folk. Everything is hunky-dory in Sookie’s life until a vampire walks into her restaurant and she begins to delve into his world.

So where do I come in? Well, I do all of the food in Sookie’s diner and at Sookie’s home of course! If you watch the premiere, you can see several great “hero” shots of the food as waitresses walk by carrying some down home cooking. In the first episode we mainly prepared diner food like burgers and fries and we also dressed the kitchen with a lot of food so it looked beautiful. But, just wait for some of the episodes to come! I’ve designed and created some elegant buffets fit for royalty as well as a huge outdoor BBQ scene. YUM!

Here are a couple of great pictures on the set at Melotte’s Diner:

And there’s even a little kitchen-area at the studio where we can set up all of our stuff:
And here is a glimpse at the kitchen set of Merlotte's:
Here’s a super simple and great Cajun-style recipe that I like to make at home when I want to mix things up a bit:

Crabmeat Au Gratin:

½ yellow onion, finely chopped
1 stalk celery, peeled and chopped
8 tbsp. butter
½ cup flour
1 can evaporated milk (13 oz)
2 egg yolks
1 tsp red pepper
1 lb. crabmeat
½ pound cheddar cheese, finely grated
salt, pepper

1) In a large sauté pan, melt butter and then add onions and celery. Sauté until wilted.
2) Add flower and slowly pour in condensed milk, continually stirring. Add yolks, salt, and pepper and stir continually and let cook for about five minutes until the flour is cooked.
3) Add the crabmeat to the mixture and then pour into a greased casserole dish. Sprinkle the cheese on top.
4) Bake at 375ºF for 10-15 minutes until golden brown in color.

"Private Practice" and Me

2008-08-29T08:57:00.000-07:00

It seems like the Grey’s Anatomy phenomenon has been just sweeping across the country these past few years. Now there’s a spinoff of Grey’s Anatomy on ABC called Private Practice, starring Kate Walsh as Dr. Addison Montgomery (McDreamy’s ex-wife from Grey’s). Dr. Addison plays a neonatal surgeon who is kicking butt and taking names. She leaves Seattle in Grey’s for Los Angeles in Private Practice. Isn’t that just super convenient? Now Addison lives in LA so that makes it even easier when it comes to shooting!

On the show, we’ve done several interior restaurant scenes which I always truly enjoy. It’s fun to do quirky things like making edible keys or dirt, but it’s also fun to make really beautiful food that I know people love to eat. Even though I know my food is already a big hit, I hope this show will be too!

Meanwhile, I have gobs of big zucchinis growing on vines all over my fence in the backyard. I have so much zucchini that I hardly know what to do with it! Luckily, I’ve found a great zucchini soup recipe that even my kids love. Who knew?

Zucchini Soup:

2 medium-sized zucchini
½ yellow onion
1 tbsp. curry
1 celery stalk
1 carrot
1 potato
handful of mushrooms
olive oil
water or chicken stock
salt, pepper

1) Finely chop onion and in a Dutch oven or large pot, heat olive oil and sauté onions. Add salt.
2) When onions are blonde, add curry and combine well.
3) Separately peel and chop zucchini, celery, carrot, potato, and mushrooms. Add to Dutch oven and cover ingredients with either water or stock. Bring to a boil and then let simmer for 15-20 minutes. The soup is done when you can stab all of the ingredients with a knife and they slide off the knife.
4) In stages, puree the soup in a blender and then pass through a sieve into a separate container. Adjust seasoning by adding salt or pepper as needed.

"Starter Wife" Is Starting Again

2008-08-18T08:03:00.000-07:00

Last year I worked on the made-for-TV miniseries The Starter Wife starring Debra Messing. It’s based on the book by Gigi Grazer which chronicles Molly Kagan, who is married to a Hollywood tycoon who soon divorces her, abruptly ending her fabulous lifestyle. But, Molly inevitably rises to the challenge and finds herself leading an amazing life post-divorce.

The miniseries was such a success that USA network decided to make a television series out of it. I know the series doesn’t premiere until Friday, October 10th at 10pm, but I’m always excited to see the final result of all of my hard work. Since Molly is at the center of the Hollywood social scene, you can imagine all of the fancy-schmancy parties were in the script and all of the fancy-schmancy food that had to accompany it. There were several haute restaurant scenes as well and those are always a blast for me to do! It lets me be creative and practice some fun knife skills, like in the video below:

"Bones" Is Ironically Vegan

2008-08-15T08:54:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite shows, and lucky for me I get to work on it too, is Bones. Bones pairs an overconfident FBI agent named Seeley Booth (David Boreanaz) with a forensic anthropologist called Temperance “Bones” Brennan (Emily Deschanel). The two partner to solve old murders, and it’s not without their share of personality clashes, bureaucratic red tape, and corruption.

On the show, we do a lot of diner scenes and it’s always a fun challenge for me and my crew because Emily Deschanel is a vegan. Fortunately, my daughter Evan is a vegetarian and her friend Katie is a vegan. So, I also get to have some fun experimenting at my own home and it’s always interesting to see what Evan and Katie are getting themselves into. Here’s a great vegan BBQ alternative for those great summer grills in the backyard…

Lentil Burgers:

2 1/3 cups lentils
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 ½ burger buns, toasted
½ teaspoon cumin
¼ teaspoon cayenne
salt, pepper
peanut oil

1) Sauté thinly sliced onions and garlic in oil. Season with salt and pepper and add cayenne and cumin.
2) Separately tear up burger buns and pulse in food processor to make crumbs.
3) Rinse and drain lentils and then add to onions and garlic. Add bread crumbs and roll through to combine thoroughly.
4) Remove from heat and put all ingredients in the food processor and mix until the texture allows you to form patties.
5) Grill patties on a hot grill and place on a burger bun along with all of the other fixings that you love!

"House Bunny" Is Cute, Fuzzy, and Funny!

2008-08-13T08:42:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited for the release of Anna Faris’s new movie, House Bunny¸ that I can hardly contain myself! I absolutely LOVE Anna… she’s a total doll and always makes me laugh. I especially loved her in all of the Scary Movie films and she’s even better in House Bunny.

In the movie, she plays Shelley, a Playboy bunny who is kicked out of the Playboy Mansion and finds a job as a sorority house mom. Of course, Shelley’s sorority is the one Greek house on campus filled with nerdy girls and it’s Shelley’s job to transform them into lovely young ladies. Needless to say, it becomes a two-way street as the girls teach Anna a few things about life too.

So, for this production, it was back to the Playboy Mansion for me (for the umpteenth time) and there were also plenty of the obvious frat party and luau scenes, which I’ve been doing a lot of recently! That means a lot of pork and pineapple, right? Not always…

Coconut and Macadamia Nut Shrimp:

1 lb. shrimp
¼ cup flour
½ cup coconut milk
¼ macadamia nuts

1) Clean shrimp and remove intestinal vein with a paring knife.
2) Separately crush macadamia nuts. Place the nuts between two pieces of parchment paper or wax paper and pound with a rolling pin.
3) Dip shrimp in coconut milk and then roll in crushed macadamia nuts. Place in a baking dish that has been brushed with olive oil.
4) Bake at 375ºF for 12-15 minutes until shrimp is properly cooked through. Serve warm (it’s great on top of a bed of rice or pineapple chutney, too).

MY PIES Are Nominated for an Emmy on "Pushing Daisies"

2008-08-11T09:20:00.000-07:00

Check out the cool press release I sent out last week to talk about my yummy pies and their star performances on Pushing Daisies:

PRESS RELEASE: AUGUST 4, 2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CHRIS OLIVER, FABULOUS FOOD STYLIST, FUELS PUSHING DAISIES

EXCLUSIVE FOOD STYLING FOR HOLLYWOOD TV AND FILMS

HOLLYWOOD, CA - AUGUST 4, 2008- Pushing Daisies, after just one season, has wracked up twelve Emmy Awards nominations, including Best Art Direction for a Single-Camera Series. Chris Oliver, owner of Hollywood Food Styling, based in Huntington Beach, CA, plays a vital role by filling one of the smallest niches in Hollywood--food styling. She has been a key player on the set of many major Hollywood films and television productions over the past twenty years. As a food stylist, Chris knows that people eat with their eyes and so she concocts and composes food accordingly. She creates and designs food to make it look amazingly appetizing or disgustingly repulsive, depending on what a scene requires.

In Pushing Daisies, Ned, played by Lee Pace, who is nominated for an Emmy for Best Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, works at "The Pie Hole," and is known as the "Pie Maker." For this acclaimed and incredibly popular ABC comedy series, Chris Oliver is the true "Pie Maker." The pies have to be not only the most yummy and inspiring pies ever seen, but they also have to be unbelievably durable in order to tolerate probable on-set abuse. Chris decided to focus on luscious and delectable fruit pies as cream pies did not photograph as well. For each shoot, Chris creates dozens of pies, which can be used as everything from background plates to heroes. Property master Jeffrey Johnson has had 100% confidence in Chris's abilities, knowing she can easily rise to any potential pie challenge.

Chris Oliver is unique because she is one of a handful of specialists who style food for films, television, and commercials, and she is the only food stylist who is entirely self-contained; not only does she have her own workshop, but she has her own mobile kitchen as well! Got a Hawaiian luau scene? Chris will paint that pig to make it look perfectly charred, place it just so on a spick and keep a few others on deck in case they need to shoot it from another angle. Using her inventive tricks of the trade, Chris also designs and creates gorgeous buffets of food and fruit and finishes them with just the right garnishes. What about a kid's birthday scene with gobs of ice cream? Regular ice cream would quickly melt at room temperature, and even faster under Hollywood camera lights. The solution? Chris uses mashed potatoes and adds food coloring to achieve the desired result.

Over the years, Chris Oliver has become one of the most sought after food stylists in Hollywood. Some of Chris's recurring productions have included Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Ugly Betty, Friends, Seinfeld, Scrubs, and How I Met Your Mother. Chris has also worked on numerous Hollywood films such as Get Smart, Enchanted, Charlie Wilson's War, Poseidon, You Don't Mess with the Zohan, Austin Powers, and Adam Sandler's current project, Bedtime Stories.

HOW CHRIS OLIVER STARTED
At 19 years-old Chris began her lifetime career in the food industry with a job on a catering truck, quickly followed by a food prep position at "Gladstone's 4 Fish." At Gladstone's, Chris met her mentor, Emerson Holmes, one of the founders of the Culinary Institute of America. Emerson sponsored Chris to attend the prestigious CIA in New York and after receiving her degree in 1983, she became head chef of several restaurants on both the East and West Coasts. With several friends in the film industry, it was no surprise when one day a prop master asked Chris to fill in for his regular food stylist. Chris caught the bug and soon after started a food styling business that has grown to be one of the best and most sought after in Hollywood.

For more information about Chris Oliver and her business Hollywood Food Styling, please contact:

Kaitlin Chell
kaitlin@hollywoodfoodstyling.com
Mobile: 858.449.9737
Website: http://www.hollywoodfoodstyling.com/

# # #

Jimmy Kimmel is Crazy about Beef ‘N’ Cheddars!

2008-08-07T08:28:00.000-07:00

I think we all know by now just how much I love Jimmy Kimmel and just how much he loves me, too! But, did you know that Jimmy also has a love affair with Arby’s Beef ‘N’ Cheddar sandwiches? I was on the set two weeks ago to help film an Arby’s commercial that has different Jimmy characters in it. It was the same concept as the KFC commercial we filmed with Guillermo in the San Fernando Valley a few months ago.

In fact, Jimmy is so kind to us, that he gave us our own makeshift dressing room…

…and, of course, my own little personal sign to show how important I am…
…and with the Arby’s lady…
…and I couldn’t do it without my helper, Stephie!
Here’s a super simple recipe for my own beef ‘n’ cheddar sandwiches. It’s great if you’ve got some leftover roast beef from a Sunday roast.

Beef & Cheddar Sandwich:

Serves 2

½ lb. roast beef, shredded
1 medium yellow onion
2 onion or hoagie buns, or whatever type of bun you prefer
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
mayonnaise
salt, pepper

1) Thinly slice onion and sauté.
2) Assemble sandwich by spreading mayonnaise on bun, and layer the sandwich with onions, roast beef, and cheese. The top layer should be cheese and briefly put in the oven or under a broiler to warm up the sandwich and melt the cheese.
3) Serve warm.

"My Name is Earl" is Playin' Possum?

2008-08-05T08:37:00.000-07:00

I guess that’s not really true… no one on the cast or crew of My Name is Earl ever plays possum. BUT, they sure do like ‘em some possum pie! Sometimes I get tired of pie. I feel like I’ve been making a lot of pies recently. Of course, I make a ton of gorgeous and delicious yummy pies for Pushing Daisies, whose art department has been nominated for an Emmy. While I’m contractually part of the art department, I don’t think you’ll be seeing me on the red carpet anytime soon. BOO HOO!

Anyway, one of the episodes in Earl called for a possum pie. I know…I know what you’re thinking. YUCK! Right? But, I have a funny feeling that some people in our fair country still eat this kind of stuff. Of course, my job was to make it look as gross and unappetizing as possible, which you can see for yourself. YUMMO!

"Old Dogs" and Some Newer Tricks

2008-07-30T08:23:00.000-07:00

In the last post, I talked about some re-shoots of Old Dogs that I worked on. We turned Griffith Park in Los Angeles into New York City’s Central Park and just how much fun we had doing that! But, we also did several re-shoots at the Santa Ana Zoo, or SAZOO, at Prentice Park. I didn’t even know there was a zoo in Santa Ana! Nevertheless, it turned out to be a great little find. Apparently the land for the park was donated by J.E. Prentice in 1949, but with the stipulation that at least 50 monkeys must live on the land at all times…and so the zoo was born!

We also re-shot several restaurant scenes at various locations around LA. Working with awesome characters like Robin Williams, John Travolta, and Seth Green really makes every day feel like a giant party instead of work. I love it!

Right now, my herb garden is also growing like you would not believe! I’ve even got some huge zucchini vines that are growing up and along the fence in my backyard and the zucchini gourds dangling off the vines are huge. Maybe I’ll make some zucchini casserole for dinner….mmmmm….
Zucchini Casserole:

Serves 4

2 medium zucchini
2 medium tomatoes
2 medium onions
12 ounces mozzarella cheese
1 cup bread crumbs
salt and pepper
butter

1) Thinly slice zucchini, tomatoes, and onions. Be sure to cut out the seeds from the zucchinis.
2) Lightly grease baking dish with butter and layer zucchini, tomatoes, and onions. Sprinkle salt and pepper on top of each layer of zucchini and dot with butter.
3) Grate cheese and sprinkle a layer in the middle of the casserole and another layer on top. Finally, sprinkle a layer of bread crumbs on the top.
4) Bake uncovered at 350ºF until vegetables are cooked.

"Old Dogs" and Some New Tricks

2008-07-28T07:55:00.000-07:00

You’ll have to wait another good nine months to see the end result, but the movie Old Dogs promises to have some new tricks up its sleeve. It’s not set to release until April 2009, but Robin Williams and John Travolta are sure to hit it big with this clever comedy. The plot revolves around two friends who suddenly find themselves as the guardians of two seven-year-old twins. You can only imagine how that could get crazy!

Most of the movie was shot in New York, but per usual, we did a few weeks of re-shoots in Los Angeles. Probably the most challenging part of this particular job was that I had to match exact plates in Los Angeles that had previously been made in New York. Normally, this wouldn’t have been a problem, except I had no access to the food stylist or prop master from NYC. So, I had to go off a few bad pictures and just guess!

LA’s very own Griffith Park doubled as Central Park. Check out these photos of the hot dog stand we recreated…

…there’s even an art vendor in the background…
…and, of course, the two cutest dogs in the world!

Check out my next post for some more behind-the-scenes scoops on Old Dogs and a great recipe from the set!

"Nip/Tuck" Goes Dive Bar?

2008-07-10T10:04:00.000-07:00

Nip/Tuck is one of those shows that highlights the wealth and craziness of Beverly Hills and the Los Angeles area in general. Who knew that a show about abnormally fake boobs and gigantic whale lips would be a hit? And as of right now, it seems like the entire town is buzzing about the next season already!

I’ve worked for several seasons on the show and I’ve made everything from gorgeous, yet poisonous, fruitcakes to fake futuristic food, but this season has been a tad bit different. If you watch the show then you know that most of the scenes, including the food I’ve done, have all been very high class. So, it might come as a shocker when you see some dive bar scenes and finger-lickin’ dive bar food in the new season. While more elegant food and décor is always a blast because it gives me so much creative freedom, I also enjoy making things like potato skins and chicken wings. That type of food is pure and simple comfort food and making it never gets old and the production crew doesn’t seem to mind eating once the director says, “That’s a wrap!”

Twice-Baked Potatoes:

4 medium Yukon Gold potatoes
1 cup Gruyère cheese
½ cup sour cream
½ cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons butter, room temperature

3 scallions, thinly sliced
salt & pepper

1) Bake potatoes on a foil-lined baking sheet at 400ºF for about one hour until skin is crisp and deep brown in color. Once baked, remove from oven and let cool for ten minutes.
2) Cut each potato in half, length-wise, and use a small spoon to scoop out the insides of each potato into a bowl. Leave about ¼ inch of flesh inside the shells and be careful not to damage the skins. Place shells back in oven for another ten minutes until shells are crispy.
3) Separately combine the cheese, sour cream, buttermilk, butter, scallions, and potatoes. Add salt and pepper to taste.
4) Fill empty potato shells with creamy potato mixture and broil in the oven until the top is crispy and golden brown. Let cool for a few minutes before serving.