Welcome to My Culinary Art Studio

If you are new to my blog, WELCOME! If you are a returning friend, WELCOME BACK! In the past few months or more I have been back and forth and in and out of working on this blog. At times it was just too busy. I had too much to do and too much to take care of. This is the main reason for my absences.

Then a few weeks ago, my one year anniversary in which I began blogging was to arrive. I wanted to do something special. Have a great meal or dish or post or giveaway. The day began to approach rapidly and I had no great ideas. No fabulously perfect dishes to share. I wasn't altogether that busy. I had many posts and photos in the vaults and in my head but I was out of steam. I was just not motivated. I did not feel happy. There are many things to worry about these days with the recession, loss of jobs, money problems, mortgage issues... Many of us are having a hard time. The weight of all these things was upon me and I just could not write, could not concentrate. But as will all things we pick ourselves up, dust off and begin again refreshed.

My goals are many. My hopes are high. My dreams are vast. With this blog, I truly want to make improvements. I want to work harder at providing new recipes. I want to post more often. I want to work harder at my writing skills and food photography. I want to visit other blogs more often. My hope is to provide an enjoyable site with useful tips, recipes, hints and information. One that is fun to read and view as well as something worth continually returning to. I want a more professional outlook yet will still write from my heart and personal feelings. My children will undoubtably pop into the mix from time to time. How can they not? They are the biggest part of my life.

For all of you that are regular visitors, you will note the new masthead. I had an idea for this header nearly a year ago but needed the time to set up the "artist's table". After a couple hundred shots and different configurations from simple to complex, I then went to the computer and played and created in order to come up with the new one above. Within this post you can see my two runner-ups. In the sidebar you can see some of my favorite close up shots from the day. The main idea was to play with the "art" concept along with the "aioli". I wanted it to look like an artist's work table. The work, the art will be the posts. The food. The writing. The creating of recipes and meals and parties. Cooking is an art. To really be good, one should be able to use creativity. Plating of food can be wonderfully gorgeous and have amazing design qualities. So within this site I hope to realize my art as a designer, a chef and a writer.

Thank you to everyone who comes to read and respond to Art and Aioli, a blog about art, food and the art of food. Cheers to you all and here's to new beginnings and hope for more flavorful days to come.

I love you! I love blogging!

I still feel I am very new to the whole world of blogging. It has been less than three months since I started and at that time I hadn't even been familiar with this virtual world at all. When I heard the term blog, I thought it was for celebrities or kids on my space or something.

Now I feel different. I love my blog. I love visiting other blogs. I love the people I am getting to know. I love all your recipes, ideas, poems, advice, designs and suggestions. This whole new world is open to me now. I can be in Paris one moment and New York the next. I have seen glimpses of the deep south and rural roads I might never have seen before. It is so much fun. And I owe it all to all of you.

Amy at Family Bencomo had been gracious enough to tag me with an "I love you this much" award. I feel so fortunate and very well loved. Amy is so warm and has a beautiful blog chock full of great recipes and beautiful photos. I wish I could go right ahead and tag you back, Amy.

As is the rule, I am to tag 10 other blogs that I love. I am just getting to know a lot of you and it is hard to narrow down to only 10 but these are some of blogs I keep my eye on all the time.

1. Zen Chef - Chefs Gone Wild - Yes, this man does have a wild and witty sense of humor and a mean ability in the kitchen. You will salivate at the photos and choke with laughter.

2. Kristen - Dine and Dish - Kristen has a ton of recipes and a beautiful blog design with little snippets of family life dished in. She also started featuring some fun give-aways! Check it out.

3. Betty - La France Profonde- A beautiful blog about Betty's life in a rural part of France. Her writing and photos are amazing.

4. Dela - Not Your Mother's Southern Cooking - Dela is a delight to read. This girl has wonderful creativity and imagination in the kitchen. She has no fear and her recipes look great.

5. Kate - Paved with Good Intentions - Another deft writer, Kate relays her kitchen adventures from the foibles to the grand masterpieces with a witty voice. There is always something good on her blog.

6. Lulu - Lulu Abroad - Get ready for some armchair traveling. Lulu takes you to Ireland, India or just around the corner from her in the North Eastern part of the states. She documents it all with fabulous photos.

7. Peter - Kalofagas - You want to see a man who knows what he is doing? Peter is your guy! The food he serves up is gorgeous, amazing and as tempting as his infectious smile. Be prepared to learn something new.

8. Susan - Sticky Gooey Creamy Chewy - This is a one-stop shop. Her pastries look as if from the finest bakery and the savory photos could grace the cover of a magazine. To die for.

9. Laura - Pinot and Prose - Get a little food then a literary review and more tempting food again. An intelligent woman with a passion for food. How incredible is that! Here is a place to "Eat, Drink and (find something new each time)!"

10. Helen - Orange You Lucky - And you are if you have time to peruse Helen's blog. She features her amazing and whimsical illustrations with tidbits of life and fun things she finds and shares. This site is complete eye candy.

I thought you might be thirsty after all of that so have a glass of lemonade!
The photo is from "Hot Dog on a Stick". They make great lemonade there.
If you are thirsty and near one, DO try it! It comes in 3 flavors.

Amy also tagged me with the "Look What I Made" game! Thanks again, Amy. I am going to tag Emily, Lisa and Jaime with this game.

HERE ARE THE RULES to LOOK WHAT I MADE!

1. List the names of 2-5 recipes you tried from other blogs. Provide a direct link to the recipe. If not available, give the blog link and let the reader search for the recipe by name.

2. Shortly describe your experience with the recipe.

3. Tag 3-5 other bloggers or the authors of the recipes you listed to post the links to the recipes they have tried from other bloggers. Note: If you are new to the blogging world and haven’t had a chance to try any recipes from your fellow foodies, just pass the tag on to someone else.

4. Notify the tagged bloggers about the tag either by leaving a comment on their blogs or by emailing them.

Here are some recipes I have tried:

1. Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Glaze from Orangette. The recipe is actually at Bon Appetit. These are every bit as good and mouthwatering as Molly professes. DO be prepared to spend some time making them though. It is not hard but you need time for rising and rolling and baking and glazing. But it is well worth the investment.

2. Chicken and Shrimp Won Tons with Chili Sweet & Sour Sauce from Recipe Girl. These were great! I didn't have shrimp or serrano chili on hand and they still tasted really good. Lori's original creation with the shrimp and chili would be even better, I am sure. Do not be fooled. These are very easy to make and look really impressive. The only trick is learning how to fold the won ton. After that--easy-peasy. The sauce really has a kick to it so easy on the chili garlic sauce and ginger if you can't take the heat. I love it spicy so it was perfect for me but would use less ketchup and more soy sauce or something next time.

3. Roast Chicken with Ginger and Soy-Whiskey Glaze from Chefs Gone Wild. Zen is no amateur chef and browning this bird was no easy feat. But after all was said and done, I had a magnificent dinner that was moist and juicy and packed with flavor. It was amazing! Mine wasn't quite as pretty as his and was much darker looking but it didn't suffer in taste. I highly recommend trying it.

4. Veloute of Prawns from A World in a Pan. This sauce is to die for! My guests and I just ate and ate and slurped up the extra sauce with our bread. Laura says that the curry is optional but in my opinion the curry helps make the dish. Fantastic! Mine was much yellower than Laura's photo but maybe because I used yellow curry and she used red? I don't know. I would like to try this again with red curry though.

... and for dessert...

5. Cookie Dough Cupcakes from Big Red Kitchen. Robin Sue had this notion to put her favorite cookie inside a cupcake. You know what? It WORKED! This is fun and easy and provides so much room for play and creativity. I did it with the kids too. It is the perfect treat to make with your children or to bring to a potluck or school party.

Happy Cooking and Eating!

A Couple Thoughts... or Babbling about Blogging...

It has been several weeks now since I found and fell into this whole new world of blogging. I have popped back and forth to many many different sites. Some of which are truly amazing! I have followed links and threads found my self weaving a crazy maze through a new and unknown city the way I would explore an old town in Europe. I have lost myself and lovely sites. Some I take the time to bookmark. I have found some again and others sadly I have not. Maybe I should have left a trail of breadcrumbs. But I am sure as I continue to wind and weave and pop and click and follow the links, I will find them again and some more to boot!

Over the past weeks I have become somewhat obsessed with looking around and with thinking about my own blog. I wake up at night with this thought or that and this idea or that. I have pictures on my camera aching to be downloaded and paired with the words in my head. But a part time business and full time children often prevent me from leaping ahead and consuming my days in this new found world.

But as I have been reading through blogs and posts and websites. While I was following links and suggestions and recommendations and leaving a comment here and there... I began to notice some of the names were familiar. Some of the clicks or alleys I went down led to a place I had been before. In reading other comments I note that many bloggers know each other and speak like or act like friends. Of course most of the conversing and "clicks" or groups are in the genre that I am interested in. None of this may be news to you but for me it is, as I said, all new and different.

In some ways this leaving of comments has reminding me of passing notes in high school. We all did it. But now you won't get in trouble for it. Unless of course you have a boss who might sneak up behind you. So I am the new kid on campus. I don't know anybody. I just kind of pop over to these various groups and try to say something interesting in hopes of meeting some friends. Some people are nice enough to talk back. Others seem so popular, I don't know that they could have the time to READ all the comments let alone comment to all. Do the popular "kids" want to read the note passed from the new kid on campus? Do they want to peek over to your blog? It is hard to be extremely witty or pithy in just a few sentences on a comment. In many ways it doesn't matter. This blog is for me. A personal place to put down thoughts, images and words. But then again why bother with a blog if you don't have some crazy desire to connect and reach out or share with others?

Well that is my 2¢ on blogging for the day... or for now anyway. Just thoughts twirling in my head. Time to pick up little-'uns from preschool.

But first... Thank you to all those who have been so kind as to visit and some of you have even deemed me worthy of a comment. For that I am grateful and cannot wait to get to know you all better!

NOTE: Illustrations within this post are original pieces of art done by me on spec in a project with another author. All rights are reserved for these and all illustrations or art within this site. Please share or show any artwork but do not copy or use for any other purposes. Thank you.