Fööd Pörn UPDATE from today's photo shoot at my latest client
Very nice Italian place. Husband and wife are Sicilian and from New York.
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I'm hungry just looking at it.
Crust is very, very crispy. Tasted great, sauce was perfect. Tasted like an Italian slice.
Damn, you're making me hungry!
..."I want people to see exactly what you are going to bring to their table."
I actually said that to this specific client while we were setting up.
I make suggestions, if necessary, abut plating, and I always make sure to wipe up things like stray spills of sauce, but it's their show, their product, and my job is to present it in the best possible light.
The pizza WAS great. I've known folks over the years who have promised "new York Pizza" and "East Coast Subs" but once they get a couple of thousand miles away from where they knew what they were doing, it all falls apart.
But thank you for your comments, because you nailed 100% of the intention behind what i do.
We do have a Grimaldi's, though
Those pictures are making me hungry! Great job! 
yum... 
Are you the stylist, too, or did the client plate the meals? That does it! I'm cookin' Eye-talian tonight!
...sometimes I do work with the client to plate the food effectively but this time it was largely their chefs. There was only one dish where I questioned it, the Chicken Marsala. I didn't include it in the shots here.
... with capers, over angel hair with garlic and lightly steamed Swiss chard. I thought of your excellent photography as I dished it out, and my wife raised an eyebrow at the extra care I took to make it look almost as good as your shots. I'm a better than average cook, but she's way better than me. We eat very well.
I was an art director 150 years ago, and you never lose the critical eye for good composition and lighting. I'll keep an eye out for your future posts. Have a good night, Miles.
...I made a dish last week that you might enjoy if you like Italian. Get a bunch of swiss chard, remove the heavy part of the stems, tear the leaves into bite-size pieces, rinse them well in a strainer. Pat the leaves dry. Put on your pot of water for pasta. For one good-sized bunch of chard I'd use a half pound to 3/4 pound of linguine. Cook the pasta while preparing the chard.
Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. When it first starts to shimmer add the chard. Also add a couple of cloves of minced garlic and red pepper flakes to taste. for this recipe I would add 1/2 teaspoon or so. Toss at regular intervals so the garlic doesn't burn. The chard will wilt down, when it has, take the pan off the heat.
Take about 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water and add it to the chard pan. Put it back on medium heat and stir regularly until you see it thicken.
Drain the pasta, add it to the skillet, toss everything until it is mixed, plate it, top with fresh grated Parmesan, serve with some good French or Italian bread.
My wife will likely make a pilgrimage to our favorite produce market this weekend and we'll try it. Thanks!
