Don’t get me wrong, this is my idea of a good time.

The last time a school quarter ended, I showed you a little bit of my work that I had completed. Here is the painterly fruit series, my self portrait project, and the painted ladies series. I suppose it’s time to show you some more! (now Lady Gaga – Boys Boys Boys) This quarter I was mainly shooting for a location photography class and a fashion photography class, so the images will be a mixture of fashion and shooting with location in mind. If you keep up, then you know I recently talked about my fascination for fashion. It’s not that I wear it, it’s that I am obsessed with it as an art medium.

(currently Jay Z & Kanye West – Otis)

The Jean Paul Gaultier exhibit is currently on display in Dallas (if you haven’t been yet, go NOW)  and it’s just incredible. Besides his pieces of couture (art) you see a teddy bear he had as a child. The teddy bear has the first cone bra, lip stick and eye shadow. The problem with fashion is people who don’t understand it (people who don’t understand art) find it superficial. When you see a doll from Jean Paul’s childhood with a newspaper and doile cone bra, lipstick and eye shadow you realize him making the cone bra for Madonna’s Blonde Ambition tour was not superficial, it was his dream come true. The more I get to know about fashion, fashion designers and fashion icons the more I realize they aren’t superficial, but artists. Which means it takes some sort of art appreciation, to look at and appreciate, a fashion photograph.

(currently Amy Winehouse – Between The Cheats)

In two weeks I am headed to New York City to see the Daphne Guinness exhibit at the FIT museum. If you are interested in fashion icons, start and end with Daphne. I am also going to go to the Joaquin Sorolla and the Glory of Spanish Dress at the Queen Sofia Spanish Institute, curated by Andre Leon Talley from Vogue. Besides that, the rest of the time I am going to do as much as I can, without freezing to death!

(currently Gwen Stefani – Bubble Pop Electric)

And of course, when I am thinking about fashion so much food comes calling my name again. Looks like I will be shooting my first cookbook in the next two weeks! I will show you pictures and give you more info as I can, but I am very excited! How are my last remaining readers doing? I’m looking at you Belinda at zomppa, the Waspy Redhead, Natalie, Kelly and everyone else!

(currently David Bowie – Modern Love)

Merry Christmas friends!

The art I am referring to is not the performance art Lady Gaga displays on stage, the kind of art Banksy sprays on the side of a building, or the kind of art someone is creating out of garbage and old Stop signs. The kind of art I am referring to is the paintings and sculptures from the masters of previous eras. 

Six months ago I sat in my first Art History class thinking it would be the most boring class I’ve taken. My teacher explained we are at an art school, we all want to be some sort of visual artists (some video, some photography, some fashion design) and need a basic understanding of art history. I couldn’t disagree with him there. I knew being able to hold an intelligent conversation about an artist or piece of work could come in handy in the future. I had no idea that six months later, I would be obsessed.

My teacher was able to present the information in a way that not only held my attention, but had me craving more knowledge. It also had me looking at my own work in a different way. When Rembrandt painted a portrait he had to study light, and I mean really study light. The light was always so soft and delicate, yet more dramatic than most photographs you have ever seen. When I learned about Delacroix’ Liberty Leading The People, and the use of a woman carrying the tri-colored flag of the revolution over bodies of the fallen, I realized the lack of allegorical figures in photography. Jan van Eyck’s Arnolfini Wedding is seriously one of the most complex paintings, I don’t know where to begin. When was the last time a photograph made me (or you) think or say that? When I learned about how long it took Picasso and Braque to create the Cubism Art Movement I realized that you must take risks, but mainly that success doesn’t come overnight and some things take years to perfect, and years to catch people’s attention. One person I wish knew this was van Gogh, as his suicide came after selling only one painting his entire career. Everything about van Gogh represents the failed artist. If only he knew his paintings are now fetching 140 million. (By the way, a new book is challenging the claim that van Gogh committed suicide, I am waiting for my copy in the mail right now. Click here to check it out.)

Like most business right now, my college is going through a hard time and recently had to do a batch of layoffs before the new school quarter started two weeks ago. I learned this past week they let go of my Art History teacher, Dr. Brookins. I actually teared up when I heard the news, because he will never know how much of an impact he had on me and hopefully my future as an artist.

Last quarter I was in Dr. Brookins’ Art History 2 class, as well as a printing class. We had to do a final project in my printing class where we produced rather large prints, and the subject could be whatever we desired. There was no way that my project wouldn’t somehow relate to my new art obsession, so I decided to do a series of still life images, and try to recreate Rembrandt side lighting. Also, I wanted to give these images a painterly feel, which I created in photoshop. Each photo took around four hours of editing, and seeing them this small on a screen does not do them justice. The brighter your screen is the more ‘brush strokes’ and details you will be able to see. Each image is slightly different in color and details; because when was the last time you saw two paintings that were identical? I printed the images on a textured matte paper, which helped achieve the painterly feel I was going for. Click here if interested in seeing full size details of the first image.

This blog post and these images are dedicated to you, Dr. Brookins!

As you may know, or not know, I haven’t blogged since May of this year. Four months. I remember looking at one of my favorite food blogs once and wondering ‘why haven’t they posted?’ After a week, then two weeks, then a month went by, and before you knew it I was going back for some of my favorite recipes, being greeted with a blog post published a year prior. I always wondered what happened to some of those people, but I never emailed. I bet that has happened to a few people that have stumbled upon my site wondering where I am, and I have received a few emails. To those that emailed me, thank  you, I appreciate you, I am alive, well, and more than well!

I’ve decided to make my come back blog post full pictures from my self portrait series rather than a recipe or food photography. This is a direct reflection of how my photography, and general interests are going right now. I have been thinking quite a bit lately about myself, photography, past master photographers, artists, art history, fashion and so on. Combine all those thoughts with 70 hours a week of school and work, and frankly, food photography and recipe development is the last thing on my mind. I find it so interesting that two years ago when inspiration struck it would be in the form of a recipe or meal idea, and I would frantically write it down so I didn’t forget it. Some of my best recipes were formed that way. But now, that strike of inspiration is coming in the form of fine art photography, and more specifically in the style of self portraits, editorial and fashion.

And there lies the problem. This site is called Natalie’s Killer Cuisine and right now, I just want to talk fashion and photography with you. I want to ask the world why the hell Nicki Minaj is sitting front row this past New York Fashion Week next to Anna Wintour. I want to tell you all about my trip to New York City recently and my experience at the Alexander McQueen Savage Beauty exhibit. I want to tell you about the books I’ve  read, such as the ones about Isabella Blow and Christian Dior (and I want to brag about how many times THE Daphne Guinness has tweeted me back!) I also want to show you the work of the greatest photographers that existed in my opinion, such as Man Ray, Richard Avedon, Mario Testino, Nick Knight, and Helmut Newton.

So what do I do? Continue to abandon this blog due the lack of cooking in my life (but trust me, I am still eating great meals) or start to write honestly and freely about everything on my mind? I would love to turn this into a Dallas related- personal thoughts and ideas- fashion and photography blog with a small side dish of cuisine. (Not advertising my services for the record, I hate those blogs). And I would love to have all my posts from the first time I made a food blog entry, to my transition into what I want it to become now, rather than starting an entirely new website. I do think this shift in focus and inspiration is not only my personal interests, but professional as well. I see myself photographing people now. Specifically, fierce women. (No babies or weddings. Puke!) 

What do I do foodies? Will you stick it out with me? Will you abandon me?
Should I change my name? Should I get a new site to link to this one?
Any advice from friends, family or bloggers? Is this thing on?
Please comment, email me, or do neither and just look at my pictures!

——————-

All photos were inspired by one single color, which you should easily be able to detect.

All photos are ©Natalie Hebert, 2011. Please asking before using, it’s only nice.
To see the rest of the images from the self portrait series, click here.

But here are two pictures anyways!

So in between classes and a busy work schedule, I still have to cook and eat great food. If there is one thing this busy girl won’t do, it’s resort to fast food. Instead, I make my own food… fast. I have made it a habit to make plenty of ‘make ahead’ dinners, such as these great broccoli and cheddar twice baked potatoes, and dinners that make great lunches the next day, like these pasta recipes. But let’s not forget, I have a major sweet tooth! I still want homemade desserts, but don’t have the time to make and decorate things like my killer carrot cake (aka the best cake ever). I use my 7qt slow cooker all the time, and have occasionally seen recipes online for cake recipes, made in a slow cooker. So I tried it.

Let me tell you, you can’t achieve this kind of flavor and crust in a plain ‘ol cake pan!

So you may be wondering how a slow cooker cake can save you time. Basically this takes 3.5 hours, rather than say 45 or 50 minutes. Well, while this cake was baking, I was in class. My classes at school are 4 hours and the cake has to cool for 30 minutes before being removed from the slow cooker. So before class I threw all the ingredients in the slow cooker, set it for 3.5 hours, left for school, came home, it had cooled, and I had a piece of cake, and everything was perfect in the world. You can go to class while this is baking, clean your house, cook a fabulous dinner, get a hair cut, read Harry Potter, watch all of the Lady Gaga music videos, or whatever it is you need to do!

This cake is better than your average upside down pineapple cake. And it has to due with the fact that it was slow cooker for 3.5 hours. The butter, brown sugar and whiskey creates a perfect sauce for the bright pineapple. And as it seeps down the sides and receives that side heat only a slow cooker can provide, a beautiful dark crust is formed. Crust, nuts, pineapple, sauce, soft cake.

I mean really… this dessert is awesome.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake with Whiskey Brown Sugar Glaze
yield: 12 servings

(Recipe is for a 7qt slow cooker. If yours is 4qt or smaller, half recipe)

Pineapple:
4 TBS Butter, small pieces
¾ cup packed Brown Sugar
3 TBS Whiskey
½ cup Pecan Pieces
2 cans Pineapple Slices, drained

Cake:
1 ½ cup AP Flour
1 ½ tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Cinnamon
½ tsp Salt
1 stick Butter
1 1/3 cup Sugar
2 Eggs, room temperature
2 Egg Yolks, room temperature
4 TBS Whole Milk

Pineapple: Butter the inside of 7qt slow cooker and line completely with foil, then butter the foil. Turn to HIGH. Sprinkle with the 4 TBS of butter, brown sugar, whiskey, and pecan pieces, then pineapple slices. Press the pineapple slices into the sugar.

Cake: Sift flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt into a large bowl. Whisk to evenly combine. In another bowl, slowly beat the butter and sugar with electric mixer until just blended. Raise speed to high, and beat until light and fluffy, about 10 minutes. Beat in the eggs and egg yolks, along each to be fully incorporated before adding the next.

While mixing slowly, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in three parts, alternating with the milk in two parts, beginning and ending with the flour. Mix at medium speed to make a smooth batter. Pour the batter over the pineapples, and smooth to even it out.

Cover the cake tightly with the lid (adding paper towels around the edge for a tighter seal). Let cake cook on high for 3 ½ hours until the cake begins the brown slightly and springs back when touched in the middle. When finished, turn slow cooker off and let the cake set, about 30 more minutes.

Using the foil, lift the cake from the slow cooker, set on counter to cool, about 30 minutes. Fold back foil and carefully invert onto a platter. Enjoy with ice cream!

If you are one to splurge on a treat when at Starbucks, then you will know they have changed in the last 6-7 years. Gone are the days of espresso fudge brownies, toffee almond bars, marble pound cake and the delicious cranberry oatmeal bars. 

This past week I was craving Cranberry Oatmeal Bars, and the memory of eating them wasn’t enough. I HAD to make them. Lucky for me I had everything on hand, so I threw on a pot of coffee, turned up Adele, and quickly made them. Less than an hour later I was eating the delicious bars, and remembering all the early mornings working there. I don’t miss 4am shifts, but I sure do miss the cranberry oatmeal bar breakfasts!

Cranberry Oatmeal Bars
recipe adapted from My Recipes

Crust
1 cup AP Flour
1 cup Quick Cooking Oats
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Baking Soda
6 TBS Butter, melted
3 TBS Orange Juice
Filling
1 1/2 cup Dried Cranberries
3/4 cup Sour Cream (I used light)
1/2 cup Sugar
3 TBS AP Flour
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/2 tsp Orange Zest
1 egg, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

1. Combine the flour, oats, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, baking soda, in a large bowl and combine with a spoon until clump free and evenly mixed. Add the butter and orange juice and mix with a spoon until fully combined. Press half of the crust mixture into a prepared 11×7 inch baking dish.
2. In a separate bowl add the cranberries, sour cream, sugar, flour, orange zest and egg. Mix until fully combined. Spread cranberry mixture over prepared crust; sprinkle reserved oat mixture evenly over filling. Bake for 40 minutes, or until edges are golden. Cool completely before cutting.

The bars I prepared were almost just as I remembered them. The crust was thick, chewy and not too crumbly, with the perfect amount of cinnamon. The cranberry filling was sweet yet still tart, and went great with the rich crust. I think I remember the filling of the bars at Starbucks may have had a cranberry jam type filling and not whole cranberries, which I might try next time. But maybe not, since these were great anyways.

Are there any treats you miss from Starbucks?

I received an assignment two weeks ago and it was simply to ‘create an 8 picture fine art series’ and this was also considered my final in my portraiture class. Doesn’t my school sound fun?

So my first idea was splattered paint and/or paint drips on my friends faces. But I’ve realized, some of my friends are conservative when it comes to art, paint, or anything out of the norm. So I invited over a group of girls on two different Sundays, and told them I would be ‘painting a little something on their face, and photographing them’, what they didn’t know, was that I was lying. Nope, I didn’t paint them. I made them paint themselves, with no assistance from me or anyone else. I told them to do whatever the hell they wanted, while I handed over the acrylic paint and paint brushes.

So when you look at these images. I don’t want you to see a bunch of pretty girls with paint on their face, but see their face in the paint. The paint represents them, at that moment, on that Sunday.

(psst, can you tell which one is me??)

The kind that deserves a pretty plate instead of a ziplock baggy. And the kind that requires an explanation to others when you offering them one. “An olive oil cookie, what does that mean?”, I was asked as I gave these to my co-workers. They were delicate, delicious and sophisticated, and led us all to the office coffee maker (to discuss important business matters like Charlie Sheen.)

The better the olive oil, the better these cookies will taste. I used a cold pressed olive oil straight from Italy and these had such a great nutty flavor; flavor you can’t get from butter or vegetable oil. The cookies aren’t overly sweet since they contain cocoa powder, bittersweet chocolate and espresso, but rolling them in sugar before baking adds just enough sweetness to cut through the sometimes bitter flavor of cocoa powder. The cookies are not very soft, but a bit dry and delicate like a shortbread. They pair perfectly with afternoon coffee…. or as a midnight snack…. or crumbled on ice cream… you get the picture.

Chocolate Espresso Olive Oil Cookies
recipe adapted from The Capitol Baker
yield: 24 cookies

1 2/3 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 TBS Espresso Powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate
Sugar, for rolling

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

1. Melt the chocolate in the microwave in 30 second intervals.  Set aside and let cool until lukewarm.  Sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, espresso, baking soda, and cinnamon.
2. In a small bowl mix together the olive oil, vanilla and almond extracts.  Add this to the dry mixture.  Add the melted chocolate and stir until the mixture comes together into a uniform mass.
3. Using your hands, roll the dough into ball about 3/4 to 1 inch in diameter. Roll and cover completely in sugar, and place them 2 inches apart on the parchment lined baking sheets. Use your palm to very gently flatten the cookies a bit, as they don’t spread much. Bake the cookies until lightly browned, about 20-25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.

Last week, Calphalon graciously sent me one of their new digital 7qt slow cookers to try out (in exchange for an original recipe), and though my time has been limited, I still agreed. After all, isn’t that one of the best thing about slow cookers? Throw the ingredients in, come back a few hours later and you have something delicious! And this soup, is very, very delicious.

My current slow cooker was a few years old, used, abused, and not digital. I think it may also have a technical problem when heating up, and I would usually boil liquid before pouring it into it  (which defeats the whole purpose of being able to throw ingredients into the crock pot and take off.) The Calphalon slow cooker is new, shiny, as well as extremely easy to use. I love the digital screen, it makes it so easy to set, and see how much time is remaining.

I decided to make a soup in my new slow cooker, and was inspired by the large parmesan rind I had in my fridge. I always save those. They are great in soups, and flavor the liquid with the familiar salty flavor of parmesan. This soup is relatively healthy, extremely hearty, and unbelievably flavorful. Also, the parmesan croutons on top really tied in with the light parmesan flavors in the soup, as well as add a nice crunch. The basil cut through the saltiness and added a bright note. In all, this is a great soup that I hope you try soon. Pair with a caesar salad for a light brunch!

Slow Cooked Tomato Parmesan Soup
with parmesan croutons and fresh basil

1 onion, large dice
3 garlic cloves, smashed
1 shallot, sliced
3lb fresh tomatoes, chopped 2
TBS Tomato Paste
(1) 46oz can Vegetable V8 46oz Vegetable Stock
Thyme, 5-7 sprigs
Basil, 5-7 large leaves
2 tsp Dried Oregano
2 tsp Dried Rosemary
1 large Parmesan rind (rind only, no cheese)
1 cup Heavy Cream
Salt and Pepper, to taste
Parmesan croutons, recipe below
Fresh basil, for topping

Place all ingredients in slow cooker (excluding croutons/chopped basil), turn to high heat for 5 hours. After 5 hours, remove the thyme, fresh basil, and parmesan rind. Place half to most of the liquid into a blender (depending on how smooth you prefer), and blend on high speed. Return to slow cooker and stir in blended soup, and turn to low heat. Add the cream, and salt and pepper to taste. Serve while hot with parmesan croutons and freshly chopped basil.

Parmesan Croutons

2 cups Croutons
Pan Spray, butter or olive oil
Parmesan Cheese, shredded

Add croutons to a baking sheet, and evenly coat with pan spray. Sprinkle croutons with shredded parmesan cheese. Bake for 5-10 minutes, stirring often to ensure they are evenly coated. Bake until browned and cheese is melted. Enjoy on soups and salads.

You can view the recipe at Calphalon.com

This is my coworker Victoria.

I had an assignment in which I had to shoot a kid or family in natural lighting,.
I asked my friend Vanessa who has the cutest 3 year old daughter, ever.

This is my friend Sarah..

Oh and look, I even photographed Joy from the food blog Joylicious!

What do you enjoy taking pictures of? Food, people, landscapes….?

I don’t like snow, and I don’t like ice. Sure that picture  of the courtyard may be kind of pretty, but the city of Dallas is not. Conditions are bad here right now. We are on day four of this wintry mess and last night brought around 6 inches of snow, on top of all the ice that still hasn’t left. Is it weird I feel bad for all of the superbowl visitors? And my poor boyfriend. The restaurant he works at has been rented out tonight for a private party by the Philadelphia Eagles, and he is such a loyal hard worker and refused to call in, even thought my car is encased in a block of ice. He literally started walking to work (6 miles away) to figure it out. He got there 4 hours later, but the real problem will be tonight when he gets off and the busses have stopped running. We shall see what happens. Send good vibes to him and to my city, because this is not good. Everyone makes the joke that Dallas drivers freak out and act crazy. Really, we just don’t know what to do. We don’t have the tires, the equipment, or even the amount of salt necessary to keep the roads safe. I just went to check on my car (because it’s stuck on hill in my apartment complex) and there was a three car pile up at the exit gate from people sliding into each other. Yikes!

When the weather is like this Dallasites need to be doing two things only, and thats cooking and eating.

I made this spicy vegetable jumbalaya, which has been keeping me very warm (in between visits to check on my car).

Tuesday I made those chocolatey peanut sweet rolls, but today I avoided sugar. Being trapped inside a cold home with chocolate sweet rolls is never a good idea. Thank goodness I always keep a fridge stocked full of vegetables, because this meal was easy to throw together in less than 45 minutes, but had the house smelling delicious and warm for hours.

Vegetable Jambalaya
yield: 4 portions

1/2 cup Brown Rice
2 TBS Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 Garlic Cloves, smashed
1 Red Onion, cut into eighths
1 Eggplant, diced
1 Green Bell Pepper, slices
1/2 cup Baby Corn Cobs
1 cup Broccoli Florets
14 oz can Diced Tomatoes
2/3 cup Vegetable Stock
1 TBS Tomato Paste
1 tsp Creole seasonings
1/2 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
Salt and Pepper, to taste

1. Cook the rice in a saucepan of boiling water for 20 minutes or until cooked through. Set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a heavy skillet. Add the garlic and onion and fry, stirring occasionally, for 2-3 minutes.
3. Add the eggplant, bell pepper, corn, broccoli to the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally for about 2-3 minutes.
4.  Stir in the vegetable stock, canned tomatoes, tomato paste, creole seasoning and red pepper flakes.
5. Season to taste and cook over low heat for 15-20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
6. Stir the brown rice into the vegetable mixture and cook, mixing well, for 3 – 4 minutes, or until hot. Serve immediately.

This was a great meal. The vegetables each provided a different texture, my favorite being the crunchy corn or the tender broccoli. I went heavy with the creole spices and red pepper flakes, because I wanted something spicy. You can easily adjust this meal using any vegetables you have, or don’t have on hand. And go ahead, add sausage!

Stay warm everyone!