FistFullaRoux

I don't know about gold standard, but it probably is the most widely used professional program for pixel manipulation. There are other programs, but Adobe (makers of Photoshop and others) is the Microsoft of the digital picture biz. Any print or press shop worth their weight in card stock can and does use Adobe products. Even Kinko's.

And regarding the "fade to white" thing. Those could very well have been shot on a white table with a white backdrop. Then Photoshop or something similar is used to strip in an interesting background, and tweak the image to create the psychological impact they are looking for. They could have things attacking the Kremlin just as easily as looking pensive on on a linen draped, candlelit table. If that isn't an option for you, the composition of the shot is far more important. The pouring wine thing can be addressed by holding the bottle near the base and cropping the pic to only show the neck of the bottle and the glass itself. It does not have to be a perfect pour. In fact, as long as it's not sloshing out of the glass, it looks better if it's a little sloppy. Gives it some texture and character. And one more thing to keep in mind. Cheese sweats. Sweaty cheese is unappetizing. You'll need more than you think, and if it will be pre cut, use either a perfect blade or wire to have a smooth surface. If you want texture that will look good in print, break the cheese into irregular pieces. Then store it in the fridge until the last possible minute. Or set up two identical trays. Use one to get the lighting right, then pull out the second tray at the last possible moment.

If you have a dark item on a dark background, you want to highlight the edges somehow to increase contrast and make it pop out at you. As an example, look at the top of this page if you are using the new skin. There's an awful lot of maroon up there, but it works because of the highlighting around the edge of the letters in the logo. If you want to put some green olives on a bed of leaves, for instance, make sure the olives are wet and the leaves are dry. The leaves will appear with a matte finish, and you can, using lighting, highlight the edges of the olives themselves with reflected light. The only really tricky thing you'll have to deal with is the wine, I think. Liquids in clear glass pick up all kinds of reflections and extra light. Also, still liquids aren't very interesting to look at, unless you are doing an extreme closeup of an interesting surface. The miniscus (ooh. Been a while since I've been able to work that word into conversation) of the liquid against the side of the glass or something like that. If you could get an action shot of the wine being poured into a glass, like the beer and soda commercials do, it looks more appetizing. As long as the composition of the picture works to draw the eye to the center of attention, ie; the thing near the center of the picture with the highest contrast, you should be fine.

I just noticed that. Nice. Has a certain ring to it....

I'm glad they had fun. It's nice to get people out of Nawlins for a little while. Nothing against New Orleans. But we all know that not all of France is like Paris, and not all of Louisiana is like NOLA. Oh, God. Lejeunes. You picked a good one there. They only do a few things, but the stuff they do is the pinnacle of that particular endeavor. Nice call. Last night, I discovered an Hebert's crawfish stuffed chicken lurking in the freezer from the last trip. Guess what's for supper tonight... Edit=fixed typo

I was wandering the aisles at Books A Million last night (Looking for a few gifts and deciding on what I was going to get myself for Christmas), and found some books that would fit the bill... How to Cook Without a Book by Pam Anderson (No, not that one) is exactly what you are after. It covers technique and some suggestions on flavoring. There are recipes, but she encourages some experimentation. Flavors by Donna Hay - Not to be confused with the Rocco DiSpirito book of a similar name. It's just that. An introduction to a range of flavors, as part of simple recipes that lend themselves (I think) to reinterpretation and addition to other recipes. Also The New Cook by the same author. A good starting point. Heirloom Recipes by Jennifer Rosenfeld Saltiel. It not only has the recipes, but a little history behind each. And it shows that cooking is more than technique and ingredients. But, The Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart is that one I would start with. But you know her skill level. Bread is a good place to start. It teaches patience, it uses the oven instead of the stovetop, and bread is good warm or the next day. Plus, she can use the bread in other recipes (bread pudding, croutons, bread crumbs, sandwiches, etc)

I've had fair luck with the Foreman Grill. It will take a frozen hunk of chicken and make it edible in 10 minutes, and it does a killer grilled cheese. Although I think I lost the little grease trap tray that goes under the front of the thing before I even opened the box. The new Nathan's Hot Dog Grill (yes, really) does the same thing as the old DefrostAMatic, evidently. I've always been intrigued by the seal A Meal and the Rotissierie thing. Although, one major thing about the rotisserie commercial always bothered me. It used as much electricity as a hair dryer. That's anywhere from 1200 to 1800 watts. If you set it and forget it for 2 and a half hours, you might as well heat up the oven. And Jamie Oliver has endorsed a T Fal line, with the red dot that lets you know when the pan gets hot. The commercial is a hoot, as he festoons the walls and ceiling of the kitchen with parsley and olive oil, massacres a bushel of vegetables, does the 80's metal drummer moves with the various untensils, and manages to get footprints on the oven door.

Mac and cheese. Now were talkin. The blue box, the generic version of the blue box, Velveeta shells and cheese (especially good with a can of tuna or a handful of frozen peas mixed in), the fancier recipe kind with the $19 worth of cheese in it.... It's all good. Carbs? Check. Fat? Check. Salt? Check. Really. Isn't that all we want in life anyway? And I've also found that if you have a recipe and no elbow macareenies, use spaghetti or linguini. Any plain pasta will work. The rainbow rotini just didn't work out for me.

Goodie goodie goodie.... I can't wait to hear their take on the countryside. Waiting with bated breath.

All I'm trying to say is people usually don't walk into a grocery store (or home or work or the circus for that matter) with clean hands to begin with. What they are exposed to during normal shopping activities is only adding to the bacteria count. It's like Two Fat Ladies used to say, That which does not kill you makes you stronger. Most people with healthy immune systems fight off thousands of potential infections a day. The more things you are exposed to, the more things you can build up an immunity to.

Well, if you want to be that way about it, consider this: Your average shopper walks into a grocery store after just having closed the door to their car, which is exposed to the elements, vindictive pigeons, the occasional slug, and general pollution. The hands are already tainted. They walk into the store, handle 2 or 3 carts to find one without wobbly wheels, maybe grab a sales flyer that has been handled by who knows what, and head for the produce department. There, they pick up and put down several of the items on the top of the piles, contaminating each one. Occasionally, they pick up a piece of produce, and bring it up to their nose. Continuing through the store, they feel a couple of loaves of bread to pick the freshest one, rummage through the dairy case to find the milk with the latest expiration date, etc. etc. etc. Which is why I wash my produce when I get home. I could care less about the pesticides. But I don't go as far as gloves. Although thinking about it in this detail leaves me feeling a bit skeevy...

Try it on cornbread. Actually, try in with cornbread and milk mixed together in a large bowl for breakfast. The Italian version would be as a garnish over a slightly sweetened polenta. Perfect on biscuits, scones, and pancakes. Use a basic dense yellow cake recipe, pour half into a baking pan, add a layer of figs, and cover with the remaining cake mix. Bake according to directions. Won't even need frosting. Also look for Cajun cookbooks. Fig preserves is a tradition there and used in a lot of desserts. I've picked more figs than I care to remember.

It really looks like it could be airbrushed. A rolled fondant or "white chocolate" ganache airbrushed with the colors in whatever pattern they wanted. If the airbrushed color is simply colored cocoa butter it would shine. And you could use the airbrush to make whatever you wanted actually white. That is a very cool cake, by the way. I may have to give that a try... That would be perfect for pretty much anything except a kid's birthday party, unless it was a very hip kid. You could work in team colors, and do mini cakes for tailgating.

I had always held a secret hope that a Jim Carrey or Billy Crystal would play him (even though they don't look the part). The perfect Ignatius would have been either Andy Kaufman or John Belushi, maybe even Chris Farley. Can you imagine what they could have done with the part? And Will Farrell is about as close as we're gonna get these days. I honestly think he has the skills for it. Although he better have an authentic speech coach. If it's done in the spirit of an indie film, it should be great. If it is going to be promoted as the new summer blockbuster, forget it. And to keep it on a food topic, I wonder if Lucky Dogs is going to do the tie-in? Or if it will be a generic hot dog cart setup... Edit to add John Goodman to the list...

And speaking of New Orleans hot dog vendors, you have heard about the new Will Farrel project, right? Also - An Inc Magazine article about running Lucky Dogs The ones at the airport aren't bad, though.

And I can't believe I almost forgot this one in Lafayette. Artist George Rodrigue, of the Blue Dog fame, has a restaraunt in Lafayette called (wait for it) The Blue Dog Cafe. Original, I know, but it is a sight to behold. Details (including menu) here Edit= typo. Had and has are completely different...

Let me check. I'll get back to you via PM...

I'm glad I was able to help in some little way. I'll be living vicariously through your posts on Lafayette and surrounding areas. If you'll be in the area around the Christmas holidays, I may be able to hook you up with a working tour of a real live crawfish pond. My stepdad farms them. And you really would not need a GPS. The roads are flat and pretty much straight. The tour I outlined pretty much stayed on the main roads. Once you get down there, you'll see what I'm talking about. The only exception to that is Lafayette itself, which has this hexagonal thing going, and is divided by a river. It's not too hard to get turned around there, but it's easy to backtrack, and people love to give directions. And re: Hebert's and hauling it home, I do know they do mail order. It may be worth it to you to order everything there, then have it shipped to your home address. Take a pound or two of boudin with you back to the timeshare. That can be microwaved, if need be.

And another bit of advice, if you do make this trip. Maurice is a notorious speed trap. It says 40mph. Just do it. Don't even think about pushing the speed limit within the friendly confines of Maurice, LA. There's an old joke: "23 state police cruisers were chasing an escaped convict who had just robbed a bank and stole a car. They went though Opelousas at 70, Lafayette at 75, and all 24 of them slowed down to 40 in Maurice." That may be the only downside of the smaller Louisiana towns. If you are careful, you'll be OK. Not trying to scare you, but a lot of these towns have one or two red lights and are narrow spots on a wide highway. South Louisiana is flat, and a lot of the roads go straight for a long time. The urge to push the speed limit is there. Just set the cruise control and try to tune in KBON 101.1 from Ville Platte, and take it easy. edit = yet another in a long line of typos

One of the other great Louisiana foodstuffs. I had almost forgotten about it. Eastern Louisiana pies. I most emphatically agree with the drool part. Heaven in dough. Am now really hungry, again. I'll have to make a side trip when I go home to Lafayette in December...

You know, having been through the whole field dressing things a few times, there is a point during it that I just have to pause and say "Sorry, dude". Apologizing for cutting off the genitalia of a very dead animal is part of the ritual for me. See, hunters can be a little sensitive too....

And unfortunately, I won't be able to join you, otherwise, I would take you on that tour myself. I'm stuck in Birmingham, having drawn the short straw to be on call for the month of November. But I'm going home for Christmas, and I'm bringing two ice chests. Half of my stash from Hebert's got raided after the last trip I made. I'm going to avoid the hassle and just take orders this time. And it will be a bit early, and not quite in season, but you can get King cakes pretty much year round now. Gambino's if you are staying in New Orleans. Although Louisianians arguing over who has the best king cake could take up a website of it's own. This isn't to say New Orleans doesn't have great food. Exactly the opposite. Only they have great New Orleans food. I personally stay away from any menu listing that calls itself "Cajun Style". There is a huge difference. The best food in Louisiana, like anywhere else, is the food served at someone's home, and preferably by an older relative. If you aren't lucky enough to get that, restaurants are a good substitiute. But if I were you, I'd find an old Cajun grandmother to fix you some pork chop rice and gravy with navy beans. Then prop yourself under an old oak tree (If the skeeters aren't too bad) with the beverage of your choice and listen to the old men tell stories on each other. I really miss Louisiana sometimes. I can't wait for Christmas. Damn. Made myself cry. In a good way.

Anyone can kill a day just about anywhere. I don't know if I could recommend Lafayette for a week or more, unless it was someone looking to seriously become a student of the culture. But in one day, you can have 5 or 6 great food experiences, and hit 3 or 4 spots that the average NOLA visitor wouldn't, although it takes a bit of driving. In Lafayette proper there is Acadian Village, The Natural Science and History museum - they pay special attention to local subjects, the gators in ULL's pond (right next to the student union), and 1000 great places to eat. Everyone should take a swamp tour. If you feel like driving a bit more, Floyd's Record shop in Ville Platte is culturally significant. The Liberty Theater in Eunice. There is the tour of the Tabasco factory, Avery Island Jungle Gardens and Bird Sanctuary, and Rip Van Winkle Gardens between New Iberia and Abbeville. Shadows on the Teche in New Iberia. Any three of those stops and a few meals will wear out even the most determined tourist. Although if it was my call and taking a foodie on a Lafayette area tour, I'd leave New Orleans about 7am, after begniets, of course. Fortified with caffeine and a sense of purpose, drive down I-10 (through Baton Rouge - Good for another day trip) to the Breaux Bridge exit. Call ahead to Atchafalaya Experience Swamp Tours and take a boat ride out to the swamp. Good for an hour or two. The bugs aren't too bad in November. Lunch at the original Mulate's in Breaux Bridge. Get a map and directions to Avery Island for the Tabasco factory and Jungle Gardens tour. Back in the car for a trip down LA14 to my hometown of Abbeville. Call the chamber of commerce for a walking tour of what was the "moutain town" in the 1980's remake of The Blob, and get information about the Giant Omelette Celebration (you just missed it. It was Nov 2nd. 5000 eggs, onions, crawfish, and butter. Makes life worth living). Lots of shops and specialty stores. Although, if you go to Lafayette from Abbeville, you should go through a little town called Maurice. There you will find the Mecca of Cajun food. Hebert's Specialty Meats. Bring an ice chest. Within those hallowed, unassuming cinderblock walls, you will find the greatest delacasies. Stuffed deboned chickens with varied stuffings, turducken (but you may have to order that ahead) cracklins, boudin, pre seasoned and already marinating pork roasts, and outstanding tasso and andouille. For dinner, do you eat at Black's Oyster Bar in Abbeville, or do you go into to Lafayette for dinner at the original Don's? You can be back in the crescent city in time for a late nightcap. Later if you take in a show at Grant Street Dance Hall or hit the Baton Rouge riverboat casinos on the way back. That is a foodie trip to the south of Lafayette, my neck of the woods. Not that I'm bad mouthing Nawlins. They have a decent football game over there occasionally, and they do the cutest thing with these plastic beads. But did you ever notice the sidewalk outside of Pat O Brien's is stained red?

Once again, not to discourage anyone's culinary experiments, but I do think that the slow roast over wood on a rotisserie creates a far better bird than frying does. And you don't have a (30 galx5lb/gal) 150 pounds of hot oil plus a hot pot on 3 legs stuck in a pile of kitty litter to deal with. My version of my stepdad's tried and true Best Damn Turkey Ever. 1 12-18 lb turkey - thawed. 1 lb butter - melted Seasonings - to your taste (recommendations: salt, cayenne, and various dried herbs. Dried works better) Add the seasongs to the melted butter. Inject season butter mixture into all parts of the bird. Place the bird on the rotisserie. Add large aluminum or steel nails to the thickest parts of the meat to draw heat inside. Spin for 30 minutes. Season the outside of the bird with salt and cayenne pepper. Continue spinning until thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat reads whatever the recommendation you subscribe to is. You will have the crispy skin that everyone wants, white meat that is juicy and flavorful, and dark meat that does not turn into the rubbery jerky characteristic of oven roasted birds. It is the best of both worlds. Using the rotisserie in conjunction with the heavy nails speeds the cooking time to something like 12-15 min per pound (your mileage may vary). And no, the nails do not let the juices run out. When you insert them, they should be countersunk past the skin. The skin itself will hold it in place, plugging any hole that would allow juices to escape. Just so you know, do not go to Home Depot and get galvanized nails. You can find roasting nails (for lack of a better term) in culinary stores and your local Super Mega Mart. Another thing I have noticed, since I've never really followed a recipe for turkey, is the wide variety of cooking times that people give in recipes. I just did a quick google search, and saw roasting times ranging from 8 to 25 minutes per pound. That is just wrong. I don't think I would trust a recipe that recommended roasting turkey for anything less than 18-20 minutes per pound, unless it was in a convection oven. Then you're down into the 15 minute range.

You've got a few days. Might I suggest getting out into the outlying areas a bit? A 2 hour drive to Lafayette and surrounding area will give you a different perspective. It's been a while since I was in the Big Sleazy, but I was born and raised in Cajun country. You really can't go wrong there. All of Louisiana is not like New Orleans. Great food can be found literally everywhere. The little convenience stores in Acadiana sell boudin for $1 per link. It would go for $4 or 5 in NOLA, and it's either from the same supplier, or an inferior one. But I'm from Lafayette. I'm biased. edit = frappin typo