This week, I thought I would focus on cookbooks with great food photography, since photography is becoming a bigger part of the food experience these days. There are a few new books out this season which I believe raise the bar in cookbooks. Why? They do not just deliver recipes. They deliver an entire food experience, from the location in which the food is enjoyed, to the environ in which the food is gathered, prepared, and served. [image above from Gordon Ramsey's 'Cooking with Friends', after the jump]

What sets the photography apart in these books? I can tell you what I like, starting first and foremost with the subject, which fills the frame– not a narrow depth of field (where one particular element closest to the camera is in sharp focus and the rest of the image is quite out of focus). I also like images which go beyond the ordinary or the expected. If the idea is to portray the ‘wholesome’ aspect of fresh eggs, instead of a basket of eggs with chicken feathers on them, an image that shows a picture of a grandfather and his grandchild rinsing off eggs before using them to make a birthday cake makes a greater impression on me. Finally, I like to feel like I am there in the scene– so images where the photographer has gotten into the action and shoots from a ‘participatory’ point of view makes a much greater impact.

CLICK HERE for the full cookbook reviews (and a list of great food photographers to check out!) after the jump!

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This is the second part of the New Zealand-based Our Kitchen team. Last week we featured the Vegetable Torta by Sara and Emma in Auckland. This week we have Cookie Cream Sandwiches (with cinnamon-chocolate semi-freddo!) from Adam, Lauren, and Susie in the Dunedin kitchen.

Notwithstanding their different locations, the team keeps their food blog going with wonderful recipes and fantastic photography. Even though Adam says the recipe is a little labor-intensive, don’t believe him! Just make it and enjoy, no matter which hemisphere you’re in! -Kristina

CLICK HERE for the full Cookie Cream Sandwiches recipe after the jump!

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I’m what you might call a bit of a “timid” imbiber, when it comes to alcohol. If it doesn’t taste good, I won’t drink it. If it has to be downed in quick shots, it’s not really my gig. If it must be sipped, savored, and consumed with attention to flavor nuance, however, then I’m on board. I’ve allowed myself to be “over-served” only about five times in my life (those Italian Surfers-a fruity blend of Disaronno amaretto, Malibu rum, and pineapple juice-that I sampled at that ’80’s-themed party whilst dressed as Molly Ringwald were lethal!), every time by mistake. I guess you could call me an intentional drinker, appreciating the flavor and aroma of my chosen brew as much as the individuals responsible for crafting it. I really enjoy a well-made cocktail, a hand-crafted ale, and a nicely aged wine, so much so that, in a previous career, I was a sales representative for a distributor of small-production organic wine and beers. [image sources, clockwise from top left: cocktalia, st. george spirits, plant green, ashley english, pdx plate]

With Halloween past, the holiday season is now officially upon us. For a number of people, that means cocktails! From holiday parties to family meals, from impromptu dinners in with friends to a host of seasonal celebrations, the stretch from October 31st to January 1st is characterized by libations. My small measure topic today highlights the upswing of small-production, domestic liquor producers. Gin, vodka, brandy, whiskey-you name it, someone is making it. In the United States, a number of new distilleries have opened, many of them using locally sourced and organic ingredients.

There are far more than I could list in this post, but a few of my favorites include: Koval Distillery , for their organic grain spirits and Rose Hip Liqueur; St. George Spirits , for their dazzling selection of eau de vies; House Spirits , for their Apothecary Line, including small-production runs of ouzo and rum; Anchor Brewing , for their Junipero gin; Greenway Distillers , for their Crispin’s Rose Liqueur; Square One Vodka , Crop Vodka , Rain Vodka , and 360 Vodka for their organic vodkas; Art In the Age for their Root liquor; and, lastly, Sazerac for their New Orleans-produced Herbsaint, an absinthe substitute that was developed when absinthe was outlawed in the US.

CLICK HERE for the rest of Ashley’s “Getting Into the Spirit: Domestic Liquor” post after the jump!

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with the mainstream publishing industry struggling these days (r.i.p, gourmet), it’s been wonderful to see so many independently and self-published magazines and books on the market. one of the self-published magazines i’m most excited about is a new food journal called “remedy quarterly“. remedy describes itself as “stories of food, recipes for feeling good” and is illustrated in pink and red colors that i find impossible to resist. each issue will have 48 pages (8.5 x 5.5 inches in size), be printed in 2-color offset printing (like the old community cookbooks that inspired the authors) and will be 100% content, ie: no ads.

the first issue’s theme is “home” and includes a q&a with tim of lottie + doof, an interview with will gilson (of cambridge’s famed garden at the cellar) and a story from stacey slate, writer for the ny times food blog bitten. kelly, aaron, jillian and ari (the boston/brooklyn-ites who founded the mag) are currently raising funds for the magazine, but you can go ahead and pre-order or subscribe and get all sorts of goodies like recipes and homemade cookies on their website. i love the promise that this publication holds and am excited to see what sort of creativity comes from the lack of glossy magazines available on stands. here’s hoping that more pubs like remedy (and my fav: edible brooklyn!) can fill the shelves one day…

ps: click here to check out remedy’s clever list of hangover and spicy food remedies on their site…

pps: click here to check out jill’s final post on rain solutions, yurts and domes!

After posting pics a few weeks ago from Lauren’s garden, we had a feeling that readers would be interested in the hanging plants she had on display in her backyard. Turns out Lauren crocheted the clever containers herself, and she’s given us an easy to follow pattern so readers can create their own hanging gardens.

She made a bunch of the crocheted plant cozies, all of varying size and color, and let us borrow a big handful to play with. We filled them with flowers (naturally), but the possibilities are endless. Pick a little posy and hang it on a friend’s front door- they’ll get a pleasant surprise when they arrive home from work. Put a cluster on a hook in the kitchen and they’d be a pretty way to store and display fresh herbs from the farmer’s market.

These little knits would make great wintertime decorations, and possibly even stocking alternatives. Imagine a candy-colored row filled with goodies hanging from your mantle. So get out your crochet hooks and get cracking. (If you’re not so deft with your hooks, Lauren’s got some you can buy at her Etsy shop, too.)

CLICK HERE for the full post after the jump!

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today’s final before & afters are devoted to kitchens, bathrooms, home exteriors and a seriously sweet pink living room. first up is lauren from pure style home. she rescued both her kitchen and nook from serious blah-dom with wallpaper, wainscoting, a chalkboard fridge and a beautiful chandelier. well done, laura! click here for more info on her process.

[have a before & after you'd like to share on design*sponge? shoot me an email right here with your (low res please) images]

CLICK HERE for kevin’s living room makeover and j.c.’s home exterior and bathroom upgrades after the jump!

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