Savarin Montmorency. It's a yeast-based cake - the same one used in the famous baba au rhum - soaked in rum or brandy, filled with sour cherry preserves, and topped with whipped cream. This one started out as a two-line reference in a very ordinary cookbook.
The Montmorency family was closely connected with the French royal family, but I suspect that the name comes not directly from the noble family, but from the variety of cherries named after them.



Strawberry Shortcake. Typically American; don't say that I'm not patriotic. It's hard to find real strawberry shortcake these days, unless you make it yourself. Most of the commercial imitations are just ordinary yellow cake with strawberries and whipped cream. The "short" in short cake refers to a very high-fat dough, as in "shortening". Don't tell my doctor.



This was just part of the table setting at some kind of family occasion; I think that it was a minor religious holiday, but I don't remember. The characters are, from the top down and left to right: pickled ginger (to accompany the sushi), traditional Jewish jam-filled cookies (storeboughten; we all have our weaknesses), traditional petit fours (storeboughten), nagari sushi, some other kind of sushi which doesn't have a name because I invented it, different nagari sushi, marzipan petit fours (storeboughten), maki sushi, and traditional petit fours (storeboughten).




Salade Nicoise. It was much better than the one I had in Paris, but then, who would trust a Frenchman to make salade nicoise.

You're killing me! Is there a way to become a member of this family? Any unmarried family members yet? Please invite us all to your next sweet little pleasures of the body family events!

Thanks in advance!

Gah! You're absolutely making me hungry! I haven't had my breakfast yet either so... that doesn't help, haha. Man... each of those dishes looks soo good. You're making me drool... lol.



The cakes look very good, especially the Strawberry Shortcake. I never knew that they actually were supposed to look like that -- or that the "short" in shortcake meant "shortening." Thank you for that short but informative explanation; I just learned something new. ^_^



Religious holiday, huh? Have an extra seat at the table for your next religious holiday feast? I'll be sure to be there... ^_~ After all, that picture with all those dishes on it looks soo tasty! Those "traditional petit fours" looks especially good, and the "marzipan petit fours" as well. They actually look like brownies... ^_^ And another dish towards the back of the picture (the dish that looks like white dumplings with some type of green vegetable? on them) reminds of something one would eat when they go eat Dim Sum. ^__^ Anyway... ohh... I'm getting awfully hungry talking about all these foods. I'mma go eat myself. Ciao! And thanks for sharing these pictures and info with us! ^__^

-- scryoko

wow the first and second one look bangin as hell. So the first one is soaked in rum??? Cake and liquor, how better can i gets? So does that particular cake make u drunk?

have you never eaten tiramisu !? Boozy puddings taste the best.

just wondering how this is in the photography forum ??

I'm a purist, so I fell the shortcake could go without the Strawbewrries, but still: yum!

just wondering how this is in the photography forum ??

I thought that they were good photos, and good editing. In fact I considered the photos, not the food, the main subject of the posting. It's not my fault if people around here are sunken deep in the lusts of the flesh (instead of being abstemious like me), and prefer thinking about food instead of art.


So does that particular cake make u drunk?

Not likely. There's about 1/3 cup liquor in the whole cake, about 2-1/2 jiggers. It does give a very noticeable taste, though.

Is this supposed to be art? Or just to show us different kind of foods that look really yummy. If it is supposed to be art, then I say that you need a better camera and some more versatile angles. Prepare and arrange the food so that it looks fashionable. Provide extra lighting for places that may dim the picture. If it's to show us food, then the shortcake looks cool. It's nice to see some european food culture. I see sushi, is that a part of Jewish diet or related in any way?? I just thought that because it theres Jewish cookies and sushi on the table.

When I think of photography, I don't think of taking pictures of cakes and salades. But they look wonderful! Both the photo's and the subjects . And by the way: I'd rather eat a French salade nicoise than a German version. No offence to the Germans, btw.

I don't think much of the late Susan Sontag's work, but she has one good line in her book about photography. She says that Weston's nudes aren't in the least sensual, but his green peppers are very much so.


On the subject of German salade nicoise, I can only say:

I've never seen a purple cow;
I never hope to see one.
But I can tell you anyhow,
I'd rather see than be one.