Is it a cookie or is it a cupacake? Really, that is a trick question. It is both! Half cookie, half cupcake, and all delicious. Let me introduce you to the Mint Chocolate Chip Cookie Cupcake.
Taylor Takes a Taste » What I take will make you hungry
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 Over the last several months you have seen the ads, tweets, facebook reminders and any other way that I have hyped my December food photography workshops. Well the waiting has ended. This past weekend, the Food Photography Overhaul workshops took place. 5 comments  December 20, 2011 - 2:06 pm
Thank you a thousand times over, Taylor! The workshop was nothing short of amazing, and I can’t wait to sign up for your future seminars!  December 20, 2011 - 2:13 pm
Looks like you guys learned a lot and had a great time! The photos look amazing!  December 20, 2011 - 5:53 pm
Taylor … I was supposed to go to the Dec 10th and 11th … so upset I could not make it … please keep me posted for anything close to Charlotte. Thank you!  December 21, 2011 - 8:43 am
I’m sorry that I had to cancel the 10th and 11th classes. I will definitely announce on the blog when I will be having another workshop! I look forward to having you in class!  December 28, 2011 - 12:29 am
Hi Taylor! I live in Durham so I am hope to book one of your workshops soon! Your blog is awesome! Thanks for your posts! – Jasper
 I realize that I have been MIA recently. I apologize for that. When I noticed that this is the first post of December and I it is now December 13th, I realize that I owe you all an apology. 3 comments  December 13, 2011 - 4:33 pm
What a beautiful shot of the juice! Congrats on another great season of tailgating under your belt:) December 13, 2011 - 7:54 pm
Wow, your patients in mashing all those capsules is pretty impressive (and in addition the way you managed to make a beautiful photo of those crushed little pods)!  December 13, 2011 - 11:09 pm
I bet this is delicious! Susan (doughmesstic) made a delicious pie using pomegranate but almost didn’t because she was so unhappy with the color. Funny, huh? Glad you’re back
I had originally intended to post this a few days ago, but the weather and traveling toll of tailgating caught up to me. I have had pretty bad cold for the last few days that has left me sleeping more than working. I don’t really have much of a voice right now, but luckily this is a written blog and not a video blog. Anyway, here is a little piece from my Thanksgiving. 8 comments  November 30, 2011 - 4:33 pm
Lovely photographs Taylor!!! Your photographs remind me of the story the enormous turnip. December 1, 2011 - 1:44 am
D’aww, I’m sure your parents are going to love that gift! Your turnips look awesome! I’m suddenly hungry! I like to eat turnips the Taiwanese way–in fried cake form. They’re especially good with the dipping sauce. December 1, 2011 - 10:54 am
Awwww I love the photos!! I especially loved seeing your grandparent’s farm. I was worried NC had too many trees for farmland! I have hope  December 1, 2011 - 9:26 pm
Hi Taylor – nice to meet you and your family! Your grandparents’ farm must be spectacular. That simple turnip recipe sounds perfectly delicious. December 7, 2011 - 12:09 pm
Thanks Lori! December 7, 2011 - 12:10 pm
Don’t worry NC has lots of farmland! December 12, 2011 - 11:56 am
Taylor, Somehow, and I do not remember how exactly, I stumbled over your blog this past summer, past. And it might have saved my life…currently hating my job (shhhh don’t tell) in Durham, NC, however grateful for your glorious and very vibrant blog. Today I decided to QUIT being a creeper and subscribe to your blog and send a note as well! Happy Winter! I LOVE turnipssssssssss much warmth! – Jasper in NC December 13, 2011 - 1:10 pm
Jasper! Thanks for subscribing! Glad to meet another person living in NC!
Earlier in the week, I brought you what I found at the Dane County Farmers Market. While in Madison, the farmers market wasn’t the only place that I was able to see and taste a variety of cheeses. 3 comments November 11, 2011 - 2:09 pm
Cheddar is probably one of my favorite cheeses! It looks like you had an amazing trip to WI  November 15, 2011 - 6:41 am
Dear Taylor, If you really like cheese you should have a look at this website, http://www.asturiascheese.com/spanish-cheese. I´m sure you´ll get mad about it, Spanish cheese is the best in the world and it reallyh suits almost anything, so just try it, you won´t regret it.  November 29, 2011 - 1:52 pm
Nice pics and great read. The cave is freakin’ cool. I wanna be a cheesemaker in my next life. Keep up the great posts!
5 comments November 9, 2011 - 7:05 pm
All gorgeous, but the kale and beet shots are my favorite!  November 9, 2011 - 9:10 pm
Oh, how I miss Madison. And the Dane County Farmers’ Market. I want to live there again!  November 11, 2011 - 11:36 am
[...] in the week, I brought you what I found at the Dane County Farmers Market. While in Madison, the farmers market wasn’t the only place that I was able to see and taste [...]  November 11, 2011 - 4:06 pm
What an awesome opportunity! I’m excited to read through your future posts about this. That Kale bouquet is absolutely stunning. I’ve seen it growing in front of houses on my walks to class and never realized what it was. Awesome!  November 22, 2011 - 10:18 am
Gorgeous shots. I didnt even know Brussel Sprouts grew on a stalk.
Halloween is that special time of the year where as an adult, you can wear a skin tight orange spandex suit, or walk around with a cape, or pretend to be a super hero, and no one will look twice. Well these activities are seen in the tailgating world every Saturday! 2 comments  October 27, 2011 - 1:26 pm
Okay, the larger gentleman wearing the purple and yellow morph suit WITHOUT a pair of shorts is just wrong. Is that at an LSU game? October 27, 2011 - 1:27 pm
College fans really do come up with some pretty impressive costumes during football season. I’m attending the UM vs Virginia game tonight so I’m sure I will be in for a few costume treats:)
Remember a few posts ago when the pumpkin was the subject? Well something had to be done with that pumpkin! 7 comments October 21, 2011 - 1:50 am
I always learn so much from you! Thanks Lately I’ve been struggling with composition: I’m having a hard time taking vertical shots with enough background. Does that make sense? I think I practically need a 10-foot long board so that my background looks ‘endless’ Such a frustrating shoot today. Wish you lived closer October 21, 2011 - 1:54 am
YUM, the recipe sounds delicious, and looks even better in your photos!  October 21, 2011 - 12:58 pm
Lighting is such a struggle, closely followed by composition and then thirdly not noticing weird details (like a string hanging off a napkin, etc.) With the days getting shorter I think I will have to break down and buy an artificial light.  October 21, 2011 - 2:55 pm
Thank you so much for this tutorial and showing us the behind the scenes look at how you get these great shots! I’m always struggling with getting the right lighting and it’s definitely getting harder as the days get shorter! Love that you propped your fill card up with a vodka bottle!  October 21, 2011 - 3:21 pm
Those look delightful! I need to invest in some artificial lighting; my apartment has only North-facing windows, which does nothing for my poor camera most of the time. As for the recipe, I think some key words may have deleted themselves? I’m assuming it requires, 1 cup granulated sugar, 1 cup light brown sugar, 3 cups flour, but the recipe’s not complete.  October 25, 2011 - 12:16 pm
Thank you for this great explanation! I really enjoy all of the diagrams that you show. I always have a really hard time with lighting, and find that I take all of my pictures from one or two angles. I feel like your demonstrations have given me some tips I’ll be able to use to expand my horizons. Thanks!  February 27, 2012 - 3:59 am
Thank you very much for your explanation style, specially for diagrams.
Fall is here. With the new season comes a variety of new foods. Let’s take a look at the Butternut Squash. I love squash roasted with butter, cinnamon, and brown sugar. Delicious. With squash season comes a problem though; shorter days. This means less time to shoot with natural light. Don’t worry, there is a solution though. 1 comment October 15, 2011 - 8:28 pm
I LOVE your blog! I’m learning so many things about photography and trying my best to put it all to use, even though I only have a little point-and-shoot. (If you know anything about how to best utilize the features of a Canon powershot SX210, please lmk!)
Technically, the first day of fall was September 23rd. Not until today did it feel like fall to me. I am not sure what it was that made today the day when fall finally hit me. I love fall! It is without a doubt my favorite season! I welcome the break from mid ninety degree temperatures and love wearing long sleeves, light jackets, and sweaters. Most importantly it is college football tailgating season! I love drinking pumpkin flavored drinks, and well eating anything pumpkin flavored ! With the change of seasons come not only changes in what you eat, but more importantly your color palette! 2 comments  October 11, 2011 - 3:11 pm
Neat! Thanks for making this tutorial for clueless people like me. I never even thought about this. All your pictures are beautiful, by the way. I live very far away from Charlotte and can’t attend the workshop. That stinks because I’d love to know how to shoot at night. Or with this horrible and almost constant super intense greyness that starts in October and stays until May. To those who can make it, have fun!  March 5, 2012 - 9:14 am
Another great post! I love how you show the same subject with the background changed, It really brings into focus, sorry for the pun, what difference the background can make, I love the burlap, going to have to go out and find some!
Mmm Boiled peanuts. These delicious treats can be found all over the South. From roadside stands selling hot bags of them to a standard items at college football tailgates, late summer and fall is boiled peanut season. For the recipe you can head over to Taylor Tailgates Today I am going to use these boiled peanuts as an example to show you how to create a diptych. 8 comments October 7, 2011 - 2:57 pm
I’m bookmarking this one. Occasionally, I like to do this, but I usually end up spending too much time trying to figure out how to make everything fit.  October 7, 2011 - 9:06 pm
Thank you SO MUCH! This is exactly what I needed! With a little luck, my photos will look much less drab.  October 9, 2011 - 9:22 am
Thanks so much, Taylor. This is an easy to follow tutorial! I can see myself making a few PSD diptych templates to use on my blog.  October 11, 2011 - 8:02 am
Loved this tutorial Taylor! I plan on incorporating some diptychs into upcoming posts!! I always wondered how you did that. October 11, 2011 - 6:17 pm
I just discovered your site and I love it! I am desperately seek all the photography help I can get. I’ve recently decided to step up the game in my photos on my blog. I’ve discovered that it’s impossible to just figure it out on your own! I’ve read your last 5 posts and will be spending lots of time going through your archives. Thanks for the easy to follow instructions. October 14, 2011 - 9:39 am
[...] is another example of a diptych. The squash on the left is before roasting for an hour and 15minutes at 400F. The squash on the [...]  October 15, 2011 - 10:03 pm
The pictures are awesome displayed in a diptych. Maybe when I grow up someday and really learn how to do photography, I’ll be able to come back and give it a go.  March 2, 2012 - 7:06 pm
Thank you so much for this tutorial. This is very generous of you. I have downloaded a copy of gimp (gimp.org) that is the free version of photoshop. (They have finally debugged the mac version.) Now my problem is I don’t know what I am doing. This really helps. I love the food community.
As you have probably noticed, football season is in full swing! I am spending mine traveling to a new tailgating spot every weekend, but between those tailgates, I am still taking pictures of my food. I am sure that you have noticed the days are getting shorter and fall weather is here. This might be great for tailgating and spending time outdoors, but it can be awful for your food photography. 8 comments  October 4, 2011 - 4:33 pm
Great looking brownies and wonderful tutorial! This is very similar to how I set up with my speedlight, works quite nicely at night October 4, 2011 - 5:12 pm
Amazing looking Brownie and an equally amazing tutorial. Thanks Taylor  October 4, 2011 - 5:23 pm
You are a life saver! Not for the brownie recipe (although it looks scrumptious), but for the tutorial on night lighting, something I struggle with. I look forward to the next installment.  October 5, 2011 - 12:19 am
SO interesting about shooting at night, if I don’t have a diffuser panel can I use a white sheet? What would work as a good alternative? October 6, 2011 - 3:40 am
[...] Recipe? Well, the original recipe was too large for just three of us to finish in a reasonable amount of time, so I made one-third of the original proportions. In some places, it was a bit difficult to scale down appropriately, so I fit in proportions that “made sense” and just crossed my fingers. My adjusted recipe follows, but the original recipe can be found here. [...]  October 6, 2011 - 10:28 am
Always love your tailgating trips, and the helpful tutorials on photography. Thanks! October 18, 2011 - 11:07 am
[...] Food Writer’s Blog I follow, Taylor Takes a Taste , was showing a tutorial on the use of Tungsten Lighting and he just happened to include his [...]  October 25, 2011 - 5:27 pm
Hey Taylor – I just purchased the Lowel Tota Pak lighting kit, and would like to buy a diffuser panel and light bounce as well. Do you have any suggestions for specific brands? I love your posts on photography techniques and tips… I really want to improve my food photos, and you have definitely been helping =). |
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The recipe sounds delicious, too!
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7 comments
Mellissa @ I breathe therefore I'm hungry - This is an awesome idea! Genius really! I can’t wait to try it, the possibilities are endless! Wish I lived in Charlotte so I could join your group but I’m down near Charleston, SC unfortunately! Love your blog!
allison - omg this is fabulous!! I will make a vegan version!
Taylor - O great idea!
Dawna (Simmons) Higgins - So do these taste as good as what your mom use to make for you? I remember you loving her Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies! Looks good I will definitely have to try them out.
Taylor - They are a very similar recipe! They are delicious!
Julia - First of all, did you really mean 1 fl oz of peppermint? That seems like a lot…also, it would be helpful if you could be more specific about cake batter. The cake mix I used didn’t work for this recipe at all.
Taylor - Julia,
I am sorry that it didn’t work out. Yes it is a whole 1 oz bottle of peppermint extract. The cookies are very minty, you can certainly use less if you prefer. I used Pillsbury White Cake mix and they turned out great. I am sorry you weren’t happy with the results. I hope it works better if you try it again.
- Taylor