In January, I was putting the finishing touches on my portfolio site when I decided to dig around all of my food photos to add some color to my about me page (I’ve been told it helps to sell yourself). Looking at my favorite shots, I realized that I had fallen into a pattern with the dishes I was photographing: everything was top down, centered plate, isolated in the frame. I wanted to push myself when I was making these image this month to move away from that.

The plates look nice, but it isn’t really artful food that is meant to stand as an object on its own. That would take a lot more practice, and I’m not really sure that’s where I’m going with this anyway. At the end of the day, I am really making this food to eat. It’s more photo-diary with an interest in aesthetic than it is artistic cookery (or for that matter studio perfect shooting). I dug through an Are.na board I had started and looked for inspiration at the start of the month and thought I found something.

1. Gratin de pommes de terre et saucisson

One of the first things I landed on was that the photos I was saving had busier frames than the ones I was making. I thought a bit about what items I could place around the food to try to tell the story: was it raw ingredients, a cookbook, some cooking implements, maybe a speaker, an apron or some of the other things I had around while I was making the dish? I cooked this in the evening and by the time it was done I didn’t have it in me to do quite as much set dressing as I might have. I organized what was on the table, set up my light, and stood on a chair.

2. Nikujaga

After making the gratin, I had leftover potatoes which felt like the perfect opportunity to try this Japanese meat and potatoes recipe. I had broth in my freezer after making Wolfgang Puck’s Ma Maison Chicken Salad the month before and the ginger in this recipe turned it into something really beautiful. The potatoes did get a little overcooked, but I’m quite happy with how the little scallion spears sit on top of everything. I could see this becoming a go-to winter dish.

3. Cilbir

I was riding my bike back home after climbing the hill to Griffith Observatory when I thought over what I had in my fridge and decided ‘Turkish eggs’ would be the perfect breakfast. Despite everything feeling automatic, it took longer than I would have liked to set up all of the components. That said, the result was worth it. Of course, it was even better the next day when I added just a bit more of the chili oil.

4. Marry Me Mushroom Pasta

I was clearing out bookmarks on Instagram when I came across this recipe from an account and I can’t find it anymore. The measurements were behind a paywall but I winged it and it came out alright.

5. Shorbat Adas

I’m already thinking about making more of this. The bright, sour, herbaceous combo really worked for me and the reds and greens make for a pretty decent image too.

6. Caraway Sausage with Linguine

This was supposed to be a fennel sausage but I realized last minute all I had was caraway. Growing up I didn’t know what they were, but I knew I loved those little guys that stuck to the end of the rye bread. As a last minute backdrop switch, I took some paper out of a bag that had come from Heath Ceramics and laid it on the table. I also decided to go back to using more shallow depth of field to try to get more of that home diary feel.

7. Spiced Lentil and Walnut Pita Pockets with Creamy Cucumber Salad

I cooked this super last minute one night and was quite happy with how it came out. As a lover of pita chips, the crispy baked pita really worked for me and I was surprised at how well the lentil filling behaved itself.

8. America’s Test Kitchen Ground Beef Chili

Chili number two in my year of one chili a month. More to come on that later. The corn chip base