A bit of this and that....

WELL NOW GIRLS......seeing as its Feb 29th - for any of you brave enough to pop the question today to your beloved, I think you deserve a BIG pat on the back... and load of chocolate... :)Images © Katie Quinn DaviesBlack forest butterscotch trifle with mascarpone creamNote: Recipe below at end of postWHAT KATIE ATE AND PENGUIN AUSTRALIA /LANTERN MONTHLY BOOK GIVEAWAY!So I have great news! A few weeks ago when I was chatting to Julie Gibbs at Lantern/Penguin Book Australia, we were discussing the fabulous feedback offered by you all on the Barbecue Book giveaway (well done again Susan, the book is on its way to you as I type) and Julie mentioned to me they would love to give away some of their stunning books on What Katie ate. We chatted about it and have decided to offer one lucky reader a copy of a different new Lantern release every month. Also, and excitingly, Penguin will try their best where they can, to have the book personally signed to the winner, by the author. So to kick things off, for March and the start of this ongoing feature, the book were giving away is a copy of:TASTING INDIA by Christine Manfield.It is a story of India, a story gathered across many visits, connecting with people in various walks of life. The recipes Christine has collected along the way reflecting the stories of countless mothers, grandmothers, daughters, sons of daughters, brothers, sisters and aunts, as told to Christine during her travels.It contains More than 250 authentic recipes for traditional and contemporary Indian dishes. Includes Indias iconic destinations and remotest corners brought to life by Anson Smarts beautifully evocative photography, and serves as an extensive directory of recommended places to stay, eat and shop.Christine Manfield is one of Australias most celebrated chefs - a perfectionist inspired by strong flavours, and a writer whose successful books; Fire, Spice, Stir, Christine Manfield Originals and Christine Manfield Desserts have spiced up the lives of keen cooks everywhere.Her professional culinary life has culminated to date in three ground-breaking restaurants: Paramount in Sydney from 1993 to 2000, East@West in London from 2003 to early 2005, and now back in Sydney with Universal, which continues to win accolades from critics and diners alike.An inveterate traveller, Christine regularly works alongside respected chefs around the world and hosts gastronomic tours to exotic destinations including India, Morocco, Spain and Turkey. Having eaten her way around India for more than two decades, she is a passionate and erudite guide to the food of this endlessly fascinating land.The photography is utterly stunning and I discovered a great link here showing the contents of the book.To be in with a chance to win a copy simply add a comment below mentioning what feature youre most like to see on a new, updated What Katie ate ~ see section below* re. blog update.All images © Anson Smart and Penguin/Lantern Books AustraliaUSA MAGAZINE-STYLE FEATUREThanks again for the continuing submissions for the America feature. I am bowled over by the amount of emails I am receiving, believe it or not, so much so, I am actually going to have to hire some one to go through all the mails for me and work with me to compile the pics - there are THAT many! On that front, since I mentioned the feature, I have had word that I am now travelling to the US for 2 weeks in mid-April. A very exciting opportunity has arisen for me to shoot at an incredibly cool location (I am beside myself at the possibility) just about 1 hour North of Los Angeles which will be an incredible fit for this American Food/American Photography feature. Therefore - as it only seems fitting, I am going to push back the publication time for this magazine (note - I am looking into costs to actually get a hard copy, printed magazine to be sold on the blog of this feature and will - if successful look at doing a quarterly magazine-style piece on various foods from all over the world or different topics each time). Please note too - if I havent personally replied to each of your mails, I apologise and its only due to me just being choc-a-block with work and getting the book finished. I have received them all and am very grateful, I will get back to you all individually in time.BTW please feel free to keep sending photos, but from now on if you could add USA Photo Submissions in the subject line that would be fab - thanks.A few little tasters.... Images © Valery RizzoImage © Fiona GohariImage © Roséline @ This is GlamorousWHAT KATIE ATE BOOK VOL 1 UPDATE AND BLOG UPDATE*On the book front, well WooHooo! It is done - well at least from my end it is **PHEW** what an undertaking, I can assure you, writing, styling, shooting and designing a 300 page book isnt to be taken lightly. I spent the past 2 weeks designing the publication from start to finish, lots of late nights and early starts but I got there in the end for my deadline which last last Sunday just gone. So it is now in the hands of the wonderful guys at Penguin who are doing all the final tweaks and its great to be on the final home stretch now. This obviously also means I can find more time to update the blog, on a more regular basis, I was a little thrown there over the past few months how all-consuming the book was when you are responsible for so much of it as a single entity, I literally was working 7 days per week up to 16 or 17 hours per day between the book and regular photo work. My plan going forward is to get more regular posts up and am now working with a designer to re-vamp the blog; take is off a blogging platform and make it much easier to navigate. Youll be able to search for recipes and posts with the click of a finger; recipes will be indexed and there may - ahem note may, even be a new video section *eeeek!* All in all I really want to make the blog very user friendly and almost like a photo-journal cookbook online. Ill be looking for one or two regular contributors too. So stay tuned on that front.Please feel very free to add any comments youd like to see, Ill be aiming to get the new site up and running by July or August (just in time for the book launch a month or two later). I am very keen to hear what the readers of WKA want from the site from a functionality point of view. I am always interested to hear what sort of food you like to see listed but please keep in mind I cant write about food I have little or no knowledge about - aka by this I mean, I am not a Vegan, so the chances are I wont be posting Vegan recipes, or say Moroccan food as again, I have really no knowledge of this cuisine ~ some day maybe, but for the moment my recipes are based on good, home cooking with a leaning towards dinner parties and entertaining for friends etc.Actually on that note, Ill introduce a feature, most importantly where I can reply directly to each of your comments and keen to know too if you would like a forum feature for some good discussion and a bit of casual chit chat?So please, comment away folks and on March 30th, announce a winner for the Christine Manfield Tasting India book.REAL LIVING RECIPES ~ WEEKS WORTH OF DINNERS ALL FOR UNDER $100I still shoot on a regular basis for Real Living Magazine, we shoot 3 months in advance of each issue going on sale, which is pretty much the norm for most magazine editorials. These are a few shots I took a few months back featuring Food Editor, Ali Irvines great ideas for meals @ $20 a pop! That is seriously no mean feat here in Oz as food is so expensive so hats off to Ali, as she continues to muster up fantastic ideas on a budget. All the recipes can be found here on the Real Living food section.All recipes Ali Irvine @ Real Living. Photos © Katie Quinn Davies.CHOC RECIPES FROM START OF POST Black forest butterscotch trifle with mascarpone cream1 kg cherries, pitted1/4 cup (55 g) caster sugarJuice of 1 lemon2 tablespoons amaretto liqueurHandful chocolate shavings, to serveChocolate sponge3 free-range eggs1/2 cup (110 g) caster sugar100 g good-quality dark chocolate,(60–70 per cent cocoa solids), broken into small pieces3 tablespoons plain flour2 tablespoons cocoa powder1 tablespoon amaretto liqueurButterscotch sauce3/4 cup (180 ml) pure cream3/4 cup (165 g) brown sugar50 g unsalted butter, cubed1 teaspoon vanilla extract1 tablespoon amaretto liqueurMascarpone cream3 free-range egg yolks3 tablespoons caster sugar1 tablespoon kirsch liqueur200 g mascarpone1 vanilla pod, split and seeds scraped2 tablespoons low-fat milkPreheat the oven to 180˚c fan-forced. Line the base of a 20 cm cake tin with baking paper.To make the chocolate sponge, use an electric mixer to whisk the eggs for 5 minutes or until well beaten and a little frothy, then add the caster sugar and continue to whisk on medium speed until thickened and pale.Half-fill a small saucepan with water and bring to a simmer. Place the chocolate in a small heatproof bowl that fits snugly over the pan without touching the water, and heat over low heat, stirring occasionally until the chocolate is melted. Carefully remove the bowl from the heat and set aside.Add the flour and cocoa to the egg and sugar mixture, then the melted chocolate, and combine. Pour the batter into the prepared tin. Bake for 30–40 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the sponge comes out clean. Allow to cool, then prick the top of the sponge with a fork a couple of times and drizzle with the amaretto.While the chocolate sponge is baking, place the cherries, sugar, lemon juice and 2 cups (500 ml) cold water in a medium-sized saucepan. Simmer over medium heat for 25–30 minutes until the cherries are soft, then strain them, reserving the juice, and set aside. Pour the cherry juice back into the pan and add the amaretto. Simmer for 20 minutes or until the juice has reduced by a third and is very syrupy.To make the butterscotch sauce, place all the ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5–8 minutes or until slightly thickened, then remove from the heat and set aside to cool for 15 minutes.Divide the cooked cherries among your serving dishes and add a tablespoon of the cherry syrup to each one. Break the chocolate sponge into small pieces and scatter over the cherries, pressing the sponge right out to the edge of the dish. Pour a thin layer of butterscotch sauce over the chocolate sponge.Place the dishes in the fridge to chill for 1 hour.To make the cream topping, use an electric mixer to whisk the egg yolks and caster sugar together until smooth, then add all remaining ingredients and beat together to form a smooth cream. Spoon the cream topping over the chilled desserts and serve topped with chocolate shavings.- - - - - - - - - -AND FINALLY ;) ...THE HOMIES 2012!!Its ironic that the first book Im giving away is based on India as last night I received word from a wonderful reader in India (Hi Bijay!) that my blog had been nominated for The Homies 2012 in the Best Food Photography Category, which was very exciting news to hear :) Id love a vote from all you guys (and yep, I know how annoying it is to have to register on a website in order to do so but it only takes a second and its all pretty straight-forward), it would be really, really appreciated :) Thanks! Link here again just in case you missed it ;) Thanks guys xx