Creamy pasta
It’s been almost one and a half year ago that I last made this dish… Where did time go?? I cannot believe it is that long but here we are in 2010 and I made this before in 2008… The recipe comes originally from the book “Rond de wereld in 80 recepten” (around the world in 80 recipes) from Madelon Schoemaker and I loved it right from the beginning. It’s not something that Tom would like as it is way too creamy for him, but I totally love it. I did make some alterations from the first time I made it from the one I made for lunch today, but overall; very good recipe… Now….. I also attempted to take a photo of the dish that first time and… ok.. this is quite embarrassing so promise you will not laugh…. I think I can safely say that it is officially the WORST foodphoto I (or anyone else for that matter) have ever made. Seriously…. if you look at that photo you would not ever want to go and make that dish now would you?? 
The same creation two years ago....
I get red cheeks even looking at that blob on the left… I do remember being totally frustrated with it (I wonder why??) and then even attempting to remake the dish with all the wrong ingredients and well, quite frankly it only proofs that I didn’t know a thing about foodstyling back then. And I only took the picture on the left and below to prove a point really. Not because I thought it was worth sharing!! (well, the recipe is, but the photo… let’s not talk about it anymore…) The second attempt with the green tagliatelle (what was I thinking???) is possibly worse then the first even. Well no, that is just the ultimate wrongness… haha..
Ofcourse two years ago I only started out in blogging and taking foodphotos and it was all pretty new to me. If I had known a little more I would have realized from the start that the sauce is not the most photogenic so following the recipe and taking the photo as it was; is simply not gonna work for this dish. And while the photo that I took today is not entirely perfect either.. it’s a hell of a lot better then that first one; wouldn’t you agree?
And the sorry second attempt...
I remember posting it on Flickr, quite desperately and asking people how they would possibly improve on this dish… I removed the photo later on as you don’t want that to be seen by anyone quite frankly. But on the other hand; it’s the reality, right? And I am sure I am not the only one who has been faced with total disaster when it comes to styling (or cooking) your food. Some dishes are just more photogenic than others and this is a good example of a rather difficult dish to style. For starters the sauce is white as you can see and quite thick so it does not flow around the pasta like – for instance – a carbonara would do so it’s a blob of sauce to start with. When you add all ingredients to the sauce and then put the sauce on top of the pasta you get the results on the left.
So what did I decide to do differently knowing where it would go wrong. I chose a different shape of pasta and certainly not the whole wheat variety which is just plain terrible to look at. I mixed the onions and the chicken that I used with the mascarpone and that was then my sauce but the rest of the ingredients I decided to add to the pasta later and not mix all together in the sauce. After cooking the pasta I added a drop of olive oil to it, so it shines nicely (and doesn’t stick together obviously) which also helps with the overall look.
I changed some of the ingredients to suit my taste better. The original recipe has shrimps in it and I am not a huge fan of shrimps. I like them, just not everywhere so I substituted with smoked chicken. Below is the recipe for 2 people with my alterations included.
CREAMY PASTA
150 gr pasta
1 spring onion, chopped
200 gr cherry tomatoes
150 gr smoked chicken, chopped
100 gr mascarpone
fresh parsley, cut
peper, salt, italian herbs
pinenuts, toasted
50 gr chive, cut
parmezan, grated
Boil pasta according to instructions. Cut the tomatoes in two. For the sauce lightly fry the onions and add the smoked chicken. Once done, add the onions and chicken to the mascarpone and stir until smooth. Add peper, salt and italian herbs to taste.
Add the chives to the pasta and divide over your plates. Put the sauce on top and add the tomatoes, pinenuts and parsley. Sprinkle with some parmezan to your liking…
Now go on…. have a good laugh! 
{ 27 comments… read them below or add one }
Ah, Simone, you have a come a long loooooooooong way
So much better. But isn’t it a great feeling when looking back and seeing how much we have learned?!
Haha (no, I’m not laughing AT you, I promise)! I find it cool to hang on to old photographs, just to see how far we’ve come along. And you have made spectacular progress. I take my hat off to you!
And yes, I would definitely eat the pasta in the latest picture: this recipe sounds delish!
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Wow this looks so yummy! On another note, I love growing as a photographer as a whole, I save all of my photos and love to look back on them and go, “Wow…what were you thinking..” ;]
Wow. If anyone ever needed an illustration of “practice makes perfect”…!
I too can’t believe how horrible many of my older photos look. To think, I thought they were once presentable…!
LOL.. we live and learn
) I don’t even want to go back a year and look at my photos.. they are all embarrassingly dark 
This looks great! So yummy. I love your pictures too. I just started blogging and taking pictures of food. It’s hard! I don’t have much natural light and my white balance is way off. My composition is kind of crummy too. I bought a Lowel Ego Digital Imaging light thinking that would fix some of my problems, but I must be setting that up wrong. The white balance is still off! Anyway – I really enjoy your photo tips.
wow what a nice blog! the photos are awesome! You made me hungry with this dish
Smoked chicken sounds delicious! And what a bright and happy looking dish!
Actually I learned a lot from you. I don’t even want to look back at my photos when I beginning started blogging…so embarrasing :>(
Pasta dishes are def the hardest to style and I think you made it look spectacular second time around! Just remember we all started somewhere!
Well, that just showed how enormously your photography skills have improved! Now you produce the most appertizing, crisp, and elegant photos. I have repeated myself so many times in so many different comments but the essence is that you do fantastic photography! Simply love your photos in every single post, literally
And this pasta is “Good Heavens” tempting!
Sawadee from Bangkok,
Kris
Thanks for the inspiration. Lets me know there is hope that my photography skills will improve.
Mimi
heehee..I also have lots of dishes that looks terrible..
Well – you’ve come a looooong way Baby! Are you sure they are the same recipe? hehe… anyway – am so happy to see how far you’ve come but not only that – but also, your willingness to share your knowledge with us on photography, styling etc. THANK YOU!
Don’t worry, I also have lots of before and after pictures……You have indeed grown so much as a cook, photographer and definitely food stylist!!!Well done!!
Oh, Simone, that photo is hilarious- looks like some of MY photos! You have absolutely stunning photography now, I really hope I can get to your level….one day….a million years from now!
Simone, this is one of the most depressing post ever for me. Your really wrong pics are even better then my pics…. But I hope I ll be able to say I have made some progress in the future. And now I am gonna buy the ingredients for this delicious looking pasta!
Wow. You really are too critical of yourself, Simone. But I do agree that the new photo is mouthwatering. I can’t wait to try it.
Of course, gorgeous. I love people who second try things. Please come back to cooking italy, because there is a lemon chicken on the schedule you must try. It’s diet friendly and amazing. I don’t want you to miss it.
Oh and most importantly, we MISS YOU. xoxo
Chalk it up to experience. We are all growing and improving all the time, right. Besides it matters not because you create amazing food.
Great post. I guess there is hope for me yet!
I love this pasta dish. yummyyy
Gorgeous. Thanks for the styling tips. I would never have thought about keeping some ingredient out of the dish for visual effect. (DOH) I think I’m going to invite myself to your house for lunch! YUM!
A tasty & lovely chicken & mascarpone pasta meal!! Sublime too!
It is a shame though not to choose to make a dish because it doesn’t photograph well. I think taht is the real problem with foodblogging alltogether: sometimes it is just about the pretty pictures!
Haha! That is a such a good example of how making food look good on camera is harder than it seems! Can’t wait to see what it looks like in another two years.
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