All the Ask a Blogger talk of hosting a giveaway reminded me that it is time for another participation giveaway over at Culinary Snapshot. Check it out and you could win a $50 Cb2 Gift Card (Crate and Barrel Outlet is Cb2)!

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I don’t know how many of you do it… mom’s with jobs, kids, husbands, responsibilities and yet you still manage to have successful and regularly updated blogs. What is the trick to the balance you have managed to achieve? Or, is it that you are having the same struggles I am but hobbies that you enjoy other than your writing are getting left behind? Is it possible to have it all…to do it all… and to do it all well?

I’ve decided to take baby steps to getting my life back in balance. Writing makes me happy – it is my therapy and I need it. Photography is also something I find joy in. I am going to carve out time each week to devote to each, in the forms of Dine & Dish and Culinary Snapshot.

Hopefully you’ll see more of me around the blogosphere again soon…once I figure out that mythical thing called BALANCE.

Speaking of – Culinary Snapshot has a new post up! I hope you will come over and check it out. If you’d like to be featured as a Snapshot Spotlight or if you have a before and after foodie photo you’d like to share, come on over and let me know! Giveaways for participation will begin again in April.

Just Like Lambert’s Thrown Rolls

There is a great little restaurant outside of Springfield, MO called Lambert’s Cafe. The only way you can get their delicious rolls is by catching them as the servers throw them at you. This is a copycat recipe that is a great substitute when you can’t make it to Lambert’s yourself! This can also be made by using the dough cycle of your bread machine.

Side note – I accidentally made these like clover leaf rolls (as you’ll notice in the picture), but they should be made into two spheres versus three!

SERVES 12

The post Mythical Balance (Recipe: Just Like Lambert’s Thrown Rolls) appeared first on Dine and Dish.

I wanted to let you know that the newest roundup for Through My Lens is up over at Culinary Snapshot. The theme this time was to pretend like you were hired by a magazine to shoot a Peanut Butter & Jelly sandwich…how would you interpret that assignment? I hope you will head over and check it out!

The post Good Looking PB&J appeared first on Dine and Dish.

We met at a well known restaurant in Chicago called “Greek Islands”. As we all sat together chatting, a rustling began to happen in the room. All of a sudden, most of the women stood up, armed with their cameras, and began clicking away like a mass of paparazzi. I, along with other patrons in the restaurant, all looked perplexed…did Brad and Angelina just walk into the restaurant? Maybe it was Oprah? Craning my neck to see what all the excitement was about, I had to let out a chuckle when it all became clear. Coming near our tables were several of Greek Islands finest, armed with – you guessed it – our first course!

Yes, those of us who food blog may be a bit strange to those of you who just don’t get it, but I have never felt more at ease with a group in my life. For those of you who do “get it” and love the art of food blogging and food photography, I have a new event that is taking place over at Culinary Snapshot called “Through My Lens“. Check it out and I hope you’ll participate!

Did I mention that I met Paula Deen at “the conference that you are probably tired of hearing about?” While she was chatting with all of us, she mentioned a recipe from one of her cookbooks called Black Pepper Shrimp. It sounded so good, I had to make it as soon as I got home! I didn’t have any shelled shrimp. I am sure that would make the recipe all the better, but it was great with what I did have.

For a list of the wonderful food bloggers who I met at the Greek Islands dinner, please jump down below the recipe.

Black Pepper Shrimp, from Paula Deen

20 min | 10 min prep

SERVES 6

1. Preheat oven to 450°F.
2. Rinse and drain shrimp and place in shallow baking pan.
3. Melt the butter in a small saucepan.
4. Add the garlic and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes.
5. Pour the garlic butter mixture over shrimp and toss to coat.
6. Sprinkle about half the pepper over shrimp until they are well covered.
7. Remember–don’t be afraid!
8. Bake until pink (about 5 minutes).
9. Turn shrimp over sprinkle with remaining pepper and bake a few minutes longer.

Lydia from The Perfect Pantry, Kalyn from Kalyn’s Kitchen, Elise from Simply Recipes, Kathy from Panini Happy, Kristen from Dine and Dish, Maris from n Good Taste, Cora from Cora Cooks, Deb from Lunch in a Box, Gudrun from Kitchen Gadget Girl, Jennifer from Savor the Thyme, Ree from Pioneer Woman Cooks, Jaden from Steamy Kitchen, Sandie from Inn Cuisine, Alanna from A Veggie Venture, Sara from Ms. Adventures in Italy, Kelly from Barbaric Gulp, Stephanie from Iron Stef, Stephanie from A Year of Crockpotting, Anne Marie from This Mama Cooks, Hetal and Anuja from Show Me the Curry, Roni from Green Lite Bites, Jayne from This Week for Dinner, Kim (and Roger) from the Building Blocks Show, and Krista from Londonelicious,

The post Through My Lens (Recipe: Black Pepper Shrimp) appeared first on Dine and Dish.

Not long after, I turned to studying the photography on food blogs. Back then, there weren’t many around, but nonetheless I was intrigued by the art of food photography. I would spend time on the blogs and on their various Flickr accounts reviewing the EXIF data, studying their camera settings so I could learn how to do it all myself.

I started out with a point and shoot camera and eventually advanced to a DSLR. Through the years, I have learned a lot simply by watching what other food photographers do.

It was in this spirit (and the spirit of Adopt a Blogger here on Dine & Dish) that I decided to create a new blog called Culinary Snapshot. My hope is that this new blog will be an interactive venue for all of us to learn from each other.

Culinary Snapshot won’t be successful without your participation. Please submit your before and after photos…whether you take pictures with a point and shoot camera or a Digital SLR, we want your best tips & techniques as it relates to food photos.

Dine & Dish will still be my blog, so please stick around, but make sure to bookmark Culinary Snapshot as well so you can join in on the fun!

I hope you will join me in sharing the knowledge!

(Visit Culinary Snapshot to see  “behind the scenes” from this photo for Shrimp Linguine with Lemon Basil Sauce)

Shrimp Linguine with Lemon Basil Sauce (adapted from Recipezaar)

The post Culinary Snapshot (Recipe – Shrimp Linguine with Lemon Basil Sauce) appeared first on Dine and Dish.