I’m busy packing for a quick trip to Vermont tomorrow (four words: Maple Syrup Everything, Please!) but in recognition of National Pie Day today I thought I’d post some shots we did last week in the studio. Leftover berries and fruit never go to waste with us! And yea, it’s a galette and not a pie, although they are pretty much the same in my book.

No grandiose statement. No recap, no top 10 list. Just a simple wish that 2013 brings you health, happiness, peace and plenty of moments that make life worth living.  I want to thank each and every one of you for reading this blog, it means so very much to me. Now, go relax, make something delicious, have a sip or two of champagne, and I’ll see you in 2013!

I love you!

(image by me for Cooking Channel, please click through for some great drink ideas!)

The post is sponsored by Häagen-Dazs® ice cream, encouraging life’s little luxuries. It’s about taking a step back and enjoying all that’s important and delicious in life.

Last week’s post explored ways of celebrating with friends and family. I was overwhelmed with the responses and learned so many great ways to celebrate life’s little luxuries through food and gatherings. This week I wanted to explore a little bit more but get just a wee bit more intimate. And no, there’s no need to cue the Barry White. Unless you want to!

This week I turned to my friends, my parents and even yours truly to  find out how we share the everyday moments and make them special.

First, I asked my neighbors and friends Brittany and Wade, two of the loveliest people you’d ever meet. Filled with so much style, love and light, they exemplify what two people in love mean to me: they’re forever planning weekends together, they’ll spend an afternoon hiking, a weekend camping, or an early morning hitting a museum for an exhibit. They love life, they love each other, and you just never feel like your interrupting (oh god I think we all know those couples, right? Well it’s not Wade & Britt).  I asked Brittany what they’d do to celebrate at home and the type of meals they enjoy, and luckily she wrote about their Valentine’s Day tradition on their blog. It involves making handmade ravioli, and if I know them it also means a fantastic wine and great music in the background. I’ve written about them before, and I want to thank them for being such great friends.

Speaking of role models, it’s time to introduce my parents. Married 50 years this past December, they’re not only loving people but they raised THE BEST MOST AMAZING SON ANY TWO PEOPLE HAVE EVER RAISED. (Jeez I couldn’t even pull that off, could I? You can stop rolling your eyes now.) But back to Benjamin and Helen. In many ways I’m continually moved by the love they have for each other, and how just being together on a weeknight is reason enough to celebrate with a good meal. I rang my mom up to find out what makes a special meal for the two of them, and being as cute as she is her answer was “Well it depends on the season.” I told her to pick summer since it’s right around the corner, and her answer illustrates how taking something so simple can be extraordinary. “Well we’d definitely head outside and grill vegetables, and since steak is best for special occasions we might cook that too. But not a big steak. Add a nice crispy salad, we don’t need a starchy side, and a fantastic beer for your father and a glass of prosecco for me and we are set.” And the thought of a wonderful meal between the two of them on a long summer night in the hill country of Texas makes me realize how wonderful life really is when you share it with the love of your life.

Speaking of the love of my life, what would we do here at home to indulge in life’s little luxuries? Honestly it’s not oysters on the half shell, lobsters or anything typically fancy. When you work with food daily at the studio we tend to prefer something easy, silly, fun and comforting, or a combination of all those things. But the meal we always come back to is fondue, and it’s served us well: it’s our New Year’s Eve traditional party dinner, complete with friends and tons of beer. It’s a simple meal for two of us, complete with champagne. It’s so easy yet feels so special, and I was really inspired by Sherri Jo’s revelation that her family has a weeknight fondue. So here’s to Sherri Jo and to celebrating life’s simple pleasure’s through food. And also to Wade and Brittany and to my Mom & Dad for showing the world what love — and good food — is all about.

Matt’s Cheese Fondue
This recipe is from my book, On A Stick!, and I can make it with my eyes closed. Which is good because I usually turn off all the lights and light candles and blast Dusty Springfield when I make this. I don’t know why, it just makes me feel so 60s. I mean 1960s, y’all.

Cheese Sauce:
1 2⁄3 cups dry white wine
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup grated Gruyere cheese
1 cup grated Jarlsberg (or other Swiss) cheese
1⁄8 tsp pepper
1 cup French bread, cut into 1⁄2-inch cubes
1 cup cherry tomatoes
1⁄2 cup broccoli florets, blanched
1⁄2 cup cauliflower florets, blanched
1⁄2 cup quartered slices of salami

1. Make the cheese sauce: Bring wine and garlic to a simmer in a medium saucepan; whisk in cheeses until sauce is smooth. Season with white pepper to taste.

2. Transfer to a fondue pot set over a lit candle. (If using an electric style, set it to low.)

3. Arrange bread, tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, and salami on a platter. Serve with forks alongside fondue pot, stirring sauce occasionally to maintain a smooth, uniform texture.

Note: this amount makes enough for a party, reduce if it’s just for 2.

If you follow me on twitter and facebook you might have seen some updates involving a jungle, a camera, a “few” mosquito bites and a cookbook. That’s because I and the  illustrious team of Adam Pearson and Gaby Dalkin headed to Belize to work on a project titled “Flavors Of Belize”. It’s a book about the traditional cuisine of Belize, a wonderful big delicious melting pot of cultures and flavors. I can’t give away too much about this book so I’ll leave it at this: Belizean cuisine is delicious and I’m looking forward to its release early next year.

With so much focus and attention to detail going into each image I was remarkably surprised that it was also so thoroughly covered from the other side, too. These days it’s not unusual to craft a behind-the-scenes video or story from all the moments that happen around a cookbook. I must admit that I adore working on books, the creative freedom and time spent really allows you to work together as a team, to enjoy it without a team of nine art directors standing around you staring at your monitor and asking you to move this, move that. Not that I don’t love each and every one of my clients, ya know 🙂 But sometimes projects are so magical that you feel nothing short of bless from above for being a part of it. That was certainly this project. The people, the production, the friends we made will forever stay in my heart.

And I’m pretty sure the bug bite scars will stay on my legs for quite some time. More on that later*.

We arrived in Belize City and then headed to Chan Chich, a jungle lodge and nature reserve located in northwestern Belize in the Mayan jungle. This 130,000 acre private nature reserve is located in Orange Walk on the Gallon Jug estate and is more breathtaking than I could ever describe. If you’re a naturalist, researcher or bird watcher than you simply must go. We didn’t have much time to absorb nature, we were there to work and got to it immediately!

After a few Belikins, of course.

We stayed in a beautiful lodge, nestled directly in the center of the grounds. As usual I had a difficult time sleeping in due to the fact that I really wanted to explore my surroundings as well as the calls of the birds and monkeys all around us. Just look at how beautiful this place is.

One of the most impressive things to me were the unearthed Mayan mounds all around us, literally outside our door. Because Chan Chich is situated in La Selva Maya and is also private property, these historical hills have never been unearthed and remained untouched.

When it came time to work, the main building’s gorgeous deck became our studio. With perfect ample light, a verdant backdrop and a few clouds passing by, we photographed half of the book in this location before heading back to the city.

Thanks to the amazing Olivera Rusu, there were many amazing behind-the-scenes photos taken during the whole process. Here we are working, and judging from the smiles on our faces you can probably tell how the shoot went.

These images © Olivera Rusu

We took a few side trips to villages in the area to meet with locals and document their food culture. This was such a fantastic part of our journey but you’ll have to wait for the book to see what we photographed. Let’s just say it was quite the experience!

Image © Olivera Rusu

It takes a village! One thing I’ve learned about being a photographer is that you cannot be shy. With so many cameras, iphones, and video all around you’re never quite sure who’s filming what. Sometimes it feels more like a tv or film production than a food shoot but there’s never a dull moment, that’s for sure!

We all took our turns in front of the camera, giving some background about the project. Filmmakers and cinematographers Autumn and Jeff Bierman worked on the production as well and it was nice to meet our Los Angeles neighbors in Belize. WE LOVE THESE TWO PEOPLE. It’s unreal how cool and incredible they are.

Here they are reviewing some footage and also interviewing Adam for his segment. I’m pretty sure Autumn is concerned about being eaten alive by insects. Adam was already scratching.

I mentioned the journey from jungle to city was quite an adventure, right? Thanks to wet unpaved roads it took almost 6 hours and caused our van to get stuck in the mud. With no cell service we were in quite a bind until a good Samaritan arrived on the scene. He pulled us out and we were on our way! Note to self: next time make sure your van is stranded in front of a Four Seasons or W rather than the jungle.

I’ll make sure to keep you posted about the book’s release. I can’t wait to share so many Belizean recipes that we fell in love with!

With so much love and gratitude for the team, I want to thank everyone involved on this project and to the lovely people of Belize. Especially Tanya, Shelly, Wayne and Carla!

*About those bugs: EATEN ALIVE. I was. When people tell you to take every precaution available, wear long pants, bring ample protection, please heed their warnings.