Food Porn: The New Food & Wine Cookbook is out.

The new Food and Wine "America's Greatest New Cooks" book is out. And since I'm obsessed with the word 'favorite', I asked one of my 'favorite' photographers Christina Holmes, 5 questions concerning her... well, favorites.

What was your favorite unused outtake image? That would be the play nougat series from Julianne Jones. (Below).

What was your favorite shot in book? Tough. That would have to be a toss up between the Mescal Cured Salmon from Alex Stupak, (below) or the Tart Flambé from Julianne Jones. I feel they transport me when I'm looking at them to a moment where I was actually sitting there eating enjoying the food, or at least wished I could have been!

What was your favorite overall recipe? This is a tough one, but it would be between the Spring Papetoui from Julianne Jones (clean, fresh, and flavorful), and the Smokey Collard Greens from Sarah Simmons (below) unexpectedly wonderful, the Port Ossobucco from Jimmy Bannos (had such great depth to the dish) or the Chipotle Roasted Carrots from Alex Stupak, which had great flavor and a perfect fresh kick.

Ok, confess, what was your favorite dessert, from ALL of them? I do think I ate the entire Almond Cake from Belinda Leong! (far below) And same thing for the Kaffir Lime Custard from Bryant Ng (below) as it has such lovely subtle flavor and wonderful texture.

...and what was your favorite part of working on this book?

Honestly it was the freedom that F&W gave me to really create imagery that I believed in. They allowed me to shoot how I wanted to shoot and do interesting, unique and off-the-cuff imagery. Things like creating the ingredient portrait openers that were used for the Table of Contents (very top image). Those just happened randomly and organically starting with the very first morning of our two week adventure as I was waiting for the first recipe to be prepared each morning. In the end each of these individually strong still-life images quietly began representing each of the chef's ingredient inspirations for what recipes they held for the reader. So if I guess I really had to choose one thing that I loved most about the book, it would be the moments where I was working together with my incredible team; I truly got to create images that represented the true aesthetic of my work.

Thanks for the interview Christina! x

Behind the scenes: The making of the book.

Food & Wine Cookbook edited by Dana Cowin Creative Director: Stephen Scoble

Photo Editors: Fredrika Stjårne,

Anthony LaSala, Sara Parks

Photographs by Christina Holmes Designer: Michelle Leong Food Stylist: Vivian Lui

Food Assistant: Craig Leickfelt Prop Stylist: Pamela Duncan Silver Photo Assistant: Jake Vinsek

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CHRISTINA HOLMES: is a New York based photographer with deep roots in Michigan. When it comes to her favorite foods, her list is long! She will eat anything from Il Buco restaurant, she covets the Mushroom & Egg pizza from ABC Kitchen, loves the pork belly at the Breslin, the olive oil gelato at Otto, the olive oil cake from Abraco, the chocolate chip cookies from City Bakery, and any dessert from Lady M! Her clients include Food & Wine, Bon Appétit, Whole Living, The Cooking Channel, Sweet Paul, Chop’t. Check out her work here. 

Butternut Squash Glazed Tart

An inventive lighter twist on the standard dense pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving: Everyone worked so super hard on the November Issue of Food and Wine magazine, (which is still on newsstands now, so go pick it up!) and as I'm deciding what to cook for Thanksgiving, this is one dish I'm definitely going to make.

The tart is a crispy, sweet, light version of dessert. Something to replace the heavy, dense, regular pumpkin pie, that by the end of thanksgiving, is hard to even make room for. This elegant puff pastry is quick to make. You’ll be surprised at how delicious butternut squash is for dessert. Look for a squash with a long neck.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH GLAZED TART From Food and Wine magazine, November 2012. By Grace Parisi. Click here to get the original recipe. 

• ACTIVE: 45 MIN
• TOTAL TIME: 2 HRS
• SERVINGS: 8

One 1-pound neck of butternut squash—peeled, halved lengthwise and sliced 1/4 inch thick 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 2 tablespoons sugar 8 ounces all-butter puff pastry, chilled 4 ounces cream cheese, softened 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon 2 tablespoons apricot preserves, melted 2 tablespoons chopped toasted pecans

1) Preheat the oven to 375°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and butter the paper. Brush the squash with the melted butter and sprinkle with 1 1/2 tablespoons of the sugar. Roast for about 45 minutes, flipping the squash slices halfway through, or until softened. Let cool.

2) Meanwhile, roll out the pastry to a 14-by-6-inch rectangle and transfer it to a parchment paper–lined baking sheet. Prick the pastry all over with a fork and refrigerate until firm, about 5 minutes. Top with another sheet of parchment paper and a flat cookie sheet and bake for about 30 minutes, until the pastry is lightly golden on the bottom but not set. Remove the top cookie sheet and parchment and bake for 10 minutes longer, until the pastry is golden and crisp. Let cool.

3) Blend the cream cheese with the cinnamon and the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of sugar and spread it on the pastry. Arrange the squash slices on top. Brush with the apricot preserves and sprinkle with pecans. Cut into slices and serve.

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Photograph for Food and Wine, by Christina Holmes Food Styling by Simon Andrews Prop Styling by Kristine Trevino