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A Little Bit of Heaven: Espresso Profiteroles

July 10, 2014

Espresso Profiteroles are small, crisp, hollow rounds of pate a choux pastry. They are then split in half and filled with a pastry cream or ice cream. I wanted an nice easy afternoon snack and figured I would stray slightly from the original pate a choux recipe and add some espresso for a little bit different flavor. I made two varieties of this pastry. One filled with cinnamon ice cream to go with the espresso, and the second batch I filled with pastry cream.

Don't be intimidated by the name, Espresso Profiteroles. It's not as complicated to make as it sounds and will have your guests impressed with how you're able to prepare such a delicacy at home!
Espresso is one of my favorite flavors because it has that rich flavor that you get from coffee beans but without the bitterness. These profiteroles are made with brewed coffee and ground espresso beans which gives them an extra punch of flavor and makes for a decadent dessert.

Espresso Profiteroles

If you have never had a profiterole, I must warn you they are dangerous. These little treats are bite size and the recipe makes a lot. So it's easy to "sneak" one here or there. And if you are stealthy, you can usually grab one and enjoy in one mouthful. I try to always take two bites, then I mentally notice I'm eating them. These espresso profiteroles go down easy and are delicious.

Espresso Profiteroles Ingredients

It takes just a handful of pantry items to make these profiteroles. I'm sure you probably already have everything you need.

Whole Milk
Brewed Coffee
Unsalted Butter
Sugar
Espresso Beans
AP Flour
Eggs

Steps to Make the Pate a Choux

Put the milk, coffee, butter, sugar, and espresso into a 2-quart saucepan and bring to a full boil over medium heat, stirring frequently with a spatula until the butter melts. Still stirring, add the flour all at once. Vigorously stir until the flour is thoroughly incorporated, then continue to cook and stir for another 30 to 45 seconds, or until the dough forms a ball and a light crust is visible on the bottom of the pan.

Add The Eggs, Pipe & Bake

Remove the pan from the heat and scrape the paste into a medium bowl. Immediately, while the dough is still hot, beat in the eggs one at a time with a mixer using the paddle attachment, on low speed. After you have incorporated the five eggs, take a good look at the mixture. Continue to beat until you can place the dough between your thumb and index finger and pull apart about an inch without the dough tearing.

Once blended, spoon the choux paste into a pastry bag fitted with a ½ inch plain tip and pipe quarter sized puffs onto parchment lined baking sheets, leaving about 1 inch between puffs. Use a moistened fingertip to poke down and adjust any small imperfections. Brush each of the pastries with a little egg wash.

Bake for 20 minutes; lower the temperature to 350°F and bake 5 to 7 minutes longer until the pastries are golden brown and feel hollow.

Pate a Choux FAQ

What's the difference between Pate a Choux and Profiteroles?

Choux pastry is like the dough of your favorite buttery pastries, and when you fill it with a light-as-air cream custard sauce that we call crème pâtissière ー or French for "pastry cream" in English - well then you've got yourself some delicious profiteroles.

Why is it called Choux pastry?

The French call cream puff dough pâte à choux because they resemble little cabbages when piped out of a piping bag onto sheets of parchment paper to be baked into delicious bites.

Can you overcook Choux pastry?

Sadly, yes you can. If you leave these in the oven too long, they will just dry out and not be worth the calories.

How do you know when pate a choux is done?

Beat it vigorously with a wooden spoon, slapping it against the side of the saucepan. You know it's done when the dough forms a thick film on the bottom of the pan. We use to call it a carpet in pastry school.

Can I make in advance?

Yes, these pastry balls can be made months in advance and frozen. Just a few minutes in a warmed up oven, will make the shells crispy again. Then just pipe in your favorite center or cut and make sandwiches like we did with ice cream.

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Espresso Profiteroles

Espresso Profiteroles with Cinnamon Ice Cream and Chocolate Sauce

5 from 4 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 25

Cook Time: 25

Total Time: 50

Servings:

Calories: 153kcal

Author: Serena

Ingredients

▢ ½ cup whole milk
▢ ½ cup brewed coffee
▢ ¾ stick (3 ounces) unsalted butter
▢ 2 tablespoons sugar
▢ 1 tablespoon finely ground espresso beans
▢ 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
▢ 5 large eggs
▢ 1 large egg beaten with 1 teaspoon cold water for egg wash

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400° F.
Put the milk, coffee, butter, sugar, and espresso into a 2-quart saucepan and bring to a full boil over medium heat, stirring frequently with a spatula until the butter melts. Still stirring, add the flour all at once. Vigorously stir until the flour is thoroughly incorporated, then continue to cook and stir for another 30 to 45 seconds, or until the dough forms a ball and a light crust is visible on the bottom of the pan.
Remove the pan from the heat and scrape the paste into a medium bowl. Immediately, while the dough is still hot, beat in the eggs one at a time with a mixer using the paddle attachment, on low speed.
After you have incorporated the five eggs, take a good look at the mixture. Continue to beat until you can place the dough between your thumb and index finger and pull apart about an inch without the dough tearing.
Once blended, spoon the choux paste into a pastry bag fitted with a ½ inch plain tip and pipe quarter sized puffs onto parchment lined baking sheets, leaving about 1 inch between puffs. Use a moistened fingertip to poke down and adjust any small imperfections. Brush each of the pastries with a little egg wash.
Bake for 20 minutes; lower the temperature to 350°F and bake 5 to 7 minutes longer until the pastries are golden brown and feel hollow. Halfway through the baking period, rotate the baking sheets. Once completed, transfer sheets to cooling racks and allow the puffs to cool to room temperature before cutting and filling.

Notes

Recipe Source: SerenaLissy.com

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database via Spoonacular API, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators. While this information can be helpful in estimating the nutritional information of a recipe, it is by no means accurate or official and is not evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.

All images and content are copyright protected. Please do not use our images without prior permission.

Nutrition

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Love Is In The Éclair

March 13, 2013

Éclair is the French word for lightening. It's believed to have gotten that name because it glistens from the chocolate topping. Éclairs and cream puffs are made from a dough called éclair paste. Or the French name pate a choux. If I had known how easy these were to make, I definitely would have been eating these much more frequently. The challenge of these is getting the dryness perfect on the baked product for that hollow center.

Eclair Dough

The dough is a simple mix of water, butter, flour and eggs, blended in the mixer until desired consistency.

Once the dough is ready, fill a pasty bag and pipe out the dough on lined baking sheets. Bake at 400 degrees for the initial baking, then 350 degrees until it is well browned and very crisp. Remove from the oven and let cool.

Filling the Éclair Shells With Pastry Cream

Once cooled, fill the éclair shells with pastry cream, by making a small hole in each end and fill with a pastry bag until it fills plump. Dip the tops of the éclairs into chocolate ganache for that golden chocolate topping. Unfilled éclairs, if thoroughly dry, may be held in plastic bags in the refrigerator for up to one week. Re-crisp in the oven for a few minutes before use.

Other French Pastries

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A Night At The Oscars

February 27, 2013

With all the excitement of the Oscars in the air, I thought I might try to jazz up my cocktail for the festivities. Nothing like taking an ordinary drink, and dressing it up for the occasion. A favorite drink of mine is the white chocolate martini. We all know what that is, but I was wondering how could I make it edible instead of drinkable. I can remember being at a party and having seen a jazzed up version of a jello shot. So heck, why not give this a try. The white chocolate martini was so easy to prepare this way. Amazing what a pack of Knox gelatin does. Now what could make this even more decadent? I decided to make a crumb to go with this. Chocolate, coffee, almond crumbs. It was starting to come along. But it needed a little moisture to complete the package. So why not try some bing cherry sauce?Oh my gosh, it hit the spot! Is it a dessert masterpiece? By no means. But it sure was fun and made for a great dessert to share during the Oscars.

My Surrender To Chocolate

February 12, 2013

Do you ever have those days when you just feel like baking? I think I was feeling sugar deprived and there were so many ideas swimming in my head I couldn't even decide what to make. Saturday was a busy day of creating chocolate truffles, chocolate bouchons, chocolate heart cookies and chocolate mousse. By the end of the day, I thought I could do no more. Then Sunday rolled around and I was remembering how yummy the ganache base was for the truffles. And hey while I was thinking about it, a little red velvet cake was sounding delicious. So what the heck, I'll make a red velvet cake with ganache topping and some cream cheese ice cream. So much for a lazy Sunday.

Total chocolate overload, right?

Since I had so much chocolate the day before, I figured I'd just work with a little bit of it. You know like a 3" round piece of the cake and freeze the rest for another days idea. So I cut one for the presentation, and one for me to eat while cooking the other ingredients.

Next came the ganache. There is just something so wonderful about dark chocolate and heavy whipping cream.

That silky sweet smoothness.

At this point I poured the chocolate and plated as quick as I could before it started to set.

I snapped a few photographs, and then proudly walked it over to my neighbors and begged her to take it, declaring my surrender to chocolate for the weekend.

The Dessert Masterpiece: Sway Austin

January 31, 2013

I've noticed over the last decade that desserts are becoming more and more of a work of art. The tastes are complex, and the presentation is nothing short of a culinary masterpiece. I recently ate at SWAY in Austin. Their Pastry Chef, Laura Sawicki, has made quite a name for herself. Food and Wine Magazine has named her as one of their top five pastry chefs for 2012. So when you have something this good in your backyard, why not check it out. Which is what I did. And she did not disappoint.

Miso White Chocolate Semifreddo

The name of my new favorite dessert is quite long and could take up an entire dessert menu with the description. But the benefit of that is I was able to fully understand what I should be getting. I selected the miso, white chocolate semifreddo. Served with sesame, crispy rice, coconut sticky rice, and a mango-calamansi sorbet. A lot of stuff going on with this complex dessert!

With all these tastes and textures going on, I had to disassemble it to see why it worked.

Deconstructing the Dessert

The flavor of this dessert just stood out. The salted caramel essence of the miso that blended perfectly with the sweet of the white chocolate in the semifreddo. The sesame had the flavor of peanuts. The sweet coconut sticky rice provided a beautiful backdrop for the perfect mixture of sweet and sour from the mango-calamansi sorbet.

She nailed it with the texture. The soft creaminess of the semifreddo with the silky smoothness of the sesame and the crunch from the crispy rice left your palate begging for more. Tender and crisp almost simultaneously!

The blend of room temperature items with cold elements made for a nice contrast.

We Eat With Our Eyes

Then to top it all off, I think Chef Sawicki was an artist before this career. This dessert was presented, and at first glance looked like a painter's palette. An absolutely gorgeous presentation. They thought about line, shape, shading, negative space, and where the eye was led. This dessert was such a successful blend of each element. It was able to engage my attention, palate and senses. I'm defintely looking forward to my next trip to SWAY and trying another dessert masterpiece!

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Other Austin Desserts

Onions: A Staple In The Kitchen

May 4, 2012

The Onion...such an amazing vegetable. The layers of color, multiple flavors and beautiful texture are a great addition to any dish. Onions are very low in calories, a great source of chromium and quercetin. Raw onions are readily available all year long. Depending on variety they can be sharp, spicy, tangy, mild or sweet.

What You Can Do With Onions

Onions can be prepared a number of ways for recipes, but the most common methods are: saute, caramelize, grill and roast.

Onion Facts

Just for fun some random onion facts from the Swampy Acres Farm:

1. Eating fresh parsley can get rid of onion breath.

2. Americans eat 18.8 pounds of fresh onions per year.

3. Yellow onions make up more than 75% of the worlds onion production.

4. Onion ranks sixth in worlds leading vegetable crops in terms of overall production.

Most Popular Onions

The most popular onions at a grocery store are the red, yellow and white varieties. The yellow onions are full flavored and a great standby for pretty much any recipe. French onion soup is one of my favorite uses for this onion. The white onion is often used in prepared salads and sauces, and a standby in traditional Mexican food. The red onion, one of my favorites, are great for grilling.

French onion soup is probably one of my all time favorite onion recipes. The food network has so many wonderful recipes for a little bit of variety on the soup. But this one is definitely one of my favorites! It's hard to go wrong with butter, onions, cheese and a loaf of bread on the side for dipping of that soup base.

Onions - one of my most favorite edible art pieces.

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The "Show-Off" Must Go On!... If You Intend To Have Visitors...

May 3, 2012

From wineries and resorts to cities, parks and any other getaway spot or vacation destination, each venue needs to be the ultimate "show-off". Yes, go ahead, BRAG! And you can do so without uttering a single syllable. Your prospective and past visitors are looking for photos. Photos of interiors, exteriors, products, recreational options, attractions, potential adventures, details in close ups, panoramic views, action, etc. You want them to want to EXPERIENCE all you have to offer.

You MUST capture their attention if you want to capture those vacation dollars!

Here are a few "show-off" tips:

1) Lights!

No matter what type of venue, it is just as important to show off the views and exterior as it is the interiors and products.

Use photographs at various times of day, both indoors and out in natural AND created lighting.

And HIGHLIGHT the benefits. If your "claim to fame" is your ocean view, focus on that.

Or maybe it's the serene fog that lays over the vineyard in the early morning viewable from your heated patio where you serve the most delicious coffee and a sampling of the grapes. You get the picture? Capture it!

2) Camera!

For a project that encompasses every aspect of a venue from the expansive views to the petite hors d'oeuvres, from bright sunlight to sultry candlelight, a smartphone, iPhone or off-the-shelf digital camera just won't cut it. The equipment should be professional quality if you want to portray a professional image. Plus, the composition of the image needs to be perfect and to be perfect, the one pushing the button needs to be a perfectionist... and a professional.

3) Action!

One of the best ways to grab attention is for a photograph to actually show "movement".

Wine pouring into a glass... steam rising from a hot spring (or hot tub)... wisps of sand blowing off the dunes... flames on the grill cooking your chefs masterpiece... With photos of these types of "special effects" the viewer is drawn in by the "action" which increases their desire for the "real life" experience.

So, let's repeat... if you want to capture those vacation dollars, you MUST capture their attention. We at Serena Lissy Photography look forward to visiting with you to help you bring in more visitors. Call or email to schedule your no-cost visit to discuss your travel and tourism photography needs.

All For The Love Of Food: Tamales Cooking Class

April 26, 2012

It seems I have been on the road for the last three weeks straight. This last week had me in Santa Fe, New Mexico. A place I have been to many times but never seem to have free time to explore. This trip I had two full days to play. What to do? Where to go? So instead of running all over trying to see everything Santa Fe had to offer, I decided to take a Tamales Cooking Class.

What are Tamales?

Tamales are the perfect dish to cook up for a Mexican themed dinner. If you aren't familiar tamales consist of a corn masa dough, which is steamed in a banana leaf or corn husk before being filled with meat and other ingredients such as cheese, vegetables, or fruit.

What We Are Cooking in This Tamales Cooking Class

There were about 16 students in this class ran by Santa Fe School of Cooking. It was a three hour culinary journey to make the following:

Southern Mexico Style Chicken Tamales in Banana Leaves

Red Chile and Pork Tamales

Blue Corn Tamales with Calabacitas Filling

Tamales de Anis

Aggressive task for three hours, right? So upon arrival, some of the basics had been prepared already for us. Chicken and pork were already cooked and shredded, which really did help with the time crunch. So we broke up into four groups and each was assigned a tamale recipe.

While creating these tamales I couldn't help but notice all the love of food in that room. What I observed, would lead me to say that food, at it's essence, is love, life and the heart of a community. Food brought us together that day. Sure, some of us knew others in the room, but one could clearly see that we all enjoyed the tastes and the textures of the food while sharing the flavors with new friends. I think this is one of the reasons I love to do these Food Friday posts. To me, food means love. It doesn't matter if I'm growing it, cooking it, eating it, sharing it, or photographing it. Without it, we wouldn't exist.

Southern Mexico Style Chicken Tamales

My groups tamales were the Southern Mexico Style Chicken Tamales in the Banana Leaves. Anyone that has ever made tamales knows that there is a lot of work that goes into this food. There is the sauce, and the masa, and the filling. And lets not forget about the rolling of those tamales into a perfect little package of food for your loved ones.

The image above is the ingredients for the sauce being put into the blender. The images below are the filling for the blue corn tamales with calabacitas (squash)

Ready to Eat With Some New Friends

So by the end of the three hours, we had made new friends, and were enjoying the foods of our labor while celebrating the indigenous ingredients of the region like corn, chilis, and squash. I'm so glad I spent the time taking the tamales cooking class. Through this shared experience, I will always have the memory of making tamales, meeting new friends, and a stronger connection to others through our shared love of food.

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Other Recipes You Might Like

The Cookie Stack: A Different Look and Feel

April 19, 2012

They say you eat with your eyes first. And for me, there probably isn't a more factual statement. So we decided to pull out an old favorite that pretty much anyone can relate to. The Chocolate Chip Cookie. Then adding a twist with the cookie stack.

Cookies, cookies and more cookies. No matter how they look I still love them. So we just went with this idea and had fun with the cookies. All the while thinking what is the most important part of the cookie. For me, it's all about the chips and just an abundance of cookies.

Stacking food creates the dimension of height. In the case of these cookies it was quite simple. One cookie right on top of the bottom one until you have the desired height. We photographed these cookies at a few different angles to provide a different look and feel. Although we experimented with a few different angles, the focus was always on the cookie.

We did a lot with eye level photography for these cookies. At eye level the cookie stack tends to look approachable and inviting. Chocolate chip cookies are something that almost anyone can relate to and have tried at least one time in their life with usually a pleasant memory attached.

Stack of cookies with glass of milk in background

With the above image the focus is on the main stack of cookies. The milk is far behind and out of focus and really a secondary part of the image. Using depth of field, your eyes are guided to go straight to the cookies.

The Details

With the next three images we wanted to focus on the chocolate chips in the cookies. You can see with the image on the left that there was some uneven chocolate chips in the mix during the baking. The hero cookie that is up front has almost no chips in the back of the cookie. The image in the middle is just displaying lots of chips, which everyone loves. The image on the right has a different cookie as the main image with lots more chips. People love the chips in those cookies. So may as well give it to them to evoke the desire for them to want the cookies.

And this last image, it is just all about the cookie. We have a broken cookie leaning against the plate of a stack of more cookies. The cookie is broken in half, looking inviting and appetizing. Makes me almost want to go to the fridge and grab a glass of milk to go with that plate of yumminess.

Half a chocolate chip cookie next to cookie stack

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The Mighty Greens: How To Pack A Flavor Punch

April 12, 2012

Yes these little greens are quite delicate, but they pack a powerful flavor punch. We made fresh spring rolls the other night and I couldn't help but love the fresh flavor of the mint. The fresh lettuce, cucumbers and peppers are the main ingredients but the mint definitely won the flavor battle. I usually think of herbs when my plate needs a splash of green, but using them as one of the main ingredients really opens up a world of recipes. The aroma just brings the garden inside onto your plate.

The Herb Garden

Not only are the herbs flavorful, but they really do make for a beautiful photography subject. All of these images were photographed with a macro lens. I could look for days at the leaves and the patterns in the veins and the pores. Just a little bit of light needed to make them beautiful.

Sage

The above image of Sage is my favorite. That leaf has so much texture. A little bit of back light and one could almost see the fuzziness of the leaves and imagine the velvety quality that it has. With the leaves having so much texture, no props were even needed for these photographs. I usually like to add some props for texture in food photographs, but these little leaves just stole the show. Even with the tarragon image below, I didn't need to add props for a gorgeous photograph. These leaves are much more delicate and smaller, but you can still see the textured edges and the back-lighting making the veins show so clearly.

Herb gardens are one of the easiest things to do at home. You don't need a lot of space and a little fresh herbs really do go a long way in the flavor department. There are so many how to articles on creating your herb garden. Your choice of plants for your herb garden is a personal decision. Make sure the plants are suited for your climate conditions. Other than that, think about what you like to cook with and eat, and plant away!

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Food Photography: Five Ways To Create Texture

April 5, 2012

Texture is one of the most underused elements in food photography. But if properly used, it can create some wonderful food photographs. Taste and smell are two things people most often associate with food. Because we can't capture that with the camera, we have to rely on other features.

Different Kinds of Texture

For texture to show, the image must be taken at a close range. You can see the texture in the above image, shot with a macro lens. The texture of the paint strokes on the wood really add an interesting element to the photographs. The backdrop was quite easy to create with a quick trip to the local Home Depot. Some small pieces of wood, an inexpensive paint brush, and a few containers of paint. I've really enjoyed creating these. Finally a painting project that isn't about getting something perfect. Just brushing paint and getting good texture on the wood.

Adding Some Props With Texture

The next way to get texture is just simply adding some material. Old scraps of material, napkins, or place mats could all be used.

Texture does so many things for your food photography.

This simple bowl of ramen soup is appealing because of the texture of the backdrop. The small piece of muslin material folded up under the bowl and placed on top of the wooden painted backdrop. Noodle soup can be quite boring, but this really has some interest.

Cutting Boards Are A Great Source of Texture

We also use cutting boards for texture. Sometimes there is nothing better than an old used wood boards with many years of cuts running through the grain. This pastry just pops out and you feel like you could reach out and touch the wood.

With Easter right around the corner, we couldn't pass up hard boiled eggs. This picture just oozes with texture. The napkin at the bottom of the basket, the ridges and sides of the basket along with the paper shreds inside the basket. Great texture for images is so easily found. It just takes a creative eye and knowing what you have laying around the studio.

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Other Food Photography Tips

If you are looking for other food photography or styling tips, please have a look through our website, we have plenty.

How To Create Texture In Food Photography

Food Styling: Making It Real

March 30, 2012

Food styling is a difficult art form. I enjoy the creativity of it, but it takes practice to master. The right way to style food is knowing how to make the dish look and taste good!

There are so many ways in which one can style food: with forks, knives, chopsticks, fingers; on plates or bowls or platters; over a bed of lettuce leaves or wrapped up in rice paper rolls. Napkins, plates, table tops; It's all about what best suits your dish and its desired presentation.

When I am photographing it, the only part of my focus is on the side or piece that will be photographed. Before shooting, I like to sketch out a rough image in either my mind or by drawing it on paper and then figure out what props would work best for each photograph with this specific picture in mind. For example, if the photo needs to show off the front of the dish being eaten, I might serve something more appetizing than if it was meant to capture someone's hand scooping up food from a bowl.

The key to expertly styling food is in the details. Learning what else you need beside the food is key to success. Food is a sensuous product and needs to appeal to all five of the senses in order to make it extra desirable.

Live View

I will also use the Live View feature of my camera. It helps me to see how the camera sees the setup. This is also helpful to quickly edit what is in the scene. Are all the garnishes showing up how I wanted them? Is the fork in the right spot...etc... This is just a quick way to frame the image. I like to think of it as my "on the go" composition step. Once I'm good with the composition, I then turn off the Live View feature and continue with the job.

Does Your Food Styling Show the Hero of the Image?

Also when photographing food, it is important to showcase what is being sold. We recently photographed sandwiches for a local deli. For this project the sandwiches were the most important piece. So for all the images, the food styling request was that the sandwich needed to be the most abundant food in the image. The goal was to keep it simple and show off the sandwich.

Show Off Your Food's Best Assets

You can see in these images all the food is extremely fresh and was just created before the photograph. The lettuce has no wilt, the tomatoes are large, red and juicy. The sauerkraut is fresh and not watery or leaking juices. The perfect crisp on the top of the bread.

Be Creative With Your Food Styling

Once we finished the job for the client, we then went to play with other compositions for the sandwiches. This is where the creativity really comes into play. It's amazing how many different ways you could showcase a sandwich. The choices were unlimited:

Black Background
White Background
Traditional Sandwich
Creative Shot with a bite
On a plate with chips
Utensils in the image
Decorative napkins or plates

Be Swift

Food doesn't age well. So you have to be quick with your images. That's why it's important to have everything planned out in advance. You don't want to lose the magic moment having to deal with bad food styling or fixing things you didn't think about.

Do You Have Everything You Need in the Image?

As you see from all the images, there was no one way to create this image. The most important piece during styling is that everything that ends up in the image, was meant to be there. A crumb on the plate, was put there specifically for the image. A fork dug into the food, makes it look more real and attainable to the viewer. Sometimes it adds balance to the photograph. These are such small details, but so important to a successful photograph.

Cooking is Not Enough

Cooking is not enough. To be a successful food blogger, you need to know about the best camera settings, lighting and editing techniques. You also need to know how to stylize your dishes for perfect photos that will attract readers online.

As a food blogger, it's more than just cooking up fantastic recipes and getting them out there on social media. You have to make sure your blog has the perfect photography and styling skills too! If you want to learn a bit more about food photography we have a great series on the website giving you some great skills.

Great Food Styling Books

One of my favorites is The Food Stylists Handbook, by Denise Vivaldo
Food Styling: The Art of Preparing Food for the Camera, by Delores Custer