Presentation, anyone?

[browneye]

I was just wondering, in another thread I read a post that talked about beautiful presentation, and making food look like a work of art.
What are some of your favorite tricks for presentation, or some of your favorite beautiful dishes/meals that you have done?

Hmmmm, I think for me, my most impressive is probably my seafood pasta bowl for a group. It is a white, wide bowl with big rim, about 18" in diameter, filled with linguine, topped with spicy red sauce, with mussels, clams, jumbo shrimp, scallops, calamari, and sometimes crab claws and lobster tails arranged on top. It looks so cool!
I must admit, I don't do presentation that well, and need some ideas!
Next....?

[lorilei]

You've hit on one of my greatest pleasures!

I love "prettifying" my food, and tend to decorate my plate even on weeknights.

I love sprinkling my serving bowls with a dose of parsley before adding the food -- just the leaves fall where they may. It makes a nice contrast against a white plattter!

I also love pureeing sauces to serve underneath desserts. If it's a nice berry-colored sauce, I find that a few strands of lemon zest are a perfect accompaniment. I also try to throw a few berries into a chocolate sauce for color! I usually sneak away after dinner to prepare individual plates of dessert for my guests...

[lindrusso]

As for whether I concentrate on presentation or not....please see the thread about stress http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/biggrin.gif !

But, I have learned that color is important and makes the meal much more appealing (I used to think my parents were weird for saying that a meal was "pretty"). I try to avoid "tan" meals like the one I served my hubby many years ago - everything the same color - chicken, rice, cheese soup....ooops....

[emilycat]

I don't really think I ever thought about presentation until, while visiting my family during college, my mom consistently remarked that my plates were always so pretty. After that, I started making a concerted effort to make sure I lived up to my reputation! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

I think that by sheer virtue of the variety of vegetables, fruits and grains I eat, my dishes and meals are always loaded with color and texture, which is enough for me when I'm eating alone, but I do try to add a little flair on other occasions, whether it be with some pretty parmesan shavings or minced cilantro. My plates are solid white ones that I love, and everything always looks lovely in contrast.

Now if I could only get a little more into the dessert thing.... I have to say mine are usually kind of lacking in the looks department http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/wink.gif

[This message has been edited by emilycat (edited 05-11-2001).]

[Mbart]

Browneye, I'm reading your post at lunchtime, and the seafood pasta bowl sounds so awesome, I'm drooling!

As a fairly novice cook, I've yet to get a flair for presentation, but I have to tell you about this veggie presentation I just did this past week-end. I was to bring a veggie tray to a party, and I've been saving this "recipe" for the past several years on how to make a vegetable bouquet basket. I decided to give it a whirl. Using vegetables, you create what appears to be a bouquet of flowers arranged in a basket. The "flower" veggies are cherry tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, radishes cut to look like roses, and carrots cut to look like tulips (the carrots look the best!). These are put onto bamboo skewers, and the skewers are threaded into green onions to appear like the stem of the flower. You also cut green, red, orange or whatever color peppers to look like leaves, and put them on shorter skewers. You can use asparagus spears, very curly lettuce and even bread sticks as fillers as well. All of the above is inserted into a basket - the directions said to place a halved cabbage in the basket and push the skewers into them, but I just took a strawberry basket turned upside down, and used it to hold the skewers in place. It turned out awesome! I was majorly abused at the party for being a Martha Stewart wannabe, and my MIL was taking pictures. One person even asked, "who brought the flowers" before they got a closer look! It was a lot of fun!

[Jewel]

Mbart just reminded me of a 'presentation' trick I want to try. Did anyone read the Women's Day or Family Circle magazine (can't remember which) that featured the bread basket made out of real bread? It was amazing looking! Rolling out bread dough like breadsticks and weaving them in a 'lattice' pattern (wicker look) over an upside down Pyrex 4 cup measuring cup. Brush with egg whites for 'shine' and bake on a baking sheet with the Pyrex still overturned. Once it's baked, you make a handle with a long breadstick that's been twisted like a rope and baked in an arch like a handle. I can't remember how you 'fasten' the handle to the basket, but it REALLY looked cool. I honestly don't know if I have that in me, but I'd love to try! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/biggrin.gif

[AndreaU]

Like lindrusso, I love to use color. As a matter of fact, last night I made wraps with red & green peppers, shredded carrots, purple onions and yellow cheese. Quite the rainbow!

I also LOVE to fancy up my pies. I made a Pumpkin Pie for Thanksgiving and scattered little cut-out leaves over the top. Everyone thought I bought the pie at a bakery! When I make Grape Pie, I always decorate the top with a bunch of grapes made out of a little extra dough. I love lattice tops and intricate rope or scalloped edges, too.

[Mbart]

Jewel, do you remember how you "weave" the bread ropes? I'd love to try that! If anyone knows what magazine that is, please let me know!! I'd love to do that for my mom for Mother's Day!

[luv2cook]

Sometimes I just feel so inadequate...sigh...all this creativity that I don't have....