PrettyFood

Creating memories around the table

  • Home
  • Capers
    • Hours and Location
    • Capers News
    • What’s New
    • Product Spotlight
  • Recipes
    • Visual Recipe Index
    • Appetizers
    • Breakfast
    • Desserts
    • Main Dishes
    • Salads
    • Side Dishes
    • Snacks
    • Soups
  • Advice
    • The Basics
    • Ask PrettyFood
    • Critiques
    • Essentials
    • Gadgets & Tools
  • Make it Pretty
    • Tablescapes
    • Flowers
    • Garnishes
    • Holidays & Celebrations
    • Takeout Tricks
  • On the Road
    • Chicago
    • Florence
    • Honolulu
    • Los Cabos
    • Louisville
    • Napa Valley
    • Paris
    • Santa Fe
    • Scottsdale
    • Seattle
  • Special Features
    • A Week of Low-Carb Meals
    • More from Mary Beth
  • About
    • About PrettyFood
    • Contact Us
Home / Advice / The Basics / The Basics, Lesson 12 – Clever Cuts

The Basics, Lesson 12 – Clever Cuts

Thursday, May 29, 2014

Soup and Salad. “Yawn. Right?” Even everyday food like a sandwich or wrap can transcend ordinary and become special just by virtue of the way it’s presented.

One clever cut can make an astonishing difference.

The meal was simple: Cauliflower soup (garnished with chopped bacon, cheese, and a jalapeno slice, and a ham and swiss cheese sandwich made on a tortilla wrap with a little lettuce and mayo. After I had rolled up the ingredients, I discovered the tortilla was too long to fit in the space to the left of the bowl. I asked my friend Deloris to cut the wraps into pieces. I’m so glad I did, because she chose an approach I would not have thought of. The result is below:


Rather than administering straight-across chops, Deloris cut the top half of each chunk at a diagonal. Then she tucked in a sliver of cooked butternut squash into each for color that tied in with the serving pieces. The result was so much more inviting. Each of the little towers displayed what awaited the taste buds. The pieces fit beautifully on the plate and perfectly into the mouth! It took just a few seconds longer, but the wait was most certainly worth it!

Here are some other examples:


We cut our finger sandwiches into small rectangles and gave them an edible “fringe” of finely chopped parsley.


A scalloped edge cookie cutter made the shapes of the tortillas we used for these cucumber sandwiches much prettier than ordinary circles would have been.


We took a variegated approach to shapes for our Benedictine Sandwiches.

Be a shape-shifter! Try a new way to present your faves.

Stay tuned for the next lesson!

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
« Tablescapes for Celebrating Another Thunder Victory!
Beautiful Garnishes »

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

• Our store and more •

With Capers Emporium, Mary Beth and Michael Guard have given PrettyFood.com a real home — a large retail store where people can purchase elements to set beautiful tables, concoct wonderful meals, play with gadgets, take cooking classes, and much more!. Read more »

• Hours & Location •

Now open five days a week!

Sundays Noon – 4 p.m.
Mondays 10:00 – 5:00
Tuesdays 10:00 – 5:00
Wednesdays 10:00 – 5:00
Thursdays 10:00 – 5:00
Fridays 10:00 – 5:00
Saturdays 10:00 – 5:00

MAP »

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Email

Newsletter

Receive The News Bite each month.

• Find Recipes •

By Course

Archives


● Farmers Market to Table
● On the Grill
● Dining Outdoors
● Time-Saving Tools
● Mary Beth's Faves

• Visual Recipe Index •

View all of Mary Beth's delicious recipes at once with our Visual Recipe Index.

• Popular •

Crudités

Cranberry Goat Cheese Pudding Layers

Tilapia with vegetables

Tilapia Quick and Easy

• Tags •

Appetizers Asian Bacon Beef Breakfast Cheese Chicken Christmas Daily Meals December Desserts Dishes Easter Eggs Fall Farmers Market Fish Flowers Fruit Grilling Halloween Italian Low-Carb Meat Mexican Outdoors Parties party food Pasta popular Quick & Easy Seafood Seattle 2010 Snacks Southwest Spring Summer tablescape Thanksgiving Travel Turkey Vegetables Vegetarian Videos Winter
  • Home
  • Recipes
    • Visual Recipe Index
    • Appetizers
    • Breakfast
    • Desserts
    • Main Dishes
    • Salads
    • Side Dishes
    • Snacks
    • Soups
  • Advice
    • The Basics
    • Ask PrettyFood
    • Critiques
    • Essentials
    • Gadgets & Tools
  • Make it Pretty
    • Tablescapes
    • Garnishes
    • Holidays & Celebrations
    • Takeout Tricks
  • On the Road
    • Chicago
    • Florence
    • Honolulu
    • Los Cabos
    • Louisville
    • Napa Valley
    • Paris
    • Santa Fe
    • Scottsdale
    • Seattle
  • Special Features
    • A Week of Low-Carb Meals
    • More From Mary Beth
  • About

f-facebook f-twitter f-pinterest f-rss f-email
Contact Us
Site Map

Copyright © 2023 · PrettyFood | Privacy Policy