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 / Critiques / Critique of the Week Archives

Critique of the Week Archives

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Steve's PastaWay Too Bland…

I love taking pictures of the things I cook. Sometimes it’s because I can relive the moment, or admire the finished product. Other times, it’s a pure learning experience.

Pictured on the left is a serving of Steve’s Pasta I cooked not long ago. If you could smell it, you would be begging for some. And, as you can see on its recipe page, it can look fabulous, too. It didn’t here. Why not?

The colors just didn’t work. Black and white plate, pale pasta, beige sauce, no garnish. I should have l) chosen a different color plate, such as bright yellow or vivid red; 2) reserved some of the sauteed vegetables so that after the broth and the cream and the cheese mixture had been added to the rest I would have still had the ability to add the very colorful diced vegetables on top, along with a small handful of shredded Italian cheese.

Another possibility would have been to use my herb scissors to cut parsley into tiny pieces along the perimeter of a white plate, add a couple of shakes of paprika for a contrasting color, then plate my pasta with the colorful border around the outside. Or, I could have finely diced the red and yellow and green peppers and used them like confetti around the edge of the white plate. Any one of those choices would have visually transformed this dish.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
« Beautiful and Unique Garnishes
Guacamole »

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Your email address will not be published.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 seven days a week!

Sundays Noon – 4 p.m.
Mondays 11:00 – 5:00
Tuesdays 11:00 – 5:00
Wednesdays 11:00 – 5:00
Thursdays 11:00 – 5:00
Fridays 11:00 – 5:00
Saturdays 11:00 – 5:00

MAP »

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Email

• Find Recipes •

Newsletter

Receive The News Bite each month.

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

Preparing to Make a Recipe

Cranberry Goat Cheese Pudding Layers

• 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 © 2025 · PrettyFood | Privacy Policy