Sliced ham won’t win any beauty contest. Sliced turkey looks blah by itself on a platter. Think of garnishes as a way to “frame” the meat and make it look irresistible. The end result is a gorgeous platter.
I really like the platter I was using here. It is hammered aluminum, so it’s pretty, but what really pleases me is that its sides are about 2 inches high, and that makes it easy to decorate all around the perimeter of the meat slices without risking little pieces dropping onto the floor.
Dwarf apples. Who knew? I didn’t buy them for the taste. I figured they must be edible because they were being sold in the grocery store produce section, but they also sell gourds and things during the Fall, so I wasn’t absolutely sure. Turns out, yes, they were made for eating, which was really good, because that’s exactly what the wee ones did when they got their little hands on them.
I combined turkey slices and ham slices on the same platter, but in two different stacks. Because the platter was going to be quite full, I didn’t bother putting any lettuce or kale underneath or any herbs on it. There are three items used as garnish: figs, sliced in half; artichokes cut in half, and lots of little dwarf apples. I could have mingled the figs and the apples and the artichokes, but I think more of an impact is made with individual piles of each of the three items so that you get a big splash of figs, a big splash of dwarf apples, and a lovely touch of artichoke.
Several people have seen this picture and each one has wanted a fork to dig in. Mission accomplished! It truly is a gorgeous platter — and pretty food is more appetizing. That’s a fact.
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