Brighten Up Winter Meals With This Grape Salsa Recipe

[1] Start with grape salsa and bruschetta, with wine and beer, as a snack or a first course (photos #1 and #3 © California Table Grape Commission). [2] Another savory appetizer/first course: goat cheese cheesecake. What’s missing? The grape salsa! Here’s the recipe from Love And Olive Oil. [3] Move on to the mains; here,…
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TIP OF THE DAY: Decorate With A Squeeze Bottle

[1] Salad with three different flavored oil droplets (photos #1 and #4 courtesy Matthew Kenney Cuisine). [2] Vegetables with a mushroom sauce swirl (photo courtesy Wassail | NYC). [3] The most elegant way to serve gravy (photo courtesy Strip House | Las Vegas). [4] A fancy way to serve ice cream or sorbet, with a…
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FOOD FUN: Beyond The Twist, Lemon & Lime Flowers & Art

No doubt you’ve cut lemon and lime circles and twists for garnish, and wedges to squeeze over beverages, salads, seafoods, and so on. We have long used a channel zester to carve vertical lines in fruits and vegetables, creating a design in the fruit and strips of peel for garnish.     THE GROOVY JOYS…
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TIP OF THE DAY: Spices & Dried Herbs As Plate Garnishes

[1] Chef Eric Levine adds a ring of flavorful spices around a circle of salad. [2] At Obicà, a Neapolitan-focused restaurant, Chef Erind Halilaj adds a dramatic spice stripe over butternut squash ravioli. [3] They’re not spices, but crumbs, used here by Chef Daniel Eddy of Rebelle, are lovely garnishes. [4] Spice blends make tasty…
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TIP OF THE DAY: Plate Painting For Your Dessert

If you patronize fine restaurants and order dessert, you’ve probably noticed the “plate painting” that turns a piece of cake, tartlet or other pastry into a piece of art. But it’s not just for baked goods: Custard, pudding, even fresh fruit can also benefit from an artistic touch. In most cases, the plate is painted…
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