“We eat with our eyes, not with our mouths,” my grandmother used to tell me, as I peered over the plastic-covered dining room table at the paprika-dusted deviled eggs, the poor man’s steak served over pools of sauce and topped with parsley sprigs, and the mint leaves and raspberries that topped the rich chocolate cake. Grandma taught me the word ‘garnish,’ and to this day holds to her mantra. She doesn’t eat what doesn’t look good. She would never dream of leaving a Tupperware on the dinner table, even for a family meal of leftovers, or consider withholding a splash of leafy green on a brown or yellow dish. She is an artist.
To a 22-year-old fresh out of college, often food presentation is last on my mind. Hurried tacos or microwaved casseroles from the night before are too often what I shove down my gullet, without taking any time to appreciate the beauty of food.
This week, I hosted a brunch for some of my long-missed friends, and it gave me the opportunity to slow down and take the time to appreciate food once again. I made blueberry muffins (using a recipe from my go-to baking blogger) with lemon-infused whipped cream, a spinach-bacon frittata, and a homemade granola parfait for my guests.
Previous blog posts have already evidenced my love of breakfast, but this time I wanted my food to look as good as I hoped it would taste.
You can find the delicious recipe I used for the blueberry muffins here, and for the lemony whipped cream I simply added about a tablespoon of lemon zest, two tablespoons of sugar, and a lemon’s worth of juice to the cream before I whipped it up. If you want a quick tutorial on whipping cream, check out Shelley’s video here.
I garnished the frittata with parsley, the blueberry muffins with a dollop of whipped cream, a few Microplane strokes worth of lemon zest, and a mint spring, and the granola parfait with sliced strawberries.
What's your favorite trick to making food look great? We'll help you perfect your plating skills in these upcoming brunch classes:
Southern Brunch Saturday, May 23 10am Lincoln Square
Bloody Mary Brunch Saturday, June 6 10am Lincoln Square