Unfortunately, the only enticement my family wants is a garnish of fork and spoon.
Gonna stick around to see what creative ideas REAL cooks have, though. Paint don't do it for me, but...
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cavfancier
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Wed 4 Aug, 2004 11:05 am
The dish itself should be it's own garnish. Extraneous garnish that serves no purpose is useless. You know what they say, what does curly parsley and pubic hair have in common? Everyone pushes it away to get to the main course. My thoughts on this are actually deeper than this post, so I'll come back.
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shepaints
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Thu 5 Aug, 2004 05:57 am
I find your comment rather gratuitous Cav.
In my experience, garnishes add to the aesthetics
of a dish and can also enhance the taste.
Take chilled beet soup for example (Russian
Borscht). Served with a dollop of sour cream,
this garnish of cream against the burgundy
soup, adds considerably both to the
flavour and visual appeal of the dish.
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urs53
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Thu 5 Aug, 2004 06:05 am
But isn't that just what Cav is saying, shepaints? To me, a dollop of sour cream in Borscht is not garnish but part of the dish - hence it is a part of the dish that also looks nice.
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cavfancier
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Thu 5 Aug, 2004 06:17 am
urs53 wrote:
But isn't that just what Cav is saying, shepaints? To me, a dollop of sour cream in Borscht is not garnish but part of the dish - hence it is a part of the dish that also looks nice.
Agreed. Also, seeing as this particular soup is a specialty of mine, a sprig of dill or tarragon would constitute a garnish that also plays a role in the actual flavour of the dish, contributing to the 'work' as a whole. Extraneous garnish to me is like putting a huge red stripe across the Mona Lisa, or maybe adding a moustache to the wonderful smile.
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farmerman
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Thu 5 Aug, 2004 06:22 am
Ill never see parsley the same way again. Thanks for sharing trhat with us cav
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urs53
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Thu 5 Aug, 2004 06:24 am
Right, that's what I think, Cav.
What's also very important for me are the plates. I love white china. Glass plates I don't like at all. Black plates only go with vanilla icecream.
Sour cream served as a dollop in the centre of Borsct is a garnish but wouldn't be
considered as such if it was mixed up as part of the soup.
In the same way, a drizzle of melted chocolate over a scoop of vanilla ice cream is a garnish,
and is a strawberry placed on top of that.
To me garnishes can take minimal effort,
but really elevate a dish from boring, everyday
fare.
Yes, I completely agree. My only point was regarding garnishes that have no place in the dish....an example: red and yellow pepper brunoise thrown on everything just for colour, without any concern about how the vegetal flavour could overwhelm the dish, especially if it is subtle. Getting back to the borscht...if you let the sour cream come to room temperature, it will be loose enough to spoon drizzles over the soup, rather than a scoop. You could do drizzles of sour cream around the perimeter of the bowl, and then place a small portion of orange zest in the center. Now THAT is garnish, and every element will contribute to the flavour, and look fabulous.
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urs53
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Thu 5 Aug, 2004 09:25 am
That's just what I wanted to say, Cav. And of course you are right, shepaints.
But then there is the Italian place in our town. They put slices of melon, apple, oranges all around the edge of the plate - a plate of pasta, that is. Well, it is colorful but it just does not go with pasta.
Chocolate and strawberry with vanilla ice cream - now that is nice!
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farmerman
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Thu 5 Aug, 2004 07:10 pm
All those tv cooks with the Balkan accents piss me off
"Ve att ze green aant de ret peppess, zey geef ze deesh ze vonderfool cullohh"
bullshit. green peppers should be outlawed . They are an industrial product, not a vegetable. There is no thing as a green pepper, its an unripe varietal pepper that contains all the bittering agents that mask flavor.
Like when you eat fruit bat on a stick , the tribesmen always add so damn much spice and heat powders that it kills the fine flavor of bat.
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cavfancier
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Thu 5 Aug, 2004 07:19 pm
I hate hate hate green peppers.
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farmerman
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Thu 5 Aug, 2004 07:54 pm
Youve validated my existence cav. I have a running argument with my wifes family who loves to cook everything with green peppers. Makes me barf. Id sooner eat a baloot
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