Sunday, May 28, 2006

Coloring Inside the Lines

Cranky teases me for my "plating" technique.
I have no technique. I lack the "insouciant" gene for artful scattering, so I have to resort to kindergartenesque concentric circles, with maybe a blob of main dish in the middle of the plate and radiating garnishes surrounding it.
Cranky calls it "anal." I call it "rectal...linear."
Anyway, the joke's on Cranky (or maybe he was spoofing on himself).
He served last night's light supper on a fondue dish, the kind you use for beef fondue boiled in oil and dipped into one of several sauces. See those five slots? Five sauces (think something ketchupy, something mustardy, something pesto-y, something — oh, I don't know, something 70's-ish). See the larger space where the cheese is? That's where you'd pile your raw beef, awaiting a blistering bath in the bubbling Wesson.
You'd forget how hot that long metal fork would get in the sizzling oil, and sometimes you'd accidentally shove the meat straight into your mouth, without transfering it to your "polite" fork. Burning your lips in the process... or so I've heard.
My mom gave me her old set of six gorgeous fondue dishes, of which this is one. We like to use the divided plate for a variety of presentations.
And so, last night Cranky stayed inside the lines.
Hah. Plating technique, my eye!
See, Cranky? Sometimes neat is neat.

8 comments:

MizD said...

You have plates with sections? That is so cheating! :-P

Chopper & I just bought a cast iron fondue set at my place of work. Thank you for the timely reminder regarding "polite" forks & lip burning.

Dagny said...

I was always a "color in the lines" kind of kid. I like my food to be presented just as neatly. By the way, Cranky would have had a hard time with one of my college roommates. She did not like her foods to touch each other. This dish would have been perfect for her.

cookiecrumb said...

Dagny: Aw, ya beat me to it. Perfect for those who hate their foods to touch. (I was like that as a kid. Now I'm a mush 'em up type.) I've got another set of divided dishes I'll have to dig out...

Mrs D: Congratulations on the fondue set! Seriously! Cast iron? Is it all, like, cowboy rustic an' stuff? Mine is stainless and porcelain. So 90s. Lemme know what you do with yours. (Wanna do a simulcast?)

Catherine: I'll tell Cranky! Thanks. (And it was vegetarian to boot.)

MizD said...

Nah, not rustic. Just small and sturdy. Since cheese is pretty much right out, I'm all about the chocolate dipped fruit.

Jamie said...

"Burning your lips in the process... or so I've heard."

Done it. Ow.

cookiecrumb said...

Jamie: I was too subtle. I speak from experience too. Droolingly, because I can no longer form a tight seal with these scarred lips... :D

Greg said...

So that's what those plates are. We inherited a whole stack of burnt orange ceramic ones.God knows I never throw anything food related out.I think I still have a fondue set/ wedding present around here somewhere.
P.S. you have the longest word verifaction I've ever seen!

cookiecrumb said...

Burnt orange! Uber-70's!!

(qdujw -- not so long)