Impress Your Dinner Party Guests

So, you’re throwing a dinner party.  You feel pretty confident you have the meal squared away but something is missing.  Some kind of flair.  You want your guests to not only be impressed by the flavor, but aesthetically pleased as well.  Here are a few tantalizing tips to enhance your presentation.

Trinities, Minimalism, and the Art of Using an Open Canvas

Think in threes.  Arrangements of threes on a plate works perfectly—just like a setting up a joke, arranging a room, or having a trio of award positions on an Olympic podium.  Even numbers are boring.  Odd numbers are interesting.

Next, remember that food presentation, especially at a dinner party, isn’t about the chow line after a twenty-five mile march.  It’s about class and precision.  Less is more. 

Consider the star of your meal (meat, fish, main protein or vegetable).  If the star attraction of the evening’s fare is lost because there’s too much on the plate, you lose. 

While your great-grandmother’s place setting is precious with that flowery trim, big white plates always work better for presentation.  A plain white canvas frames the meal. 

Consider alternate vessels as well.  For example, soup is nice in a shallow bowl, but as an appetizer, why not use a shot glass? Make a statement. Have some fun with it.

Contrasts

Hot, cold…sweet, sour…crunchy, smooth…long, short…light, dark.  You get the picture.  Food is about entertaining all of your senses, even your hearing (think of a fajita’s sizzle or the snap of perfect dark chocolate). 

Cheap Tricks

If your guests aren’t the fussy type who don’t mind their food touching, stacking is an option.  But remember not to bury the "star" of the meal.  Start with a nice wide foundation (often a neutral starch or wilted green) and then work your way up.

Another "cheap trick"  is the squeeze bottle.  Buy a few because they cost next to nothing, then create a pattern on the plate with a delicious sauce  prior to placing your entrée or dessert.  I’m telling you, the oohs and ahhs you’ll get will be worth it.  "How did you do that?"  Just smile humbly and refuse to do the dishes. 

One more trick?  You can never go wrong with freshly chopped herbs as a garnish.  Just make sure they’re appropriate to the dish and use sparingly. 

Strain, Strain Again

You know those inexpensive screen colanders you can get at the local supermarket?  Strain your sauces and pan gravies a couple of times through one of these.  These little gizmos are pretty good at smoothing out the rough edges for soups and sauces.  Believe me; you don’t need a $90 upscale strainer unless you really, really want a flawless coulis.

Knife Cuts

A carrot is just a carrot?  Not when it’s brunoised. Get to know the classic cuts and practice your knife skills.  Julienne, paysanne, batonnet, tourner…master these techniques  and then perhaps move on to using a professional slicer like a French or Japanese mandolin, or as I like to call them—machines of nearly certain fingertip emancipation.

Language

Peruse fine restaurant menus.  Emulsions, crushed, poached, charred, reduced, infused…believe it or not, it’s words like these that hook you.  Ask yourself, what would you be more stoked to eat -- chicken-herbed rice,  or quartered-hen with pan juices and warm, basil pilaf?  Next witness. 

And to even further impress your guests, do the foreign language thing (French and Italian especially). Mais, oui. Custard is as dull as a bag of rocks, but Tuscan Saffron Panna Cotta is sexy.

We all love sexy.