The Plate Palette

For tonight's post I'm just going to lay some groundwork for upcoming posts.  I apologize for the cop out but the reason for that is pollen.  Yes...I said pollen, I am blaming pollen.  As much as I love living in North Carolina, there comes a time of year when the yellow stuff takes over and for those of us with bad allergies, well, let's just say pollen put me firmly in my place earlier this week so I'm not as prepared tonight as I was hoping to be. Stoopid pollen.

On Sunday when I was writing about the pork chops, I mentioned in the NOTES section that I served it with broccoli because it provided a nice color contrast with the meat and sauce and that triggered a thought.  When I was going through the culinary program at ACC, I remembered back to a class discussion about plating and the art of structuring a meal, because there really is an art to making a meal -- whether it be dinner as usual or something a little more upscale for a special occasion -- notable.  And I think it would be fun "peek behind the Oz curtain" information to have...and useful to boot.

Now somewhere in the chaos known as my "filing" system, I have detailed class notes securely tucked away, but offhand the two main concepts I remember are:

BALANCE -- having to do with nutrition and portions

CONTRAST -- engaging the senses through texture, color, and shape

So over the next couple of posts, I'm going to discuss each of those concepts (with fun recipes tucked in between info sessions, I promise!) and talk about ideas and suggestions for making your meal plate a work of art that's not only good, but good for you.

So please stay tuned, I will be back on track this weekend with more sustantial stuff.

Until then, bon nuit from TCC!