The visual side of cooking

Some say that Americans as a people are obsessed with food. We either eat too much junk or we spend too much time planning and making gourmet meals.

I do become obsessed sometimes. I don't know if I can really justify it, but it's one way to express creativity while serving a common need at the same time. 

A beautiful summer salad!

Since being pregnant and having a baby, I've had to have other family members do the cooking quite frequently (dinner time= fussy time!). I've been spoiled in a way, but I've also missed my kitchen experiments. So I look for ways to either make simple food more special, or to dress up food that's been precooked.

Here are some garnish ideas I was looking at. This is going to sound like Martha Stewart, but have you noticed how even some chopped green onion makes a bowl of soup look outstanding? I'm inspired by the photo compositions on food blogs such as this one.

Fun food garnishes:

http://www.prettyfood.com/garnishes/index.html

http://angiesrecipes.blogspot.com/2009/04/quick-and-easy-garnishes-in-response-to.html

http://prettytastesbetter.com/garnishing101/

http://www.passion-for-parties.com/vegetable-garnish.html

You can also do a search for "plating" to learn how the professionals do it.

How to Make Thin-Crust Pizza

So I tried a new pizza crust recipe recently. I'm not sure what I did right or wrong, but I was able to roll it out nice and thin and it yielded a near-perfect crispy crust.

I'll have to try it a few more times just to make sure. :) The crust doesn't really draw attention to itself. It's not the main feature. But it is a great vehicle for toppings, and is ready in under an hour due to not needing a lot of rising time. Note: mine was cooked through in 10 minutes or less, instead of 25 as per the recipe. Hence the need to experiment a bit more, but it was probably due to having my oven nice and HOT.

Check it out: http://thisweekfordinner.com/2007/01/31/uncle-tonys-pizza-crust/

How to Make Cranberry Orange Bread

This is a family favorite that was originally a James Beard concoction.

The sour-sweet combination is just right and the bread goes great as a dessert or meal accompaniment, in loaf or muffin-form.

How to Make Stuffed Mushrooms

Stuffed mushrooms are one of those foods I like the idea of, but I hadn't actually made them until recently. I picked a filling that didn't require any pre-cooking, although I did throw some mushrooms stems in. Those could be sauteed in advance.

Bite-sized and bursting with flavor!

Ingredients:
-Mushrooms
-Cream cheese
-Other cheeses, grated (cheddar, parmesan...)
-Green onions, chopped finely
-2 pieces cooked bacon
-salt, pepper, paprika
-walnuts, chopped finely