Help with sauce and plating

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jasonr

Senior Cook
Joined
Apr 8, 2004
Messages
375
Ok, so after much R & D, I have managed to produce my own demiglace. I've made several tests now, and I can make great bordelaise sauce with it.

The next step though is to figure out the best way to use this sauce. I definitely want to use red meat, so a steak or a roast tenderloin is a no-brainer.

But I'm a little at a loss when it comes to the vegatables. I need a good combination of vegetables, a good way to cook them (I'm really not sure whether to roast, steam, braise, or boil) and most importantly, how to plate them with the bordelaise and beef so that everything looks classy.

As good as my sauce tastes, I don't want it to make my meal look like stodge! Can someone recommend some vegetable combinations (with recipes / cooking methods) and does someone have some good arrangements with photos that look good?
 
Steamed bright colored veggies like carrots, broccoli, and snow peas and cauliflower

I have a set of plates that are larger for this kind of display. They are also good for people who do not want their food to touch each other. They are white and I bought them as singles ...separate from a set.

Whole long green beans sauteed are good as well as fresh asparagus.

A potato dumpling that doesn't require a sauce but you might brush with butter and sprinkl with poppy seed.

When you have a good sauce like the one you are using, I don't put anything on the veggies.

you can always sprinkle your veggies with some of the herbs/spices that you used in your sauce.

To pretty up cauliflower when you place it with snow peas for a floral look place some very thin strips of red or orange bell peppers around.

Place just enough sauce under the meat and put the rest in your sauce bowl for the table. (that's what I do with meatloaf)

Who's coming to dinner?
 
Plating (and food styling) is a visual art form. If your emphases is on the plating - then what vegetables you serve as sides need to coordinate with the main entrée for visual appeal - and you also need to consider the color and shape of the plate. There are courses that teach this, and there are books talking about it, and you can find photo examples online - check here to get you started.
 
No one's coming for dinner. But I do have women over, from time to time, and the next time I have a dinner with someone, I want to be able to plate things properly and select some good veggies. Tonight, just for myself, I broiled a sirloin steak, and roasted some diced carrot, onion, broccoli, and zuccini. I also sauted some mushrooms.

Unfortunately, the veggies were not uniformly good (I don't think it was practical to try to roast all the veggies at once, since they each apparently cook at different times), the mushrooms were kind of brown and dry (I may have overcooked them), and the bordelaise sauce, while it tasted great, was visually a liability.

I guess what I need is a streamlined way to cook diverse vegetables, and also a way of plating that is visually appealing.
 
Hi Jasonr,
Congratulation! Now that you have mastered demi-glace you can go on to make dozens of sauces. Demi-glace is the refined version of ESPAGNOLE sauce, which is one of the three MOTHER SAUCES/SAUCE MERE (roux based sauces) of classical French Cuisine. I wish you happy cooking as you discover them and to that end, I would suggest trying to track down a book called HERRING`S DICTIONARY OF CLASSICAL AND MODERN COOKERY.

In the UK we can go to bookstores, ask them to order the book and look at it before deciding whether or not we will buy them. Maybe you could do that.

Regarding the plating of food - you`ve been given lots of good advice in the previoous postings. In general, meat dishes will always look better on white plates so, if you don`t have any, and can afford to, go buy some - check out discount stores like TKMaxx. conversely, food in a white/cream sauce need either colour from the plate or from the accompanying vegetables.

Plating of food is visual, as Michael in FtW says - shape, dimension, colour, perceived texture. At the moment there is a fashion for placing the main ingredient (meat, fish, chicken) on one of the accompaniments. this gives the dish dimension in the sense that all the items served are not sitting flat (and to some) boringly on the plate. A typical; example to illustrate what I mean is that, if say, you were serving a sirloin steak, the steak, after cooking and resting would be cut into 2/3 pieces and then place on a base of something like garlic mash, mustard mash, crushed new potatoes or pommes dauphinoise. The base can be created either by careful spooning of the mixture or in commercial kitchen, CHEFS RINGS would be used - the ring placed in the centre of the plate or slightly off centre, the mixture placed in the ring, remove and place the meat etc. on top. Chefs rings are nothing more than plain, round metal rings - basically like a round cookie cutter.

And yet another piece of advice - don`t fill the plate too full - keep the vegetables positioned between 8 o`clock and 4 o`clock with the meat offcentre down toward 6 0`clock. That way the plate will not look too full or overwhelming - especially for women and you leave enough room for the diner/guest to handle the meat.

Hope this helps,
Archiduc
 
For a vegetable idea I would suggest cutting ribbons of vegetables i.e., zucchini, carrots, potatoes (sweet or otherwise) and carefully saute these ribbons in a bit of butter/olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic, whatever your herb of choice is and mound on the plate.

Roasted root vegetables are always good to include beets. Just toss them together at the last minute so they don't "bleed" on everything. Or just do roasted beets of different varieties. Many root veggies are good drizzled with a balsamic reduction.
 
Hi Kitchenelf,
Great ideas - not only will they add shape, colour and texture, but the "ribbons" will add dimension also. I recently saw on a TV programme in the UK the idea of making courgette/zucchini "spaghetti" by grating the vegetable and then all it needs is a very quick blanching.

If sauteeing the vegetables, care would have to be taken re. the order of cooking the vegetables - courgettes/zucchini last - higher water content and thus cook more quickly than potatoes?

Regards,
Archiduc
 
Ok, I'm making more demiglace this weekend. I'll do another borderlaise with the demiglace I made last weekend. I'll also do another broiled striploin.

So now I've got to think about plating. I like the idea of the crushed new potatoes as a base. How about this: roast some new potatoes, slice the steak into slices, put the slices in a circular pattern on the crushed new potatoes (centered on a white plate), and pouring a neat circle of borderlaise around it, like a moat.

Then I'll need some colour. How about some boiled broccoli and roasted red bell peppers?
 
How about roasting the broccoli too - I love roasted broccoli.

I also like to, when making mashed potatoes, boil carrots in with the potatoes - and it can be a fair amount! Gently mash/smash together as if making mashed potatoes. It makes for some great color and also great taste!

If you have the chance to go to a second-hand store/Goodwill store/or such look for some bowls/plates of different colors. Roasted red pepper puree or soup looks great against a golden/yellow bowl or a royal blue rimmed plate/bowl.
 
Hi Jasonr,
Good - you`re clearly thinking about colour shape, dimension and texture.

Bad - don`t roast the potatoes - boil, put them back on the heat for a few moments, crush them with a fork, add some butter/olive oil, check seasoning. Put the CRUSHED NEW POTATOES slightly off centre, i.e., bring it down toward 6 o`clock. If you don`t understand what I`m trying to say send me another message.

Broiled striploin - to me this is grilled sirloin - remember I`m in the UK. Cut so that you have an uneven number of pieces for each portion, thus 2 cuts will create 3 piecess, 4 cuts will create 5 pieces, and you need an odd number of pieces for the plate to look effective. I wouldn`t do more than 5 pieces per portion, i.e., cut with 4 strokes, at an angle of 45 degrees (not straight down) of a really sharpe knife. Psychologically, the odd number has more visual impact then an even number. If you don`t believe me go and study the windows of your nearest department store.

Very Good - broccoli - don`t overboil. Practise steaming! or practise this - boil until just al dente, place a heat proof sieve or strainer on a pan, strain the veg., return the second pan with the strained boiling water and veg to a low heat. The water must not touch the sieve and must be kept at a gently simmering temperature. Cover with a saucepan lid. This will keep the broccoli warm and prevent it from too much overcooking so long as it`s not left for too long. How about a topping of lightly toasted almond flakes for the broccoli - introduces texture?

Red peppper - I`m thinking colour, flavour, dimension and texture here. I recently posted a recipe for Cauliflower Snagow style on the BBC TV - Lifestyle - FOOD - messageboards -FOOD CHAT. This is blanched red peppers halved lengthways and filled with cauliflower in sauce mornay/cheese sauce. This can be prepared ahead of time, even the day before and reheated in the oven. It would go well with the steak and sauce and saves hob space and last minute things for you to do. All you would need is one half pepper per person with broccoli served either side of the pepper.

Finally a word about the sauce - spoon a thread over the meat and some create, well, like a smiley face - 9 o`clock>6 o`clock>3o`clock and serve any remaining in a pre-warmed sauceboat at the table for guests to add to their plates.

Good luck with the meal - wish I could be there,
Regards,
Archiduc
 
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