On Tue, 21 Oct 2003 21:08:28 -0400, FERRANTE
> wrote:

>Quite often I will watch cooking shows on the food channel and wonder
>is food presentation really worth it? I mean, you take a little food,
>encircle it with a few lines of some sauce and you have a pretty
>plate.

For one thing, when I visit a restaurant, I *expect* things to look a
little more glamorous than they do at home. And at home, particularly
when cooking for others, I believe a little garnish makes a dish more
attractive. It doesn't take long to shave a few curls of Parmesean on
top of a salad, or poke a fresh mint sprig into a dish of fruit. OTOH,
when I see those elaborate 'architectural' processes on TV shows, I
keep thinking, yes, it's pretty, but by the time it gets to the table,
it'll be stone cold!

>But who could be satisfied with those small amounts? And I mean
>small amounts!
>I, personally, like a plate that is packed with food. I like it where
>there is no space left and the food almost falls off the plate. If I
>want art, I'll go to the museum.

Given that one reason given for the obesity epidemic in the US is the
ever-growing size of portions, you might want to spend a *lot* of time
walking around museums. :-) And jogging through sculpture gardens,
too.

There's a current TV ad for a line of frozen dinners with the tag line
"there's nothing bad about feeling full," in spite of long-time advice
to push away from the table *before* you're comatose.