Dine With Grace: Presentation

My mother was a professional food stylist. Even oatmeal was served with grace--she never brought the pot to the table. It was served into bowls with a bowl of brown sugar and a creamer of milk on the side.

Her meals were served and presented, usually with a garnish of parsley or a sprinkling of cheese. She loved bringing food to the table on a platter or serving it out of special dishes. She cared about how food looked on the table.

While I don't have the same flair she does for producing photo worthy meals, we still have some basic "rules" for how food is presented at the table:

• No bags on the table. If you're serving bagged spinach, it goes into a bowl with tongs. If you're enjoying some chips with salsa, the chips go in a bowl (and then in the microwave for 15 seconds to make 'em hot and toasty!)
  
• No previous meal evidence. If you're sitting down to a meal, make sure you don't have traces above or below the table of the last meal you ate.
  
• Serve each plate. If there are parts of the meal that you can serve onto each plate, it makes the table less cluttered. It's also a gentle method of portion control.

So, tonight as you serve your meals, think about what you can do to Dine with Grace.