I think the best food decorating trick I ever learned was how to make a tomato rose.  Really.  It’s so versatile.  You can use it on a single plate, on a platter…or on top of other foods like a spread or even a block of cheese.  It’s my backup for all food presentation occasions.

The other night I put together these salmon hors d’oeuvres when friends were coming over:  wafer-thin crackers, goat cheese and smoked roasted salmon.  (The salmon may have been the headliner here, but the crackers and cheese are two of my absolute favorite foods and stole the show.  The crackers – or “crispbread” according to the makers – come from 34°.  I buy the goat cheese every week at the Franklin, TN Farmer’s Market from Noble Springs Dairy.)

The appetizers tasted delicious, but they looked pretty drab on the plate all on their own.  So out to the garden I went and snipped some chives.  (As pitiful as my garden is, even I can’t kill chives.)  Then I picked up a paring knife and a Roma tomato and got to work on the rose.  You can find detailed instructions for creating a tomato rose on our Tips page.

Believe me…If I can do it, you can do it.

Rose Tomato and Chives Perk Up the Presentation

Saucy Sis1