405888 Mon May 28 16:30:57 -0700 2007 6 31 Home Cooking 0 2608533 A newly found favorite is apple (sliced or diced) and doused with a mix of balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, and ground black pepper. This "sauce" is a dark brown liquid. I eat it very informally when I'm alone, of course! How could I put this on a table as appetizer and make it look pretty? (It's delicious!) Mon May 28 16:30:58 -0700 2007 42470 blue room 1 2608539 Tell your guests you learned about it from a chef in Provence. Then watch them rave about it, even if they hate it... Mon May 28 16:33:59 -0700 2007 2608533 91435 mardy 1 2609009 Take it or leave it, but here's my thought: Slice apple into rounds and place on perimeter of your dish so each piece overlaps the next. Either continue to spiral inward or fill the empty center space with a heap of mache, then liberally douse dish in that lovely "brown liquid" you described. Grind fresh pepper, maybe experiment with fresh herbs that compliment your concoction, and maybe if bread or crackers are also appropriate. I just may try this myself. I was also thinking that strawberries go well with balsamic, I wonder if they would help or hurt this dish...hmmm... Mon May 28 19:49:11 -0700 2007 2608533 73756 enbell 1 2609049 Similar to enbell: but half the apples, core, then slice in thin half rounds. Lay down in strongly overlapping half-moon lines that follow the curve of a round platter, such that each piece overlaps two others, and each half-moon line overlaps the next. Decorate with some stems of mint leaves. At the heart of the empty space left by the concentric half moons, place a little crystal sauce bowl with the sauce. Get the old squeeze bottle (yah, yah, so last week!) and zig-zag a fair quantity of sauce on the apples. An alternative touch would be to zig-zag reduced balsamic on the apples and sprinkle from on high the black pepper and brown sugar. Also sprinkle a chiffanade of mint leaves on the apples. Good fresh basil would be an alternative to the mint. I would also soak the apple slices in water with a fair bit of lime/lemon juice prior to presentation to avoid oxidation. Mon May 28 20:09:41 -0700 2007 2608533 36661 Sam Fujisaka 2 2609059 I was wondering but wasn't sure about the herb. So basil, or mint huh? You're a smart one, Sam. Now do you think you'll try it youself? Mon May 28 20:14:25 -0700 2007 2609049 73756 enbell 3 2609088 enbell, hilarious, enigmatic, and curt reply. The title of the post was "presentation". We Japanese are presentation freaks. As to trying it, I'm going to do the same with pears because: a) I do something very simlar but different with pears, b) the pears here are better than the apples, and c) my wife really likes pears. Mon May 28 20:27:44 -0700 2007 2609059 36661 Sam Fujisaka 3 2609105 Thank you, I wouldn't have thought to add greenery--the mint sounds perfect with red apples, (basil with yellow apples!) and the lemon juice a good idea too. I appreciate. Mon May 28 20:35:07 -0700 2007 2609059 42470 blue room