I love simple things done right.

Delicious and beautiful does not need to go hand in hand with complicated and time-consuming.  It can certainly be something simple just presented in a unique way.

I love plated appetizers and desserts.  It dresses up the meal and makes each guest feel pampered.  It also allows for the simple combination of colors, flavors, temperatures and textures that  create a wow to the palate and a wow to the eye.

I have found that good plating needs white space in order to properly appreciate the elements on the plate.  Very often, I will use  three different elements on a plate and will opt for a larger plate so that each plate element will be able to be appreciated without being crowded.

Here is a plated dessert where the Simply Baked Apple is served warm, the chocolate sorbet is frozen and the star fruit and whipped cream dress up the plate.

I have used a large square appetizer plate as the canvas.  I placed a small plastic square plate under the apple and a taster spoon under the chocolate sorbet.  Placing the frozen sorbet in a taster spoon or small bowl allows me to portion out the sorbet in advance.  This saves me time and effort during the meal.  I added whipped cream to the center of the apple right before serving and placed a candy gummy ring to the top of the apple.  I finished the plate with a few slices of starfruit.