Money for Meals on Wheels
For the third year in a row, Lynchburg Living donated to Meals on Wheels of Greater Lynchburg in connection to our annual Lynchburg Restaurant Week (June 22-29). This year, we pledged 25 percent of our sponsorship proceeds to the nonprofit. In June, editor Shelley Basinger presented a $500 check to the organization’s executive director, Kris Shabestar.

We want to extend a special thank you to our 2019 LRW sponsors, Forest Hill Endodontics and Third Street Brewing Company, for their contributions!

Clarification
In the article “Getting Serious About Oral Care” in our May/June issue, we referred to one of our experts as “Dr. Elena Black, a dentist with advanced specialty training in orthodontics.” We should have referenced her as Elena Black, DDS, PhD, to include her degrees.

Vote Today
Visit lynchburgliving.com today to cast your vote in two of our very popular contests!

Nominations open on July 1 for the Best Of Lynchburg Awards—recognizing your favorite businesses, restaurants, destinations and more. Voting ends on August 31. The results will be published in the January/February 2020 issue of Lynchburg Living.

Voting for our Giving Back Awards continues through July 20. Select the nonprofit you think should be recognized for its contributions to the Central Virginia region. The winning nonprofits will be featured in our November/December issue.

A guide to creating a garden

If you are short on space or time, the intense planting that occurs in a “pocket garden” yields very big rewards. Pocket gardens are not a new concept. Those of us who are addicted to plants have created them in our spaces for years by layering plant upon plant—whether vegetables or ornamentals—in the soil and on our porches or balconies.

Pocket gardens have recently resurfaced as trendy stars in the world of gardening—we even have a brand new “pocket park” in Downtown Lynchburg. (Learn more about that project on page 21.) The basic idea is to take the barren, empty spaces around your yard and turn them into intensely planted areas. Put your creativity to work and look for underutilized surfaces around your home, apartment, condo, business, your child’s school and “go green”—even up the walls! In fact, especially up the walls. Dream big with endless possibilities.

Before you get too deep into the details of what and how to plant, you need to decide
what purpose you want your garden to serve.

It can be designed to help you achieve any of the following things:

Create a barrier to block out ugly views or traffic

A retaining wall, a raised bed or just an elongated bed can provide the structure for the barrier. Fill it with screening trees like arborvitae and other plants to reduce noise pollution and block the views of the city streets.

Create a place for reflection, conversation, reading or al fresco dining

By placing a pocket garden in the more intimate areas of your yard or enclosing a small area for a special purpose, you can “carve” a cozy space out of your larger landscape.

Remember a few years back when “garden rooms” were all the rage? This is a similar, but simpler idea. A seldom-used patio seems much more important when you’ve given attention to making it a special retreat. Build a wall, layer plants, enclose the space with planted beds, cover it with a pergola and then plant on top of that for a green ceiling.

Imagine sitting by a fire pit in the fall or the bubbling of a fountain in the background during the summer—it doesn’t get much lovelier. >>

Create a welcoming arrival area for family and guests

Placed either along your front walk or parking area, you can create a sweep of lush vegetation that invites visitors and family. As they travel through it, they will enjoy the green space.

Create a purpose for wasted, dull space.

A lot of homes and apartments have wasted space between the parking pad and the door.

You may have a partly enclosed area by your garage or one wall of your house that is creating a dead zone. If it’s a sunny area, you could trellis a rose or two up the wall and underplant it with perennials such as catmint (nepeta), German thyme, or a low-growing carex variety. While you are planting, you can leave space to add bulbs like bearded iris, daffodils, or crocosmia. In addition, you could also choose to add a few flowering annuals that you can have blooming to brighten the space all summer.

Basically, you want to create a lush space that feels like a little oasis in what was once a dull and uninteresting area that you just passed through on your way to the front door.

Create a focal point in your landscaping

Do you have a yard with no real interesting features? Lay or plant a path that leads to your pocket garden and make that your focal point in the distance to draw people into the yard. Once you know what it is you want to achieve with your
design, it’s time to roll up your sleeves and get busy. Here are a few considerations and precautions as you plan and plant your personal oasis:

Planning Considerations

• Any kind of plant, succulent, shrub, vine or tree has the
potential to be used as long as its growing requirements can be satisfied in the spot you are designing. You are only limited by your imagination.

• The point is to create an intensely planted space with multiple levels of vegetation in order to keep you engaged in the garden. This should not be an area where you have a lot of mulch between plants. If you are on a budget and can’t do it all at once—
no worries. Just keep your end game in mind and every season, add a detail that fits into your plan.

• The amount of color is up to you. You can choose either a calming or a stimulating palette of plants as long as it suits your style.
Also, be sure that you choose a plan that you can maintain.
For example, if you don’t have three hours on a weekend to water and deadhead annual flowers, then you may want to limit how many different blooming pots you use and incorporate more houseplant or shrub plants.

• You can add interest with different elements such as a few colorful seasonal pots or an architectural detail like a wrought iron remnant in either a functional or decorative capacity. Also, consider hanging a mirror on the wall to make the area appear larger.

• If the space is large enough, add in cozy seating (a café table for two) or a water feature to enhance the overall experience.

Planting Precautions

• If you want to use a tree in your pocket garden, consider smaller options like a ginkgo, crepe myrtle or Japanese maple.

• If you plant shrubs, use varieties that won’t sucker and/or spread (for example—forsythia, lilacs or Virginia sweetspire will spread) as they may crowd out your other desired features.

• Connected to the above, when selecting your plants make sure you allow room for them to reach their mature height and width without crowding out your walkways, paths or other areas that you want to remain clear and passable.

Structures for Privacy

• Bamboo fence rolls from a landscape store create instant walls and privacy. It may look flimsy but it is quite durable with proper maintenance.

• Grouping traditional trellises in a way that pleases you can provide additional places for hanging plants, candles or string lights.

• Deck railing used vertically instead of horizontally is also a fantastic “wall” material.

• Using recycled wooden pallets is economical and versatile. Pallets are very sturdy and the possibility for what you can hang on them is endless. Anything from grow bags to tin cans with holes for planting will work. (Find more ideas on Pinterest.)

Not only do pocket gardens encourage creativity, they can be maintained more easily. By arranging plants in this intensive way, there is less need for mulching and weeding. If your plants are not in pots, you will conserve water because the plants will shade the soil and keep the soil temperatures lower.

So, what are you waiting for? Go take a walk around your home. Look for that “boring” area and plan where you will create your own personal oasis to be enjoyed for years to come.

Limited (or Nonexistent) Yard?

Consider Creating A Green Wall

If you are out and about or pay attention on social media, you probably already know that green walls are everywhere these days—from shopping malls to restaurants to businesses.

One idea for those in apartments—hang a large piece of wide window-paned chicken wire and make a living wall out of succulents “stuffed” into the wire and filled with slightly damp moss. They’ll make it in our growing zone with just a few light waterings for an entire summer. (If it’s 3×3 you can attach the wire with a nail or a hook at the top and two on each side so the wind won’t blow it around.

If it’s larger then you may need to staple the chicken wire to a wood frame.)

Another idea is to attach screw-in-eye bolts to the ceiling every eight inches,
add string or wire and build a vertical wall across the front of your balcony.

Add potted plants below the hanging string that will entwine and climb the string
and you’ve created a green screen that will produce some shade as well.

Kaye Moomaw

Portrait Artist

Lynchburg Living Editor Shelley Basinger: What brought you to Lynchburg?
Kate McClure: We moved here last summer from Waco, Texas. My husband Paul got a job at University of Lynchburg as a professor of sociology.

SB: Had you all heard of Lynchburg before?
KM: Paul went to Washington and Lee for undergrad so he had been to Lynchburg. I had never been to Lynchburg but immediately fell in love with it.

SB: We love hearing that! What reeled you in?
KM: The charming homes, the mountains, the downtown area. It’s just got a great, warm welcoming feel but there are still big things happening here. And the art community is amazing. It’s tight knit yet there are so many opportunities.

SB: When did you first discover your artistic talent?
KM: I’ve always been good at art—drawing and painting—from my earliest memories. I’ve always been an artist and I can’t imagine not being one now.

SB: Were your parents supportive?
KM: Absolutely. As a child, they recognized my talent and put me in special art classes, including an art academy where I grew up in Memphis. My mom said I was like a sponge. I would see something then sit down and paint something like it. I was always absorbing, always inspired, always painting… on everything. I once tried to paint a design on the door frame of my room and my parents were like “No, no, no, no!”

SB: We’ve had moments like that in my house, too! So, you ultimately decided to pursue art as a career path?
KM: Right, I went to Auburn and majored in fine arts with a focus on painting. I studied classical art in Florence for a little while. I’ve taken different workshops and classes along the way so I’ve had a lot of training and great experience. Over the years, I sort of found my niche in terms of what I enjoy and how I can also make a living, which is portraits with a focus on children.

SB: Walk us through that process. When you have a portrait client, how do you get started?
KM: With kids especially, I talk to the parents about the child’s personality so I can really capture that. Then I take photos of the child and that’s what I work from. I really love to capture something, a moment where they are really natural and not forced. Because kids just have that wonderful quality about them. Then I choose a photo that I think best showcases the child’s personality.

SB: Parents can be tough to please sometimes. Do you ever get nervous before you hand over the final product?
KM: I used to in the beginning but I don’t really anymore. I’ve done so many of them. But I’ve never had something not work out. I wouldn’t show it to a client if I didn’t think it was exactly the way it should be.

SB: How long do you spend on each piece? Do you paint every day?
KM: Not all day every day but I typically book up six months to a year in advance. So when I start on it depends on when I have the next spot open.

SB: You also have your own artwork on the side.
KM: In my spare time, I focus mainly on painting landscapes. Most of the portrait work I do is more realistic so when I get to do landscapes, I like to play around with color and get more loose and abstract.

SB: Are the landscapes a way to sort of get the creative juices flowing?
KM: Exactly. It’s nice to switch back and forth because I will go to landscapes or my own art and then I will miss portraits again and vice versa so I think it’s important to switch it up.

SB: What types of scenes inspire you?
KM: Since moving to Virginia, the landscape here is so beautiful and that is really my main inspiration. But it’s always based on something I see. The mountains, the fall colors, the birch trees, the farmhouses. Things like that.

SB: What do you do with your landscapes and other artwork?
KM: I had a show in Lynchburg in March and have another show happening Memphis in a couple of months. I sell out of my studio to anyone interested in those pieces.

SB: What’s next for you?
KM: I will always be doing my portraits. I work with lots of families, and I love that. Since moving here and being able to settle, I’ve been able to focus on showing my own artwork, which is really fun and exciting. I hope for more opportunities down the road to expand on that.

SB: You are proof that making a career out of art is possible. Do you have any advice for aspiring artists?
KM: I’m really passionate about this because there is so much training on how to make art but training on how to market and sell art is harder to find. I was lucky and found a woman out of California who has a business training course for artists. I worked with her for several years and it made all the difference. I think artists need to get that training if you want to do it full time and it be your main source of income.

SB: You need to have a strategy.
KM: Exactly. Not just, “I’m hoping somebody will see me.” It doesn’t work like that. The competition is too great. Also, my advice to aspiring artists—work really hard at developing your craft and be patient. I think back to when I started doing this full time 10 years ago and how far I’ve come. You have to be patient but if you stick with it and are committed then doors will open.

By Kaye Moomaw
Photos by LaShonda Delivuk

In this age of screens and 24-hour-a-day availability, we all need ways to unhook from electronics. Going outside and participating in the natural world improves both your physical and mental health. The same is true for children.

Bedford Hills Elementary School in Lynchburg has been using their school garden since 2008 to help young students explore nature while learning at the same time. “The garden functions as an outdoor classroom for the school and we have great, creative teachers who use it in all different ways,” says Kris Lloyd, who founded the Roots and Shoots Garden when her children were students at the school.

As a member of the Hill City Master Gardeners, Hillside Garden Club and Blue Ridge Conservation Coalition, Lloyd is committed to enriching our local gardening community—starting with our youngest members. “The garden makes them so curious—even if we are simply weeding they look at the roots, worms and insects. They ask the best questions!” she says.

Now that temperatures are warmer and days are longer, you can turn your home garden into a classroom for your children or grandchildren. You don’t need any strict curriculum—just go outside and simply see what’s happening around you. Below are a few ideas to get you started:

Plant some flowers, herbs or vegetables together. Your garden doesn’t have to be big; one cherry tomato plant that a child tends to all by himself has huge rewards. Watching the vines grow, flower and then seeing baby fruit ripen to red is the beginning of a love of growing things. Even a child who has never liked tomatoes will usually try one, and most often exclaim it is the “best tomato ever” when they have grown it. Squash is satisfying for kids to grow.

It has big flowers, big leaves and makes a satisfying “pop” when you pick it! Watermelon and pumpkins will probably come to mind if you really get excited about growing as a family. They are a bit more complicated—however, your student may enjoy measuring the vine as it crawls across the yard.

Practice math skills by having your child count how many tomatoes, green beans or zinnias they pick. An older child can keep a running total and practice addition skills. They can estimate what they think their total yield off one plant will be. Then, see if their prediction was correct. All of these abstract math and science skills in books come to life when your young gardener is at work.

Use field guides, binoculars or a hand lens to encourage observation of plants and animal life.

Teach your children at a young age that not all bugs are “bad.” A few good tools can show you what eggs, pupae, caterpillar and moth of the same insect look like over the course of the garden season. These observations they make deepen a child’s understanding of the natural world and teach them about different life cycles. In the Roots and Shoots Garden, a former father of some students donated bird boxes. Today, the purple martins and bluebirds are enjoyed and observed by everyone. “Students have also loved tracking the bluebird trail boxes with the bluebirds and tree swallows. That activity leads to great discussion of habitat and what it is about our schoolyard habitat that birds like so much,” says Lloyd.

Encourage your child to keep a nature journal with a picture of a bird nest and/or bird. Record how many eggs are in the nest.

Look up and see how many days the mother bird has to take care of the babies until they are fledglings. Watch for the day they fly away. Did they all make it? There are great STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) skills at work here as well as spelling and composition.

Find ways to tell the history of your crops. You can check out some Native American history books from the library and teach your children about the three sisters—beans, corn and squash. Or, plant a garden that includes some of your family favorites and make recipes from your grandmother. I have some Norwegian heritage, and my grandmother was a mid-westerner. I could plant rhubarb and make her jelly and sweet rolls as a way to showcase my family heritage. If you are Irish you could talk about the Great Potato famine. The possibilities are endless to connect your garden, nature and the stories we share.

Use plants or produce for some “hands-on” activities. Make a special “living” fort out of sunflowers lashed together at the top. Or, construct a green bean teepee: using tomato sticks or dowels, plant runner beans so they will climb up the sticks entwining them until covered. They can rule over their own green kingdom that they help take care of. A personal garden spot made for a child invites relaxation and discovery.

Research how to plant according to the lunar cycles.

This is a great project for a junior high student. You can plant the various crops at just the right time for good seed germination and harvesting. This information is available in the Farmers’ Almanac. Now, you’re discussing astronomy and probably looking at constellations together.

With any of the above activities, try to let the child lead the conversation when something has made them curious. Ask questions that further the development of their use of the scientific method by letting them propose the answer. Then work together to research if they are correct. You will also have to work with younger children on how to “be gentle” when exploring nature, especially with a bird’s nest.

You don’t have to give your child a quiz at the end of the day, when your time in the garden is over. Know that by introducing your child to the world of gardening, you are making an impact on their life that will carry on into adulthood.

“If you grow lettuce and peas and radishes to make a salad as a second grader, or help feed the worms in the worm bin, or watch the caterpillar go through its life cycle in your classroom, you will be more engaged with the natural world as an adult,” says Lloyd.

“I think there is lots of joy in that for many adults.”

Local Experts Explain How Healthy Dental Habits Can Prevent Major Complications

It’s been drilled into our brains since we were children—brushing, flossing and going to the dentist regularly prevents cavities. The older we get, however, we learn that neglecting our pearly whites can lead to even more serious issues than just a filling.

One of those issues is periodontal disease, a chronic inflammatory disease. “This is a pretty serious condition because if left untreated the teeth can become mobile and eventually fall out, even in the absence of any cavity,” says Dr. Elena Black, a dentist with advanced specialty training in orthodontics at Appalachian Orthodontics of Lynchburg.

As Dustin S. Reynolds, DDS, MS, explains, if tooth decay goes untreated, “it can reach the pulp or ‘nerve’ of the tooth causing serious problems.” Those problems include broken teeth, pain, swelling, and infection in the head and neck. As an endodontist at Forest Hill Endodontics, Reynolds focuses on saving a person’s natural teeth.

According to Black, periodontal disease has been linked to cardiovascular conditions. “To date, research has shown that people with gum disease have two to three times the risk of having a heart attack, stroke, or other serious cardiovascular event,” says Black.

Reynolds also confirms a strong link between the heart and oral care. “The mouth is the gateway to the rest of your body,” he says. “Research has shown that approximately 40 percent of the bacteria found in patients with heart disease actually comes from your mouth.”

Dry mouth, a common side effect of taking multiple medications, can lead to serious dental problems, Reynolds explains. Another major concern, though less frequent, is oral cancer.

Treating or correcting advanced oral problems includes deep cleaning and root planning, gum and/or bone grafts, root canal therapy, extraction of teeth, and implants to replace lost teeth.

Preventing these serious issues is not difficult. Brush twice a day, both Reynolds and Black agree, for approximately two minutes each time. “An easy way to do this is the divide the mouth into 4 quadrants and spend about 30 seconds in each quadrant,” Reynolds says.

You should floss every day as well, and don’t forget to schedule those check-ups at the dentist at least every six months. Aside from deep cleaning your teeth, your dentist will screen for oral cancer and make sure you aren’t developing any other serious issues.

Black also says some people may need to consider orthodontics to maintain the best oral care possible. “For example, if there is a lot of tooth crowding, the auto-cleaning of the mouth and flossing is hard to be performed and sometimes even access for a professional cleaning is difficult,” Black says. “So having orthodontic treatment to align the teeth and correct the bite will help with overall subsequent health of the entire mouth.”

By using a layering technique and garnishing with sprigs of onion, this main course is an easy way to practice your food presentation skills. We recommend a rectangular shaped plate.

Ingredients
Scallops
12 large sea scallops, cleaned (take foot off and patted dry)
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons cold butter
Thyme leaf
Lemon wedge
1 bunch spring onions, sliced thinly at angle for garnish
Lemon White Bean Purée
1/2 cup melted butter
2 cups canned white beans, well rinsed
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon olive oil
Grated zest of 2 lemons
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions
Melt butter for the white bean purée in a saucepan. Add butter to blender with white beans, grated parmesan, olive oil, lemon zest, and lemon juice, and blitz until smooth.

If the mix is too thick you can add a little water until desired consistency is reached.

Place in saucepan and keep warm over low heat.

Pat scallops dry and season with salt. Sear scallops salt side down. After about 1 minute, flip scallops and add cold butter, thyme leaf, and a lemon wedge (squeeze some of the juice).

Take off heat. When plating, spoon some of the pan juice over the scallops.

Pour the melted butter in a separate skillet and toss in breadcrumbs. Sprinkle in salt and zest of lemon. When breadcrumbs are crispy (about 1 minute), add fresh parsley and toss.

To plate, put large scoop of bean purée on plate and with back of spoon spread it out the length of the plate. Place 3 scallops on top of the purée and top with lemon crumbs. Drizzle a little of scallop pan juices over all. Garnish with sliced spring onions.

Light and delicate choux pastry puffs filled with ice cream and covered with warm chocolate sauce. This dessert presents well with its height. You can also work on your presentation skills when drizzling the chocolate sauce.

Ingredients
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 eggs
Ice cream flavor of your choice
1 cup heavy cream
9 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped

Instructions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Bring water to a boil in a saucepan. Stir in butter and salt until butter has melted; reduce heat to low. Vigorously stir in flour until no dry lumps remain and mixture leaves the sides of the pan and begins to form a stiff ball. Take off heat and stir in the eggs, one at a time, adding the next egg only after the last one has been completely incorporated. Drop the profiterole paste onto the prepared baking sheet in evenly spaced dollops.

Bake in preheated oven until pastries have puffed up and turned golden brown (25 to 30 minutes). Remove from baking sheet and cool on a wire rack to room temperature.

Bring 1 cup of heavy cream to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate until melted and smooth.

To assemble, slice the puff (not all the way through), and scoop in ice cream. Place the filled profiteroles onto individual serving plates and top with the warm sauce.

Enjoy every moment!

BEHIND THE SCENES

Two cameras, three lights, one stepladder… even a teenager—it takes a lot of equipment and teamwork to pull off a successful food photo shoot in Lynchburg Living.

Photographer Ashlee Glen, her daughter Tyne and editor Shelley Basinger descended upon Central Virginia Community College’s culinary department in March. Program director Mena Hughes was highly organized and prepared most of the three dishes ahead of time. Ashlee took action shots as Mena assembled each plate.

Ashlee also took the extra step of carrying each dish to the atrium nearby to shoot the dishes in natural light. She learned even her trusty stepladder wasn’t quite high enough so she braved a bar stool to get the perfect angle.

See how the photo shoot turned out in our Taste department on page 78 as well as our This City department on page 35.

BEHIND THE COVER

The cover of the Food Issue was a team effort: Art Director Chris Meligonis made the pie and the accompanying crust words on top, as well as styled the shoot. Angela Blue, wearing a bright summer dress, held the pie while Dave Uhrin took photos in direct sun.

Black & Blueberry Pie
Recipe from the Kitchen of Mena Hughes, Program Director of Central Virginia Community College’s Culinary Department

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 sticks chilled unsalted butter,
cut into 1/2 inch cubes
4 cups blackberries
2 cups blueberries
3 tablespoons Minute Tapioca pearls
1 egg, lightly beaten

Directions
For the dough: In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, and the butter. Pulse until the butter forms pea-sized crumbles. Pour in 1/4 cup ice cold water and pulse briefly until dough begins to clump. Scrape the dough onto a work surface, kneed until it just comes together, and mold into a ball. Half the dough and shape each half into a half-inch thick disc. Wrap each disc separately in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour. (You could also purchase pie dough discs from the grocery store. You will need 2, one for the bottom and one for the top.)

For the filling: In a large bowl, toss the blackberries and blueberries with the remaining 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt and the tapioca pearls until evenly combined. Let stand for 20 minutes.

Heat the oven to 400 degrees. On a lightly floured work surface, roll one dough disc into a 14-inch circle and fit it into a 10-inch glass pie dish. Stir the berries to redistribute the juices and the sugar, then scrape into the pie dish. Roll the second dough discs into a 12-inch circle and place over the berries. Trim, seal, and crimp the edges of the dough and cut four slits in the top. Brush the dough all over with the beaten egg.

Place the pie on a parchment paper–lined baking sheet and bake until the crust begins to turn light golden brown, about 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees and continue baking until the berries are bubbling and the crust is golden brown, about 45 minutes. Let the pie cool before serving. Serve with ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream!

A Local Pro Shares Food Presentation Tips that Will Please the Pupils and the Palate

ne of the best parts about going out to a nice restaurant—aside from the fact that you just get to sit there and relax while your meal is prepared—is the way the dish looks when it slides in front of you.

Let’s be honest—we’ve all drooled a little bit.

“Whether you’re at a restaurant or a home dinner party, you want that ‘wow’ factor,” says Mena Hughes, Culinary Arts Program Director at Central Virginia Community College (CVCC). “What I tell my students is we all visualize our meal before we taste it, so plate presentation is very important.”

It’s so important that Hughes incorporates lessons about presentation into her curriculum. She wants to make sure students know how to make meals that taste good… and look good, too. (You can find out more about CVCC’s Culinary Arts Program in our This City department on page 35.)

For those of you who want to step up your game at your next dinner party, we asked Mena to share a few of her top tricks, along with three tasty recipes that will be sure to impress your friends and family.

Prepping
For those who dream about carrying out fancy, impressive dishes to their guests, organization is crucial. “There are a lot of extra details involved when plating special dinners. I would suggest you write down everything you want to do and when you should do it,” Mena says. Translation: You don’t want to have hungry guests standing around while you slice up sprigs of green onion for a garnish—it needs to be ready to go when the food is hot.

When planning your meal, consider foods with different colors and textures, Mena says. “If you decide to have grilled chicken, mashed potatoes and cabbage, that’s pretty blah,” she explains. Try carrots and something green to go along with your chicken instead.

To make the colors of your food really pop, Mena suggests staying neutral with your plate color. “White plates are a great canvas,” she says. But “go crazy” with the shape. To add some interest to the table, consider incorporating square or even rectangular plates into your cupboard.

Use a round plate for the main course and other shapes for salad and dessert.

There are also some tools you can have on hand to make adding those little “extras” much easier. Toothpicks help with larger garnishes. A piping bag can assist you when embellishing desserts. (If you don’t have one, a Ziploc bag with the tip cut off works just fine.) A plastic squeeze bottle can be used—and reused—for drizzling chocolate or fruit sauces. Mena also uses a pastry brush from time to time to brush sauces onto the plate. (Learn more under Accessorizing.)

Assembling
Unless you have a very picky eater, Mena says you want all of your main course ingredients to be very close to, if not touching, each other. “A lot of people make the mistake of spreading it all out,” Mena says. “But it’s much more pleasing to the eye have everything arranged on the plate closely together.”

For example, start by spreading out your sauce or puree, put your protein down on top, and then make sure your veggie or starch is close to or leaning up against your protein. Layering your food items also adds some height to the plate, which you want to do. “Visually interesting dishes are taller,” Mena says.

Choosing the right ingredients will help you add height to your meal. For example, Mena says a chopped salad presents well since it’s taller. She also likes a Mesclun mix because you can make it fluffier.

Accessorizing
Another way to add height to your dish is to use fresh herbs as a garnish. “If you have some parsley or any kind of greenery that complements your dish, place a sprig of that on top of your protein or even your vegetable,” she says. “Fresh herbs just make the plate look finished.”

For those dishes that taste amazing but just don’t look as appealing (think: boeuf bourguignon) herbs can add a pop of color that those plates need. With boeuf bourguignon, adding a dollop of sour cream on top can give the dish a focal point.

Then, sprinkle some herbs on top of the sour cream for an added pop of color.

CHEF’S TIPS: Accessorizing

Keep in mind that less is more. “You don’t want to overdo it. Because then the extras take away from the main event,” Mena says. “You want your guests to be able to see what you made!”

Here are a few more ideas:
Use a pastry brush to swipe sauce onto your plate so that it’s thick on one end and thinner on the other. Then lay your protein on top of the sauce. Mena says it’s subtle but adds visual interest to the plate.

If you are making pies and have a little leftover dough, use it to make shapes, such as leaves, and add them to the top of the pastry with egg wash.
After using a squeeze bottle to drizzle chocolate sauce on a dessert, take a toothpick and run it through the sauce that’s on the plate. Have some fun making shapes or designs.

When dressing up a salad, use your veggie peeler to peel cucumbers into long curly ques. This same technique can be used with carrots.
Consider pulling one of the main ingredients from a dish to use as a garnish. For example, use a toothpick to add a whole shrimp and some herbs on top of jambalaya.

French Onion Tart
By cutting onions into half moons and layering them with cheese and herbs, your guests will be impressed by the effort you put into this tasty tart.

Ingredients
Pastry
Puff pastry sheets, store bought

Onion Topping
1 cup gruyere cheese, shredded (4 oz.)
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh thyme, minced
2 teaspoons fresh chives, minced
1/4 lbs. sweet onions peeled, halved, and very thinly sliced into half moons (keep the moons intact, about 3 medium onions)
1 tablespoon heavy cream
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

Roll the dough between two sheets of lightly floured wax paper, slightly larger than 10 x 14 inches. Using a ruler and a small knife, trim the edges. Place the dough on the prepared sheet pan and refrigerate while you prepare the onions.

Sprinkle the rolled pastry with the cheese right to the edges.

Sprinkle with thyme and chives.

Place the onion half moons on the pastry in diagonal lines, just barely overlapping and brush lightly with cream.

Dot with butter and sprinkle with salt.

Bake for 40 minutes or until the tart is golden and browned. Cover the edges with foil if the tart is getting too brown during baking.

Let cool slightly and cut into squares to serve. Serve warm or at room temperature.