Partyy foooood

So now that you have wasted all your good recipes on Christmas and New Years, and your worn out from home cooking, being every one's personal chef and not to mention all the dishes. Lets talk about making awesome food for parties, and plate design.

 Take whatever recipe your thinking about, and ask yourself, how can I make this better. Try using more expensive or unique ingredients which are similar. Or you could take the concept of the dish and go completely crazy with the design.
For example; making a birds nest out of potatoes...definitely an eye catcher and a topic of conversation for your guests. For plating, buy some squeeze bottles to put sauces in to make designs. There are also ways to imprint herb leafs on specific types of food.
These ideas may seem intimidating but they are extremely easy and fun to try. If you have the time, test some ideas out. Remember, using simple ingredients doesn't need to be boring. At work, I sometimes make a red olive oil using red olives that we have. It's so simple and makes an awesome plate design.
My best advice for plating, is use something your familiar with already and try a new way of cutting it. Red radishes can be cut in very thin-strips to look like matchsticks and bunched together for a neat garnish especially on hors d'evours. A few years ago a colleague showed me how to make these baskets for small salads or for bite-size foods. Here's how to make them.

Sprinkle a circle of Parmesan cheese onto a preheated griddle or skillet. Make the circle more or less even, but don't completely cover the pan with the circle of cheese. The end result should be a lacy circle that is easy to bend when warm. After cooking until golden, use a thin flexible metal spatula to gently remove the cheese circle from the pan. Slide the spatula completely under the cheese before lifting. While the Parmesan is still hot, form a basket by centering the Parmesan crisp over a glass and pressing the edges of the crisp gently toward the sides of the glass. Leave the side fluted rather then pressing the pleats against the side of the plate. Let cool, until the crisp is hardened and remove from the glass.