Plating...............

I thought about what foods would go together and what I would like to do. I thought about foods that I grew up with and loved to eat. I thought it would be easy, I had eaten the food so many times before. Then I thought about what plate I would put it on. Would I go with the square ones that I have been using, or would one of the new ones that I bought work? No I settled on the country blue ones that I had in my cabinets for awhile, since I was going with a southern meal I thought the plate would work. The ones I bought were really for a Italian meal or maybe a dessert.

Then came cooking, the meal seemed easy enough, the collard greens should go on first since they would cook the longest. Then I baked the cornbread and while it was in the oven I made the mayonnaise for the tartar sauce (even though I knew I would be the only to eat some of it).

Then I put the tomatoes in to roast and fried the catfish. I had already made the garlic chili oil for the plate.

Next was putting it all together, I made different shapes of cornbread (round and rectangle) and decided that since I was going to use a round plate that I should use the rectangle cornbread to start off the plating. Then came the greens (I remembered the little plate and it worked great) on top of the cornbread (I loved the juices soaking into the cornbread). I didn't leave the piece of ham on top so it would show in the picture. Then the catfish, I should have used tongs and not the spatula; I would not have knocked over the greens. I tried the decorative oils and again I so need more practice. When I tried it on a empty plate it worked great; when I did it on the plate with food not so good. I will continue to work on it. I treid to make a cannel out of the tartar sauce it worked until it hit the hot fish and started to melt. The tomatoes were easy I just don't know if three is enough, but then again that's another food I can eat my weight in. :)

When it came to eating everything was good. I actually needed more of the garlic chili oil for everything. The only thing I think didn't match with everything was the tartar sauce I would serve it on the side and now a day later I remember the lemon. It is still in the fridge, I guess I can make lemonade.