{"id":11981,"date":"2008-08-21T14:54:00","date_gmt":"2008-08-21T14:54:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/production.ou.org\/life\/other\/summer_entertaining_posing_for_the_camera\/"},"modified":"2015-10-29T10:57:15","modified_gmt":"2015-10-29T15:57:15","slug":"summer_entertaining_posing_for_the_camera","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ou.org\/life\/food\/cooking\/summer_entertaining_posing_for_the_camera\/","title":{"rendered":"Summer Entertaining: Posing For the Camera"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo: Jon Edwards; Food styling: Food Fanatics<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

The model before us is a photographer\u2019s dream. She can hold a pose for hours without complaint, she doesn\u2019t mind being poked and prodded until the shot is just right, and best of all, she projects an attitude without actually having one.<\/p>\n

No, she\u2019s not some high-priced, anorexic supermodel in a flowing Balenciaga \u2013 \u201cshe\u201d is my Israeli Couscous Salad, and we are at master food photographer Jon Edward\u2019s studio as veteran food stylists, Denise Vivaldo and Cindie Flannigan, prepare her for her close-up.<\/p>\n

This is my second food photo shoot with the trio, taking publicity shots for my cookbook, and again I am blown away by the skill and attention it takes to make this salad \u2013 as well as the other seven dishes I\u2019ve brought today \u2013 sing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWait, Jon, just let me move this carrot,\u201d says Vivaldo as she takes tweezers to this colorful dish, rearranging a mint leaf for good measure.<\/p>\n

I first tasted this colorful salad at a bridal shower and had to have the recipe. Couscous is not a grain, but actually pasta, and if you\u2019ve tried only the fine-grained variety, you\u2019re in for a treat. Israeli couscous boasts larger, tapioca-size toasted rounds that have a chewy, almost buttery texture, the perfect backdrop for the crisp vegetables, toasted pine nuts, and refreshing citrus dressing.<\/p>\n

You can substitute conventional fine-grained couscous, if you like, or even bulgur, a hearty grain popular in the Middle East made from kernels of wheat that are steamed, dried, and then crushed.<\/p>\n

This light, refreshing salad is one of my favorites for summer entertaining. In this heat I\u2019m looking for easy dishes and a carefree menu, so I can enjoy my guests without breaking a sweat.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople make themselves crazy when they entertain,\u201d says Vivaldo, a classically trained chef and caterer as well as food stylist, and whose company, Food Fanatics (www.foodfanatics.com), specializes in recipe development, consulting, and food styling for print, film and television. \u201cIf you could enjoy yourself more, you would do it more often.\u201d<\/p>\n

I ask Vivaldo for some tips on party planning \u2013 and she ought to know. This seasoned professional, who has catered 10,000 parties (serving the likes of the George H.W. Bushes, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bette Midler and Prince Charles), is the author of \u201cHow to Start a Home-Based Catering Business,\u201d \u201cHow to Start a Home-Based Personal Chef Business,\u201d and with Flanagan, \u201cDo It For Less! Parties\u201d as well as the upcoming \u201cDo It For Less! Weddings,\u201d due out in October.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we\u2019re entertaining, we\u2019re all our own harshest critics,\u201d she says. \u201cBut if someone else has set the table, the simplest meal is divine.\u201d<\/p>\n

What makes people really nervous are sheer numbers. \u201cPeople are not used to cooking in quantities,\u201d Vivaldo notes. \u201cIt freaks them out to see how much food they\u2019ve got. Is it enough? It is too much? Remember, the more things you have on the menu, the smaller the portions you need to serve.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s the expense. \u201cWhen people entertain, they spend a lot of money instead of keeping it simple,\u201d she says. \u201cIf you\u2019re having a lot of people, you don\u2019t have to offer a complete bar. Why not make one kind of drink, say Cosmopolitans, and add something non-alcoholic and some water and you\u2019ve got it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Planning a barbecue? Vivaldo suggests handwriting rustic invitations on brown butcher paper glued onto gingham and trimmed with pinking shears. Inexpensive bandanas from the dollar store tied with twine make rustic napkins. Galvanized buckets, cast-iron skillets or even clear pitchers filled with ice-cold lemonade make festive centerpieces.<\/p>\n

You don\u2019t need to spend a lot of money on matching linens, Vivaldo advises. \u201cLook around your house. Everything doesn’t have to match. Be creative. You can use a Mexican serape or even $10 sheets from Target. People don’t come to your home to see your couch. They come for the company and a glass of wine.\u201d<\/p>\n

For my next party I find an easy, tongue-tingling recipe for Salmon with Orange-Soy Glaze and Black Pepper in “The Quick Grill Artist” by Norman Kolpas, renowned food writer and award-winning author of over three dozen cookbooks. One hundred imaginative recipes go from grill to table with flair in under 45 minutes. Even the prep is quick.<\/p>\n

“You can get any recipe to go on the grill in the time it takes for the grill to heat up,” Kolpas says. “I call it instant gratification grilling.”<\/p>\n

For dessert his S’mores Quesadillas will delight the kids \u2013 and the kids in us! “Although I respectfully dispute his judgment on this,\u201d Kolpas writes, \u201cmy son, Jake, insists that the recipe works even better if you double the quantities of all ingredients for the filling.”<\/p>\n

\n

Judy Bart Kancigor is the author of \u201cCooking Jewish: 532 Great Recipes from the Rabinowitz Family\u201d (Workman) and can be found on the Web at www.cookingjewish.com<\/a>. <\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The model before us is a photographer\u2019s dream. She can hold a pose for hours without complaint, she doesn\u2019t mind being poked and prodded until the shot is just right, and best of all, she projects an attitude without actually having one. 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