Here's some more nuggets from that book "Food Style" by Siple and Sax.

I'll have to try this to see if it really does open up.

"Before baking a russet or new potato, make several deep parallel cuts angled toward the center. Drizzle with butter. The cuts will open up as the potatoes bake."

This next one, um, boring? Whatever charm it might have would go right over my head. Mind you, the book was published in 1982.

"Take one carved radish and place it, way off-center, on an individual salad plate that contains only dark mixed greens."

"Make a centerpiece by filling the bottom of a basket with small apples or new potatoes. Stick leaves of red-tipped lettuce between the apples or potatoes, completely hiding them. When you've created a good bed, arrange groups of five radishes each here and there among the lettuce, mixing carved radishes with whole ones. Tall stalks of endive provide extra height."

Speaking of interesting ways to present a salad, one time at a fancy casino banquet when we sat down each salad plate had the inside of a head of romaine and a shot glass of dressing. Folks had no idea how to eat it - knife and fork to cut up the lettuce and pour on the dressing? We ended up dipping the leaves into the dressing, and eating with our fingers. It was fun. There were 300 heads of romaine represented in that room, I pictured all the outsides being served on the buffet.

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This next one? How do you think it will taste? I know how it's sound - crunchy. Mr. Kitchentales has a hollow head so when he eats crunchy food it sounds like he's chewing on gravel. It gets on my nerves, and I sit there kicking myself for serving it to him.

"An all-white salad is made of cauliflower flowerets, sliced water chestnuts, celery, inch-long pieces of endive, half-moons of apple, slices of mushroom. Serve on a black or white porcelain plate."

I'm going to wind this up with something that sounds good to me:

"Serve a large bowl of shrimp boiled in their shells in a peppery broth. Each diner gets a pot of garlic butter, lots of crusty bread, and a good-sized napkin. Then he peels and dips his own shrimp."

It reminds me of bagna cauda. Don't get all huffy about the anchovies, they disappear into the hot butter and you don't realize they are there. Some shrimp or other cooked seafood like crab legs would go well with it. Figure out some way to keep it hot - a warming tray on the patio, keep it on a low burner and have guests eat around the stove, something like that. It's drippy, but like all fondues can be a lot of fun.

Bagna Cauda

Dip:
1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
6 tablespoons butter, cut up
1 can (2 oz) anchovy fillets

Vegetables:
baby carrots
large heads fennel, halved cored and cut lengthwise into 1 inch strips
red, green, yellow bell peppers
heads of Belgium endive, separated into leaves
cooked artichoke leaves
Crusty French baguettes, sliced

Heat oil and garlic in a saucepan over low heat just until garlic turns golden. Add butter and anchovies and cook until butter melts. Serve hot with raw vegetables and the bread.