Recipes for a Spring Feast

Many a home cook, admiring a food advertisement or a photo in a cookbook or magazine, has wondered, “How do they make food look that good? Mine never does!” It is the job of a food stylist like me to make a dish look appealing and appetizing, and I consider everything from the table setting and the color of the plate to the texture of the food.

The spring menu on the following pages takes advantage of fresh products from your own garden or local farmers’ markets. A simple recipe allows the flavor of the food to come through rather being camouflaged with spices, overpowering sauces or other ingredients. The recipes below underscore the fact that fresh, “alive” ingredients are best when treated minimally, letting their flavors stand on their own.

You don’t have to be a professional to enhance your food and set a spring table with style and flair. Here are a few suggestions. Instead of a standard tablecloth, think of pieces of patterned material for place mats. For the centerpiece, use fresh-cut spring flowers arranged in an eye-catching container—anything that will hold water can be turned into a vase. Or use potted herbs in small clay pots grouped on a glass dish or a mirror. To take the spring theme further, build a small rock garden in the center of the table and accessorize it with potted herbs, flowers and small garden tools. (These inexpensive accessories can be found in your local garden shop.) Put a small potted herb next to each place for guests to take home. A clay flowerpot lined with aluminum foil or plastic wrap can serve as a wine cooler, and a rectangular terra cotta planter, lined with a napkin, as the bread basket.

Dinnerware and glassware should be simple and not heavily patterned. A busy pattern detracts from the star of the show: the food. Instead of large candles, use smaller votive candles by each place setting. This works especially well on a glass table or with mirrored place settings.

A salad of fresh greens needs to be dressed only with a good extra virgin olive oil, a splash of your favorite vinegar, and a dash of salt and pepper. A fresh piece of fish, like halibut, cod or haddock, is best when sautéed quickly and then drizzled with a little melted lemon butter and a few capers.

Serve a fresh spring salad after Chef Marc’s Garlic and Herb Grilled Chicken, family style on a large platter garnished with any of the fresh herbs in the recipe. Another dish you may want to serve family style is the Tabbouleh Salad and Chickpeas with Grilled Squid. Served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream, the Rhubarb Strawberry Crumble is a perfect ending to your colorful spring dinner.