FIRST STEP FIRST!
Pick the perfect board or platter for plating your meal!
- I figured out the perfect solution to serving a Sunday dinner, or any dinner where you want it to feel a little extra special. You want to impress the family. You’re really looking for your meal to be the conversation starter at the table with all of the most important people in your life.
Presentation is where that all really kicks off!
Once you’ve chosen the vessel for your meal, we can truly get into this presentation process and the art of plating not only one dish, but the ENTIRE dinner!
When I create a charcuterie board the first step for me is always the cheese, but when it comes to full on dinners, it’s gotta be the protein! The piling and stacking of the meat, the placements of accompaniments, and the drizzles of garnishes are strategically assembled! You absolutely want the main focus of the board to become whatever the main course of the meal is! Whatever item you want your family, friends, and guests to grab off of the board before anything else is exactly what you want to focus on first.
My protein of choice were ribs since I have been absolutely craving them! Normally, people eat ribs smothered in barbecue sauce, but as always, I wanted to be different, so I switched it up. I thought.. if you’re a wing lover, you know the hot honey dry rub and all of the other sweet, peppery rubs are getting their recognition. Therefore, I had to let these ribs meet their dry rub match. What goes better with pork than teriyaki and grilled pineapple?!
Speaking of Pineapple: The 2nd step is to adorn the meat with its’ adornments!
It’s as simplistic as that! Pairing protein with properly cooked fruit for the season we’re in is something you can never go wrong doing!
The 3rd and possibly my favorite Step:
POTATOES: Fully Loaded baked potatoes.
What’s better for a Sunday super than meat & potatoes if you don’t have sauce simmering on the stove all day?!
I may just be bias here, however, these are the most magnificent, magical, breathtaking loaded baked potatoes my eyes have ever seen. Yes, I’m a woman.. so I get a little dramatic at times. Anyhow, I do not believe that this is one of those times. These types of potatoes have become my go to side at any steak house or restaurant if I’m in the mood for something starchy and filling. They never disappoint. Unless you get really unlucky and order a “fully loaded baked potato”, but when your server sets said potato in front of you.. it’s barely loaded at all. AHH! THAT Diamonds, is a sad, sad experience. It’s disappointing to order something that’s advertised as one thing and when you receive the item, it’s the exact opposite. This reason alone is one of the many reasons why I prefer to cook at home. While being the foodie that I am, of course I can’t lie to you and say I’m not fond of dining out because I most certainly am. Although, it has to be at the most aesthetic establishment that serves my idea of a perfect meal! Sushi and hibachi being one of them. They are both my go-to as well.
How I loaded MY fully loaded baked potatoes:
- Thoroughly wash your russet potatoes. You can use any type of potato you’d like. My first choice for a baked potato will always and forever be a russet. It’s sturdy and holds up to all of the toppings you could ever dream of.
- Drench your potatoes with olive oil, loads of flakey sea salt, freshly cracked black pepper, and any other seasonings you may wish. I love adding ranch seasoning to the outside as well. When the skin gets all nice and crispy, it creates a chip-like experience!
- Bake at 400 degrees for an hour, at least! You do not want the inside to be hard and clumpy at all, especially if your potatoes are large in size.
- Once out of the oven, split the potatoes down the middle, pinch the sides, and give it a good squeeze so that you can take a fork to fluff up the flesh on the inside of the skin.
- I filled the inside with mozzarella AND sharp cheddar cheese. I know everyone is only use to cheddar in their baked potato, but when you give multiple cheeses a try, you’ll never go back to just one. It is life changing! I piled on that cheese until it reached the very top of the potatoes.
- Then, I put a handful of the crispest, crackliest bacon bits into each one right onto of all that gooey, melty cheese.
- Fresh chives get cut to garnish the bacon.
- Lastly, you can’t serve baked potatoes without sour cream! On each of the three potatoes, I did a dollop of Mexican crema. Honestly, I could put that stuff on anything, it’s amazing!
- On the side of the potatoes I served regular sour cream for my family to add on if they so choose, I served regular sour cream topped with even more bacon, as well as roasted multi-colored bell peppers to add some brightness into the mix. Whenever I serve food filled with different types of starch and fat, I really adore adding in the option for people to add some saltiness, brininess, acidity, and earthiness onto their dish.
The peppers really are the perfect touch.
- Not only can you top the potato with them for a pop of freshness, but you can pair them with the pineapples for another layer of flavor to the teriyaki ribs. Even if your choice of protein aren’t ribs, they will go perfectly with grilled chicken, grilled skirt steak, grilled shrimp, and even grilled scallops! Since today is Father’s Day, you can go as luxurious as grilling up some lobster tails if that’s what your family fancies!
Last but not least, we’re heading to step number 4:
In my opinion, you always need a green vegetable adorned next to the richness of your meat and potatoes!
ASPARAGUS:
I tend to marinate everything that I cook on the grill in a homemade marinate. Always different and always on theme! Today’s theme was teriyaki, and I think soy and teriyaki go hand in hand. Of course!! It never matters what you throw in a marinate as long as there’s an oil and an acid involved. Everything else is up to you.
- Presenting the asparagus in piles on top of each other, having the tips face in different directions of the board is perfect in my eyes. Even though they’re the exact same pieces of asparagus, the way they’re laid down makes your brain play tricks on you to take multiple pieces from each side. Placing them the way I did takes up more space on the board we all than if I would have piled them on top of each other in on single pile all facing the same direction.
Deepfrieddiamonds 
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