Floral Garnish Without The Flowers Dedicated To Bergy

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This is from a book i have titled *garnishing and decoration* by rudolph biller who believes that the food we share should taste good, but also be eye-catching. I shared the photo of this garnish w/bergy in her may photo challenge. Encouraged by her to enter it as a formal recipe, i decided to do so since it is such an easy & inexpensive quick fix that chgs an ordinary platter into something spectacular. Since 1 pic is always worth a thousand words, i posted the pic i shared w/her. *edited to add* -- i have now posted a 2nd pic to show just 1 example of potential use for the garnish. :-)

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Steps

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Do not peel the cucumber.

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Start by cutting off 1 tapered end of the cucumber & discard it.

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Cut 3 segments from the cucumber & halve each thru the center.

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You now have 6 segments.

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Place 4 of the segments on your cutting board & cut ea diagonally so you have 8 segments that will form the petals of the flower.

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Use 1 of the last 2 segments to thinly slice the half-moon pieces that will form the stem of the flower & trim them as shown in the pic.

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Using a vegetable peeler , peel 1 or 2 strips of cucumber rind & cut into several leaf shapes as shown in the pic.

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Using a 1-inch diameter cookie cutter , cut cheese slices for the pieces that will be the center of your flower.

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Assemble the garnish on your platter as shown in the pic or as desired.

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All done !.

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Ingredients

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cucumber, american cheese, capers