Appreciate the kind words! It's so interesting to me the impact that plating has on the appeal of a dish. We really do eat with our eyes, haha.

Thanks you! It was some effort to make from scratch but it was really enjoyable.

I appreciate this comment quite a bit. I make meals for myself and try to have fun with things and see what options exist for me at my current skillset.

Do I want to eat like an elf every day? Absolutely not, I'd starve or be chained to my stove all day. But is it fun to know how to do the fancy plating for special occasions? Definitely.

Regarding the portion size, if you were receiving these dishes in a fine-dining establishment, this would be a single course in a multi-course meal. Depending on the amount of courses, you might not even finish this. That's why you'll sometimes see dishes where you're thinking "you'd need 11 more plates of this to actually feed someone."

Well... that's because it would, in fact, be part of a 12-course meal. 😊

This one would likely be part of a three or five-course meal, in my estimation. And of course at home, you usually eat the nice plate and then make a second plate with less concern for presentation. Or like I do when I have a dinner party: every guest gets elegant presentation; for myself, I blend up the food, pour it into a dog bowl, and eat it with a soup ladle at the stove. 🤣

It's just a fancy word for salting the meat and leaving it to air-dry in the fridge. I put mine on a wire rack so the excess moisture drips away.

It's absolutely ispired by his dish, but simplified. This was only one thigh and breast of the chicken and didn't include using the skin. I need to cook single servings since I just make these for myself.

Appreciate the plating compliments too! That's my biggest focus lately. The jus was on the side but should be visible in the second picture I included.

Haha thanks; I wish I had a setup that nice but I'm just a home cook.

These sorts of dishes come together in about an hour with some preplanning. Once the ballotine is in the oven you've got enough time to do nearly everything else, then while it's resting you get the plating worked out. If you can roll a cigar and have a mayo lid handy you can make this no problem.

Thank you for the compliments and critique! I never realized how unlevel my floor and/or table were until I poured this jus haha. It all rushed down to one side and saturated the puree, allowing it to break the dam before I could correct.