Dressing Up the Plate: A Step-By-Step Guide to Creative Pickle Garnishes

Using pickles as garnishes is not exactly a new idea. Spears, chips and whole dills regularly adorn plates of sandwiches, burgers and a host of other dishes. But with a little ingenuity pickles and pickled peppers can be some of the most attractive and inventive garnishes around.

Pickles' long shelf life gives them an edge over many other garnish ingredients that tend to be fragile and spoil quickly. Plus, pickles and pickled peppers take very little work. Only minor assembly is required (instructions follow) for beautiful results.

A Hot Pot

1. With knife, cut off stem-end of large pickled cherry pepper; reserve.

2. With small spoon or melon baller, carefully scoop out seeds and membrane inside cherry pepper.

3. In a bowl, combine ricotta cheese and sweet pickle relish to taste.

4. Fill each cherry pepper with ricotta mixture, mounding slightly. Top with stem end of cherry pepper.

A Pickle Package

1. Slice a large dill pickle crosswise into 1/2-inch slices. With sharp knife, remove centers of pickle slices to form rings.

2. Thread a combination of baby corn ears, julienne carrot sticks and strips of red pepper through center of pickle rings.

Rings Of Fire

1. Slice a pickled jalapeño crosswise into 1/4-inch rings, or use pre-sliced pickled jalapeño rings.

2. Make a cut in edge of one ring and slide two whole rings onto it to form a "chain." Place on top of a pile of nacho chips or a bowl of salsa, float in bowl of gazpacho or corn chowder or dress up a dollop of sour cream or guacamole.

U.S.S. Pickle

1. Holding a large dill pickle horizontally, cut a thin slice from bottom (to prevent pickle from rolling); reserve.

2. Cut a horizontal slice from the top, one-quarter of the way down the pickle; reserve.

3. With small spoon or melon baller, scoop out inside of pickle, leaving an1/8-inch thick shell and reserve. Mince all reserved pickle.

4. In a bowl, stir together softened cream cheese and the minced pickle and spoon into pastry bag with rosette tip. Pipe mixture into pickle shells.

5. Peel whole carrots and slice in 1/3-inch-thick diagonals. Cut off bottom end from slices to form triangles. Insert carrot triangles into cream cheese mixture to look like "sails."

A Pepper Pod

1. Make a lengthwise slit in a pickled pepperoncini without cutting through either end or other side of pepper.

2. Remove seeds and membrane from inside the pepper with a small spoon or melon baller (a grapefruit spoon works well too).

3. Stuff with strips of mozzarella cheese and red pepper.

A Tisket, A Tasket, It's A Pickle Basket

1. Cut a large dill pickle in half either lengthwise or crosswise.

2. From one half, cut a thin slice from the bottom (so pickle won't roll).

3. With melon baller, carefully hollow out center of pickle half.

4. From remaining pickle half, cut a strip of pickle about 1/3-inch thick to resemble a handle. Insert "handle" into hollowed-out pickle.

5. Fill pickle basket with matchstick carrots, relish, mustard or salsa.

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