PASTA AND SAUCES
Th e spacer in this shot is a disk of STYROFOAM. I
like using it for several reasons. It is lightweight, can
be spray painted any color, and is useful in case heavier
food elements need to be secured with a toothpick.
I painted the STYROFOAM spacer with Krylon
spray paint to match the pasta color, making the spacer
easier to hide. If you follow this technique, make a
spray booth as described in Chapter 3 to catch any
overspray, and spray outdoors or in a well-ventilated
area.Th e STYROFOAM disk must be secured to the bottom
of the bowl by some means. I use a double-sided sticky
foam tape to cover the bottom of the disk before placing
it in the bowl, but several small pieces of replaceable
rope-type weather stripping found at hardware stores
could also be used to secure the spacer. Th e spacer should
be secured because if it moves around you’ll have a great
deal of trouble building the dish and transporting it to
set. Remember, there’s a lot of oil on the pasta, so every-
thing is slippery.