[cmcadams]

For food shots, I've found it's usually best to use an opened up aperture (smaller number means more open). If not using full manual, at least using aperture priority is helpful. Then taking shots fairly close to the food helps the background blur a bit, helping the food stand out.

With that, white balance makes a big difference, too. If you see shots that look too yellow, that's often just a white balance issue. There's a lot of software out there to help with that, and much can be found free. A lot of even high end cameras tend to show indoor light as too yellow, and tweaking this can help the photo look much more natural.

And one thing that can help no matter what mode on a camera is used is thinking about the whole shot. You're going to take a photo of not just the food unless it's an extreme close-up. You're photographing what's next to the food, just in front of the food, and everything behind it. So sinks with dirty dishes, laundry piled up on the other side of the table, whatever it may be... it's all going to end up as part of the photo. Look around and behind what you're taking a photo of... then decide if that's what you're looking for in your shot.

and in line with Grillman's post, try to have enough light to not use the on-camera flash. Unless you use a diffuser or bounce of some sort, those flashes give very harsh shadows. You're better using room lighting and a tripod, placing the tripod where the lighting works best.

And take a lot of photos. :)