Last week, I posted over at Project Nursery about some healthier alternatives to the overwhelming number of sweets Valentines Day seems to bring on. And the kids won’t miss the sugar–my two were more excited about hitting this particular dessert table than any I can think of recently. And they see a LOT of dessert tables.

Maybe it was that I told them they could have as much as they want, and that they weren’t limited to one or two things? And their pure amazement at something as simple as a heart in the side of an apple made it really fun for me…and the fact that they were thrilled to bits to be eating apples and watermelon and greek yogurt has made me want to try more of these style tables!

Want to read the hearty-healthy article? Pop over to Project Nursery to check it out!

There is one DIY party planner that never fails to impress me – Nicole of Tradewind Tiaras. The handcrafted touches she creates for her parties are always beyond gorgeous! A few days ago, she threw her annual gingerbread house decorating party and chose a Scandinavian theme. With the amount of sugar going into little mouths with the decorating alone, she opted not to have a dessert bar, and instead chose to decorate an “antidote” bar full of yummy healthier food offerings. You can see all the details on her blog.

Chex mix was served hanging from silvered branches out of beautiful little cones she found at Ikea.

She hand made all the label signs – so beautiful in their simplicity.

And on top of the appetizers, she served adult libations, including a Scandinavian traditional drink – Glogg. It’s extremely good if you’ve never had it, and I recommend finding your nearest Swede to make you some. Immediately. Nicole says that next year she’s going to try the flaming version of this drink for her party–I can’t wait to see it!! Make sure you visit her post to see the rest of the gorgeous pictures and read all about the event!

The appetizers for this table look much more fussy than they are – all were made ahead of time then popped into their little pretty dishes right before serving. The oysters I let my husband shuck; I don’t eat them (traumatic early childhood oyster experience – thanks, Dad!) so I don’t cook or otherwise prepare them. We had actually planned for Oysters Rockafeller as an appetizer, but prep work for them was a little beyond what we were able to do and prepare the meal itself. We did save a couple dozen for the next afternoon when we weren’t rushed to cook and I’m told they were amazing! Alton Brown from the Food Network always seems to have can’t miss recipes, and his Oysters Rockafeller were no different.

The Pommes Annette were absolutely delicious! And something you need to give yourself a little lead time to make. They are a bite-size version of the classic French pommes Anna. I’m going to give you two versions of this – Martha Stewart’s recipe, and the way I actually made them. I love love love Martha’s ideas, but sometimes her methods are a little fussy for fussy’s sake. You bake these in mini muffin tins – she recommends having two to cook it her way, but I didn’t have two so made it work my way!

Taken from Martha Stewart’s Hors D’Oeuvres Handbook. 24 pieces when made.

POMMES ANNETTE

• 2 T unsalted butter, room temperature plus 1 T  melted butter
• 24 small sprigs fresh thyme, plus 1 1/2 tsps fresh thyme leaes
• 18 to 24 fingerling potatoes, skin on
• 5 oz fresh goat cheese
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, with the rack in the center. Using some of the melted butter, generously butter mini muffin tins. Place 1 sprig of thyme in teh bottom of each cup.

2. Using a mandoline, cut the potatoes into 1/16-inch-thic slices (about 240). Using a pastry brush, butter both sides of 24 of the potato slices with the room-temperature butter. Place the slices over the thyme sprigs to make the first layer. Top each slice with about 1.8 tsp of the goat cheese, and season generously with salt and pepper. Make 9 more layers, alternating unbuttered potato slices with the goat cheese; only the top and bottom potato slices are buttered. Sprinkle a few thyme leaves on the last layer of goat cheese.  Finish with one last slice of buttered potato on top of each cup.

3. Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit over each muffin tin. Brush the paper generously with the remaining melted butter. Place the parchment, butter side down, over teh potatoes in teh tin. Plase a second muffin tin of the eaxct same size on top of the parchment and press down. Place a large cast-iron or other oven-proof skillet on top to compress the potatoes and place in the oven.

4. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove the weight., the tope muffin tin, and the parchment paper. Bake the potatoes for 8 to 10 minutes more, until golden brown. Let cool slightly 2 to 3 minutes. Carefully run a knife around the inside of each cup. Using a butter knife, gently remove each Pommes Annette and turn over onto a serving platter.

And now for how I actually made them.

POMMES ANNETTE PAULA

• 2 T unsalted butter, room temperature plus 1 T  melted butter
• 3 sprigs fresh rosemary, plus 1 1/2 tsps dried thyme leaes
• 18 to 24 potatoes
• 5 oz fresh goat cheese
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

I couldn’t find fingerling potatoes or fresh thyme among my three regular grocery stores, so substituted rosemary sprigs and dried thyme and regular potatoes. Greased one 24-opening muffin tin with butter. Placed in little sprigs of rosemary.

Using a sharp knife and cutting board (no mandoline here) I sliced my potatoes thin. These potatoes were WAY too big to fit into the little mini-muffin cups, so I took a very small cookie cutter (about 1.5 inches) and cut circles out of my slices. There were a lot of slices. Skipping this step would have made the process so much easier.

My pastry brush was AWOL. I melted all the butter and just dipped my slices in the butter and dropped the m into the muffin tin. After the first layer went down, I put a little tiny bit of goat cheese on each potato circle. Then alternated potato circle, goat cheese until there were 9 potato circles. I dipped the 10th layer of potato circles again in the butter and placed them in the tins. At this point I realized I completely forgot to salt and pepper each layer. Oops. I just put a heavy hand to the last layer, and truly I don’t think the extra sodium was missed. I sprinkled the dried thyme over each cup and a dab extra butter.

I then buttered my parchment and put it over the muffin tin. I try to have a fairly streamlined kitchen, so I don’t have too too many duplicates – there is only one mini muffin tin in my kitchen so I could not compress and weight my pommes Annette like Martha. I took one of my spice jars and smashed each cup down as tightly as I could before I popped the whole tray in the oven. Since I made these the night before, I cooked them for 30 minutes, pulled them out, let them cool a bit and wrapped them for the refrigerator. Right before the turkey went in the oven, I put the pommes Annette back in for 10 minutes to heat and crisp them. Using a fork, I carefully removed each one and put it into a wonton spoon to serve.

The hot crab dip and parmesan crackers were fabulous and I really liked how the handmade crackers looked peeking out of these mini-martini glasses (purchased at World Market.) To streamline this app, just use a butter cracker or something similar in stead of going the handmade route. I made the dough 2 days before I needed it and baked the day before dinner.

PARMESAN-ROSEMARY ICEBOX CRACKERS

Taken from Martha Stewart’s Hors D’Oeuvres Handbook. Makes 20.

• 3/4 c all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• Pinch of white pepper
• 2 tsps finely chopped fresh rosemary, plus extra sprigs for garnish
• 3 T very cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 cup (2.5 oz) finely grate Parmesan cheese
• 5 T sour cream
• 1 large egg white, lightly beaten

1. Combine the flour, salt, peper and the chopped rosemary int he bowl of a food processor. Pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add the cheese and pulse until combined. Add 1 T of the sour cream at a time, pulsing each time to combine. Process until the dough comes together and is well combined.

2. Transfer the dough to a clan work surface. Shape the dough into a 2-inch-wide log. Wrap the log with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 24 hours.

3. Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Slice teh well-chilled log into 1/4 inch thick clices. Transfer the slices to a baking sheet. Dip a spirig of rosemeary into the egg white and place it in the center of 1 cracker slice. Repeat with teh remaining rosemary and crackers. Bake immediately, rotating the sheet halfway through cooking, until the crackers are golden brown adn firm in the center, 25 to 35 minutes. (The crackers should not get too dark around the edges.) Transfer to a rack to cool. The crackers may be made a day ahead and kept in an airtight container at room temperature.

HOT CRABMEAT DIP

I sort of merged a few crab dip recipes I found for this preparation-

• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1 T milk
• 1 cup crabmeat
• 2 T chopped onion
• 1/4 tsp salt
• Dash of Worcestershire sauce
• Pepper to taste
• Top with 1/4 cup shredded cheese

Soften cream cheese with the milk and beat well. Add remaining ingredients to the cream cheese and blend well Put in oven-proof shallow dish, topping . Bake in oven at 375 for 15 minutes. Sprinkle shredded cheese on top.

Not everything on your table can be made from scratch. It’s simply too much for a regular hostess to do while executing a four course meal. I made these Apricot Brie puffs for my mother’s party this summer, and they were a wild success. I don’t really have a recipe per say for them. I take a sheet of puff pastry, cut it into little square, put a little piece of brie and a tiny bit of apricot preserves in the middle of the squares, pull the corners in so they look like little purses and pinch the edges shut. They get popped on a pan and baked according to the directions on the box! Simple, but super tasting and fancy looking.

Stay tuned for dinner and dessert!

Holidays around here are very much about roots and tradition. And an obsession with really good food. I recently came up with an explanation why we are all so crazy about eating at our gatherings when, of all things, I was reading a Rachel Ray magazine where she equated her recipe stash as a scrapbook of memories and adventures. I think this is why food is so important to us; as a military family, we didn’t grow up next to grandma and grandpa or aunties and uncles, and we associated the very different food we ate on our visits with family as memories.

Case in point, I still remember sitting in the kitchen with my brother Sean after making my first Sherry Almond Pie from Grandma Nita. We both took a bite, and immediately said to each other, “Tastes like Grandma’s house.” Jambalaya reminds me of 300 year old oak trees, dripping Spanish moss, and the scent of humidity and magnolias. The fragrant sweet smell of Aunt Rochelle’s cookies brings me back to her farm house kitchen and the sturdy round wooden table, and Old Bay and a good beer will always take me home to the waterfront of Virginia picking crabs and having laughs with loved ones.

So yes, when we eat, it is more than just sitting down for a good meal. We’re sitting down with our memories, and with the company of good friends and family, making new ones. And with a little extra atmosphere and a few new dishes, I’m hoping the memories of Christmas this year will be spectacular.

The pictures shown on this post are our actual Christmas dinner with my husband’s family, who came down this past week for the holiday. I wanted to celebrate the atmosphere as much as the food this year at dinner! As I said, my father’s side of the family is from New Orleans, so family cooking always has a decidedly Cajun/Southern flavor, and was part of my inspiration. And I admit, there is a Christmas song from my favorite New Orleans Christmas CD called “Joyeux Noel” that I sing all year long that I couldn’t get out of my head and on to paper quickly enough as a design.

I’d like to say that each piece of decoration here was specifically chosen just for this dinner. But really, everything but the magnolias and ribbon was already around the house and it was just a matter of rearranging. And if I were at Grandma Nita’s, I would have just wandered out to her back acre and climbed my favorite magnolia tree for some blossoms or used some of her prize-winning camelias!

It was fun weaving in a little family history and heirlooms when I planned this dinner. The dinner table was set with a hand made table cloth and set of napkins from Malta that were gifted to us last Christmas by our Nashville-based brother and sister-in-law layered over burlap for texture. I also set out our wedding silver and candlesticks, magnolias, antique silver toned chargers and my collection of plates I bought just because I thought they were pretty—none of them match.The favor boxes I designed after the ironwork in the quarter, and attached a gift tag with some jute to each box to make the boxes also serve as a place card.

I was thrilled when Nicole of Tradewind Tiaras sent over a dozen of her sparkly crystal napkin rings to use for my place settings. I accented each one with boxwood sprigs after consulting my new favorite florist around the corner, Buds and Things. The tree was already in the room, and I took everything off but the bulbs when I started decorating for dinner. I love the simplicity of this look, and it makes it blend with everything so much better. After a hunt for a real extra large wreath for this room here in Florida, I had to give up and use an artificial, but would have really loved to see some pretty boughs hung in the window.

I love Kate Lander’s style—the cotton ruffles she uses just inspire me. So I took a little time to sew some ruffled chair accents with her in mind that turned out just wonderfully and added a little something extra special to the table! I left mine unfinished, as it suited the overall look of the room and added a knotted ribbon, Christmas bulb and sprigs of boxwood. I used a sheet that was no longer used on the beds for material and then pinned on the ribbons an bulbs so I can use these again for another occasion!

My husband’s grandmother’s buffet was used to set our pre-dinner-wait-for-the-turkey-to-be-done appetizers out. Even though we all love that Louisiana flavor, there are some of us that don’t eat seafood so there are a variety of little bites here.

With any luck, I’ll be able to put up the recipes for these dishes this week. But if you’re on the hunt for pretty appetizer ideas, I can’t recommend Martha Stewart’s Hors d’Oeuvres Handbook enough! The Pommes Annette and Parmesean Crackers came from this book, and over the years I’ve tested many many of the other recipes.

When it comes to dessert, I always want a little bit of everything. So I made my usual holiday favorites and made them bite-sized so we could exercise a bit of portion control with our little bit of everything. The croquembouche was a new adventure, but very worth the effort and singed fingers! The sherry almond pie with the meringue top is my grandmother’s; I still have the worn handwritten recipe on an index card scrawled out by her hand. It’s as much an heirloom to me as the furniture! I set all our treats in hy husband’s great grandmother’s secretary. When it was refinished, I wouldn’t let them do the inside, as I loved the worn wood from all the letters my husband’s grandmother wrote at the desk. This was a beautiful dark backdrop for our sweets! And the best part was I got to savor a little of each without feeling too bad about having too much.

I learned to make apple pie at my Grandma Catherine’s apron and it is the singular request from my mother whenever I visit that I make it. It’s one of those things that never really gets written down, you just do it. I did play with the recipe a bit this time as I wanted bite sized pies; so I took it apart. I baked the filling separate from crusts I sugared and cut into wedges. I added a dollop of whipped cream to apple filling,  a cinnamon stick and the cooked pastry into a votive and made a heavenly little dessert.

While I do like to decorate a little for dinners such as this, we are usually a tad more casual. Why such an effort? Not to put a damper on the festivities in this post, but our family is racing a clock with Alzheimer’s and we’re trying to make as many beautiful memories for us and the kids before it’s too late. A picture-perfect setting for dinner was a good start to the week! The printable items seen on the table are available in my Etsy store here, and all profit made from the sale of this collection will be donated to the Alzheimer’s Association.

So from my family to yours, a Joyeux Noel, and hope you make many happy memories this holiday season! As for us, we had a wonderful week and are looking forward to doing this all again for my family on Christmas day!

Photos by Pier 1

I adore Amy Atlas and her gorgeous dessert tables. I love the artfully arranged sweets and beautifully labeled and jarred confections. But sometimes you want something a little different–savory and filling, maybe? This whole post started because I stopped into Pier 1 the other day and immediately felt a large hole in my wallet appear when I saw they have started to carry a line of tiny dishes made for single servings for entertaining. Yes, I will find room in my burgeoning cupboards for more serve ware, because not only are these pieces cute, I believe we are going to see a lot more appetizer tables fall under Ms. Atlas’ influence.

I am in no way compensated by Pier 1 for this post (although I would mind!)…but I can hardly contain my excitement here because sourcing these kind of serving dishes is always difficult. In addition to carrying all these great dishes, Pier 1 has been nice enough to include a page on their site here with suggestions and recipes on how to throw what they call a “tasting party.” Which is a great idea, and a will be something neat to watch in emerging parties!  To throw your own “tasting party,” you could mix up a pitcher of different flavored beverages you don’t ordinarily have and serve in small glasses. Different preparations of a singular ingredient. Or make an artful arrangement of a variety of single bite foods in single bite dishes. Think fancy tapas!

When designing the appetizer table for my Midsummer’s Night party, I wanted to use shot glasses for single servings of fruit, and wonton soup spoons for an elegant/artfully arranged presentation. This concept is popping up other places, two parties in particular come to mind…

The “Lumberjack & Jill” bridal shower by Frilly Milly – corn on the cob instead of cake pops, french fry cones instead of candy corn, and little individual jars of baked beans with spoons attached…and all brilliantly pulled together.

A birthday cocktail pre-party by Enchanted Expectations. Soup in the shooters and mexican gumbo in the spoons. The little glasses make it so much better than serving out of one big bowl!

I really and truly look forward to watching appetizer tables evolve this direction. It will be a nice change of pace, and interesting to see who emerges as the Amy Atlas of the savory side of the party!