Recently Jill Kimmelman published this lovely poem for Love of Food Magazine. It is perfectly timed with Valentines Day and the celebration of her new book of poems We are so lucky to have such a talented poet contribute to our publication.
Kiwis beckon blackberries shimmer an array of ever-changing desserts. Decadent, sublime, a delight to the palate rare pleasures to savor summer’s gifts nestled on ancient hand-painted plates, cinnamon-scented coffee cooling within reach.
Kiwis beckon blackberries shimmer a golden-tipped glistening meringue treat A family recipe tweaked a bit by each daughter’s loving hand Presented on heirloom treasures vanilla latte cooling within reach.
“Welcome to You Are the Poem, a three-themed collection of poetry, Timeless Love, An Eclectic Mix & Looking Back: inspiration & wisdom gained from my poetic journey.“
“A gift of my heart, poems of celebration, joy, hope, bonds of precious friendship & sisterhood, bridges built with our love language, a treasure for passionate foodies & photographers!“ Available on Amazon
Starting from the beginning with a well thought out entertaining plan will determine everything from your menu to your choice of music.
Once you’ve determined your menu, take a few moments to write down each and every ingredient you’ll need for each course. Any event planner or caterer will tell you – staying organized is key! You’ve got a lot of things to think about: cooking, decorating, invitations, seating arrangements, games. It’ll be far easier and less stressful if you take a deep breath and take the time to organize. The last thing you want is to run back to the grocery store two or three times because you forgot a small ingredient!
On a separate document, make a list of every decor item you need. Put a checkmark next to any items you already own.
Most event coordinators will tell you: Begin planning early. Give yourself at least a month to plan. Here’s a simple checklist of your timeline for planning a dinner party.
A Month Before Your Event
Check Pinterest for unique themes
Brainstorm desired atmosphere and decor items
Create guest list
Begin planning menu
Three Weeks Before Your Event
Design and send invitations
Determine theme
Create a shopping list of required decor items
Begin shopping for decorations
Two Weeks Before Your Event
Guests RSVP; finalize the list of attendees
Check dietary needs for guests
Create seating arrangements
Finalize menu
Create a shopping list for ingredients
One Week Before Your Event
Choose music; begin creating a playlist
Create name cards if needed
Create ice-breaker question cards if needed
Deep clean house – Baseboards, lighting fixtures, etc.
Three Days Before Your Event
Use finalized shopping list; buy ingredients
Purchase alcoholic beverages – wine, champagne, beer, or cocktail mixes.
Purchase bottle-openers and corkscrews for opening wine.
The Day Before Your Event
Prepare as much of the menu as you can, so you can easily heat and serve the next day.
Trash out, restrooms clean
Begin decorating and laying out centerpieces, tablecloths, candles, flowers.
Hook-up playlist to make sure music plays
Go ahead and set your table as much as possible — one less thing to worry about tomorrow.
The Day Of Your Event
Prepare any remaining menu items
Warm-up previously-prepared foods
Layout hors-d’oeuvres and drinks for cocktail hour
Arrange all dishes for the prepared courses in the order you’ll need to serve them
Set the mood by lighting candles, turning on your playlist, and staging your home for guests.
Finally, get dressed for your holiday gathering
Ideally, all of this early-preparation will leave very little work for you to do on the actual day of your holiday gathering. Be sure to take some time for yourself. Drink a cup of coffee, a glass of wine, and take a few moments to enjoy your space before your guests arrive.
When it comes to creating, serving, and showcasing food, the choices are limitless. From setting the tone for a fun party to a formal dinner, and everything in between. All you need is a little creativity, some dinnerware, table cloths, glassware, and holiday decor. A theme will make your food stand out and set the right mood for a memorable holiday meal.
Designing Your Holiday Table- Where Should You Begin?
Many times people shy away from entertaining because the idea of having to set up an extravagant table appears like a daunting task. But it does not have to be hard. The key is starting a week or two ahead of time and follow these simple steps.
1. Elegance or Fun
The first rule of thumb is to decide is who will be in attendance? Perhaps your guest list includes your very traditional mother in law, and or your new boss. If this is the case, the answer is simple. You should shoot for elegance above all else. If it’s a group of close friends and neighbors you may want to decide on a fun theme.
There can however be extenuating circumstances once you take your guest list into consideration. Can you have both? The answer is kind of… yes.
Case in point; this Thanksgiving we have little ones attending. While we still all want everyone to feel as if they were being treated to a wonderful meal, we had to consider spills, drips, table bumps and busy hands. We opted to ditch the formality but weave in a sprinkle of elegance. While our tables will not be magazine cover worthy and as fancy as previous years, we are blessed to have children in our lives.
Grandmother’s antique platters will not make their appearance. We will skip the tall candles and the decorative glass votives. Low profile decor that is more stable will dawn our table. The crystal long-stemmed wine glasses that can tip too easily will be replaced with stemless options. Instead of the fancy table cloths, our tables will be draped with cloths that will be no worse for their wear if/when they get spilled upon.
Our tables will still be quite festive, and have a hint of elegance but are more approachable for all the guests. The parents of the little ones will feel more relaxed, as will we, as the hosts. Here are some of the designs we plan to use.
The most important part of creating this sacred space where we will partake of our Thanksgiving meal is that each and everyone seated at the dining table is made to feel comfortable.
Now that you have considered who will be attending, what do you do next?
2. Select A Signature Piece and Build Around It
Start with one signature piece for inspiration that will help define the theme of your design, Sometimes it can be a fantastic dinner plate.
It does not always have to be the dinnerware that is your muse. We found this rooster placemat and decided the theme would be farm/country. From there we were able to gather pieces, gift bags and really hone in on the details. Fresh vegetables were even part of the decor.
Once we hosted a birthday dinner for a girlfriend from Texas and that gave us the idea of a fun cowgirl theme. The inspiration for this, believe it or not, was not the hat but the cute little checkered pigs we found at a craft store.
3. You Do Not Have to Break The Bank Creating a Centerpiece
Beautiful tables can be made from Items you source just about anywhere. These beautiful flowers are from a Crepe Myrtle tree located in our neighborhood. Tall weeds were growing around them so they were added for greenery. You can also find sticks or Cat N Nine tails. Even wheat grass can be a great way to add color and dimension to your tablescape. Just be sure to spray anything before coming in from the outside with a solution of dish soap and water to remove any insects hiding in tiny crevices.
4. Secret Dollar Store Finds
This past Halloween, we were challenged to set a great table using mostly Dollar Store finds. We hosted a dinner and a brunch using the same items. It was the best 15 dollars we ever spent. Storing these items does not make sense for our space, so the next day we packed it all up and made a donation to the local thrift store.
Thrift stores can be a great place to find pieces that you can use for your dinner parties. One time we hosted a birthday dinner for a friend who happens to really like the color blue. We found some pretty blue glassware sitting on the store shelves just begging for us to take it home. We made a small donation to a good cause and made our friend smile when she saw her favorite color proudly displayed on her table. When the party was over we gave her all the glassware to keep.
Thrifting is only one of the ways to have fun with your tablescapes. We know some of you cringe at the thought of using someone else’s dishes, but if you think about it you do this each time you dine out. Yes, it would be nice to walk into Sur La Table or Pottery Barn and purchase everything showcased, but unless your last name is Rockefeller, that kind of expenditure for each and every holiday is not sustainable. We even set our Christmas table with pretty red snowflake plates that we found in a box at a local thrift store. This year we donated them back to the same store. That is good example of re-use.
5. Incorporate and Repurpose Already Owned Pieces
You do not have to purchase dinnerware and decorative items for every holiday. The best way to make the most of pieces you love and a table look different is to repurpose them.
For the Halloween tables shown previously we repurposed everything and transformed the dinner table to a buffet. The tree in the middle of the table is an old jewelry tree that we found on clearance at Kirklands. This tree will make its reappearance on our Christmas table. Instead of spooky bats and orange lights it will sparkle with white lights and hold little ornaments. Perhaps it will be repurposed again at Easter where it can drip with pastel colored ribbons and dangle little eggs. One piece repurposed over and over.
Your table is your canvass to create on.
Think of it as a piece of art
Find your muse for inspiration
Follow the tips that we have provided
It does not matter if you will have lots of company or just an intimate holiday dinner. Like a Broadway production, a well staged table allows your food to shine as the star of the show. You and your guest will be seated in the front row. Your holiday dinner table is the vehicle for meaningful dialogue, laughs, and entertainment. Like a well written play the storyline of your dinner may be cherished for many years to come.
We hope you have found some creative inspiration and clear direction on getting started. To see more beautifully dressed tables you can preview of the submissions from our table scape contest on our Facebook Group Page.
Yes, you read that correctly! I know it is hard to believe that all that cinnamon-y goodness could be packed into a pancake and still taste like a cinnamon bun with icing, but low and behold I made them and they were amazing! These take a little bit more effort than just a regular old homemade pancake, but they are so worth it. I think this is a perfect treat for Christmas morning or any special occasion breakfast. In the past, we have made our own cinnamon rolls and that requires you make and proof dough, however with the pancake version your family will have all the flavors of the cinnamon rolls without all that time and effort.
Slowly add in the powdered sugar and mix until dissolved
Set aside to cool
Once cooled, fill a piping bag or plastic baggie with tip cut off with the icing
Cinnamon Filling
Stir together all ingredients
Place inside a piping bag with a small tip (If you do not have a piping bag once ready to ice you can cut a small corner off a filled plastic baggie)
Pancakes
Whisk together the dry ingredients
In a separate bowl mix the wet ingredients
Mix together lightly - do not overwork the batter, a few lumps are fine
Spray a pan or griddle with cooking spray
Over medium heat
Drop a scoop-full of the batter onto the pan (for rounder pancakes use an ice cream scoop)
Once the pancakes start to bubble, grab the bag of glaze and draw a round swirl starting from the inside of the circle outward. Do not draw the swirl too close to the edge of the pancake or the sugar can burn.
Check the bottom of the pancake flip when it is the desired color or light brown.
Let the cinnamon side cook and check your heat to make sure the sugars are not cooking too quickly. If you need to remove the pan from the heat and lower the temp.
Between each batch wipe out the pan to remove excess sugar.
Yes, you read that correctly! I know it is hard to believe that all that cinnamony goodness could be packed into a pancake and still taste like a cinnamon bun with icing, but low and behold I made them and they were amazing!
These take a little bit more effort than just a regular old homemade pancake, but they are so worth it. I think this is a perfect treat for Christmas morning or any special occasion breakfast.
In the past, we have made our own cinnamon rolls and that requires you make and proof dough, however with the pancake version your family will have all the flavors of the cinnamon rolls without all that time and effort.
Ingredients
Pancakes
1 Cup of Flour
2 Teaspoons of Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon of Salt
1 Cup of Milk
1 Egg
1 Teaspoon of Vegetable Oil
Cinnamon Filling
6 Tablespoons of Brown Sugar
1/2 Stick of Butter Melted and Cool to the Touch
1/2 Tablespoon of Ground Cinnamon
Glaze
2 Ounces of Whipped Cream Cheese
1/2 A Stick of Butter
3/4 of a Cup of Powdered Sugar
1 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
Instructions
Glaze
In a small saucepan melt the butter, the vanilla
Add the cream cheese until melted
Slowly add in the powdered sugar and mix until dissolved
Set aside to cool
Once cooled, fill a piping bag or plastic baggie with tip cut off with the icing
Cinnamon Filling
Stir together all ingredients
Place inside a piping bag with a small tip (If you do not have a piping bag once ready to ice you can cut a small corner off a filled plastic baggie)
Pancakes
Whisk together the dry ingredients
In a separate bowl mix the wet ingredients
Mix together lightly – do not overwork the batter, a few lumps are fine
Spray a pan or griddle with cooking spray
Over medium heat
Drop a scoop-full of the batter onto the pan (for rounder pancakes use an ice cream scoop)
Once the pancakes start to bubble, grab the bag of glaze and draw a round swirl starting from the inside of the circle outward. Do not draw the swirl too close to the edge of the pancake or the sugar can burn.
Check the bottom of the pancake flip when it is the desired color or light brown.
Let the cinnamon side cook and check your heat to make sure the sugars are not cooking too quickly. If you need to remove the pan from the heat and lower the temp.
Between each batch wipe out the pan to remove excess sugar.
Art is the expression of one’s own imagination culminated and displayed within the confines of one’s creative abilities. Art is subjective, interpretive, and alluring. As a society, much of our history has been displayed in art. We learn from its expression as well as impart wisdom to others through our own works of art. Regardless of whether your medium is music, dance, the written word, paint, clay, metal, or food we as a human society express so much through our creations.
I began by seeking inspiration from the great works of art that are displayed at our North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh. If you are new to the area, our state-run art museum offers an abundant display of famous works most which you can view for free. This includes a large Rodin collection donated by Iris and Bernard Gerald Cantor of Cantor Fitzgerald of New York. Subsequently, the white restaurant inside the museum is aptly named Iris. The wall sculpture made of tree branches is the work of Patrick Dougherty. It is placed so that when you are dining you have a sense of art and nature surrounding you.
While at the museum, I indulged myself on a little scavenger hunt to find all the works of art that displayed food. Of course, the Dutch section provided quite a bit of material as my muse. Starting with a painting from the 15th century “A Meat Stall with the Holy Family Giving Alms” a painting by Pieter Aertsen. It is a market scene, with an abundance of meats.
Then my inspiration turned to Spain. I love Spanish food and what better depiction of food in the 18th century than Melendez’s still life work of “Still Life Grapes, Figs, and Copper Kettle” along with his “Still Life with Game”
Also in the Dutch area was Jacob Jordean’s “Mercury and Jupiter in the House of Bacchus” where we see Bacchus the God of Wine filling the goblets.
If a more modern approach is your style there was plenty of art that depicted food as well, such as Amy Sherald’s “Miss Everything” Enjoying a very large cup of coffee.
This marble work called “Stack” certainly depicts modern-day take out food from the eye of a food service worker. Peter Oakley, who is known for turning items that are impermanent to permanent, depicts this perfectly with Styrofoam containers carved as a marble statue.
Much of the artwork in the North Carolina Museum of Art is donated by generous benefactors as we mentioned in the beginning of this article, the Rodin collection was donated by Iris and Bernard Gerald Cantor.
This particular painting was a gift to the NC Museum by Jim and Ann Goodknight. It is Robert Spear Dunning’s “Still Life Fruit, Honeycomb, and Knives” which symbolized gracious plenty in the homes in which it was displayed. It certainly depicted the lives of its benefactors. Jim Goodnight started and still leads SAS Systems, the world’s largest privately held software company.
Jim and Ann Goodknight also conceived and operate a successful five-star hotel in Cary, North Carolina where the decor is art meets nature. The hotel brings the outdoors in and the indoors out. From the moment you enter you are greeted by a large Chihuly sculpture. As you journey through the hotel, wonderful works of art keep your senses entertained, and true to their North Carolina roots many local artists are featured throughout.
The Umstead Hotel is home to a five-star rated restaurant that serves up award-winning cuisine called Herons. The food here is an art unto itself. It is headed up by Executive Chef Steven Deveaux Green.
Starting at the museum and on to the Umstead Hotel, I continued my love story of food and art with a journalistic tour around the cities where I live. My goal is to uncover the art that transforms our experience with food. Some of which is manifested in the beauty of food that has been captured on canvass and some in the beauty of the food itself. In many of the places we visited, the art that is displayed lends itself to a vibe of creativity and support for local artists. Other times we were fascinated by stories of a culture that are told by the art that is displayed. We hope that you will continue to read the other articles in “Food Among Art- A Local Love Story Series” which defines the area’s culture by blending scrumptious food with incredible art.
There are so many great things about making these little lovelies. First of all, they are quick, if you watch the video you can see that we ran through the entire process in seven minutes or so. It was less than 60 seconds to heat the chocolate in the microwaveThe second thing is there are only 2 ingredients The melting chocolate and the strawberries
Pour a 1/4 to a 1/2 cup of chocolate discs (found in any craft store) into a paper bowl.
Lay a large piece of parchment paper or wax paper on the counter.
Heat in the microwave at 20-second intervals until you are left with only a few discs not melted. Stir in between each 20-second interval.
Using a cocktail fork or skewer dip your strawberries one by one and place onto the paper. Let them cool and harden. This does not take long at all!
Video
Notes
Chocolate Dipped Strawberries in colored sugarDip'd Strawberries in just chocolateThe third thing is, the fact that you can dip almost anything. I dipped pretzels in addition to the strawberries. But bananas are fabulous dipped and frozen, yum! They are a great alternative to ice cream because you can just have a bite and be satisfied.The fourth reason I like this recipe is its versatility. You can see in the picture strawberries in various colors of chocolate and drizzled color. T plating is also fun with the rainbow sugar. You can roll them in nuts edible gold sugar or leave them plain. Here is a serving tip: Once dry we serve them in a dish typically used for deviled eggs.
There are so many great things about making these little lovelies. First of all, they are quick, if you watch the video you can see that we ran through the entire process in seven minutes or so. It was less than 60 seconds to heat the chocolate in the microwave.
The second thing is there are only 2 ingredients
The Chocolate
The Strawberries
The third thing is, the fact that you can dip almost anything. I dipped pretzels in addition to the strawberries. But bananas are fabulous dipped and frozen, yum! They are a great alternative to ice cream because you can just have a bite and be satisfied.
The fourth reason I like this recipe is its versatility. You can see in the last picture that Nicole made her strawberries in various colors of chocolate and she drizzled color on top to make her’s look pretty. Her plating is also fun with the rainbow sugar. Mine sit in a dish typically used for deviled eggs.
That last reason I like this recipe is the cleanup. All you need to do is throw away the paper bowl and the parchment paper. Can it get any easier?
Valentine’s Day may have an ever-changing face and meaning from a historical perspective. The fact remains that the United States, as well as many other countries: Canda, Mexico, the Philippines, and much of Europe, celebrate this day of Love.
Personally, we like to think about Valentine’s Day as an opportunity to express our love for those closest to us with food. Yes, food is love! You have likely read or heard about the ” 5 Love Languages” book written by Dr. Gary Chapman. He defines the 5 ways that people express their love as:
Words of Affirmation
Acts of Service
Receiving Gifts
Quality Time
Physical Touch
If you think about the act of cooking together and sharing food it checks all of these boxes on Dr. Chapman’s list.
When we compliment someone’s food we are offering them the words of affirmation. ” This is delicious” “Wow You made this?” “Smells wonderful!” As the cook, these statements are music to our ears. How about people who grow food? Go to any farmers market and tell a farmer how nice his tomatoes are compared to another’s and he will beam!
When we share something that we have prepared we are completing acts of service. It is the custom to prepare food for a grieving family. When we invite someone to share in a Thanksgiving feast we are showing our love through an act of service.
Think about rolling dough with your children or preparing a special meal with a loved one and you are spending that coveted quality time with them. Often it involves chatting about things or working together toward a common goal.
When we cook we physically touch the food with our hands, we smell and taste the ingredients, we look at the color and consistency, we listen for the sizzle in the pan or the rustling of a pot of boiling water. When we use our physical body and senses we are honoring the ingredients and outcome of our recipe.
When someone receives our food gift they should feel all the love we put into it, shouldn’t they? Some people can sense the love you put into sharing a food gift even if it is not fancy. Drop off a hot meal for a friend in retail and you will see what I mean. Or when making a casserole instead of making just one, make two and drop one by to a neighbor for no reason at all.
Food is a life-giving force, it is necessary for us to stay alive. Food is energy and fuels our bodies to take on the physical challenges that our life endures. Food is also comforting, a hot cup of cocoa warms us on a cold day and a cool sip of lemonade refreshes us in the heat of summer.
Food is also a common bond that brings us together as humans. No matter where we go, who we meet, regardless of world viewpoints, political opinions or even language barriers we can almost always bond over food. I say almost because there is a very small portion of society that does not like to eat food. Imagine how sad that must be for them and those who love them.
There are millions of us in the United States who do share a love of growing, nurturing, shopping, preparing, cooking and or sharing food. The internet is abundant with advice, help, and suggestions about food. Those of us in this country who provide and those who consume add to that 9,92 billion dollar agriculture and food economy. We are certainly the ones who can attest to the fact that Food is the Ultimate representation of the Love Languages. Food is Love!
Happy Valentines Day from all of us at For The Love Of Food
This makes a lovely breakfast for someone you care about. It is simple enough for anyone to make, Even kids can make this dish, it is budget friendly, and takes very little time.
This sandwich can be made ahead and frozen. Just like the ones you see in the freezer aisle of the grocery store. If you are doing more than one freeze them individually.
The inspiration for this cake was Valentine’s Day. The deep, dark-chocolate mixed with the beautiful pink raspberry-buttercream frosting gave this cake a romantic look and taste. The buttercream melts in your mouth and the cake is left on your tongue absorbing all raspberry flavor.
For the Cake
Since this was a small romantic style cake, I used an 8-inch tall cake pan
1 Cup of Sugar
1 Cup of Flour
1/3 Cup of Cocoa
3/4 Teaspoon of Baking Soda
1 Teaspoon of Baking Powder
1/2 Teaspoon of Salt
1/2 Cup of Milk
1/3 Cup of Butter (melted)
1 Egg (beaten)
1 Teaspoon of Vanilla
1/2 Cup of Boiling Water
2 Drops of Red Food Coloring
For The Frosting
1 Stick of Butter (softened)
3 – 4 Cups of Powdered Sugar (Varies on how you frost. Do you want the frosting thick or thin?) The cake shown was on the thin side.
2-3 Drops of Raspberry Extract (taste your frosting at 2 drops to understand if it has enough flavor).
Cut a circle of parchment paper to fit the bottom of the pan.
Lightly grease and flour the side of the pan.
Mix all the dry ingredients together.
Mix all wet ingredients except the boiling water together.
Mix everything together and add the boiling water slowly. This is going to seem like a lot of water in your mix but make sure you use it all or the cake will be dry.
Fill your cake pan(s)
Cook for 30-35 minutes and test with a toothpick.
For the Frosting
Add the softened butter to the mixing bowl of your stand mixer (you can also use a hand mixer).
Add the first cup of confectioners’ sugar.
Add the raspberry extract.
Mix on low at first and then turn up speed.
Stop the mixer, add the second cup of sugar and mix again slowly at first.
Stop mixer to taste for raspberry flavor, if you need more add it,
Add 2 drops of red food coloring to achieve the pink color.
Mix in the next cup of sugar.
If you want thicker frosting, add more sugar.
If your frosting is too thick you can add a little warm water.