Pretty pink flower arrangement for the holidays

Flowers arrangements are such a pleasure to design, and an even greater joy to offer. So why not combining the two by creating a stunning arrangement you can give as a gift? During the Holiday season, I'm always looking for original ideas to convey our love and appreciation for those around us. Offering something we have handcrafted ourselves is not only meaningful for us, but also for the person that will receive it. Thanks to their natural beauty, amazing floral gift rhymes with easy.

The featured design is an easy monochrome arrangement made out of three different types of roses: standard rose, spray rose and rose hips, which is the fruit of the rose plant. Because roses are always available in a wide range of colors, you can choose a different hue that will better reflect the emotion you are wanting to convey, or the recipient’s preferences.

Simply tie a beautiful ribbon with a note card around the container, and in no time, you will have created a beautiful gift filled with love and special meaning.

The arrangement presented here without ribbon. Plant pot from IKEA 


The addition of ribbon creates the perfect gift for the Holiday Season.

Pink rose arrangement

1 tall white container (6” – 16 cm)
1 brick of Oasis foam
12 roses, pink
10 stems of spray roses, pink
1 stem of rose hips
Short sticks made out a small tree branch*
Moss*
Ribbon
Note card

* Available at Art & Craft stores

Soak your oasis bricks and shape it to fit the ceramic container, leaving enough space to add water. Bevel the edge of the foam and add water.

Start by placing your standard roses, inserting the stems at a 45° angle. Try to group your flowers and turn the arrangement as you design it, to make sure you achieve a visual balance. The stems will be rather short, with at least 2” being inserted in the foam.

Continue with the spray roses, inserting them by cluster. Remove the flowers located on the lower section of the branch and insert them individually. This will help create a round form where all the flowers heads are at the same level. Insert the clusters of rose hips last.

Finish your design by adding the short sticks on the higher part and the moss around the edge of the container. You can secure the moss with some pins made out of a wire. The moss and sticks are adding texture and volume to this arrangement.

If the arrangement is a gift, tie the ribbon around the container and include your note card.

Flavorful Mini Pizzas

Finger food is an important element to any successful party. Because of their convenient size, guests can enjoy them while sipping their drinks and exchanging conversations. They can be dressed up for formal events or dressed down for more casual gatherings. Many catering businesses are specializing in preparing these little delicacies and they certainly represent your best ally if you are planning a big event. If however, your plans converge toward a more intimate happening, we may have what you are looking for: an easy recipe that will delight your guests.

The featured recipe is a delicate and flavorful mini pizza. Depending on your preferences, the pizza can be prepared with a soft French Gruyère or a sharper blue cheese. In no time, you will have these elegant mini pizzas out of the oven and ready to be the perfect companion to a glass of champagne or a red wine. Cheers!

Mini Pizzas
(Recipe for 18 – 20 mini pizzas)

2 sheets of high quality puff pastry
1 cup (250ml) of your preferred tomato sauce
½ b (220g) of shredded Gruyère or blue cheese
2/3 lb (300g) of cherry tomatoes, sliced in two
½ lb (200g) of black olives, pitted
4 stems of Basil
Salt & pepper


Preheat the oven at 390˚F (200˚C)

Use a 2 ½’ (6cm) round cutter to cut 18 – 20 rounds from the pastry and place them on the baking sheets that were beforehand covered with parchment paper. Top each round with a teaspoon of the tomato sauce, then add the cheese and 2 half cherry tomatoes. Finish the pizza by adding a leaf of basil (or half a leaf, depending on the size) and the black olive on the top.

Bake for 18-20 minutes or until the pastry is golden and puffed. Turn out immediately into a cooling tray. The mini pizzas can be served warm or at room temperature.

Mushroom tartlets with goat cheese

L’esprit Sud Magazine is presenting today another delicious finger food to include in your hostess repertoire: mushroom tartlets with goat cheese. If you like mushrooms, this easy and tasteful recipe will without a doubt, become one of your favorite appetizers to prepare. Another original way to prepare these tartlets is by baking them in muffin tins with the puff pastry on the top of the mushroom mixture. The result will be an incredible mushroom tarte tatin. So do not be afraid to experiment with the 2 alternatives as your guests will for sure say “encore”.

Happy holiday season!

Mushroom tartlets with goat cheese
(Recipe for 16 - 20 mini tarts)

1 tbsp of olive oil
2 tbsp (30g) of butter
9 oz (250g) of button mushrooms
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 ½ tbsp of brown sugar
¼ cup (60ml) of red wine vinegar
Sea salt and cracked black pepper
1 sheet store-bought, ready-rolled puff pastry
9 oz (250g) of goat curd
Chervil leaves, to serve


Preheat the oven at 395˚F (200˚C) and line a cookie sheet with wax paper.

Heat the oil and butter in a non-stick frying pan over high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook for 3-5 minutes or until browned. Add the garlic, sugar, vinegar, salt and pepper and cook for a further 1 minute or until caramelized. Set aside.

Use a 2 ½” (6 cm) round cookie cutter to cut 16 – 20 rounds from the pastry and place on the baking sheet. Divide the mushroom mixture between the rounds. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until the pastry is golden and puffed. Turn out immediately onto a baking tray. Top with the goat’s cheese and chervil leaves to serve.

Notes

1) Goat’s curd is fresh goat’s cheese with the consistency of thick yogurt. It is available from specialty food store. If unavailable, substitute with a soft goat cheese.

2) Original recipe adapted from Donna Hay magazine.

Holiday shopping on Rodeo Drive

Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, is the shopping Eldorado for every jet setter and other luxury seeker. Internationally renown thanks in part to success of Pretty Woman, the most exclusive shopping district houses all the haute couture and joallerie labels. It will come as no surprise that for the holiday season, Rodeo Drive knows how to dress itself with great style making any journey there an enjoyable experience, regardless of your wallet size. If you do not have the chance to be in Beverly Hills for the Holidays, the following pictures will hopefully translate the current Rodeo Drive’s vibe.

Joyful Penguins are welcoming you on Via Rodeo

Rodeo Drive dressed in luxurious silver and red for the holidays. (Diamonds, pearls and white gold brooch from
Chanel High Jewelry Collection)

The history of Rodeo Drive is quite interesting. Well before becoming a luxury shopping sanctuary, the area was inhabited by Native American people who considered the site holy because of its precious commodity, water, and the abundant food supply it provided. They named the site “The Gathering of the Waters” which was translated later as “El Rodeo de las Aguas”, back in the time (1769) when California was part of Mexico. In 1906, a group of investors bought the land with plans for mixed-use subdivision. They named the company the Rodeo Land & Water Company and the development main street: Rodeo Drive. The shopping area as we know it today was developed in the 1970’s.

Despite the current economic and real estate slump, Rodeo Drive seems to remain above the general chaos. In August 2009, a group of Hong Kong investors bought a three-story building for $28 million ($2,471 per square foot), one of the highest per-square-foot for commercial real estate paid since the recession began. This transaction really proves that over the years, Rodeo Drive has developed an aura that is still attracting many high-profile retailers, even if their high-rents may sometimes make them unable to turn a profit at that location. This real estate microcosm is quite unusual in a time where many storefronts on Madison Avenue, New York’s elite shopping address, are vacant. Image is everything.

Valentino boutique on Rodeo Drive


Van Cleef & Arpels boutique on Rodeo Drive


Rodeo Collection, adjacent to Rodeo Drive


Rodeo Collection, adjacent to Rodeo Drive

Image is definitely very important in Rodeo Drive. Like a Monte Carlo in a smaller version, the three-block long stretch of boutiques always displays an astonishing number of luxurious cars, an indissociable component of the Rodeo Drive’s experience. During the holidays, boutiques and streets are undergoing a stunning transformation. Each boutique rivals in creative genius to craft unique window displays, and the end result is consistently exciting to watch.

Ferrari F430 Spider parked on Rodeo Drive


Chanel boutique on Rodeo Drive


Yellow and silver Ghost Rolls Royce parked on Rodeo Drive


Holiday decor on Rodeo Drive


Maybach on Rodeo Drive

If you have the opportunity to visit Rodeo Drive, a must stop is the elegant Beverly Wilshire, a Four Season hotel. Conveniently located at the foot of Rodeo Drive, the historic hotel offers many great dining options that are always a propos after an intense day of shopping or “window shopping”. The Blvd is the hotel’s stylish lounge that offers a simple but tasteful menu as well as an impressive wine list. The Blvd Lounge also the perfect spot to sip a glass of champagne while enjoying live jazz on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.

Lunch at The Blvd Lounge (Beverly Wilshire)


Soup and Salad (The Blvd Lounge at Beverly Wilshire)

For more information

The Blvd Lounge
Sunday to Thursday: 11:00 am - 1:00 am
Friday and Saturday: 11:00 am - 2:00 am
Website 

Rodeo Drive
Website 

Interactive map

Check out our interactive map of Southern California to see where I took all the pictures featured in this article.

Sparkles, lights and Swarovski crystals in Midtown Fifth Avenue

Last December, the Rockefeller Center as well as some the surrounding stores were elegantly dressed with lights and sparkles, thanks to an association with the Austrian crystal stone producer: Swarovski. Fifth Avenue at the Midtown level, has always been considered a prestigious area with a multitude of luxurious stores. The magic of the holiday’s season did not spare the glamorous avenue, which despite a freezing cold, was packed with New Yorkers and tourists in search for some enchantment. Last month we presented some beautiful holiday’s windows displays from Paris, this month, let us dazzle your eyes with images from the Big Apple.

Our first stop is the luxurious department store Lord & Taylor located between the 38th and 39th street. For over 80 years, the store has created Christmas windows for pure delight rather than for selling merchandise, and the tradition still continues today. Lord & Taylor was actually the first one to do so, followed soon after by other retailers. Like in Paris with the iconic Le Printemps and Les Galleries Lafayette, the unveiling of the window displays each year is greatly looked forward to by tourists and locals alike. There is always a little competition in the air during that festive period, as upscale retailers demonstrate a lot of creativity to wow the potential buyers and brighten their aura.

For the Holidays 2009, along with its traditional Christmas displays, Lord & Taylor has teamed up with the Austrian crystal stone maker Swarovski to create a series of fairy snowy scenes that could have been easily compared to the dreamy Russian Christmas theme created by Le Printemps in Paris. Under the à propos title of “The Sparkle of Swarovski crystals”, the vitrines were featuring mannequins dressed in crystal encrusted white gowns under streams of bids and Christmas ornaments, all 100% Swarovski, representing a new fallen snow. A pure enchantment for the eyes…

Lord & Taylor - Swarovski holiday window (2009)


Lord & Taylor - Swarovski holiday window (2009)


Lord & Taylor - Swarovski holiday window (2009)


Lord & Taylor - Swarovski holiday window (2009)

Ten blocks north of Lord & Taylor and right in front of another sparkling Saks Fifth Avenue, is New York's top Christmas attraction: the Rockefeller Center. Every year, many New Yorkers wait in line for hours to have the privilege to skate (and also propose) under the 76-foot-high Christmas tree, whose official lighting at the beginning of December is always the reason for a large ceremony including famous guests. Along with the imposing tree, also comes a row of beautiful herald angels that cannot be missed. These wire-sculpted angel figures have decorated the Rockefeller Center during the holidays since 1954. The scenery is lovely during the day, but it is at night that the magic really happens.

Every year since 2004, Swarovski is the sponsor of “The Star at Rockefeller Center”. A Swarovski crystal star, measuring 9 1/2 feet in diameter and 1 1/2 feet in depth, radiated over midtown Manhattan from its perch atop the most famous Christmas tree in the world. It took a team of 9 artisans and engineers, 25,000 crystals with 1,000,000 facets, and 3 months to create that over the top 500 pounds star.

Dazzled by so much beauty, it would be fair to ask ourselves: Is there a better place in the world to celebrate the magic of Christmas?

Concert of lights on Saks Fifth Avenue facade


Rockefeller Center's herald angels

Rockefeller Center's herald angels with in the background “The Star at Rockefeller Center”

Rockefeller Plaza during day time

For more information

Lord & Taylor
424 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10018
Tel: +1 (212) 391 3344
Monday to Saturday: 10am to 9pm
Sunday: 11am – 7pm
Website

Rockefeller Center
1250 Avenue of the Americas
Manhattan, New York, NY 10112
Tel: +1 (212) 632 3975
Website

Swarovski
30 Rockefeller Plaza Spc G
10112 New York, New York, NY 10112
Tel:+1 (212) 332 4300
Website

Interactive map

Check out our interactive map of New York City to see where I took all the pictures featured in this article.

Caramelized onion and blue cheese mini tarts

With many parties on the horizon, new delicious recipes of finger food are always welcome. Last week, we presented a flavorful and healthy shrimp salad on endive leaves. This week and next week, we are featuring tasty amuse-bouches made with puff pastry. This holiday season, you will either be crown “queen of the hostesses” or at the very least, increase your popularity index. So let’s get cooking!

The featured recipe is a caramelized onion and blue cheese mini tart. The blue cheese and 100% puff pastry make these mini tarts quite irresistible. Always try to find premium ingredients, you will never regret it. This recipe is very easy to make and can be prepared a couples of hours before your event. Just top the mini tarts with the arugula salad before serving, and you will be good to go.

Serving plate from Villeroy & Boch's New Wave collection 

Caramelized onion and blue cheese mini tarts
(Recipe for 16 - 20 mini tarts)

1 tbsp of olive oil
1 brown onion, thickly sliced
1 sheet store-brought, ready-rolled puff pastry
1 ¾ Oz (50g) of soft blue cheese, room temperature
1 ¾ Oz (50g) baby rocket (Arugula) leaves
2 tbsp of balsamic vinegar

Preheat the oven at 425˚F (220˚C) and line a cookie sheet with wax paper.

Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Add the oil and onion and cook for 3-5 minutes each side or until golden. Use the back of a 2 ½” (6cm) round cookie cutter to cut 16 – 20 rounds from the pastry and place on the baking sheet.

Spread each round with cheese and top with a slice of onion. Bake for 10 – 15 minutes or until puffed and golden. Place the rocket and vinegar in a bowl and toss to coat. Arrange on top of tarts just before serving. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Credits
Original recipe from Donna Hay – Entertaining, Issue 46

Salad on endives: a healthy appetizer

Finger food is always a great option for casual events. Although delicious, the gourmet mini-bites may also come with a high calorie tag. For this reason, it is always a good idea when entertaining with finger food, to mix the richer ones with lighter options. Your best ally: the Belgium endive. With only one calorie per leaf and a high mineral content, Belgian endive is the ideal vessel for a healthy appetizer. Its subtle and fresh flavor always provides a delicious counterpoint to any topping.

The featured recipe is a flavorful shrimp and avocado salad on endive leaves. You can prepare the salad in advance and just spoon into the endive leaves just before serving. This light appetizer will greatly complement richer appetizers and will for sure be appreciated by those watching their calorie intake. Fresh and delightful, this shrimp and avocado salad on endive leaves will become one of your favorite ways to entertain your guests. Follow L’esprit Sud Magazine as we will feature other delicious finger food appetizers in the coming weeks.

Shrimp and avocado salad on endive leaves
(Recipe for 24 appetizers)

10 ounces of medium shrimp (about 20 shrimps)
3 tbsp of fresh lime juice (about 3 limes)
2 tbsp of finely chopped scallions, plus more, thinly sliced, for garnish
1 tsp of coarse salt
½ firm, ripe avocado, pitted and peeled
3 small Belgian endives
2 tbsp of finely chopped cilantro
Sesame seeds for garnish

Bring a medium pot of water to boil. Add shrimp, and cook until opaque, about 1 minute. Transfer to a plate using a slotted spoon and let cool. Cut into ¼-inch pieces.

Transfer the shrimp to a medium bowl. Add the lime juice, chopped scallion and salt. Stir to combine and refrigerate at least 30 minutes up to 2 hours.

Just before serving, cut the avocado into ¼-inch cubes, and fold into the shrimp mixture. Add the chopped cilantro. Separate the endive leaves, and arrange 24 on a platter. Spoon about 1 teaspoon onto each leaf. Garnish with sliced scallions and sesame seeds.

Notes
This recipe has been adapted from the Martha Stewart Living – December 2009 edition. The original recipe replaced the cilantro with 1 jalapeno chile (Stem, ribs and seeds removed, and finely chopped)