If you give home baked goods this Holiday or if you host a Thanksgiving dinner party, why not share your recipes with your friends and family? To help you write your recipes down, you can print these etsy-orange recipe cards designed by Julie Green of Up Up Creative. Keep the comment empty for your friends to fill out once they tried out your recipe.

+ photo by Up Up Creative

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These personalized gift tags would be perfect for your holiday baked goodies. I particularly like the snowflake. Pretty Smitten sells them on etsy. You choose the icon, the color and the font.

+ Pretty Smitten Holiday – Rectangular Gift/Favor Tags with Personalized Winter Motifs $9 for 12 tags

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It is that type of the year again: I love Christmas cards. To help you make your choice, I will feature my favorite cards for the next 4 weeks. After the Holiday cards for a cause, I went for mod and snowy.

+ The Mod Holiday series proposes 4 illustrations: a tree, a gift, a wreath and baubles. I like the 4 equally.

+ Red Mittens
+ Snow Dude

Holiday cards at Feterie cost $24 for a set of 8 or $4 if you only buy one card.

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Every year, my husband and I baked our batches of holiday cookies. They become our signature hostess gifts during the Holidays. I make sure to select a beautiful reusable container. It is part of the gift. Naturally, I am always on the lookout for new ways to wrap my baked goods.

It became a tradition. I look forward for the inspiring cookies recipes presented in cute containers every November on Canadian House and Home. This year, three ideas stand above the rest. First, the white and blue Asian bowls. Similar bowls are easy to find at your local Chinatown.

Another practical idea is the wooden wine bottle box. I have a head start since I collected these boxes. You simply flip the lid over to hide the wine label.

What is noteworthy about the third idea is the recipe. Earl Grey marshmallows sound divine. I never make marshmallows but this recipe is a good reason to start. Apparently, the gentle Earl Grey tea pairs well with hot chocolate. I know that I want to try those.

If you are looking for cookie recipes, they are plenty of choices in their best cookies recipes. If you are looking for more ideas, check out what were the best cookie wrapping ideas in 2007.

MORE:
+ Canadian House and Home, November 2009: photography by Angus Fergusson, food stylish by Eshun Mott

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The easier road for stress-free entertaining is to equip yourself with versatile tableware. Casual chic tabletop is what most people are aiming for these days. After all, you celebrate amongst close friends and family. As I shopped at IKEA yesterday, I took pictures of tableware that delivers that spirit. I spotted affordable tableware that you will be able to use over and over.

The first thing that caught my eyes was this tabletop set for a fondue meal. Blue is popular at IKEA this season. I would serve water in turquoise patterned SNÄLL narrow tall glasses for a change. And you do not have to invest in RIEDEL wine glasses with the SKIR glasses. It definitely not the same quality but you get the look.

Then, I pay attention to the Dinera collection. Guys will love the blue-grey and the brown colors. I like the fact that plates come in many formats. You could mix colors or mix all solids with the ones with a white interior. I am partial to tableware with a white interior because typically food looks more appetizing against a white backdrop.

For entertaining, I keep a stack of tiny bowls for individual serving or to serve sauces. Believe me, they can transform a table. I bought a pack of small POKAL glasses for serving affogato. The POKAL  glasses are suitable for hot and cold liquids. You could get two sets: one to drink espresso and the other ones to serve your dessert. Keep in mind that the grey Dinera espresso cups and saucers (second picture) will look better, if you are willing to spend more.

If you are curious, I bought the small and the tall POKAL glasses, the big VÄNLIG glasses plus a few Christmas decorations and napkins.

SOURCING:
+ SNÄLL glasses $6.99 CAD for 6
+ SKIR glasses $6.99 CAD for 2
+ DINERA 18-piece dinnerware set $29.99 CAD
+ CHARMÖR small bowls $3.99 CAD for 2
+ POKAL glasses $4.99 CAD for 4
+ photo of affogato via Food Network Canada

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Now that I told you about the food at my husband’s birthday, another element that played a big part on the dessert table were the flowers. I was lucky to work with an upcoming star, a small floral studio called O.xide Design founded by Geneviève Lamarre and Stéphanie Bélisle.
I chatted with Geneviève this weekend as she came to my house to get back their vases. We had a good conversation about their design philosophy. One difficulty in designing an event is that you work with several vendors, who may or may not know each others. This is why O.xide takes extra step to make sure their floral creations will complement and enhance your event design. They rely on a quick and easy way to do that: drawing a croquis of the flowers as they will look at the venue.

Working with them was easy. I briefed Stéphanie about my theme, my color palette and that I aim for a masculine look. I sent her all the dimensions (table, shelf height, ceiling) with two pictures: one of my table and one showing where it will stand in the room during the event. Stéphanie came back with a croquis. As you can see, she integrated the details including the curvy legs of my dining table. Attached to the croquis were  pictures of the flowers and the leaves that they plan to use. I showed it to my husband to see if it pleased him. It did!

The 5 floral arrangements they created for the party were fabulous. They captured the masculine elegant mood I was aiming for. Plus, they played with heights and volume in a way that suited the architecture of the room and the needs of my dessert table.

If you live in the Montreal area, O.xide Design can help you whether you are looking for two small centerpieces for a casual dinner party up to a wedding or a corporate event. I know I will call them for my next dinner party.

MORE:
+  O.xide Design

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I wanted to  do something totally different than last year event for my husband’s birthday. Doing an Amy Atlas-inspired dessert table seemed fun. But first, I had to convince my husband since his first reaction was: this is too girlie! He sent me a clear message: no apothecary jars, no feminine shape for the tableware. My challenge was to design a masculine dessert table. And I did!

My Design

His party had a two-fold theme. There was the “40 is the new 2.0″ tag line. For the bar station, my husband  bought several geek items at ThinkGeek. The most impressive gear was the LED Jellyfish Mood Lamp. Many people asked us if they were real jellyfishes.

On the other side, the dessert table was developed around a color scheme. I selected yellow and green with red acting as an accent color. I used some of my tableware collection and added new pieces. You may recognize the tablecloth from his previous birthday.

DIY Ideas for Serve ware

Finding masculine cake stands is almost impossible. I created my own footed serving ware instead. I wrapped a matching napkin on a bamboo storage box to raise big rectangular platters. A green glass square votive holder fit neatly under a square yellow salad plate. Trial and error is required: some plates do not stay in place on top of containers. The salad plates are the perfect size to serve chocolate pieces. Spreading your food across the buffet table makes them more accessible for your guests. This is why I used three plates for the chocolate.

What Was on the Dessert Table?

Hosting a dessert party could be an overwhelming task since you need 7 to 10 different desserts. This is why I relied on professionals for the food. For me, hosting a party has to be easy, delicious and stylish.

Until the last day, I thought of baking our famous dark chocolate torte but I realized that there was plenty of dessert already. Therefore, I planned to serve warm brie with Granny Smith apples and walnut, plus to put in small boat containers strips of Parmesan Reggiano with honey. As I was setting up the table, lack of space on my table meant that I had to wait. As the night evolved, it was clear that we had enough food on the table. I kept my cheese for another event. On average, account for 4 to 8 pieces by person. Then, add extra for take home. I estimated that 90% of the guests brought back home a little box.

Here is what I served. I got 4 flavors of fine chocolate plus delightful marshmallow lollipops and 36 macarons in 3 flavors each and a jar of spice cookies crafted by Kréavie. Everyone love their sweet treats. My friend Nathalie Rivard baked delicious date squares. I bought 2 packs of fruit mini verrines at Gastronomia and 3 dozens of mini cupcakes at Itsi Bitsi. Plus, I received another dozen of mini-cupcakes decorated with a geek theme from Muriel Ide. To balance the sweetness, I served walnuts, almonds and pistachios in my new chalkboard tag jars.

The next post will be about the fabulous floral arrangements created by O.xide Design.

SOURCING:
+ chocolate, marshmallows and cookies at Kréavie
+ mini verrines at Gastronomia
+ cupcakes at Itsi Bitsi
+ Social Media Pillows by Craftsquatch on etsy $19.99 USD each

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In case you are looking for more inspirations on what to serve at your Halloween party.

+ This Pumpkin Soup in a small pumpkin bowl is elegant. You could recycle the idea for Thanksgiving. Via Noob Cook.

+ Devilled egss are back in vogue. The Spooky spider eggs are a cute adaptation of the classic. The decoration is super fun. Via Sunset magazine

+ Start making the Cinnamon Pumpkin Seed Brittle at least 70 minutes before serving as you need to allow a cooling period. Via Sunset magazine

+ Plan an hour to make 30 Cheddar Witch’s Fingers. Except for one person, everyone who tried the recipes said it was a success. Via Sunset magazine

Even if you don’t host a party, you could serve any of these recipes to your family tomorrow for Halloween. They would thank you for that special attention.

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Photographer Meg Baisden already hosted her Halloween party. And what a fabulous party it was! Her Halloween decorations were fun, festive and so sophisticated. It has just the right amount of glitter to suit an evening event.

You can add glitter to any objects. This allow you to buy less expensive props knowing that you can upgrade their look. It can be messy, so choose the right spot in your home.

The event was planned by Meg and her employee Jamie. I like how they integrated Meg’s home decor into their festive decor. When you host a party at home, it is an important consideration. By making them a part of your party decor, you send a warmer welcoming message to your guests. This is not always possible to accomplish. The easiest way is to consider the style of your home decor before planning your party theme and decorations.

Since they are professional photographer, it comes to no surprises that the pictures they took of the decor and the food are stunning. Since I envy the quality of her party photos, I feel inclined to mention it anyway.

MORE:
+ photos by Meg Baisden Photography

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Another proof that Halloween is influencing the market at all levels is the wine business. Really, one key difference between the wineries in the United States and the wine makers in Europe is that the American wine makers explore other avenues than the wine connoisseur language. Let’s face it, when I host a party I am looking for a wine in the $13 to $20 price range to serve my guests. I go for a crowd pleasing wine in red and in white.

Going back to Halloween, vampires are in. There are many TV series and movies on vampires. In fact, we almost selected True Blood as the theme for my husband birthday party (more on that, later). It is sad that at the time, I did not know that I could have ordered a True Blood wine from Vampire Vineyards. Although $30 is too much to serve at a 35-guest party, I might have bought 2 or 3 bottles as a display.

Vampire Vineyards produces several wines with names that scream Halloween. You can choose between Vampire, Chateau du Vampire (Vampire Castle) and Dracula. The advantages with these is that you do not have to made your own wine label. Hopefully for us, that line ranges from $9.99 to $19.99.

For more ideas, check out The Kitchn. They dug more spooky labels and scary names wines for us.

SOURCING:
+ TrueBlood Napa Valley Syrah $29.95 USD
+  Vampire Wines at Wicked Wines

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When Juanita Koo saw on Twitter that I was going to Toronto, she decided to give me a sweet treat. She sent me 6 cupcakes that she decorated with the 2 logos of the KimVallee.com brand. It is fun to arrive after a day of meetings to your hotel room and see those waiting for you.

I tasted her chocolate sour cream and her strawberry vanilla cakes. Both were excellent. I was pleased that they taste as good as they look. The size are her cupcakes is just perfect; not too small, not too big. Plus, she does not put too much icing and her icing is not too sweet.

I like the tiny potholders and oven mitts she crafted for the Calphalon Culinary Center in Toronto.

If you are in the Toronto area, do not hesitate to contact Juanita of Sweet Things. She does cakes and cupcakes. I am glad that her business since to be doing fine.  For more inspirations, you can have a peek at her adorable baby cakes.

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The partner of food blogger Matt Armendariz of Mattbites made the most stylish candied apples I have ever seen. Matt qualified the result as pure magic and he is right.

While you get the recipe take the time to check the beautiful still life picture he made with black wine goblet from Juliska that I introduced last year.

+ Adam’s Scary Apples on Mattbites
+ via Totally Tabletops

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