My Appetizer Table

This appetizer table is suppose to be for a more adult type of flower party. Originally, it was going to be for a kid, but the recipes that looked fun and interesting were more towards the adult side of the spectrum leading me to change it to an adult type of flower themed party. It was a bit difficult to find a variety of recipes because there were mostly just flower cupcakes, but who really wants cupcakes as an appetizer? The tarts and macaroons were a bit pricey so I added the cheese tulips as more of a savory cheaper alternate appetizer. I hope the hypothetical appetizer table guests will enjoy these hypothetical appetizers.

Invoice:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1tcLILGzaok6XcWn_0C2RMB7wCW2ErHWb9_-IJ0OM3fw/edit?usp=sharing
Recipe: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1mfH3IeSvT0RZ6xq0jeLIS_wGv894d0_Y2REi9ggA0Mg/edit?usp=sharing

Citrus Beet Salad

We already did recipe similar to this one, but I wanted to make a different version so I could eat more and not just make it look pretty.

Citrus Beet Salad


Ingredients
12 whole baby beets or 6 large beets, tops removed and ends trimmed
2 navel oranges
1/2 small Spanish onion, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
1/4 cup sliced black olives
10 fresh mint leaves, coarsely chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 lime, juiced

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

If using baby beets wrap 3 to 4 beets together in foil packets and place them on a baking pan; if using large beets, wrap them individually. Roast the beets until they're tender and a paring knife slips easily into their centers, about 20 minutes for baby beets and 30 to 40 minutes for large beets. Remove the beets from the oven and, once cool enough to handle, open the foil packages.

Meanwhile, peel and segment the oranges. Cut off the tops and bottoms of the oranges so that they sit flat on the cutting board. Using a sharp paring knife, slice off the skin from top to bottom, removing the peel and pith so that no white is left on the orange. Slice along each membrane to cut out the individual segments. Place the segments in a large bowl. Add the onion, olives, and mint.

Using a paper towel, rub the skins off of the beets. Cut the beets into quarters. Add them to the bowl with the oranges, season with salt and pepper, and then drizzle some olive oil and lime juice over the salad. Toss and serve immediately.

Recipe courtesy Ingrid Hoffmann

Plating Beet Salad

Lines: My use of lines in this plating is mainly represented by the chives. Their bright green color and the fact that they all point inwards towards the avocado and mint leaf draw your attention to the centerpiece of the plate, the avocado, mint leaf and the feta.
Shape:The symmetrical curvature of the beets and orange keep your attention on the non-symmetrical avocado and feta in the middle. In addition to the beets the chives also represent symmetrical shapes by all being the same length and pointing the same way, again drawing your attention to the avocado.
Space/Texture: I didn't really play too much with either one of these elements while designing this plate so I figured I'd combine them. The only major idea of spacing I used in this was too make sure that chives were spaced evenly and far enough apart that the pomegranate molasses would look symmetrical and not sloppy. The only thing regarding texture that I really paid attention to was the texture of the oranges. Everything else in this plate has very similar texture(smooth and relatively flat) but the oranges mixed it up a bit by being more bumpy. I didn't want the oranges to be the centerpiece of this plate so I made sure they were mostly covered up by beets so as not to draw attention to their different texture.
Color: In order to keep attention on the avocado I kept all the beets and oranges together to keep the plate mostly monotone in order to make the green of the avocado to pop in comparison. I had the same idea with the chives, their bright green color would draw attention to the object they were pointing at, the avocado and feta.

Winter Break Salad

Kale Salad

This is my rendition of the classic kale salad. Returning from a long trip during which I didn't eat a lot of greens/a lot of healthy foods in general, I was really just craving a big, simple and delicious salad. I didn't follow really a classic "recipe" for kale salad, I just put kale in a bowl and went from there. 

Ingredients(all to taste/preference):

Kale

Dried Cherries

Golden Raisins

Pine Nuts

Olive Oil

Salt

Pepper

Procedure: 

Mix kale, dried cherries, golden raisins and olive oil in a bowl. Roast pine nuts until brown, then mix in with kale, dried cherries, golden raisins and olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Step 1: Kale in bowl

Step 2: Olive Oil

Step 3: Cherries and Raisins

Step 4: Roasting Nuts

Step 5: Adding Nuts

Step 6: Salt, Pepper, Mix and enjoy

Lavender

https://prezi.com/vte-c-qmpmv5/lavender/

Delicious Thanksgiving Desert Recipe

Whipped Sweet Potatoes

Procedure:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Prick the sweet potatoes all over with a fork, put them in a roasting pan and roast for 30 minutes. Toss the soft. Remove the pan from the oven but don't turn the oven off.When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, scoop out the flesh into a large mixing bowl. Peel the bananas and add them to the bowl along with 1 stick of the butter, and the honey. Season with salt and beat vigorously with a wooden spoon until everything's well combined and the mixture is fluffy. Spoon into an oven-proof serving bowl and smooth the top.In a separate mixing bowl, use your fingers to rub together the remaining stick of butter, the brown sugar, flour, and pecans until the mixture is the consistency of coarse crumbs. Sprinkle the crumb mixture over the sweet potatoes and return to the oven. Cook for about 20 minutes, until the crumbs are golden. Serve hotbananas into the pan and continue roasting for 10 to 15 minutes, until both the bananas and potatoes are very 

Ingredients: 

5 medium sweet potatoes, scrubbed

4 bananas, unpeeled

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/4 cup honey

Kosher salt

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup dark brown sugar

1 1/2 cups pecans, chopped

                     This recipe will be good for my family's Thanksgiving table because we usually have about four different desert recipes that we have each year without a lot of variety. Traditionally we have pumpkin pie, chocolate silk pie and sour cream raisin pie. They're all good recipes and taste good, but I think the whipped sweet potatoes and bananas will add some good variety.                    

 In attendance for the revealing of this new desert will be my immediate family, mother, father and my two sisters. In addition, my mothers brother and sister and mother will be coming as well. We won't just have out family for Thanksgiving but also a family from North Carolina who were some of our best friends when we lived there as well as another couple we're friends with from Oregon. 

                     The only seasonal ingredient that is present in this recipe are the sweet potatoes. I love sweet potatoes because they can add so much flavor without using too many of them.

                      Overall, I'm very excited for this years Thanksgiving, from having so many great people to share it with to trying out a new delicious sound recipe.  

Sources:
found on: foodnetwork.com
recipe by: Tyler Florence