from our kitchen

Southern Living, Nov 2004 by Perry, Mary Allen

These quick ideas are designed to dazzle, whether you spend hours preparing traditional holiday foods or assemble a storebought feast just before your guests arrive.

Fresh Starts

A bottle of wine and an artfully arranged plate of fruit and cheeses can turn the smallest of gatherings into a celebration. In France, cheeses are often served on trays of fresh leaves. Add a Southern twist with ivory-veined cabbage leaves or collard greens (flatten the leaves by removing the stem and midrib). Offer a variety of cheeses with different textures and flavor profiles. Include a cheese ball, or scoop the seeds from a winter squash and spoon in a favorite spread. Hollow out hearty bread loaves, leaving a 1-inch-thick shell, and fill with crackers and breadsticks.

The Main Event

Wreathed in a colorful harvest offall produce, baked ham makes a spectacular centerpiece. The same presentation is equally eye-catching with roast turkey or pork. Use a large serving tray or carving board, allowing space for a 4- to 6-inch decorative border around your entrée. All you'll need for the border are a few items from your local supermarket.

We chose the woodsy-green color of curly-leafed kale for the border's base and then added miniature lady apples, pear-shaped gourds, and purple pansies, along with a handful of bright orange kumquats and fresh cranberries.

You could also use miniature pumpkins and pomegranates, crabapples and Seckel and Forelle pears, clusters of rosemary, or bundles of cinnamon sticks tied with raffiawhatever you have on hand. It's just that easy!

Sweet Sensations

This impressive dessert actually starts with a frozen pumpkin pie. Autumn leaf shapes are cut from refrigerated piecrust and brushed with bright colors of egg wash before baking. Finely chopped nuts and melted chocolate transform toasted pecan halves into candy acorns. Both garnishes can be made weeks ahead of time and added at the last minute to spruce up cakes and pastries as well as appetizers and entrées. We also used them to add sparkle to a cheese tray and baked ham.

Crowning Glories

Pastry leaves are one of our favorite fall garnishes, and we use them to decorate both sweet and savory foods. Quick and easy to make using refrigerated piecrust, these colorful cookie-cutter leaves can turn a simple cake or a store-bought pie into a showstopping dessert.

Unfold piecrusts on a lightly floured surface. Cut leaves from piecrust using leaf-shaped cutters. Mark leaf veins using the tip of a small paring knife. One (15-ounce) package of refrigerated piecrusts will make about 24 (2- to 3-inch) leaves.

To make the tinted egg wash, whisk together 3 large eggs and 2 tablespoons water. Pour mixture evenly into small cups, tinting each with a few drops of liquid food coloring to create different colors. (We painted our leaves using four different colors of egg wash-red, yellow, orange, and green. For easy cleanup and to prevent the excess egg wash from burning on the baking sheet, paint leaves on pieces of parchment or wax paper.) Brush leaves evenly with egg wash, beginning with lighter colors first, and overlaying with areas of darker color. Use a small artist's brush to add accents of bolder color with undiluted liquid food coloring.

Crumple 2 (14-inch long) pieces of aluminum foil into 1-inch-wide strips. Coat with vegetable cooking spray, and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Gently drape pastry leaves over the strips of aluminum foil to give them a natural-looking shape; place several leaves on the baking sheet. Bake at 400° for 6 to 8 minutes or until golden. Cool on the baking sheet on a wire rack 10 minutes. Gently remove leaves, and cool completely on a wire rack. Repeat procedure with remaining leaves.

Candy acorns: Sandwich a thin layer of melted chocolate between the flat sides of two pecan halves. To create the textured caps, dip the upper third of each "acorn" into melted chocolate, and roll in finely chopped pecans.

The leaves and acorns can be made up to one month ahead and frozen between layers of wax paper in an air-tight container. MARY ALLEN PERRY