My mornings are typically filled with reading and writing, so turning on the morning news a few days ago was a household anomaly. However, I had a hair appointment scheduled that day and did not have a lot of time. So, after reading the paper, I decided to flip on the television for a few minutes while I finished my coffee.
Mrs. Happy Homemaker was making a guest appearance on our local morning news show. A year ago, I would have scoffed at the idea of attempting any of the cute, fun holiday crafts she cheerfully demonstrated. But I've been at this stay-at-home-mom thing for a year now and have been exploring the crafty side of my personality. I was particularly interested in Mrs. Happy Homemaker's edible peppermint dishes. I was already planning to bring homemade bread and some goat cheese to a holiday party. Why not make a peppermint dish for the cheese?
While shopping, I picked up two rolls of goat cheese, so I was going to need two elongated peppermint plates. For my first try, I thought they turned out quite nicely.
Goat cheese rolled in a mixture of chopped cranberries, almonds, and fresh rosemary looks much more festive on a peppermint plate, don't you think?
Not since I was a child watching my Shrinky Dinks bake in Mom's kitchen have I had so much fun sitting in front of an oven window. After making the cheese plates, I had to do more. I needed a matching platter for the cranberry cheddar bread I baked a day earlier. The only reason I even bought the cheese was to have something to spread on slices of the bread.
The bread platter was going to be a bigger project. I wanted to make it even more festive, but it still had to match my cheese roll plates. As I paced around the house, I turned to our decorated Frazier fir for inspiration. Candy canes! Of course!
It took a bit more time and patience to create the platter. But after painstakingly lining up my candy canes and mints just so, Hubby and I were as giddy as three-year-olds as we sat on the floor for 7-10 minutes. We actually laughed out loud and clapped when our candy melted into a piece of sweet, edible, practical art.
Thank you, Mrs. Happy Homemaker, for sharing your secret to inexpensive, festive, edible, holiday dish ware that is perfect for covered dish parties—my platter cost much less than the foil containers in which I typically wrap my bring-along appetizers. And thank you also for the precious moments Hubby and I spent on our kitchen floor, giggling and staring into the glowing oven as our candy magically morphed into shiny serving plates.
Happy Holiday Covered Dish Parties!
Micki Bare, mother of three, wife, daughter & writer is the author of Thurston T. Turtle children's books.
Email: mickibare (at) gmail.com
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Micki Bare's Weekly Column (Arkansas News Bureau)
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