Romantic Thanksgiving Centerpiece Tutorials

Okay, so it's not a secret, I'm a romantic, no, I'm a hopeless romantic. I love to be surrounded by beauty and romance, especially during the holidays. So I've come up with a couple of romantic Thanksgiving tablescapes, and a couple of romantic centerpieces for inspiration. 

If you like the centerpieces but prefer a different color scheme for your Thanksgiving table, go ahead, this centerpiece would be beautiful with orange or red roses. Imagine yellow sunflowers, mums, or alstromeria instead of gerberas. It would also be just as lovely with orange mini pumpkins, or even other decorative squash. I used a white urn style vase and two urn style pillar candle holders.

 In the pillar candle holders I used white Pumpkin candles because at our house we have Thanksgiving dinner as the sun sets and we love to have candlelight on the table. This has two advantages, the first that I don't have to rush Thanksgiving day to get dinner on early, and two, it's so beautiful to sit down to a candlelit table and listen to Christmas Carols over dinner ( I told you I was hopeless). So use the vase and pillar holders you have, or use this as an excuse to buy some that really touch your soul. 

What your going to need
(I purchased all my flowers at my local grocery store)
One dozen long stem roses- I used a pale pink-peach
One bunch of Gerbera Daisies, sunflowers, alstromeria, or mums 
One bunch of Gypsopholia (babies breath)
5-6 mini pumpkins

One medium size vase
1/2 block fresh floral foam (trim this to fit tightly into your vase, you want it to feel wedged in). Floral foam is easily trimmed with a knife.
5-6 bamboo skewers
One yard of ribbon- I used a 1 inch organdy pale yellow

2 pillar candle holders
2 pumpkin shaped candles that will fit in the pillar candle holder or
2 small pumpkins or decorative squash
Make sure you completely soak your floral foam and place floral preservative in the water surrounding the foam.

Tuck in short, about 3 inch, sprigs of gypsopholia around the pumpkin base until you get the desired effect. That's it, your done! I just loved how these turned out, how about you?

For the floral Centerpiece poke 3 inch sprigs around the entire edge of the vase, into the foam,  until you can no longer see the floral foam. You don't have to do this in the center since other flowers will be going there. 

Poke the pointy end of the bamboo skewer into the bottom of the mini pumpkin and trim the skewer to 6 inches. Place the pumpkins evenly into the outside of the foam, gently tucked into the gypsopholia.

Trim the Gerbera daisies so that they sit at a comfortable height above the pumpkins. You don't want the pumpkins to get hidden under the daisies. Your going to place the daisies inside of the gypsopholia, but not in the center of the foam (that's reserved for the roses). If you wanted, you could actually stop here and you would have a perfectly lovely centerpiece, it's all up to you. If you did want to stop here you may want to use some gypsophlia to cover any foam that might be showing though.

Take your roses and arrange them in the palm of dominant hand so that they make a nice pomander shape, the center one will be highest and you will gently place the following ones a little lower until they look like the photo above. Trim the bottom of the stems so they are even, and push them into the center of the wet floral foam. Try to do this as soon as possible after trimming the stems.

After looking at both sides of your arrangement (or all sides if your vase is round or square) decide what will be the front. Wrap the ribbon 3-4 times around the rose stems (this will hold them together) tie a pretty bow on the front and you are finished with this lovely centerpiece. Remember to check it everyday and keep it watered. It should last you a week. Mums and alstromeria will have the longest vase life. If the roses fade first, remove them and enjoy several more days of your arrangement. 

I'll be back in a couple of days to show you the tablescape(s) I made for these centerpieces, so I hope you'll come back and take a gander.  Happy Thanksgiving sweet friends.

Raspberry Wine Poached Pears w/ Maple Wine Reduction Ala Mode

Pure Canadian Maple Syrup  http://www.purecanadamaple.com/  has challenged bloggers to "think outside the griddle". They wanted us to show you some delicious ways to use this wonderful liquid sweet Amber besides "on your pancakes".
I was all over this one, because I love Pure Maple Syrup! It adds a depth and flavor to so many recipes. They also wanted us to show you a way to use the leftovers from our dish in a second recipe. Wait until you see what I've come up with :) I hope you enjoy these two dishes as much as I did. I was inspired by the season and found some beautiful pears at the Farmers Market.

Raspberry Wine Poached Pears with Maple Wine Reduction Ala Mode

Ingredients

• 4-6 Ripe Bosc or Anjou Pears
• 1/2 cup Pure Maple Syrup
• 12 ounces frozen Raspberries, thawed
• 2 cups of Orange Juice (preferably not from concentrate)
• 4 cups of Raspberry Wine (this can be substituted with a red fruity wine, or with raspberry juice for a non-alcholic version).
• 1 quart of Vanilla Ice Cream
• 6 ounces fresh raspberries
• 1 ounce of Sliced Almonds
• Fresh Mint Sprigs for garnish

  

Instructions
Press thawed raspberries, and any juice in the container,  through a strainer saving all but the seeds, for me this rendered about 1 cup of juice and pulp

strained pulp and juice

In a medium sauce pan place the strained Raspberry pulp and juice, Raspberry Wine, Orange Juice, and Pure Maple Syrup.
Stir ingredients and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to simmer and place the peeled pears in the simmering sauce.

Peeled Bosc Pears, stems left on

You have several options as how to poach and serve your pears. I love the organic look of the whole pear with the stem left on. To ensure my pears would sit well on the plate, I cut a flat, thin slice from the bottom of each pear (see photo above). I also like the stems left in tact and the pears sliced and fanned out

Pears sliced and fanned

You can save time on poaching by coring and slicing your pears before putting them in the pan, and some people prefer cutting their pears into bite size pieces, the choice is all yours.

If you decide to poach your pears whole they will take about an hour, you want to poach the pears until a knife easily pierces through the pear. In the past I've turned the pears half way through but this time I used a heatproof saucer to set over the pears and this held them gently under the liquid. I think I like this method better, I removed the saucer with tongs quite easily.

Once you've removed the pears take 3 cups of the poaching liquid and boil it down until it has halved in quantity. It will also become thicker. Keep and eye one this you don't want to burn it. After your liquid is reduced, turn off the heat. This took 15-20 minutes for me, stirring occasionally.
To plate your dish, place the pear in the center of the plate. Ladle about 1/2 cup of the reduction sauce over the pear letting the sauce puddle. Scoop the vanilla ice cream (I did 3 half scoops). Garnish with fresh raspberries, sliced almonds and a sprig of fresh mint. 
This dish is easy, sophisticated and just plain delicious,  Bon Appetit!

So you're wondering what I have in store for the leftovers? You're going to love it! How about a Pretty Pink Pear cocktail? 
Place everything except the core and stem into a blender and Voila... this is what you get! A delicious, creamy, and pretty cocktail! You can also get this with a little of the ice cream, the reduction sauce, and a splash of the Raspberry Wine. Cheers!

 I think this is definitely "outside the griddle". I would be proud to server these two recipes to any guests, and I hope you'll give them a try. Check out http://www.purecanadamaple.com/ for more ideas on how to use Canadian Pure Maple syrup, you're in for a sweet surprise ;) 

Flavor Fusion Spicy Maple Pork Sandwich

Pure Canadian Maple Syrup  http://www.purecanadamaple.com/ has asked Bloggers to "Think Outside the Griddle" :). So what do you get when you marry Italian Ciabatta Baguettes with Mexican Carnitas, Crema, Queso Fresco, and Asian Sriracha, with Canadian Pure Maple Syrup, and locally grown rainbow slaw? You get a flavor fusion explosion in a sandwich!

 I have to say that my family really, really enjoyed this sandwich, it's sweet, spicy, salty, crunchy, creamy, and tangy all wrapped up in chewy Ciabatta. Both the sweet and spicy can be altered to your taste, it's just a matter of adjusting two ingredients... the pure maple syrup and the Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce. You can turn the volume up or down on either. I'll be sharing what worked for us :) 

This Sandwich consists of three components (don't panic, they're all super easy

• 1). The Sweet and Spicy Pork Carnitas 
• 2). The Crunchy Rainbow Slaw
• 3). The Garnishes

Everything is cooked in one pot, you need one bowl for the slaw, and I'll even give you a great suggestion of what to do with the leftovers (if you have any :)

Click on picture to see it enlarged

• Ingredients for Sweet & Spicy Carnitas
• 
  
• 1) 16 ounces of Cooked Carnitas Fried Pork (I've seen this at both my local grocery store, and at my membership warehouse store)
• 2). 1 Cup of Roasted bell pepper & Chipotle Sandwich spread, with 2 tablespoons reserved for slaw I saw 3 brands of this at my local grocery store, pick your favorite
• 3). 1/2 Cup Pure Maple Syrup
• 4).  2 Tablespoons Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce
• 5).  1 Italian Ciabatta Baguette

Just starting to brown the meat

Add the Carnitas Meat to a Medium to Large dutch oven or heavy skillet. Brown on medium heat and use two forks to pull the meat apart.

After ingredients have been added

Once the meat has browned, turn the heat to low and add the Pure Maple Syrup, the Sandwich Spread (reserving 2 Tablespoons for the slaw), and the Sriracha Chili Sauce. Stir until combined and warm through. Turn off heat and cover until your ready to assemble the Sandwiches.

Rainbow Slaw Ingredients

• 1). 12 ounces of Rainbow Slaw Mix found in the fresh produce section
• 2). 2/3 Cup Crema Mexicana
• 3). 3 Tablespoons Pure Maple Syrup
• 4). The reserved 2 Tablespoons Bell Pepper and Chipotle Sandwich Spread
• 5). 1-2 Tablespoons Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce 1 tablespoon gives it a little kick, 2 gives it a good kick ;)
• 6). 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 7). 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground peppercorns

Finished Rainbow Slaw

Gently toss all ingredients together, that's it! Don't you love it?

Garnishes

1). Sliced vine ripened tomatoes

2). Queso Fresco Mexican Cheese, crumbled

3). Fresh Cilantro Leaves

To assemble the Sandwiches Cut an 18 inch Ciabatta Baguette into 3-4 sections (this depends on how hungry you are and how many people you need to serve ;)

slice the way you would a hot dog bun, I found leaving the bottom closed made for a much easier eating experience, and less dripping.

Fill your rolls about 1/3 full of the Sweet & Spicy Carnitas

Fill about another 1/3 with the Rainbow Slaw

Top with sliced tomatoes, Queso Fresco, and Cilantro leaves.

Bon Appetit!

So what did I do with the leftovers? Honestly, if I hadn't set some aside there wouldn't have been any :) The next day I used the meat to make a delicious Quesadilla with a side of Rainbow Cole Slaw and it was delicious! 

Don't forget to check out http://www.purecanadamaple.com/ for some wonderfully delicious ideas.