I was priviledged to be in the audience of a floral design demonstration centered around Christmas at Baisch and Skinner this week. The designer/presenter was Frank J Feysa, AIFD, and he had some great ideas for banquets, buffets and centerpieces. Here are two of my favorite tall designs (always welcome on tables) because they don't take up much real estate.
This pearly willow, phoenix-style would be perfect for a buffet or as a centerpiece.
This inverted proportion design uses some modern floral elements and the wildly popular mercury glass vases. You can use this design in any season, just trade out some of the particularly Christmas-y items. 
Dark chocolate and peanut butter stacks, loaded carrot cake with orange cream cheese frosting and cheesecake with raspberry monograms. 
Now comes the fun (read dangerous and thrilling) part. If you do it the right way, all of your friends will say, 'ooh,' and 'aah,' if you do it the wrong way, they may ask, 'where do you keep the band-aids?' or 'which way to the nearest ER?' I must caution you to err on the side of too little effort, rather than risking injury with too much effort. Gently, but swiftly, embed the mid-section of the knife blade into the pit of the fruit. (You won't be able to push the knife in, it is really more of a 'hack'...a gentle, safe 'hack', that is.) After a few attempts, you will discover the amount of effort required to lodge the blade firmly into the pit of the avocado. The trick is to get the blade to stop approximately half way through the pit. Too far, and the pit cuts in half and the little trick doesn't work. Too shallow into the pit, and the outer layers of the pit will break off during the next step...and that is essentially like stripping a screw.
Once you have perfected the science of gently, but firmly hacking your knife's way into the pit of your avocado, the rest is the proverbial piece of cake. Rotate your knife (as though it were the hands on a clock), until the pit becomes dislodged from the flesh of the fruit.
Gently push the pit off of the knife (remember it is pretty well stuck on there, you may have to push firmly). Always push away from the blade. A little pinch behind the pit will usually work. Without cutting through the skin of the avocado, score it in slices or cubes (depending on how you are serving the avocado). 
Then, take a large spoon (my soup spoons are the perfect size) and slide it between the peel and the flesh of the fruit. Scoop out any remaining morsels of fruit that are usable for your purpose, then discard the skin. 
You now have a peeled avocado, with very little waste, and nary a mess to be found. (That is of course unless you were a little gung-ho on the hacking part, and you left the avocado and knife on the counter while you made your trip to the ER!) All that's left is to enjoy the 'fruit' of your labor in your favorite salad, guacamole, or all by itself. mmm....
Our family loves to spend time at the pool. They have a great kids' play area with hoses, buckets, rope ladders and slides. They also have a concession stand. My husband is crazy about their french fries. He will make sure to have his $2.50 in order before we get in the car to head to the pool. Last night, he ate two batches. Of course, each one was consumed alongside copious amounts of ketchup. I'm fairly certain that these are your garden variety crinkle cut spuds, which begs the question...what is it about the fries? I'd like to think that I have a slightly more sophisticated palate. My favorite fries are at AT&T Park (formerly Pac Bell Park) in San Francisco. They are the famous garlic fries...served with chunks of freshly crushed garlic. They are so garlicky, you're likely to smell them in the air when you arrive at the stadium, and on your breath a week after cheering your team on to victory. Now, those are some yummy fries! Thanks to Jason DeRusha for his flikr photo of this regional specialty. Perhaps the thing that makes food taste so good is the circumstance surrounding its consumption...summer vacation, a victorious ball game, a family gathering, etc. I hope you have a chance to share some good food with great company over the next few weeks.
