The Finishing Touch

Often we can spend hours preparing food for guests but it can be a garnish that can really make the end result look quite spectacular. Today i'm demonstrating two such ways of wowing your dinner guests.

How To Make An Apple Swan

Take your apple and slice off the bottom 1/4. Leave to one side for later.

Sit your apple on it's now flat base and cut two wedges from each side of the apple making sure you leave a center strip about 1 centimeter wide.

From each wedge, cut another wedge.

Repeat this process again and sit them all inside each other and slide out.





From your center strip use a pointed edged knife to cut out a small rectangle.

Using the original 1/4, that you cut off the bottom slice, off the rounded end.

This is the tricky part. From your apple circle cut out the shape of a swan's neck.

Use a small piece of the red to make an eye.

Insert your swan's "neck" into the rectangular hole you made in the center strip of the apple and place wedges back where originally cut from.

And there you go an Apple Swan.

To keep from discolouring, spray with a solution of lemon and water.

How To Make A Tomato Rose

Using a sharp knife gently slice into the base of your tomato.

Without tearing the skin continue cutting round and round the tomato to form a long strip.

Start to curl the end round.

Keep winding round until it sits in the round base.

Cut semi circles of cucumber to sit at the base to look like leaves.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and give it a go yourself.

I'm entering this post in the Handmade Monday blog hop organised by Wendy of 1st Unique Gifts. Pop along to see what other crafters have been up to this week.

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Whoopie Pies

Today i am writing this post as an entry for a brilliant Monday Blog Hop for crafters called HANDMADE MONDAY which is organised weekly by Wendy of 1stunique gifts. This hop is now in week 41 and is a good way of directing traffic to your blog and also to see what other crafters get up to each week.
This is my first entry as Chef At Skylark but some of you visiting may know me from my other sewing blog Dreamstar Diary which, unfortunately, i am needing to take a short break from at present whilst preparing for my new job in the farm cafe. More details about my job can be found at http://chefatskylarkfarmhousecafe.blogspot.com/2011/10/welcome-to-skylark-farm.html

So for now let's talk about WHOOPIE PIES
When Sam (my boss) asked me to make Whoopie Pies my reply was "what on earth are whoopie pies?" She replied that they were the new craze. Two round cake-like biscuits sandwiched together by a creamy marshmallow filling.
So home to the computer i went to do some research. First i searched recipes and found this one
http://www.recipes4us.co.uk/Cakes%20and%20Baked%20Fayre/Whoopie%20Pies.htm
My first attempt came out lovely but i hadnt made the filling stiff enough so as you bit into them the marshmallow oozed out the sides with nothing left once you reached the center.




So next attempt i whisked the filling for longer and then scoured Flickr photo sharing site to see how other peoples attempts turned out! It's a great site for inspiration it really is.
I made them smaller this time and split the mixture into 3 and coloured it red and yellow and in the yellow ones i added some fresh lemon juice.
And here they are drizzled with melted chocolate and dusted with icing sugar.



And just as finished all my research i saw an advert for a new Betty Crocker packet mix for Whoopie Pies!
Thanks for popping by and maybe i will see you at Handmade Monday again x