As far as I’m concerned, every day in December is part of the holiday celebration. I employ simple Christmas tweaks that allow me to “Christmas up” a wide range of foods and beverages. Begin by thinking red and green, the classic colors of Christmas. See how we made some simple tweaks for Christmas to guacamole as an example.
Four deliberate steps take guacamole from every day fare to a holiday presentation.
1. A red base plate under a white serving plate. You may think “Why not just place them on the red plate and skip the white entirely?” The red is too dark. You need the white to really make the guac (and the garnish) show up. Try it for yourself if you are pretending you are from the Show Me state.
2. Candy-striped and clear individual serving containers. No worries about double-dipping when each guest has his own portion. The clear part allows the guacamole to show through and the candy stripes solidify the Christmas theme.
3. Jalapeño slices on top of each. Those slices accomplish two things: they signal that the food is savory, rather than sweet, and give a hint that it might be spicy; and they add a much-needed dose of dark green, which enhances the pea-like color of the mashed avocadoes.
4. Little squares of fresh red pepper are scattered like confetti on the white platter.
Simple tweaks for Christmas (or any holiday!) make a difference and result in a presentation that is much more exciting than just a plain bowl of dip. (And if you do want to use a big bowl, rather than individual containers, put 3 or 5 jalapeno slices on top, use a white bowl, if you have one, and put just a few red pepper squares in the center.)
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