My Holly Wreath Platter Experiment and Learnings

It’s so affirming during the Christmas season to see that my wreath platter post from 2016 is getting lots of clicks and attention. It happens every year.

Rosemary Wreath Appetizer Platter

I loved doing that rosemary wreath appetizer platter, and thought I could make something similar this year using other natural and lovely seasonal materials we have here at Glover Gardens.

There’s yaupon holly with lovely red berries, and regular big holly plants with their shiny, waxy, dark green leaves near our front door. I wanted to do something Christmas Cool with them.

Walk with Me Through This Experiment

I gathered the lovely plants and washed them.

At this point, Cautious Kim took over. “I wonder why I don’t see what I’m envisioning all over the internet”, I thought. I decided to investigate these plants, and learned that they are moderately toxic to humans!

Uh oh. That “put a hitch in my get-along”, as we say here in Texas.

Time to pivot. I decided to make my platter without the toxic stuff touching the food. I would put the edible goodies on a footed pedestal platter and use a cut glass platter beneath it to hold the toxic-but-beautiful seasonal greenery. It would provide a festive base for my festive appetizer.

After I finished the appetizer wreath, it was time for its photo shoot.

This first one, from above, was very sparse and not at all what I was hoping for.

I added some more characters to the cast, and it’s a bit more appealing. That our focaccia below on the left, with some fine pesto from the Galveston Farmers Market. We paired our platter with pinot noir from Trombetta Family Wines in Sonoma County, and the wreath platter looks a bit more happy and festive with the wine, the glasses and the focaccia.

But while the platter looked pretty, the berries and holly leaves aren’t the standout look I was going for. The lighting isn’t right for them; they’re in shadow. Sadly.

What to do? It was still a bit austere and staid. So I grabbed some of the stems, leaves and berries that were left and scattered them on the table.

That was the touch we needed. And that simple trick could have been done without the under-platter of greens and berries. A lesson learned, AGAIN: the simplest approach is the best. Just scatter the pretties on the table and don’t worry about the structured look on the under-platter.

Although… if I had some battery-powered twinkle lights, that under-platter of holly and berries would have ROCKED. Maybe next year…

But this year, we enjoyed our platter as a casual December dinner for two in the game room at the pub table, and while the holly and berries didn’t shine, the taste was just right.

If you’re entertaining, I recommend the rosemary version of this platter: the link is here.

Are you making any beautiful holiday platters this year?

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