Holiday Appetizer; How to Make a Fresh Vegetable Wreath You Can Eat

Wreaths are visual celebrations of the holidays. And what could be more fun than an edible holiday wreath that also serves as a centerpiece for your festive table? You know all your guests never arrive the same time, so this edible fresh vegetable wreath is perfect for guests to snack on, while the cook is busy in the kitchen. If you have ever noticed the shape of bundt cake and tube pans, they naturally lend themselves to a wreath like shape, which is perfect to making this edible vegetable wreath spread. You can make your own vegetable dip from scratch using your favorite dip recipe, or there are plenty of dip mixes in the dry soup and seasoning aisle of your grocery store. Also, you can buy a prepared gourmet dip in most deli departments of grocery stores.

If you don't know how to make a radish rose you can click this link to see step by step instructions for how to make radish roses and fans

http://www.gardenandhearth.com/GardenCooking/Radish-Rosettes.htm

Or, if you like the pretty look of radish roses but just don't have the time or patience, you can buy a neat little metal gadget that makes radish roses in minutes. It is a tool where you squeeze the handle and the radish just "blooms" Just do a search for radish rose cutting tool and you'll find lots to choose from. But don't worry about radish roses, because you can still make an edible vegetable holiday wreath without radish roses. I will tell you a shortcut to making radish flowers that requires no talent whatsoever.

So, let's get started.

Here are some fresh vegetables you should have

fresh broccoli
fresh cauliflower
carrots or mini carrots
radishes
cherry or grape tomatoes
parsley (lots of it to go around the perimeter of the pan)
yellow squash
yellow bell pepper
celery
pimento stuffed green olives
pitted small black olives

Here are some tools you'll need

vegetable peeler
comfortable and sharp knife
cutting board
round bundt or tube pan
colored or decorated toothpicks
colander
large bowl of ice water
paper towels

1. Prepare your dip and make sure it is well chilled in time for serving the edible vegetable wreath.

2. Set up a large bowl of ice water to keep cut vegetables fresh until you are ready to arrange your wreath.

3. Wash and drain your vegetables and set aside on paper towels or in a large empty salad bowl or colander.

4. Cut the celery bunch and trim off the ends. With your knife, cut the celery lengthwise, creating several slits, however leave 1 inch of the celery stalk with no slits. The end with no slits will be a base and the rest will fan out naturally with a slight curl when you place them in the bowl of ice water.

5. If using full size carrots, peel and cut off the roots and tips. Chop 2 carrots into round thin slices. These circles will become centers of flowers. Then take some other full size peeled carrots and using your vegetable peeler, make a several long carrot curls. (The carrot naturally swirls into curls when you begin using the peeler). Set these in the cold water bowl.

6. Broccoli and cauliflower have natural flower shapes, because of their florets. Cut both the broccoli and cauliflower , getting rid of the base and putting the florets in the ice water bowl.

7. Cut the end tips of the radishes. Here is your chance to make radish roses if you know how. Otherwise, a really pretty and easy clever trick is to just take your pairing knife and cut out a hole in the center, but not all the way through. Then cut a few slits around the radish which will open it up even more. The center can be filled later on with green olives. At the time you arrange the edible vegetable wreath, you will cut the olives in half and one half will fit tucked inside each hollowed radish to create a floral center.

8. Remove the stem and seeds from the yellow bell pepper. Now slice it into rings. You will see the pepper rings look like flower shapes. Cherry or grape tomatoes make great centers for the pepper rings to create the illusion of color flowers.

9. Cut the ends from the yellow squash. Now slice it into thick round slices, about 1/2 inch thick. Now, with your pairing knife, cut out a small circle from each quash slice. The hole will be filled with a small black olive to create another kind of flower.

10. Wash and trim the parsley and pat dry with paper towels. Trim the ends.

Now you are ready to put together your edible vegetable wreath.

Begin laying down your vegetables around the circular shape of the pan. Use the broccoli florets to fill a great deal of the base to create a green wreath looking base. Then begin filling in the spaces and topping the broccoli florets with the various shapes. Lay down your white cauliflower florets. Lay down the yellow squash with the black olive centers. Lay down your radish roses or radish flowers stuff with green olive centers. You can use a toothpick from underneath the radish to secure the olive inside. Lay down your yellow bell pepper rings with a cherry tomato floral center using a toothpick to attach them together and keep them in place. Stuff your celery fans upright like random flower stems popping out of the wreath. Lay your little carrot discs like little orange flowers. Then after you are happy with the arrangement, take your fresh parsley and begin stuffing it in any empty pan space, but most especially around the inner perimeter of the pan for the overall wreath outline shape. Use your carrot curls to lightly garnish the top of the edible vegetable wreath.

Serve immediately or else cover your wreath with plastic food wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve. And don't forget to serve your vegetable dip in at least a couple of bowls, so people can reach from both sides of the table.