"Effortless" Is Not a Myth

Lisa Messinger
Sun, 07 Dec 2014 11:59:40 -0800
Lifestyle

"Camille Styles Entertaining: Inspired Gatherings and Effortless Style" by Camille Styles (William Morrow, $29.99).

Camille Styles' lifestyle blog is definitely not effortless. The popular event stylist offers photographs, recipes and what seems like an endless stream of ideas to her hundreds of thousands of readers.

When "Camille Styles Entertaining" was published as a cookbook/lifestyle guide with the subtitle "Inspired Gatherings and Effortless Style," as a longtime food editor, cookbook author and columnist, I took pause. "Effortless"? With "60 Minutes" investigative tenacity — or at least the effort the correspondents put into deciding what they will have for lunch — I decided to look into the matter.
Updated: Sun Dec 07, 2014

"Camille Styles Entertaining: Inspired Gatherings and Effortless Style" by Camille Styles (William Morrow, $29.99).

Camille Styles' lifestyle blog is definitely not effortless. The popular event stylist offers photographs, recipes and what seems like an endless stream of ideas to her hundreds of thousands of readers.

When "Camille Styles Entertaining" was published as a cookbook/lifestyle guide with the subtitle "Inspired Gatherings and Effortless Style," as a longtime food editor, cookbook author and columnist, I took pause. "Effortless"? With "60 Minutes" investigative tenacity — or at least the effort the correspondents put into deciding what they will have for lunch — I decided to look into the matter.

After a few minutes of flipping through the book, I was swayed. Yes, I already had a lengthy list going of virtually effortless ways to significantly improve gatherings, therefore giving ourselves more time to enjoy the festivities, including:

—If you have an infant or toddler, like Styles' adorable Phoebe, place her or him on your knee as you greet guests and take their tiny hand and have it slightly shake or give high-fives to the guests as they arrive. Also, dress them in a color that matches their big eyes. In Phoebe's case, this was a chic denim dress the exact shade of her gorgeous blue peepers.

—Always prepare foods strictly by the seasons. The "sights, sounds, tastes and scents" will immediately add to the festivities and put guests in a good mood.

—Wear colors yourself that match that stunning seasonal food. In Styles' case, this was a fringe top that beautifully accented the shades of green, yellow, red and lavender in her stunning salad that she's shown tossing.

—Use vintage books, artfully placed, as decorations. Other ideas: Record album cover groupings, small throw rugs thrown around or tacked to the wall with old family photographs tacked to them.

—Have guests do some of the work in the name of fun and mingling, like the pizza grilling party Styles shows. Diners picked out and prepped their own fresh gournet toppings, such as basil, heirloom tomatoes, sage, mushrooms and prosciutto.

—Make sure much of what you prepare is simple yet scrumptious. Styles specializes in expertly combining flavors that then often don't take more than layering or arranging, such as the delicious fig endive appetizer and Granny Smith-brie-turkey sandwiches that follow:

FIGS, BLUE CHEESE AND POMEGRANATE SEEDS ON ENDIVE LEAVES

Candied pecans:

1 / 4 cup pecan halves

1 / 4 cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling

1 cup water

Endive topping:

5 fresh figs

1 / 2 cup balsamic vinegar

2 heads Belgian endive, leaves separated (smallest leaves discarded)

2 ounces blue cheese (Stilton, Cambozola, or any creamy blue cheese), at room temperature and crumbled

1 / 4 cup pomegranate seeds

1 / 4 cup honey

Yields 8 appetizer-size servings.

To prepare candied pecans: Preheat the oven to 400 F.

In a small saucepan, combine the pecans, sugar and the water. Bring to a boil, and stir continuously until the sugar dissolves. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.

Use a slotted spoon to carefully transfer the pecans to a baking sheet.

Sprinkle with a bit of sugar and kosher salt, then bake for 8 minutes, or until the nuts are lightly caramelized. Let cool. Finely chop them and use in this recipe, or they can be stored in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

To prepare endive topping: Put the fig wedges in a small bowl and cover with the balsamic vinegar. Set aside and let macerate for at least 30 minutes (and up to overnight in the refrigerator).

To assemble: Lay out the endive leaves on a platter. Use a small spoon to scoop about 1 / 2 teaspoon of blue cheese into each leaf. Top each with a fig wedge, sprinkle with pecans and a couple of pomegranate seeds, drizzle with honey and serve.

TURKEY, APPLE AND BRIE SANDWICHES

16 slices rye bread

3 tablespoons good-quality store-bought apple butter

8 ounces thinly sliced turkey breast

6 ounces creamy brie, sliced into 16 pieces

2 Granny Smith apple, cored and thinly sliced

Yields 8 sandwiches.

On half of the bread slices, spread a teaspoon of apple butter. Evenly divide the turkey, brie and apple slices onto each slice and then top with the remaining bread slices. Use a serrated knife to cut each sandwich diagonally.