It’s official.  We are so over the winter weather, but here’s a way to use the weather to your advantage.  Take an off-season jaunt to the coast.  The beaches are quiet and you’ll feel like you’re exploring another planet.  Of course off-season can save money blah blah economy blah blah, but more importantly, when else would your hair look this fabulous at the coast?

March is that frantic month with some days reaching highs just warm enough to tease and lows that dash our hopes for summer days.  Since we have a bit longer to go before bare feet on cool grass and sun dappled picnics under the shade of a favorite tree we’ll have to settle for the comforts of an indoor picnic.  Socked feet on cashmere throws reclining on fluffy pillows.  And even though it’s still cold outside warm your palette with Mediterranean inspired dishes like the Tagine recipe we’re featuring this month.

Read on to pull this picnic together with supplies and the perfect menu.

Don’t forget the soft throws when you’re picnicking by the fire.  All are available at the Lisa Sherry Boutique.  We have one for every color palette and every budget too!  We are especially in love with the Horse Head throw.  It’s actually two throws sewn together and bordered by deerskin suede.  Snuggle up!

March is the month of transition and these glasses perform double… triple… multiple functions.  Perfect for a summer lemonade or a red wine by the fire.  See our recipe for Pernod and Mineral Water for a lovely Mediterranean inspired drink.  And don’t forget the straws great for juices or champagne drinks.  Get them all, even the straws, at the Lisa Sherry Interieurs Boutique.

Pour 1 1/2 to 2 ounces of Pernod over ice in a glass like our “Glass for a Friend”, available through the boutique.  Top it off with still mineral water.  The proportion of Pernod to water should be around 1:4 or 1:5 to mellow the potency of the Pernod.

Ingredients

1.5kg/3¼lb leg of lamb, cubed
2 tsp ground coriander seeds
2 tsp ground ginger
pinch saffron
2 tbsp olive oill
18 shallots whole, peeled
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp plain flour
1 tbsp tomato purée
1 cinnamon stick
600ml/1 pint lamb stock
2 tbsp flatleaf parsley, chopped
2 tbsp coriander, chopped
1 preserved lemon, rinsed, inner pulp removed
110g/4oz medjool dates, pits removed
1 tbsp clear honey

Method

1. Place the lamb in a bowl and add the ground coriander, ground ginger, saffron and one tablespoon of the olive oil. Mix well and leave to marinate in the fridge, covered, for 24 hours.
2. The next day, heat the remaining olive oil in a heavy-based pan with a lid. Cook the lamb until browned all over (you may need to do this in batches). Remove the lamb from the pan and set aside.
3. Fry the shallots in the same pan until lightly golden then add the garlic and return the lamb to the pan.
4. Stir in the plain flour and add the tomato purée and cinnamon stick.
5. Stir in the lamb stock and bring to the boil. Cover tightly and simmer gently for 1½ hours, or until the lamb is tender.
6. Add the parsley, coriander, lemon rind, dates and honey, stir well to combine and serve with a bowl of cous cous.

For the chocolate filling:

8 large egg yolks
1 cup confectioners sugar sifted
2 tablespoons white creme de cacao
2 tablespoons Kahlua
2 teaspoons Cognac
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter
2 tablespoons Dutch-Processed cocoa power
12 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 cups heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks

For the marshmallow fluff meringue:
3 Large egg whites
Pinch of Salt
Pinch of cream of tartar
teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup of marshmallow fluff

For the graham cracker crust:
3 cups crushed graham cracker crumbs
cup (1stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
Preheat the oven to 350°F
To make the crust: Combine the graham cracker crumbs with the melted butter and granulated sugar until will combined.  Press into the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch metal baking pan.  Bake the crest until starts to brown and become crisp, about 10 minutes.  Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.

To make the filling: Using an electric mixer, beat the egg yolks and confectioners’ sugar together in a large bowl until they are thick and the color of butter.  Beat in the Cognac, crème de cacao, Kahlúa, vanilla, and salt.

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over low heat and whisk in cocoa powder until smooth.  Remove the pan from the heat, add the chocolate, and stir until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.  Let cool slightly, then gradually beat into the egg mixture.

Fold the softly beaten heavy cream into the chocolate mixture just until combined.  Spoon the chocolate cream over the graham cracker curst, smoothing it evenly with a spatula.  Cover the pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate until very firm, at least 4 hours or up to overnight.

When ready to serve, make the meringue: Using an electric mixer set at low speed, beat the egg whites until foamy. Add the salt and cream of tartar and beat at medium speed until soft peaks form.  Beat in the vanilla.  Add the marshmallow Fluff to the egg whites a little at a time, beating constantly until stiff peaks form.

Carefully cut the S’mores into 15 large squares.  Place each S’mores on a dessert plate.  Top each with the meringue in a large dollop.  Use a small kitchen torch to carefully burnish the meringue until tipped with golden brown.  Serve immediately.

Ok, we admit we are a bit biased, but we are crushing on a client this month.  Catherine Horgan, style guru, has been influencing fashion in the studio this month.  We especially love Closet of Style TV.  Full of fun tips and tricks not just regarding clothing, but grooming all around.   We had to force ourselves to stop watching and get some work done the day we turned it on in the studio!  To see our progress on her interior design project come check out pics at our Facebook page.

One of Catherine’s great tips to help develop your own style-voice is to keep a “personal style file”.  We do this with clients as we collect tear sheets to inspire interiors work.  We discovered many of us in the studio do the same with fashion as well.  So we thought it might be fun to show you some images from our personal style files as well as an exclusive peek at the style file of the fashion maven herself, Catherine Horgan of Closet of Style.  Enjoy!

When you prune this March hold on to those dogwood and quince branches and by surprising tactics you can add gorgeous accents to interiors.  Simply clip the branches, place in water and, although it seems counter intuitive, keep humidified in dark cool location (like a garage) until buds start to break. These clippings make effortless arrangements and many woody deciduous shrubs can be forced to bloom this way.

Some other sites for more detailed instructions: Of course we had to tap Martha on this one.  And for the truly dedicated botanist click here.

Not for the faint of heart, but this blogger’s got a point!  Decorno, a blogsite about all things design related, tells it like it is.  Her fresh, witty, blunt tone of voice makes us laugh even when we are guilty of some of the transgressions she hi-lights in her “Things that are wrong” feature.  We love her fearless ability to call out the bad design rules that so many blindly follow.  Here’s a snippet from one of her hilarious rants about “those little wooden wall-mounted boxes”.

We are thrilled to be working with Catherine Horgan, owner of Closet [of] Style of Charlotte, NC. A self proclaimed “stylologist”, Catherine works with men and women to express their personal style; identifying signature looks based on color palette, body shape and personality. Check out Catherine’s website to learn more about her range of services or follow her on twitter for great tips and fashion updates!

Meanwhile, we’ll be working on the new look for her home and we’re so excited to have a client who wants BLACK WALLS!  This tear sheet speaks to Catherine’s desired new look and our signature style.  From the cozy sit-around to the fresh black, white and gray color palette, we plan to introduce these elements and more into Catherine’s home.

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We were in NY this week for the gift show and ran into our friends Rick and Willie owners of Patina in Minneapolis.  We also took a side trip to visit a friend in the Hamptons.  Sum it up-  glorious walk along the beach, indulged in great design, wonderful food, and great friends.  Check out our Facebook to see more of the trip!

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Sometimes a modicum of denial is a good thing.  This February, we’re putting on the rose-colored glasses that Edith Piaf immortalized in her signature song.  While the winter chill is still in the air… so is love.  Our ideas and inspiration abound on creative ways to lighten the winter load with romance.

I met Ruard Veltman when our homes in Bald Head Island were being shot for the same magazine.  The truly world class architect has worked with other crushes of ours including Bobby McAlpine.  His simple fluid lines and minimal color speak to our aesthetic and if you can’t get enough of him check out his web site for more of his gorgeous work.

A wise person (yes, it may have been your mother) once said, “all things in moderation.”  We can only retort sometimes a little splurge a little excess is good thing. Cutting to the chase, this brings us to the topic of BUTTER. Much maligned by new wave chefs and just about every diet doctor, butter often makes stuff better. Do your best Julia Child this VD and think about baking a cake from scratch (it will require beaucoup b-u-t-t-e-r).  See below for the recipe fromMowielicious.

Chocolate Sponge Cake:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

6 eggs, separated

A pinch of salt

1 1/4 cups sugar

1/2 cup cold water

1/4 cup (heaped) cocoa powder

1. Preheat the oven the 325F and butter a circular cake tin with baking paper. Mix the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt in one bowl.

2. Beat the 6 egg yolks in a separate large bowl and mix in the sugar.

3. Fold in the flour/cocoa mixture alternately with the water in roughly 2-3 additions each.

4. Whip the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff peaks form, then fold this gently into the batter.

5. Pour batter into the tin and bake roughly 45-60 minutes. Check to see if the cake is ready by inserting a metal skewer into the middle of the cake. If it comes out clean, the cake is ready. Take the cake out of the oven and allow to cool.

6. Once cool, slice in half, and add a layer of chocolate buttercream. Place the top half back on, and layer another level of buttercream on top. Don’t worry too much about adding a layer of buttercream to the side of the cake, or about how the cake looks. Once you top it with the macaroons and fruit, it doesn’t matter what the bottom half looks like!

Chocolate Buttercream:

Ingredients:

3 egg whites

1 cup sugar

300g butter, room temperature

200g good quality dark chocolate, melted over hot water bath (I used 80% Green & Black’s)

1. Hand whisk the egg whites until foamy. Mix in the sugar, and place mixture over a water bath. Keep whisking by hand until the mixture turns whitish, is piping hot and the sugar has dissolved.

2. Remove from water bath and mix with an electric mixer on high speed. Keep mixing until the bowl starts to cool down.

3. Add butter, one tablespoon at a time at first, then two tablespoons at a time. Make sure to incorporate the butter properly into the mixture each time you add butter.

4. Add melted chocolate and incorporate completely.

5. Layer chocolate buttercream onto cake as described above, making sure that the top layer is quite thick. Again, it doesn’t have to look pretty as that’s what the macaroons will do.

6. Place the macaroons one at a time all around the cake to form a circle, as seen in the pictures. Add fruit to the middle and decorate with daisies or any flowers my happen to have lying around.

Keep refrigerated and serve cold.

Recipe  from Mowielicous

A handpicked bouquet of fleurs… such a sweet expression of love. But winter can be a deal-breaker unless you live in a warm climate. Fear not Minnesotans (and the like). Creative thinkers can always find blooms for beloveds! With a little bit of luck and good timing you can capture delicate ice flowers early in the morning after a cold night with little wind. Grab a digital snapshot or better yet simply blind-fold your (trusting) honey and lead him in slippers and parka to the special spot.