Walter Knoll’s “A Musing Florist”

Walter Knoll Florist Holiday 2008 TV Spot.  See our Holiday Flower Selection. Click here to visit our web site for more information.  Click here to request a catalog to be mailed.

This spot is narrated by Walter III, Chuck and David Knoll, 5th generation of the Knoll family, It features Walter Knoll Florist’s Season’s Greetings Centerpiece, Let It Snow, Let It Snow . . .
and Gold & Rubies.

I ate part of an apple for a snack on Saturday and Saturday night the uneaten half was still sitting on the counter next to Friday’s left over baguette – hmm, I thought, maybe I should prepare some French toast for in the morning!

I got out a pan, broke in three eggs and about 1/4th cup of milk and half a teaspoon of cinnamon and a fresh grind of nutmeg – I whisked it really well and let it sit while I made 1/8 inch slices of apple then cut the slices into fine dice and whisked it into the eggs – I cut my stale baguette into 1-1/4 inch slices and plunked them into the egg mixture – left them on the counter a few minutes then gave each piece of bread a turn, covered the dish with plastic wrap and put it into the fridge over night.

In the morning I melted a couple tablespoons of butter and cooked up some of the best French toast I’ve ever had!

It was so good with my Two Pigs Farms Maple Syrup – Chris Kimball’s syrup! When Cook’s Country or America’s Test Kitchen emailed me they had Chris’ first year of maple syrup for sale I jumped on it – and glad I did – wonderful wonderful maple syrup. My only regret? Wish I’d made an entire baguette of it instead of just half - And I’m thinking next time I might grate the apple!

Walter Knoll Florist was honored to prepare the flowers for the 2008 St Louis Zoo’s Marlin Perkins Society Party. This year it was held at the Chase Park Plaza in the Khorassan Ballroom.

Wonderful tropical table centers	An overall of the Khorssan ballroom
A double bubble bowl with tropicals and LEDs	Tall glass cylinder at the bar
Large feature display arrangements set the mood	Small bowl arrangement at a tall cocktail table

You can check out the whole line of Otterbox protection at the Otterbox website.  And if you are curious about Todd’s cousin - you can view many of his adventures and antics at his Traveling Todd blog.

Thanks Wiggers!

Ever feel lucky to work where you do?  I sure did this weekend, we had a special

guest who came to educate and guide our designers with upcoming trends in event

floral displays. Rich Salvaggio from Teleflora.

We learned a lot and had a good time too!
Teams of designers were given “themes” to work event pieces around.  Here are a few pics.

This Theme is “Under the Sea”

This theme is “Four Seasons”

We had out of town guest designers from a Chicago florist -

Their theme was “Asian”

The following group is the “Elegant” theme:

“Green - or Recycle - or Eco-Friendly” Theme

The “Arch” theme

The “Chaos” theme was a favorite of many with it’s bubble machine!

The Flutter-By “Holiday” Theme

The “Jungle or Rain Forest” theme

I think I speak for everyone who participated when I say we had a great time!

Check out these great offerings at the LaSalle & California Garden Center -  There are seasonal mums, and pumpkins and gourds and green and purple kale - even bales of hay - c’mon down, bring your camera!  But, keep in mind, that warty pumpkin has definitely got my name on it!  While you are in the neighborhood, stop into our LaSalle store and check out the Halloween decorations!

You like fahita meat?  I LOVE fahita meat - crazy for that chewy texture!  My local grocery had some for a change last weekend so I decided to give the Country Bob’s sauce a try out in a steak salad.  Not bad, actually quite good.  Looks good, doesn’t it?  So very pretty in my giant vintage McCoy pottery bowl!

First thing to do is get some salad dressing made - here’s what I used

1/3 cup olive oil

3 tbl red wine vinegar

2 tbl freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 1 small lemon)

1 clove of garlic, minced (of course I used my home grown!)

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1 tbl Country Bob’s All Purpose Sauce ( I used “spicy” - I like it hot, more about that later in this post)

Wisk all the above ingredients together - and refrigerate until ready to use.

Now to fix up the meat:

Rub a teaspoon of salad dressing onto each side of your skirt steak (1-1/2 lbs) and liberally pepper it, let it sit at room temperature while your coals heat up.

Once those coals are hot, grab your man and give him the tongs and tell him to git to it! (Those are my poblano and habanero peppers growing over on the right)

The skirt steak won’t take long (my Q-King added a couple cube steaks when I wasn’t looking) 4 or 5 minutes on each side - put it on when the coals are really hot, get a nice sear and color to the meat.  Then let the meat rest for about 15 minutes under a foil tent.  While the meat is resting you can make a salad - use crispy lettuces, arugula, whatever veggies you like in a salad. I cut a pear up into mine as well as tossed on some feta cheese (I would have used blue cheese if it was on hand though).  Cut the skirt steak against the grain into bite sized pieces and add to the salad - finally toss with the dressing.  This amount of dressing and meat was a good amount for a large head of romaine and 1-1/2 lb skirt steak - serves 3 or 4.

Now about that hot stuff. You know I grew some peppers this year, and even though it is October 8 today, I am still picking peppers!  I have been grinding them in my handy dandy little Cuisinart mini processor and freezing the peppers in plastic bags - I make a narrow log that I can easily break when it is frozen - I just snap some off for my chili or soup or enchiladas or whatever - tastes great, still as hot as ever and tastes fresh picked!  Wear gloves though when you are messing with those little orange habaneros - I lost a couple layers of skin on part of my left hand last time I did some grinding!

We at Walter Knoll Florist we were honored to be able to create the flowers for the memorial service of Stan Kann the organist of the Fabulous Fox on the Mighty Wurlitzer Organ.  As well as being the organist for the Fox, Stan was known for world class vacuum cleaner collection, his many gadgets and more that 70 appearances on the Tonight Show. Below is a photo from his memorial service on Sunday October 5th, below that are some you-tube videos of Stan.

Stan Playing the Intro to Phantom of the Opera

KETC Channel 9 Interview with Stan

A tour at the Fox with Stan Kann

Here’s a wonderful compliment for Susie at our Olive Store from Lori Smith Turner.

“Susie, Our ’silly wedding corsages’ were THE BEST and you can tell how much my friends loved them.  Thank you again so much for making these so beautiful and so special.

Not only did you put together my 69 engagement roses but you did my corsages as well.  Thank you for being such a special part of my wedding experience.”

And here are pictures of the silly corsages!

Congrats on the compliments, Susie, you deserved them!  Looks like they were a lot of fun to wear and I bet they were fun to make!

Sweetest Day is celebrated each year on the third Saturday of October. Although often thought of by many as a second Valentine’s Day, Sweetest Day is actually a day meant to celebrate all the people who make your life special. It’s an occasion to make someone happy, a chance to celebrate and give gifts to relatives, friends, and associates.

Sweetest Day was founded around 1922 in Cleveland, Ohio by Herbert Birch Kingston who was a local candy company employee. Kingston sought to bring cheer and some happiness to the lives of those who were often forgotten. With the help of his friends, he began distributing candy and small gifts to children living in orphanages, those stricken with illness or disabilities, shut-ins, and others who were forgotten.

During the early years of the holiday, movie star Ann Pennington presented 2,200 Cleveland newspaper boys with boxes of candy to express gratitude for their service to the community. Theda Bara, another movie star of the period, also helped in establishing the holiday by giving away 10,000 boxes of candy to people in hospitals and to those individuals who came to watch one of her films at the Playhouse Square Theaters in Cleveland, Ohio.

Within a decade, the simple idea had gained such popularity that the city of Cleveland officially declared the third Saturday of October as Sweetest Day.

Over the years, the Sweetest Day idea of spreading cheer to the underprivileged has expanded to an occasion offering us the opportunity to remember not only the sick, aged, shut-ins, and orphans but also friends, relatives, and those individuals whose helpfulness and kindness we have enjoyed during the year.

The traditional observance of Sweetest Day involves the same types of gifts and acknowledgments as Valentine’s Day with the most popular being cards, flowers, chocolates, and candy.

Ann Pennington Sweetest Day is primarily a regional holiday celebrated in the Great Lakes region and the northeast. The observance of the holiday is gradually spreading throughout the United States as people relocate to various parts of the country and bring the regional celebration with them to their new homes. States that have the greatest observance of the holiday include Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, and Wisconsin. Cities with the greatest observance of the holiday are Cleveland, Chicago, Detroit, and Buffalo. Sweetest Day is an original American holiday that is not based on any single group’s religious sentiment or on a family relationship. It is simply a reminder that a thoughtful word, deed, or small gift enriches the life of the recipient as well as the person giving it.

In 2008, Sweetest Day will be celebrated on Saturday October 18th. Remember to celebrate the holiday and touch the life of someone special with a gift of flowers, plants, chocolates, or an eCard.