Frida Forever

Frida Kahlo, Limited Edition. 

MontBlanc adds to their limited edition collections one with 100% Mexican inspiration. It´s the collection dedicated to the Mexican painter, Frida Kahlo, every detail reflects the personality of the artist: the blue represents the colour of her house in Coyoacan; the red heart, a motif frecuently used in her work; the shape of the clip pretends to represent her distinctive eyebrows..... Only 70 pens were made, the same number of pages her dairy had. 

The art of the appetizer

1. Follow the foolproof of five, which calls for a menu of five types of appetizers:

• One heavy (so that guests who skip dinner will feel satisfied).
• One heavy or medium (choose a heavy one if you expect your party to go long).
• One medium (typically a vegetarian dish or a dip).
• One lighter choice (such as crudités for nibbing).
• One bowl item (such as nuts or olives).

2. For an accurate head count to help your plan properly, provide an e-mail address with your invitation, along with your phone number. You can nudge the shirkers with a gentle e-mail meminder as the date draws near without being ill-mannered yourself ("We're just finalizing the guest list and are sooo hoping that you'll be there").

To determine how much to prepare, follow this guide:
Heavy appetizer > 4-5 pieces per guest.
Heavy/medium > 4-5 pieces per guest.
Medium . 4-5 pieces per guest.
Light > 5-6 pieces per guest.
Bowl foods > place 1 bowl for every 7-8 guests and keep them filled.

3. For a sense of elegance in your rooms, take a look at your lights. Keeping the lighting at a twilight level encourages easy mingling and conversation. Consider exaching 100-watt bulbs for 40-watt bulaba, and add candles throughout (though avoid scented ones because they can interfere with the fragance and flavour of the food).

4. A smart way to chill Champagne or wine, if you don't have enough room in your fridge, is to use the multi-ice bucket method. Place a bittle in each bucket and add as many ice cubes as will fit. Place the buckets on counters and they'll be ready to go when guests arrive.

5. Run out of food? It's a compliment to your cooking! All you need is a backup dessert item, such as bunches of grapes, chocolates or after-dinner mints. Remove all serving trays as if to signal the end of the hors d-oeuvres portion of the evening, then put out the dessert platter. The trick is to act as though this is all part of your master plan.