So I was thumbing through this month’s issue of Every Day with Rachael Ray to see my “Dress Up Dinner” article. It’s one of my favorite ongoing assignments because it takes a real-life approach to entertaining rather than the aspirational and generally unrealistic propositions that plague most entertaining magazines today.

It also forces me to get into the kitchen and be creative rather than wolf down a quick salad in the afternoon and leave my kitchen-challenged hubby no choice but to eat Morning Os (organic Cheerios) for dinner for the eighth time this month.

May’s Dress Up Dinner showcases fun ways to transform a weeknight meal (a basic Mexican burrito, salad, and hot chocolate) into a Cinco de Mayo fiesta complete with quesadillas, black bean cakes, chips and mango salsa, and Mexican chocolate fondue. (All the recipes are available on the website.)

Mexican Chocolate Fondue

Tasty tips include fast and fab decor tricks, my favorite of which is a luminaria made from a carved bell pepper. Coming up with ideas such as this actually keeps me up at night. (Wait until you see the August issue! It showcases my alltime favorite creative use of popcorn.)

ANYWAY, I was thumbing through the magazine when I stumbled upon an absolutely genius floral arrangement submitted by maternity fashion designer Liz Lange. Feast your eyes on this:

Steal this idea for your next brunch. All you need to do is top a teacup and saucer with another saucer and then top that with a teapot filled with flowers.

This, which appeared in a past issue, is kinda cool too.

By the way, whether you’re a Rach fan or not, check out her magazine. It’s run by a crackerjack New York team–with lots of input and recipes from the Yum-O queen herself as well as lots of expert contributors. It may be the cleverest, approachable, and fun food rag on the racks today. (And yes, I would still think that was the case if I weren’t a contributor. One of my all-time favorite editors, James Beard Award-winning Maile Carpenter, is there and the girl is a food and wine rock star.)

Erika Lenkert

Technorati Tags: Rachael Ray, recipes, cooking, party, tips, entertaining, food, flowers

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