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CHECKING OUR MAIL



In the “but that won’t fit In my mailbox” department. Trees by mail. We’re not kidding. The Brookfield Christmas Tree Plantation will select a tree for you and send it via UPS to your door. Choose a short-needled Fraser Fir or a long, soft-needled White Pine. Available in three sizes. Fraser Firs cost S39.97, $49.97, and $59.97. White Pines, $27.97, $39.97, and $49.97. (Includes delivery and all come with a money-back guarantee.) 1-800-443-TREE.

TERRAZZO TABLEAU

PROFILE Shannon Sbelmire Wynne was a thoughtful young lad. He pondered the heaviosity of life, death, girls, and stuff. He also stared transfixed, wondering how all those little rocks got placed just so, all smooth side up and mitered by magic, in the big green squares of terrazzo that made up the floor of the boys’ bathroom at school. Years have passed, but Shannon’s Interest In terrazzo hasn’t. Gathering glass objects, a marble, a Tabasco bottle, a piece of his grandmother’s Steuben, Wynne has had them sliced and fitted with other everyday treasures into chunks of terrazzo. Cubist bases, worked in steel and patinaed, yield the end result: side tables-furniture as art and vice versa.

-Rebecca O’Dell

Tea Time



HOME REMEDY Nothing is quite as soothing in the winter as a nice cup of hot tea. Besides, it’s so, well, civilized. But we’re not talking Lipton’s. We mean the real stuff. We hit the road in search of the best loose tea assortment in Dallas and our noses led us directly to La Creme Coffee & Tea at 4448 Lovers Lane. They’re definitely one of the best purveyors of fine teas and coffees around, but don’t just take our word for it. They also supply the Mansion, Routh Street Cafe, Actuelle, the Riviera, and other hotbeds of taste and refinement.

La Creme has more than 80 flavors to choose from, but we like the Green Strawberry Hibiscus the best. This slightly sweet, barely pink tea is flavored with apple and strawberry as well as pieces of edible hibiscus. Even better, it doesn’t contain any caffeine, so it can easily become this season’s nightcap of choice. (Add a little stevia leaf, an herbal sugar, for some natural sweetening and you’ve got a healthy potion for everything from insomnia to cold feet.)

Hot Holiday Tamales

RECIPE Southwestern tamale king, Routh Street chef Stephan Pyles, has an alternative to the fruitcake as gift. Following is his recipe for Fresh Corn Tamales, a great dish to take to those holiday parties, or to keep all to yourself.

FRESH CORN TAMALES (makes 24)

1/2 t salt

1 1/2 C fresh corn kernels

10 T vegetable shortening, at room temp.

1/2 C masa harina

3/4 C blue cornmeal (or stone-ground yellow cnrnmeall

1 t salt

1/2 t ground cayenne powder

1/4 t ground cumin seeds

1/2 C chicken slock

28 lg. corn husks, soaked in hot water for 30 minutes



In food processor, “grind” corn kernel until smooth (about three minutes). Remove from processor and set aside. Place the shortening in processor and process until light and fluffy. Gradually add combined dry ingredients and continue to process until smooth. Add ground corn kernels and process for one minute. Add stock gradually and in two additions (this will allow masa to absorb more liquid). Set tamale dough aside. Drain and pat dry the corn husks. Tear 24 1/4-inch strips from four of the husks. These will be used to tie the tamales. Spread about 2 T of the tamale dough onto the middle of each husk, leaving about two inches at each end uncovered and 1/2 inch at both sides. Slightly overlap the sides of the husks loosely. Turn up the pointed end of the husk, then fold the broader part over it. Tie each tamale across the top flap. Line a steamer or deep pot with moist husks. Place tamales in pan and cover with a layer of moist husks and a damp towel. Pour a small amount of water over tamales and cover tightly. Steam tamales until cooked thoroughly, approximately 25-35 minutes. Tamales are done when dough comes away easily from husk.

CAT HOUSE Leaving town? Spoil your feline at a posh cat hotel. It’s a garden-atmosphered suite, complete with cedar scratching posts, hideaway shelf (for the Shy types), and separate litter area, yours for only $11 a night, per cat. Your pet may never want to come home. Curiously Cats. 869-1656.

VIDEOS



FOODIE FLICKS

With the holidays upon us, these movies should whet your appetite for feasting and camaraderie.



The Big Chill (1982) is a plateful of nostalgia, mordant wit, and clashing tempers, much of it taking place while the characters eat, drink, and navel-gaze. Enjoy the post-funeral spread and the rocking group efforts in the kitchen, and don’t forget what Alex would say if he were here: “What’s for dessert?”



Next, clear your video palate with Who is Killing the Creat Chefs of Eu-rope? (1978). Sure, the splendid culinary creations are set amid murders, but it’s worth it to see these masters do their stuff-one last time.



Celebrations rethought as well, and there’s plenty of that in My Dinner With Andre (1981), as two old friends serve up large portions of breast. with a dollop of angst.



The greatest cinematic chef of all is Stephane Andran in Babette’s Feast (1987), a beautiful, reverential movie about a cook in an austere village and her one glorious moment of gastronomic artistry- Savor it with friends before dinner is served, and you may never look at a microwave again.

-Chris Tucker

BOOKS



THE BUSINESS OF GIFT GIVING

A selection of our favorite books for the business person in your life:

The Wall Street Journal Book of Chief Executive Stylo: Amenities and Customs of America’s Corporate Elite by David Diamond, $24.95. The perfect “best wishes” for the vice president on your giving list.

Birnbaum’s USA For Business Travelers and Europe For Business Travelers. 1990 editions. These vest-pocket guides are about as efficiently designed as a frequent flyer’s overnight suitcase. Errors in the Dallas entry for 1989 abound, but the USA edition covers 44 cities in depth, and the European edition covers 34-that’s a lot of facts to check. The 1990 editions will be in stores the week buy these instead of a calendar as a New Year’s tribute to your globe-trotting pals.

Broaking the Bank: The Decline of Bank America by Gary Hector, $10.95. Acclaimed books of 1988, but unfortunately only out-of-work bankers had time to read it. You know banking, though, to enjoy it.



Apprentices of Wonder: Inside the Neural Network Revolution by William F. Allman, $18.95 Inquiring minds want to know: when does a computer not compute? As you read this, scientists are trying to design comtionally, just like people. A pop intro to nerve nets that’s not overly taxing.

-Michael Pellechia

Oh, Christmas Tree



DO IT YOURSELF Others anxiously await deer season or dove season. Me, I wait in anticipation of tree season. You know, that three-week period after Thanksgiving and preceding Christmas when East Texas tree farms open their gates to vast swarms of people who like nothing more than to stalk their perfect tree, marching through acres, for hours, with saw in hand, preparing for the big kill.

But any old tree farm won’t do. I don’t like the commercial kind with fast food and faux country geegaws at every fork in the road. I like the old-fashioned kind where it’s just you and the trees. And I’ve finally found it. Christmas Creek Farm, outside of Quitman, Texas, is the tree farm to beat all tree farms. It’s owned and operated by Dick and Anne Banowsky, who have managed to keep their operation simple: you ride out to the fields on a horse-drawn wagon,choose your tree, and cut it down. The pricing is simple too: every tree, regardless of height, is $22. No measuring or haggling over inches. No surprises back at the farm.

The Banowskys expect to sell about 1,500 trees this year, starting the day after Thanksgiving. I suggest you plan your excursion now-and don’t forget to pack lunch. Christmas Creek Farm comes complete with a small take, the perfect setting for a family picnic. For directions, call (214) 857-2535. -Anne Warren

Mantel Mania



HOME The urge to futz with the mantel never strikes home quite as hard as around Christmas. The rest of the year we tend to ignore it, growing complacent with its sameness. But this year we resolve to make magic on the old mantel, to boldly go where no mantel has gone before. To do so will require planning, perhaps even professional advice, and the following excellent sources.

For dried flowers and herbs, which are always a trendy part of the seasonal hoopla, head for Maggies (5350 W. Lovers Lane, Suite 122), where the selection is nonpareil.

For tittle antique doodahs to add charm to the glitz, visit Lady Primrose’s at The Crescent (2200 Cedar Springs).

For fun and unusual ornaments and candles, go to The Sample House & Candle Shop (9825 N. Central Expwy.).

For ornaments, ribbon, and entire trees full of finery, nothing beats The Market (Inwood Village, Suite 335).

For fresh flora, no one equals the creative geniuses at work at Zen (3526 Cedar Springs).

For a new take on flowers: Room Service has roses by the yard, freeze-dried blossoms that smell heavenly and hold their color forever (4354 Lovers Lane).

For professional help, go straight to David Thomas Designs at the Quadrangle (2800 Routh St., Suite 150) and beg, wheedle, and whine until they turn full attention upon your mantel. In fact, go there before making a move, just to steal ideas, and prepare to be overwhelmed.

-Rebecca O’Dell