Happy Holidays: Sedona Style!

Look what we've got under the tree! Tips on making Sedona spirits bright this holiday season from the local experts, including making the perfect meal, decorating your home, wrapping gifts and more!

How do you impress holiday guests with lusciously lumpless mashed potatoes? Want the secret to wrapping all of your gifts economically, yet so beautifully your loved ones may actually feel bad about ripping it to see what's underneath? Looking for the classiest way to display your holiday cards? And eager to do it all with that inimitable Sedona pinache? As our gift to you, we've asked our columnists, the local experts on home style - Stephanie Larsen and Lynne Montedonico of Stephanie Larsen Interior Design - and fine dining - Lisa Dahl of the Dahl & DiLuca and Cucina Rustica restaurants - to share some of their best holiday decorating and kitchen tips.

Why Lisa Loves Turkey Day

"Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday," declares Lisa Dahl, co-owner and executive sous chef of Dahl & DiLuca Ristorante Italiano in Sedona and Cucina Rustica in the Village of Oak Creek. "Of course I love the food - I am a turkey nut - but I also like how it brings the family together and it's not commercialized. It's not all about selling something; we don't have to go shopping for anything other than the food."

Lisa grew up in Indianapolis, where her parents both worked in the fashion business. "[Our family] really loved to chow down; we were not gourmet by any means, but we really appreciated good food. I was lucky that all the people who influenced my taste in food are really good cooks! My grandmother had her methods that I absorbed and my mother, of course, through my grandmother, did as well. And then we were influenced by our nanny, who came from the south; she was from Georgia. It was from her that a soul food approach entered into my style of cooking."

With all the time Lisa spends preparing meals for her two restaurants, she doesn't entertain as often as she used to, but she does recall one favorite party, where she did all the cooking and her guests thanked her by providing a healthy supply of champagne, ensuring that everyone contributed to a bubbly atmosphere.

"Ever since I was young, I think the best parties were the ones that had a gimmick," she says with a smile. "It's about bringing together a great blend of people who energetically connect, even if they don't all know each other at the start. And the food has to be to die for. The food has to speak. I just can't imagine a great event with mediocre food."

Appetizer Recipe: Lisa's Exotic Cheese Spread

Here's a great last-minute appetizer that's simple to prepare and will spread joy all over when you bring it to a party as a topping for crackers, rolled in a ball covered in pecans, or stuffed in endive leaves (as pictured above). It's ready to go in just 10 minutes and serves 15-20 (simply double or triple the recipe for larger quantities as needed).

In a mixer or food processor, combine:

8 oz. softened cream cheese
2 oz. half-and-half
Add the following and pulse into smooth (taste as you go to check for desired strength of flavor):
2 to 4 oz. crumbled gorgonzola

Hand mix in: 3 oz. chopped, lightly toasted pecans

Stylish Holiday Memories from Stephanie and Lynne

Stephanie Larsen and Lynne Montedonico of Stephanie Larsen Interior Design both have fond childhood holiday memories that still bring smiles to their faces today, when they both have children of their own. Larsen, who grew up in a military family as an "Air Force brat," says her family created lasting traditions despite living in nine states in 11 years.

"On Christmas Eve, my family would dress up to go to church or midnight mass," Stephanie says. "After we got home we each got to choose one present to open. Then we would open everything else on Christmas morning and just go crazy. Christmas stockings were really important to my family; now, at 33, they still are for me."

Stephanie also has extra-special memories of New Year's - her birthday is Jan. 1.

Lynne, who doubles as Sedona Monthly's style consultant, was an only child growing up on the east coast, and she remembers Christmas as an especially exciting time of the year. She and her parents would decorate the tree on Christmas Eve. Her parents then would get dressed up to go out, and she would secretly open one present and rewrap it before they returned. But her best holiday memory occurred after she got married.

"I would ask each friend I would visit at Christmas if I could have one ornament off their tree," Lynne says. "Each year when I would put up my own Christmas tree with all my traditional ornaments from my childhood, I would also put up all my friends' ornaments and it would remind me of each one of them."

Lynne's favorite New Year's Eve celebrations include spending the millennium in Washington, D.C.; gathering with friends at El Tovar in the Grand Canyon; and a decadent, black-tie party shared with a small group of people.

Holiday Decorating Tips from Our Experts

Organic is the watchword in Sedona-style holiday decorating, say local interior design experts Stephanie Larsen and Lynne Montedonico.

"Here in Sedona, I think we do things beautifully and tastefully," Stephanie says. "You don't need to decorate every inch of your home. You can focus on a vignette, such as your tree or your front door or your table." Materials such as ribbon, copper, raffia and berries, according to Stephanie, are more Sedona's style than a lot of "glitz."

Lynne likes to get creative when displaying Christmas cards. Rather than taping cards to the back of the door, she prefers to set up a beautiful display basket.

"A basket becomes part of your décor; you can arrange cards in the basket so anyone can reach in and select one to read," she says. Though most people do not decorate as extensively for Thanksgiving as for Christmas, Lynne says food presentation can add beauty to the day.

"Place everything on the table so that it works together," she says. "Cranberries and parsley around the turkey makes the table look as good as the food."

Stephanie agrees the tablesetting and appearance of the meal are the most important aspects to Thanksgiving decor.

"It's like a prelude to Christmas," Stephanie says. "Thanksgiving puts you in the spirit for the rest of the season."

Stephanie and Lynne also recommend shopping at post-holiday sales to get a leg up on next year. Plan next year's theme around this year's sales. And don't be a snob; they say you'll be amazed at the quality you can find at Target, Pier One Imports, and even dollar stores.

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