Freezing Beauty

When I think of decorative ice sculptures, I picture a 3-foot carved swan keeping the food cool in the middle of a buffet table. Or, on a smaller scale, decorated iced vodka bottles adorning the bar.

Gerri Gilliland makes beautiful frozen serving bowls for party desserts. I asked her husband how she did it. “It’s Gerri’s secret,” he said. But when I asked her, she didn’t hesitate to spill it.

A word of warning: Make sure you allow the frozen bowl to separate from the glass bowls slowly, or the ice will crack. And a hint: If you can get the ice bowl back into the freezer fast enough, you can use it twice.

You will need:

4 cups water

1 (9-inch) glass bowl

Assorted herbs such as dill, thyme and marjoram

1 box of yellow nasturtiums or other flowers of choice

1 box of pink dianthus or other flowers of choice

1 (7 1/2-inch) glass bowl

Masking tape

1 wooden skewer

Pour the water into the 9-inch bowl. Tear the herbs into small pieces and add them to the water, spreading them across the water’s surface. Put the yellow and pink flowers in the bowl, alternating colors.

* Place the 7 1/2-inch bowl into the larger bowl and center. Tear masking tape into 4 (4-inch) lengths. Secure the smaller bowl in the center of the larger bowl by putting masking tape from inside the center bowl to the outside of the outer bowl and pressing firmly. Use the wooden skewer to arrange the flowers and herbs to your taste. Place the bowls in the freezer until frozen, about 6 hours.

* Remove the bowls from the freezer and let sit 5 minutes.

* Run your hands under warm water and rub around the outside of the 9-inch bowl until the ice has loosened from the glass. Repeat on the inside of the 7 1/2-inch bowl. Detach the tape and remove the small bowl, then lift out the glass bowl. Return to the freezer until ready to use.