Nobody would call Larry Pfarr Mr. Ice. The gregarious Pfarr, director of marketing and merchandising for Bachman's, is known for his style and his splashy holiday parties. For the past couple of years, he's used ice lanterns -- as many as 120 of them -- to welcome guests to his Minneapolis home. "Ice lanterns are super easy, and using a lot of them makes a 'Wow!'" he said. And the price is right. Aside from a mold, which can cost as little as $10, "all you're paying for is water and candles," he added. We asked Pfarr and his team at Bachman's to make some ice lanterns to show you how to light the night. HOW TO DO IT
Making an ice lantern is very much like making ice cubes, especially if you're using a mold (available at many garden centers and hardware stores). You just: • Fill the mold with water. • Freeze until the outer rim of ice is solid. • Remove the lantern from the mold. (You may have to run warm water over the mold to loosen it.) • Dump the excess water. • Insert a candle. PFARR'S TIPS
• Pfarr recommends using a commercial mold. "I've tried coffee cans inside of buckets and the one with the balloons. None of it worked," he said. • Don't overfreeze ice lanterns. That can crack the mold. The center of the mold need not freeze solid. • Get creative. To spruce up your lantern, add natural materials (cranberries, twigs, pine cones, fresh or dried flowers, orange slices) or a few unexpected items (ribbons, plastic ornaments) to the water before freezing the mold. • Use evergreen boughs to add structure and to keep any other decorations from congregating in one spot. • To add color, use Kool-Aid, fruit juice or punch, not food coloring. • To limit color to the bottom, fill the mold almost to the top with plain water, then add a layer of colored ice cubes. ALTERNATIVE USES
Although they're traditionally used outdoors, ice lanterns can be brought inside. (Be sure to place your ice lantern on a receptacle that can catch the water.) It'll look great until it melts, usually in two to three hours. Try it: • As a wine chiller. • As an ice bucket. • As a centerpiece. • To serve chilled appetizers (such as shrimp skewers) • To serve ice cream.
