Sometimes when you are throwing a dinner praty for your hubby's boss you want to choose garnishes that will impress. Here are some really unusual ones —

Marzipan is not just used for cake decorating. You can buy premade sheets of marzipan and use them the same way you would use modeling clay to make any shape you want. Marzipan looks great garnishing any kind of cake or cookie. To make marzipan carrots to decorate a carrot cake simply roll tubular carrot shapes out of orange marzipan and top them with a button of green marzipan

The next time you are garnishing a cocktail or looking for a unique garnish for a punchbowl consider slicing a star fruit in thin slices. These thin star shapes look fantastic floating in a punch bowl. They also look nice perched on the rim of a cocktail glass.

Stop garnishing your drinks with maraschino cherries. For an authentic taste, garnish a Manhattan or martini with a real Queen Ann sour cherry which you can buy in red or white versions and which can still be purchased in specialty stores online.

Bee Balm is a pretty red little flower that tastes like a cross between orange and mint. They make a beautiful garnish for lamb or mint jelly. They also look pretty floating on top of a grasshopper or in a snifter of Grand Marnier.

To add charm to a drink, alcoholic or not, that has pineapple in it try rimming the glass with finely flaked coconut for a unique effect. This look also suits a bowl of chocolate pudding.

For an unusual garnish for a martini stuff a big black olive with blue cheese and drop it to the bottom of the martini glass. This garnish especially suits drinks made with pepper-flavored vodka.

For a highly unusual garnish encase candied violets in cubes of pink or yellow cubes of Jell-O. To make Jell-O that is stiff enough to hold the violets add an extra packet of Knox gelatin to the usual Jell-O mix.

Carnation petals are one of secret ingredients that has been used to make Chartreuse, a French liqueur, since the 17th century. For this reason, they are the perfect garnish to decorate any drink made with chartreuse.

The next time you are garnishing a cocktail or looking for a unique garnish for a punchbowl consider slicing a star fruit in thin slices. These thin star shapes look fantastic floating in a punch bowl. They also look nice perched on the rim of a cocktail glass.

Instead of using knives to spread dip on pita or chips at your next Mexican themed party consider using small thick cactus leaves instead. These make ideal spreaders for foods like hummus or cream cheese based bread dips

Chrysanthemums are tangy yet slightly bitter buds that in colors from red, white, yellow and orange. They range in taste from faint peppery to mild cauliflower. They add a kind of Asian flavored twist to tomato-based cocktails. They look gorgeous suspended in tomato aspic. Sprinkle the petals in a salad or on the surface of a bowl of tomato soup to add visual interest.