Fussy.

Posted: August 20, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

I’m a bit particular when it comes to entertaining.

But if you’ve read any of my posts or peeked at my china pantry, I guess you know that, huh?

I get to entertain a fair bit in my job, so my fussiness extends from home to office. Early in the week I sat peeved through an important luncheon because there were no flowers on the table, the tablecloth was undersized for the table, and salad forks had been substituted for dinner forks.  (Eating an entree with a salad fork is about like sipping tea from a doll’s cup. Annoying and clumsy for me, more so for the men at the table.)

Later in the week, I sat through a picnic where there was more people than food.  There’s nothing more dispiriting as a hostess than seeing a guest walk by with one chicken wing on their plate because that’s all there is.

I’m in a new job, so these kinds of kinks are not uncommon and our team is working on them.  On the home front, though, all is well.

Two weeks ago I had a dinner party for two new friends and it went off without a hitch.  I thought my table setting was lovely.

I’ve said it before, but just like with a cake, layers make all the difference. Tablecloth, charger, napkin, dinner plate, appetizer plate . . . all those layers give the table interest and dimension.  The table feels prepared for the guest, just like a bed with plenty of pillows and more than one coverlet.

Oh, and you can bet your bippy I had flowers.

The menu was simple: grilled elk steaks (compliments of our guests), mushroom and Asiago risotto, and marinated and grilled summer vegetable medley.  We started out with crab cakes, the ones I featured here a while back. For dessert, we had Molten Chocolate Cakes.  (You’ll be seeing them in an upcoming post.)

I’m sorry I have no photos.  It seemed a little weird to interrupt our gathering to take photos of the food.  Our guests don’t really know me yet (or know that I blog), so I figured I’d seem like a real kook if I snapped photos of our plated meal.

By the way, I sure wish I had more elk so I could replicate our steaks and show you.  If you’ve never had elk, you should jump at any opportunity to try it.  It’s lean and tender and not at all gamey.  Sort of like a more perfect beef.

I’m thinking of hosting a huge bash in our new home next month — a barbeque for three dozen colleagues. Obviously, I can’t feed that many folks inside my home, so it will have to be an outdoor affair. I’ll need to plan a few special touches to keep it from being a paper-plates-in-lawn-chairs kind of gathering.

Because I’m just a little too fussy for that.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

PS: I have a cousin who also blogs and who gets a little fussy sometimes (she calls it “bothery” and you’ll just have to read about it).  She’s young and beautiful and smart and has the most adorable apartment.

Give her a read.

Sunday Supper revival.

Posted: July 17, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Between getting ready to leave my former job and hometown, and then settling into my new job and unpacking the mountain of boxes we moved 400 miles, my Sunday Supper routine has been interrupted for months. It really gets a girl out of sorts, you know?

But I got my groove back this weekend with one word of inspiration: goat cheese.

Okay, so that’s two words, but one ingredient.  While eating out Saturday night, I announced to my family that I was itching to resume my weekend ritual and I asked what they were hungry for.  While the others contemplated, my son rushed in: “Make something with goat cheese” he said. “I love it!”

A few hours later, I had a pasta recipe in hand (thanks, Martha). From there I added a salad, grilled corn (because it’s summer and I can’t get enough), and berry tarts. After a quick trip to the grocer’s Sunday morning, I was all set to go.

I arranged the simplest of tables this week. Inspired by my new (vintage) gingham tablecloth, I was going for farmhouse chic. Sometimes a girl wants to go elegant, and sometimes she just wants to feel like she’s at home. This week it was the latter.

I tied the napkin around the silverware with a bit of twine and added a paper initial for each of us. It was as simple as you can get, but thoughtful enough to feel special.

White carnations from the grocer’s and yellow wildflowers from our acreage were the perfect compliment for yellow braided placemats and my favorite white stoneware.

Sunday Supper Menu

Fettuccine with Asparagus and Goat Cheese

Panzanella (Bread Salad)

Grilled Corn on the Cob

Mixed Berry Cream Tarts

Let’s roll up our sleeves and get cooking, shall we?

Fettuccine with Asparagus and Goat Cheese

(from Martha Stewart’s “Great Food Fast”)

1 pound fettuccine

1/4 cup pine nuts

1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and cut into thirds

4 ounces goat cheese, broken into pieces

2 TBLS grainy mustard (I prefer Grey Poupon)

2 TBLS snipped fresh dill

Olive oil

Grated fresh Parmesan cheese

In a small skillet over medium heat, toast the pine nuts, stirring often, until golden, 2-3 minutes.

Put goat cheese, dill, mustard and pine nuts in a large serving bowl and set aside.

In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook the fettuccine until al dente, adding the asparagus during the last 3-4 minutes of cooking. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta water.

Put pasta and asparagus in bowl with cheese mixture and toss, adding pasta water as necessary to thin sauce. A few dashes of olive oil will help, too.  Toss until well combined. Serve with grated cheese for topping.

Serves 6-8.

Panzanella

(adapted from Martha Stewart’s “Great Food Fast”)

1 loaf (or a little less if large) rustic country bread, sliced thick

1/4 cup plus 2 TBLS olive oil

3 large tomatoes, chopped

1 cucumber, peeled, sliced and chopped into quarters

1/2 small to medium purple onion, chopped into large pieces and separated

3 TBLS chopped fresh basil

1 TBLS red wine vinegar

1 clove garlic, minced

Mix basil, vinegar, garlic, and 1/4 cup olive oil in large serving bowl. Set aside.

Brush bread slices with 2 TBLS olive oil and grill in skillet or on charcoal grill until golden brown and well toasted. Slice toasted bread into bite-sized pieces.

Add bread and all other ingredients to bowl and toss well.  Serve immediately.

Serves 6-8.

Grilled Summer Corn

Fully submerge ears of corn with husks on in a pan water for 1 hour or more. Put wet corn on grill and turn occasionally.  Cook for a half hour or so, until all sides are well charred.  Using oven mitts, strip ears of husks and silk. (This part is messy, so we like to do it outside by the grill.) Serve immediately.

Mixed Berry Tarts

8 pre-made tart shells

1 cup mixed berries

1 cup whipped cream

I was short on time today so this recipe couldn’t be easier. Simply fill pre-made tart shells (I bought the frozen kind and baked them for 8 minutes) with whipped cream and your choice of berries. I used blueberries and raspberries today because they were on sale. Since the raspberries were especially tart, I added a little extra sugar to my cream while whipping it. After filling, I chilled the tarts for 2 hours, but you could eat them right away if you like. You might have a little berries and cream left over after you fill your tart shells. If so, feel free to eat both while you cook supper. I did.

Serves 8.

This Sunday Supper was just what the doctor ordered. Mr. Mom and the kids ate until miserable and declared the menu superb. I felt at home again, for the first time in months.

Isn’t it funny how a simple table and a lovely meal will right the ship?

Saturday bliss.

Posted: July 16, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , | Leave a comment

Saturday happiness turned into Saturday bliss after an excursion with my daughter Kate to a handful of antique/resale shops near our home.  Just look at the bonanza of beautiousness I carried home.

A tablecloth, an embroidered dish towel, a green-striped bowl, a cake stand and two flower frogs.  I can’t remember the last time I found this many lovely things in one haul.

I’m a sucker for anything that’s green or has a green accent.  The $3 bowl caught my eye in the corner of a dusty flea market and I knew it would look lovely on my counter filled with limes.

My drink of choice is club soda with lime, so I’ve always got a dozen or so on hand and this bowl is the perfect place to corral them.

And how about the lovely sea-green color of this dish towel? As a young girl and college student, I embroidered regularly. I haven’t done it in years, but I’m a sucker for anything hand stitched. The work on this one is particularly well done.

I’ve been looking for flower frogs for well over a year, ever since I read an article about them in a magazine and realized how much easier they’d make my life. I regularly buy fresh stems for my dining table and kitchen island, but I’m always fussing over the stems because they won’t stand exactly like I want them to. A flower frog solves that problem.

By the way, flower frogs went out of fashion not long after floral foam was invented. I hate to sound like a Luddite, but the original solution is far superior. (Like most things, I suppose.) I mean, who keeps a supply of floral foam in their drawers?  Besides, flower frogs are reusable and don’t end up in landfills. Mine are well used, but they are made of iron and will last forever. At $5 each, they are the thrifty choice.

And isn’t the color of my tablecloth a real day-brightener? It’s rather petite at 36 inches square, but I’ll get plenty of use out of it at outdoor parties (on a card table) or as a topper on my dining room table. And who could resist it at $5?

And finally — the piece de resistance.  The loveliest cake stand I’ve spied in a month of Sundays in the prettiest, palest shade of pink.

One of these days I’ve got to stop buying cake stands (I’m up to a dozen), but I’m having trouble convincing myself on that one.

I also picked up a $4 bamboo cane for my umbrella stand, a $1 floral pitcher that is the perfect size to hold my paintbrushes, and a bright yellow $3 souvenir juice glass from my home state of Oklahoma. (I was feeling nostalgic.)

So, dear reader, now you know what makes me tick.  What about you? What sets your heart aflutter when you shop?