Calming Creams & Bold Blue Table

Alright, alright, so I have a plethora of tablecloths, napkins, runners, etc.  I can't seem to get enough because when I spot a material I like I want to add it to my collection. But you don't have to have as many as I do in order to create interesting table settings.  With Thanksgiving breathing down our necks, I thought you might like a table setting idea.  As you may have seen from some of my previous posts I am not one to be matchy matchy with my design.  I enjoy mixing it up and pulling from my stash to create a table-scape that suits the occasion. Just recently, we hosted a dinner for my parents' birthdays.  I wanted it to be pretty, semi-formal and calming.  What is more calming that creams and dreamy blue?  

This setting starts with a neutral cream colored tablecloth and beige napkins.  The dishes are layers of plain white, white with gold all being grounded by a gold charger.  I love using chargers for more formal settings because it ups the style ante with very little effort.  The gold gave it the touch of elegance I was looking for while the punch of color comes in the way of a bold, blue floral runner.  It's all you really need to grab some attention to the table.  

The florals for this table were cut hydrangeas from our garden as they were turning fall colors from their original white.  What a joy to be able to snip some garden life right outside my own door.  As you can see, I used little vintage jars in various sizes and colors.

From this point of the gathering all the items, it's just layering the pieces you have.   

I kept the napkin arrangement and placement simple.  I used a linen napkin holder with cream and blue stripes that kept it from being too fussy.

Also, I have beautiful crystal salt and pepper shakers that I inherited from my grandmother.  I do love using them but have often noticed that for a large group having only one set out causes the usual, Pass the Salt game.  Years ago I found these small salt and pepper which I place about the long table.  This way they are not too far from any guest.

And that's it. You may not have the exact set up as I do, but hopefully this will give you a template for building your own creams & bold punch of color table using what you have.  Take a look at what you have and begin combining tablecloths, runners, napkins in a way that creates the table-scape you envision.  Something from Nothing always turns out stylish when stirred with LOVE

You may remember this table setting from the Oh So Yummy Osso Bucco recipe.  The runner makes a perfect landing spot for all the dishes. I hope this gives you some ideas for your holiday tables.  Happy Thanksgiving!!

The Art of a Charcuterie & Cheese Platter

As the holidays come barreling down the highway, ideas for what to serve are top of mind. With all the hustle and bustle, a good way to fill the table, fill your guests and keep sane during the season is to offer up a beautiful, bountiful charcuterie platter as part of your appetizer/cocktail hour.  There are many ways to stack up all your meats, cheeses and other nibbles, but a tried and true method is have a wide selection,  keep like items together and spread the color around for visual impact.  

Sure, there are plenty of other rules like; offer 3 different types of cheese (cow, goat, sheep). Or one should be hard, another soft, one should be mild, one should be strong, blah blah blah.  Joking aside, these are some decent guidelines. But your own instinct and good judgement are the very best rules to follow.

I say, buy and serve what you love and what you think your guests will enjoy. Sometimes I serve four cheeses. Sometimes three or five.  There are no hard and fast rules but I will share some of the tips that my heart follows, and thus do my platters.  

• I like to offer up a 'palate party'. Put forth different items that will excite all the sensory notes on your tongue. Cheese and meat for the savory elements, fruits both fresh and dried for sweetness, nuts or chick peas for crunch, olives for a salty bite. You get the idea.

• Use bowls for smaller items. They contain them plus create height giving the platter a bit more interest.

• Add fresh items like vegetables or greens

• Include small spoons or forks so guests can easily pick up food

• Arrange each item in groupings, either neatly and orderly or nicely bunched together

• Be colorful. Spread the hues around so that similar colors aren't next to one another.

• Fill your charcuterie platters chock full of goodies. Depending on what you have available and how you want your guests to feast should determine what goes on your platter. Pull out what you have and see if it's the right mix.

• If it may seem overwhelming, then place all your items on the board to help provide a visual sense.

Using fruit of the season is a wonderful complement to cheese. If your cheese, meat and fruit choices feel like they are all in the same color scheme, tuck some herbs or greens on the edges for some visual anchoring.

Let's build a platter.  

Here is 2 types of dry cured sausage, 3 types of cheese, Marcona almonds, olives, dried apricots, gluten free crackers and short bread sticks.

Filling the bowls.
For some small items like nuts, you can snuggle them up to another offerings. However, I find that items with liquid, like olives, are best contained.  Once I have one small bowl, then I usually like to add another for balance. Also, a suggestion is to stay within a color scheme when choosing vessels.  I have presented my platters with and without bowls.  It's just how the mood hits me.  Design at will.

Create Height:
For more visual interest, place a big hunk of cheese then arrange the cut pieces around it.  This creates structure and height but also shows your guests the cheese in its original state.

Make it Easy to Eat:
When presenting cheese and meats, I prefer cutting each one so they are readily available for guests.  They can just pick up a few pieces and go.  I have noticed that trying to cut with all the other items on a platter can be difficult. For cheese, I look for the natural and most logical way to cut a particular cheese.  Each one has its own best way to present it.  Some are better in big chunks while others work beautifully in elongated triangles. Much like people, we come in a myriad of shapes and sizes but all mingle together.

Presentation:
Keep cutting and placing and building up your board.  Place items around and see how they feel in the space. They can always be shifted around.  You can't make a mistake.

Build it up:
Keep at it until you get it just the way you want. Generally, I just go with the flow.  Insert here, augment there to create a platter that looks appealing and complements my other appetizer offerings.  My suggestion is play around until you get a sense of how the meats and cheeses and fruits and other snack-ables like cozying up together.  

If you are wondering what these tiny round nuggets in the center bowl are, why those are my Spicy Chick Peas that make a perfect addition to a platter or alone for cocktails.

When it comes to dry cured meats like Prosciutto or Serrano ham, you can rock and roll 'em up. 

Serrano ham

Other times, they are best when gathered to make little bunches.

Other dry cured meats can be folded or curled like trumpets for a tidy look.  I think it's the uniformity that makes it appealing and appetizing.  

Now that you have the basics, here are a few other tips plus other platters I have created in the past to get a sense or arrangement.

I am an equal opportunity employer when it comes to my serving ware.  So I like to put into play a variety of shapes and sizes when I build my platters. Incorporating the shape of those boards/platters helps to paint the picture of the final layout.  If you have curves (like I do...) embrace them, work with them and arrange your items
in a circular fashion.  

Also, introduce veggies when you can. Since crackers can be heavy, I adore including cucumbers. (I use either English or Persian, as they have less seeds.) They work just like bread or a cracker as a delivery vehicle, and are a great alternative for gluten free and carb free folks.  Plus they burst onto the scene with a green that just makes me smile.

When you do use crackers and want to keep it all contained, include them nestled in so that guests can grab whatever their heart desires all from one place. 

Abundancia: Figs, triple cream goat cheese, Moroccan oil cured olives, Serrano ham, Fuet, cheeses, grapes, nuts, onion jam (recipe coming soon) Mary's Gone Gluten Free crackers.

The introduction of dips, such as hummus, right in the midst of it all augments your offerings with a creamy factor. I'm a big fan of tucking greens in and around. Arugula provides a lovely, spicy bite that dances well with all these flavors.  The greens not only brighten the platter but provide a crispness that both lightens and refreshes the palate.

Notice how I didn't use a bowl for the nuts here but instead just piled them amongst their friends.

Sometimes you can make a big impact by mixing nice and neat items that anchor the others that are just mounded up abundantly in the middle.

No matter how you decide to arrange your charcuterie platter, have fun with it. With every grab of a piece of this and a slice of that your guests will be delighted with your bountiful offering.

Dreamy Blue & Burlap - A Simple Summer Table

Outdoor entertaining is a treat.  Especially for those of us in the northeast as we patiently wait all winter long to get outside and enjoy the fresh air.  Well, at least without freezing off our behinds. Throwing a BBQ or simple afternoon meal can still be simple but also have a little polish.  Take a plain patio table, and make it inviting.

Our backyard patio awaiting some pretty... and of course, the guests.

As I mentioned in a previous post, Creamsicle Tablescape, I like mixing high and low items together.  I also like color contrast.  In this super easy table setting, I used a muted cornflower blue linen tablecloth with burlap stripes as runners.   The tablecloth I bought years ago at Pottery Barn and the burlap strips, which provide a more casual feel, I picked up at Michael's.  At the time I purchased them I had no idea what I would use them for but knew I would figure something out. And I did. 

First and simple layer

The large oval white plates keeps it neutral while the simply folded vintage yellow/white napkins I found at a garage sale adds an extra fresh pop of color. And let's not forget that other vintage touch, the water glasses, another garage sale find.  The art of the mix and match.

For the flower arrangements, I truly kept it organic, simple and literally NO cost.  I cut hydrangeas from the garden to create a main centerpiece, bursting with blues and greens.  Then using miniature vintage glass bottles (another antique store find), I added wild flowers that one our neighbors was cutting down and throwing away.  (I know, can you believe they were getting rid of all the beauty!!!) These tiny florals add a cottage feel that plays down any fussy factor and gives a sense of ease. Add a few votives to add light as your party heads into the evening hours, and it's easy as 1, 2, 3.

Outdoor entertaining doesn't have to mean paper plates and plastic tablecloths.  By the same token, adding linens doesn't mean it becomes formal.  Using a mix of linen and organic, new and vintage items you can create an laid-back afternoon feeling without being too precious.  Trust me, it's easy breezy, like a summer afternoon.

Some of my family

Plentiful Platters

"Summer breeze makes me feel fine...Sweet days of summer, the jasmine's in bloom. July is dressed up and playing her tune."  You have to sing that last part to yourself.  And be grateful that I've only written the lyrics and you can't actual hear me butchering that beautiful Seals & Croft song. I've been told my singing voice is for internal use only.  But the sweet days of summer have arrived and for JC and me it signals a time for entertaining and calling on friends and family to join for BBQ, drinks and chilling.  One way to easily serve and satisfy a big crowd is present everything on a big platter and let your guests pick and choose what they like.  The combinations are infinite. The preparation usually pretty simple. The best part, it looks amazing and feeds the masses happily. 

Here are a few of my favorites from the past. For the most part the veggies are either grilled or oven roasted.  I have posted several recipes with oven roasted veggies before, so no need to photo walk you through all that again. (But for a reminder, check out  Roasted Vegetables - Lunch 3 Ways)  Remember, there is no step by step recipe for this.  Buy, prepare and assemble what moves you. 

Grilled veggies, roasted potatoes and grilled tomatoes

This big platter of chick peas/celery/scallions, sautéd string beans, grape tomatoes and cucumbers served as the side dish to an abundance of pizzas.  It made the ideal accompaniment to those crispy, yeasty delights. 

Here it is on the table.  I think I also added roasted potatoes.

A simple Boston salad with fresh tomatoes and grilled asparagus.

The combinations are whatever you like, really.  I usually try to complement the main protein and use vegetables and herbs that will enhance and brighten the meaI. I also love combining roasted veggies into a salad, if you will.   Chopped up and tossed into something starchy and hearty like Israeli Couscous. When I was able to eat wheat this was one of my favorites.  It's not a full pasta but plump little pearls that won't overfill your guests but have just enough heartiness to round out a meal. 

Israeli Couscous with grilled zucchini, summer squash, roasted red pepper, hearts of palm and a basil dressing.

For this dish, cook the couscous as you would any other type of pasta.  Simply grill or roast your veggies of choice and chop them into bite size pieces.  Toss them together.  Then I usually make some dressing for additional flavor and moistness.  You can smash some garlic, salt, pepper and basil and add olive oil for a super fast full of flavor dressing. You can serve this on its own or take that simple Boston salad and turn it up a notch by adding the couscous atop the lettuce.

The Boston lettuce platter making room for the fluffy couscous mixture.

Another great feature of the big platter, you can easily make some of these the morning of or even the day before with the extra bonus of room temperature serving.

Greens and Whites platter is made up of arugula simply dressed with lemon juice, salt and olive oil, next to hearts of palm, sautéd string beans, 2 bean salad and roasted broccoli.

Various grilled vegetables atop Aborio rice.

So choose what you like and whatever is available at the farmer's market, or at the grocery store. Start grilling, roasting and assembling your platter.  Your guests will love the abundant choices and you will love the abundant time you have to share with them during your party.  Plentiful platters, plentiful in so many ways, just like a summer's breeze.  

Creamsicle Table scape

I will not lie, I love setting a table, whether it be for an big event or brunch for 4.  Just such an occasion arose several Sundays back. While rummaging through my archives I found a photo of this table setting and remembered how fresh and clean it looked.  Why rework a good thing?  That's when I started pulling out all the same linens.  It felt like a Creamsicle and seemed appropriate to recreate for this brunch.

I like to mix and match items.  Styles and colors, high/low priced items that I find at different times from different stores or even garage sale finds.   For this table, I am starting out with a crisp white cotton tablecloth from Williams Sonoma that has bold orange borders. (Please note that I purchased this awhile ago so the link doesn't show that exact tablecloth.  However, if you are interested, here are two links with similar ones from Bed, Bath & Beyond and Ebay) 

I think the idea of matching everything perfectly has been replaced with coordinating some low cost, even vintage finds with items that are more refined and using what you have to create a a particular vibe. Well, at least that's how we feel in our household.  I used a mix of white china with restaurant grade dinner plates cuddling up alongside Riedel wine glasses that didn't mind mingling with vintage water glasses found at an antique shop.

I also like to layer.  It's similar to what you do in cooking, add ingredients a layer at a time to build up "flavor".  I think this effect does exactly that.  So to complement the orange border in the tablecloth, I use deep orange napkins that I purchased from World Market. In this case, these are not used as a napkin but for color punch. To pull in the blue accents we have in our dining room, and for even more depth and separation, I added deep dark blue placemats as the base layer. Then the folded orange napkin is placed on top which will be the base for the plates.

From there, I continue to build my layers by using white with a red stripe dish cloth that I picked up at Ikea. These are super inexpensive and are great as napkins.  

Folded in left side

Right sided folded in to meet in the middle

In order to get the red stripe showing just the way I want, I fold the long ends back onto itself on each side to meet in the middle.  Then fold in half and place on top of the plate, followed by a salad plate.  

From there just start placing the silverware and glasses around each setting.  Add some candles and of course the Purple Forest arrangement,  or purple tulips and white daisy mums and that's it.  And just the like the ice pop it reminds me of, this Creamsicle tabletop that is as crisp, clean and as refreshing as the menu.