Travel Journey Steeped with Faith – Fifth Annual Mother’s Tea

On the first Sunday of May I gathered with friends for our Fifth Annual Mother’s Tea celebrating one of our heavenly Mom’s. This year’s honored mother, Cintra Pemberton, was a colorful and vibrant woman with many interests, but is was her faith that lead her to her calling in her later years and she became an Episcopalian Nun who devoted her life to serving and practicing the Celtic faith. As part of her service she traveled the world on faith based pilgrimages, with her favorite location being among the British Isles, especially Wales, a place well known for the afternoon tea. To honor this special Mom I called the theme for this year’s tea “Travel Journeys Steeped with Faith”.

Each year we dress my little jewelry mannequin in something that represents our honored Mom. With the help of my friend Lydia, she created a traditional habit including the black sash and tassel as per photos of the nuns of The Order of St. Helena, where Cintra started her devotion faith journey. A black corded cross similar to the one in the photo of Cintra completed the look, however Pemmie told us that her mother usually dressed in civilian clothing most of the time.

My friend Pemmie describes her Mom (Cintra) as a highly educated woman who tended to master anything she attempted. From hobbies to work, she excelled and was a true high achiever that Pemmie shows great pride in.

Among her talents, she had a green thumb, kept journals and authored a book about Celtic Spirituality, loved music and played as well as taught the piano to both children and adults for a period of time. She later applied her piano skills to daily office chants as part of her faith journey and Pemmie remembers her regularly singing the harmonies to many Episcopal hymns.

She also had a appreciation for the arts and Pemmie has a pen and ink drawing and another family member has a water lily watercolor as the only pieces of art created by her Mom who only considered this talent a hobby.

Cintra also loved the mountains and camping. Her favorite color was yellow and daffodils are the flower Pemmie best associates with her mother’s memory.

My task was to take these special memories of Cintra’s life and attempt to translate them with little props for my table decor.

A small dollhouse piano on music sheet wrapping paper was used in the table decor to represent Cintra’s love for music and the piano.

This little rustic tent with a campfire is a nod to her love for the mountains and camping.

This Angel mother holding a child is the symbol of our annual tea.

While daffodils are the flower Pemmie most associated with her mother, they are not available this time of year. She said her mother loved all flowers, so the best I could do was use yellow spray roses and white tulips with purple stripes to create the floral arrangements around the house. Trader Joe’s also had one of my favorites – lilacs that provide a lovely fragrance, are simply beautiful, and give an added pop of purple-lavender to the decor.

Earl Grey was this Mom’s favorite tea and was highlighted in a Victorian London Fog as our tea for the day, made with Earl Grey Lavender with a splash of warmed half and half (slightly sweetened with agave) garnished with culinary lavender buds. The welcoming cocktail, an Earl Grey French 75 (Earl Grey Lavender tea steeped in Gin, combined with lemon juice, a honey simple syrup topped with champagne).

The Welcome Cocktail

Earl Grey French 75 Cocktail

https://cookieandkate.com/earl-grey-french-75/

The Tea: Victorian London Fog with Lavender

Victorian London Fog: Twinings Earl Grey Lavender Tea (Amazon), one teaspoon agave and a splash of warm half and half and garnished with culinary lavender buds.

The Menu:

The Soup:

Roasted Yellow Pepper Coconut with Sauteed Crawfish

Note: Recipe will be shared in a Simply Elevated Edition soon-crawfish was a Louisiana favorite of Cintra’s and the yellow pepper celebrates her favorite sunny color.

The Tea Sandwich Course

Pemmie remembered her mother loved afternoon tea time and among her favorite tea sandwiches was the cucumber watercress and curried chicken salad. I used fresh mint that was added to the cream cheese spread on the cucumber sandwich and Trader Joe’s curried chicken salad as a shortcut to the many items that required preparation.

Irish Egg Salad

Mushroom Bolognese Pies

Cucumber Mint Watercress

Curry Chicken Salad

Roasted Garlic Chipotle Turkey

Irish Egg Salad

Cucumber Mint Watercress

Curry Chicken Salad

The Scone Course

Current Welsh Cake

The traditional Welsh cake was chosen to represent Cintra’s beloved Wales.

https://www.christinascucina.com/welsh-cakes-for-st-davids-day/

Strawberry Rose Scones

This recipe was in a 2018 issue of Teatime Magazine and I’ve not been able to find a printed version online to share. The recipe was simple and used freeze dried strawberries rather than fresh. I added a fresh slice of strawberry in the last five minutes of the bake. The strawberry was listed as one of Cintra’s favorite fruits.

Welsh Cakes originated in Wales in the late 1800’s and are also known as bakestones or griddle scones because they are made on a griddle. Think of a mini pancake or flat circular scone with sultanas/raisins, and dusted with caster sugar. (These can be made ahead and froze without the sugar dusting. On the day of the tea, I warmed them in the oven at 300 degrees for 10 minutes (after thawing) and then rolled each in sugar while still warm).

The Sweet Course

Cintra’s love for Heath bars, lace cookies, Belgian chocolate and strawberries inspired the sweet course.

Heath Bar Cookie

Almond Lemon Ginger Florentines

Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

White Chocolate Lemon Victoria Sponge

Heath bar sheet cookies were made as a nod to Mom’s favorite candy bar. A cookie dough base, with melted dark chocolate on top, sprinkled with crumbled heath bar and Mauldon flake salt.

Lace cookies (or Florentine cookies) were also noted as a favorite. This Almond Lemon Ginger version has a bright chewy bite. https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/programmes/m000nphv

Bittersweet chocolate dipped strawberries.

Lemon Flavored Victoria Sponge with White Chocolate filling

https://kuuipovea.com/2018/05/14/victoria-sponge-cake-with-white-chocolate-mousse/

I make a half batch of this recipe, sprayed a mini muffin pan with baking spray to make mini cakes. I would recommend filling each cup with only 3/4th to avoid cake spilling over like mine did. I had to trim all of the tops because I filled the tin with a two tablespoon scoop. The flower on top is a lilac blossom.

Scenes From the Table

A matching floral arrangement in the Guest Bathroom

Each year as we get older and take time to sit and remember or recall things we may have forgotten about our mothers, we grow more grateful and appreciative of the guidance and love received from them. We also reflect on our own motherhood and the relationships we have with our daughters. As we observe their generation of mothering and the new and very different challenges that none of us could have prepared them for, it is clear that from generation to generation, we’ve all done the best job we could to manage the circumstance, stress, frustrations, fears, joys and pleasures of being a Mom. The common intention from mother to daughter to daughter and beyond is love.

Remembering Our Mothers -Fifth Annual Tea (Planning)

It’s time to begin the planning for my Fifth Annual Mothers’ Tea, a tradition formed when after losing my mother to the Lord (now 9 years ago), created an intense void especially around Mother’s Day when I would normally plan a special way to spend the day with her, but no longer can. Each year I invite friends who have also lost their mothers, for an afternoon tea of “remembering our Moms”. (See the blog’s category Tradition and Tea for previous posts).

The first tea was an introduction to this annual tea with no specific theme. At the 2nd year’s meeting, I decided to add another tradition to the tea that I hoped would generate new topics of conversation and continue to draw new memories to the surface of our mothers from year to year. Each of my guests names were written on a piece of paper, folded and placed in a teapot. At the end of the tea we pulled a name and that friend’s mother would be honored at the next tea with a theme that represented one of their passions.

In the years that followed our honored mothers had the the following themes:

“Stitching Together-Seamstress” Memories of Mom – A seamstress theme.

“Mother’s Life of Service-Nurse” A nurse theme and

“A Little Racey, Beachy-Peacock” A colorful Mom who loved Nascar, beaches and whose last name was Peacock.

https://wordpress.com/block-editor/post/socialinteractionsandparties.wordpress.com/1203

To prepare for each year’s celebration, I provide a questionnaire in order to collect information that will inspire the table and menu. It also questions the mother’s favorite flowers, food, interests and passions all meant to help inspire my tea and it’s theme.

This year’s honored mother, Cintra Pemberton, after her divorce, became an Episcopalian Nun who devoted her life to serving and practicing the Celtic faith. As part of her service she traveled the world on faith based pilgrimages, her favorite location being in the British Isles, especially Wales, a place well known for the afternoon tea. Based on this information, my theme for this year’s tea will be “Travel Journeys Steeped with Faith”.

When I asked about flowers, my friend (Pemmie) said she was unsure of her mother’s favorite, but that she loved to garden and had a green thumb. Wherever they went her mother could name all of the flowers. She said that for some reason she associated her Mom with Spring flowers, such as narcissus (that I currently have growing in my garden, hoping to have multiple blooms ready by the first week of May), rhododendron, wild flowers and daffodils; but if she had to pick one, she would have to say yellow daffodils as well as the color yellow.

Pemmie also shared a memory of tying green ribbons around daffodils as a gift to trip attendees. When her mother passed away, St. David’s Cathedral in Wales, planted a plot of daffodils in her honor at the entrance of the Cathedral. What a beautiful gesture in memory of her mother! St. David is the patron saint of Wales, and died in 589 AD. The Welsh celebrate this saint by wearing emblems such as the daffodil pins, or the Welsh dragon and hold an annual celebration in his honor on March 1st.

St. David’s Cathedral

While the beginning of Spring is plentiful with daffodils and tulips, by the first of May, fresh daffodils are nearly impossible to find. I won’t be able to count on finding them for the actual day of the tea, but wanted pictures for the blog using the symbolic flower while they were in season.

A simple invitation which includes a photo of our honored mother was mailed out the first week of April (a month out from the scheduled date) using this decided theme.

While the table plan is not yet complete, I made place cards using some clip art in the yellow that represents both the color that Pemmie most associated with her mother Cintra, her Celtic Faith and green ribbon as used in those lovely daffodils bouquets.

In the coming weeks, I will begin to put my table together and form the tea menu that best represents not only our honored Mom, but a little of each mother that we are remembering on this special day.

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(Welcoming )Spring Ladies Egg Painting Brunch

When small green specs are dotting the bare branches of my drake elm tree that my mother propagated from her own tree a year before she passed, its resurrection each year reminds me that she is still near and so is Spring.

The lawn has grown partially green, the sound of lawn mowers humming in the distance, and daylight has begun to span slightly longer from week to week. The temperatures in the South have been unseasonably hot (80’s), waking up the dreadful weeds that always emerge first for pulling and encouraging the colorful blooming time of the azalea bushes that will soon after require trimming. By the time this planned afternoon arrives the leaves of my drake elm will have been fully revealed, swaying in the warm sunny breeze like happy dancers in the golden sunlight, my herb garden will be replanted with fresh herb plants and edible flowers, and the shrubbery in the landscaping will grow fuller with new foliage.

Springtime brings that much needed breath of fresh air and gentle warmth, following the bracing gestures of a cold winter that causes us to tighten our stance and escape its abrasiveness with layers of warm sweaters and cozy fires. I truly love the coziness of winter, but when the lights are turned on by Spring, who can resist its milder temperatures and color bursting displays. Like the flowers, we can’t wait to be outside and bask in the sunlight.

Last year (2022) I saw a post on Instagram of hand painted eggs for Spring that inspired this Egg Painting Spring Brunch celebration. While only a couple of those in my group of gal pals consider themselves artistic, I really enjoy getting my friends to open up to new experiences that challenge them and may reveal a hidden skill they had not yet explored. We shared a similar exercise before Christmas by decorating cookies, sharing some new and creative designs that everyone could be proud of.

With printed images of the decorated eggs from Instagram as my inspiration, I searched through my stock of collected items to determine what I might be able to repurpose for my table and began planning.

I’m not usually a fan of using paper products, but I wanted a colorful table that I couldn’t achieve with the dishes I have and since we do have a crafty activity following the meal, I wanted an easy clean up.

If it’s possible to think of paper plates as elegant, this scalloped, gold edged version found at Homegoods fits the term. Its field of mint green, pink and yellow; with bunnies, speckled eggs and bird nests, contribute a soft cheerful feminine color palette for this gal pal day. Matching utensils were found at The Dollar Tree. A square of green toile fabric, used for my daughter’s expectant baby shower 16 years ago, along with leftover pink and green toile napkins came together to form my color palette. I haven’t seen toile napkins like these since, so over purchasing years ago paid off.

Small gold bunnies from Target ( I was tempted to buy the little hens too), white porcelain
bunnies and large egg cookie jar Homegoods; small cabbage napkin rings Pier One.

The combination of gold, pink and green pastels provides a cheerful, feminine and fresh Spring place setting for a ladies’ afternoon.

Alternating green and pink toile napkins folded into bunny ears with plastic gold eggs from The Dollar Tree have been loosely decorated using metallic pens (also The Dollar Tree). Hand written names appear on each to serve as place cards. I even repurposed ribbon from the baby shower stock.

The examples of painted eggs I found were printed and added to card stock, then placed on the table for inspiration. Metallic pens from The Dollar Tree, acrylic paints, pencils and small pointed brushes are placed around the table to create original designs. For those who may feel they are not very “artistic”, these examples will jump start each guest to invision their own unique egg creations.

The eggs, made of wood (easier for paint pens and acrylics to adhere ) were sold in little cartons of six as multi colored or plain natural wood. (Target $3.00 for set of 6). I decided the version with coated colors would be more fun to work with, especially when using the acrylic paints and require less drying time. The acrylics did dry fairly quickly, usually about 5 to 7 minutes. So while drying – it’s easy enough to move on to a different egg for a short period.

I have a habit of setting my table a couple of weeks before a party. I originally staged the table with fresh white roses I had purchased that week, but the following week it was tulips and the week of the brunch, daffodils. It never fails that whatever flower I set my heart on, it’s not usually available on the day of my event and I have to pivot.

A collection of items purchased over the years combined with new items found, large decorated egg cookie canister (Homegoods); cabbage napkin rings (Pier One); green vase (Michaels), gold bunnies (Target).

Porcelain bunnies (Homegoods); pink glass candle holders (The Dollar Tree) and green bud vase (Michael’s) with bright colored fresh tulips.

For a little over head drama, an eggcellently dressed chandelier – multicolored golden eggs nested with Easter basket grass in the center and pearl finished faux eggs dangle from ribbons all from my collection of annual Easter decorations (some have names written on them -they were once used as place cards for a past Easter family lunch).

Greeting with a Cocktail – Rosemary Grapefruit Moscow Mule

We always start the party with a toast and a special cocktail or aperitif. This Rosemary Grapefruit Moscow Mule was perfect- light and refreshing just like Spring!

This light refreshing ROSEMARY GRAPEFRUIT MOSCOW MULE is the perfect start to a Spring Brunch. Citrusy, with a little floral hit from the elderflower and the gentle touch of heat from the ginger beer. Well balanced and easy to sip on a sunny afternoon. It received lots of Ooo’s and Ahh’s ratings!

Makes 3 to 4 small servings in my delicate coupe stemware or 2 regular cocktail glasses.

Half of a freshly squeezed pink grapefruit
Half of a freshly squeezed lime
2 oz. Absolute Juice Pear & Elderflower Vodka (or Vodka)
Rosemary simple syrup   (1 cup of sugar 1 cup of water bring to a low boil until sugar is dissolved – remove from the heat and add 3 sprigs of fresh rosemary.  Steep for 3 minutes and then discard rosemary and chill)
Ginger Beer (I used Fever-Tree)
Fresh rosemary sprigs

Place first four ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice (I used one large cocktail cube to minimize the deluge).
Pour 3/4 of a small coupe glass – top off with ginger beer and rosemary sprig.  Cheers to Spring!

Cheese Plate with Cocktails

Spicy tomato jam made with these beautiful dark tomatoes (almost looked charred) purchased at Trader Joes. A variety of soft, hard and blue cheeses were plated with the jam and goat cheese left out to room temperature for easy spreading. Slices of Kalamata Olive Farm Loaf bread (Whole Foods) toasted in the oven, brushed with kalamata olive oil and a sprinkle of kosher salt were offered with the cheeses. A schmear of goat cheese on the bread helped balance and mellow out the spiciness of the jam.

🍃🌷🍃My favorite part of entertaining (besides spoiling everyone and having them leave with a pleasing memorable time) is introducing my friends to new flavors and foods.

One of my less adventurous eaters told me a couple of years ago that he finally surrendered his palate to me. “Lori you change my mind about what I think I won’t like every time!” Other than enthusiastically showing up for each invite, it’s the best compliment I could hope to receive.

🍃🦋🌷🍃 Brunch Menu🍃🦋🌷🍃

• Ham and Potato Bake
• Rainbow Carrot Ribbon Salad
• Large Profiteroles filled with homemade chocolate balsamic Louisiana strawberry ice cream and strawberry coulis

http://www.exclusivelyfood.com.au/2006/07/ham-and-potato-bake-recipe.html

https://www.prouditaliancook.com/2013/07/rainbow-carrot-ribbon-salad.html

Louisiana strawberries are at peak season, and it was a wonderful time to highlight them as part of my brunch.

The homemade strawberry chocolate balsamic ice cream and jumbo profiteroles were both made a week ahead and stored in the freezer until the day prior to the brunch. The day before, I pulled the zip freezer bags of profiteroles out and set them on the kitchen counter to fully thaw. I then lined a small rimmed baking sheet with clear wrap and pre-scooped the ice cream, then sealed it tight with clear wrap and returned it to the freezer. (easier for serving on the day of the brunch). The recipe for the ice cream is in the link below – my only addition was a tablespoon of chocolate balsamic vinegar (optional).

https://www.alattefood.com/homemade-strawberry-ice-cream/

The strawberries are perfectly ripe, red and sweet.

The strawberries are so fresh, so fully ripe, sweet and large that I added one on each plate. I used a pink pearl cocktail pick to attach an edible flower to each for a touch of whimsy. When serving the composed dessert, I used a small mound of canned chocolate whipped cream to hold the fresh strawberry up on the side of the profiterole.

A small mound of chocolate whipped cream from a can used to help the strawberry stand.

(Strawberry three ways, fresh, in a coulis sauce and creamy ice cream.) Each profiterole was filled with a scoop of strawberry ice cream, sprinkled with powdered sugar, topped with strawberry coulis and garnished with a fresh strawberry.

🎨 Egg Painting Activity 👩🏻‍🎨

In addition to the printed images of painted eggs, I also place a variety of silk flowers on the table as inspiration for shapes and color. Each of my guests were supplied with a piece of artist’s watercolor paper, a glass of water a fine pointed paint brush and paper napkins. The watercolor paper was a place to test their mixed paint colors, the water to rinse out their brushes between color changes and the paper towel to wipe off the brush after each rinse. A mixture of acrylic paints and pens were used to create their individual designs.

There’s a beautiful sense of self satisfaction in creating something beautiful. As the painting and decorating began, the room grew extremely quiet. Everyone was so focused, concentrating on decorating their eggs. They also said while there was a little anxiety about how to start at the beginning, in the end the whole experience was very relaxing.

Another option for a painting exercise are clay pots (used for plants). I’ve seen some painted completely black and then decorated with painted bright wildflowers that popped on top of the black background.

Whether you’re hosting a Sunday brunch, an Easter lunch or a simple Springtime gathering, a few simple ingredients for the menu and a fun activity will guarantee that everyone leaves with a special memory. I have the best group of friends. Whatever I dream up, they are all enthusiastically ready to come along for the ride!

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Starry Winter’s Night (Wine Club)

Cabernet Franc versus Cabernet Sauvignon

It’s time for a new year of wine club parties, with new themes, new wines and delicious food to experience and share. With seven years of themed parties behind me, I’m having to seek out new forms of inspiration for themes that inject a fun experience for everyone. While a wine party doesn’t necessarily require a theme, it’s my way of continually creating an element of surprise for my guests, giving them something new and unexpected to look forward to in addition to leaving with a little more knowledge about wine.

This party’s theme was inspired by a visit a while back with my daughter and grandchildren in the Houston area. I treated them all to see the Vincent Van Gogh immersion exhibit that offered a modern way of introducing my grandchildren to one of the many wonderful artists of his time. What may arguably be one of the artist’s more memorable and popular paintings, “Starry Starry Night” was the finale of the immersion experience. At the time I made a mental note that this could serve as inspiration for a winter evening wine party, I just had to figure out how to transform it from the canvas to my table.

The invitation was emailed to my group with the theme and assignments for three couples to bring a Cabernet Franc and three others to bring Cabernet Sauvignon wines along with a small bite that pairs with these wines.

The Invitation

The plan for this meeting was to compare Cabernet Franc with Cabernet Sauvignons, with an emphasis on “mountain wines”. (Mountain wines are those grown at elevation on a mountain or hillside.) Cabernet Francs are limited compared to the Sauvigons (at least in our area) and some found were outside (over) our usual price range of $20 to $30, which is why I chose to compare the two varieties limiting the Francs to only three for the tasting. As for finding a mountain wine, that became optional due to the limited number available. The bottles we have may not be the best representation of Francs, but at least we have a few to try.

Where is the best Cabernet Franc from?

France. Though mostly a blending grape in Bordeaux, Cabernet Franc plays a starring role in the Loire Valley. Its single-variety red wines are highly regarded, and some of the best examples come from Anjou-Villages, Bourgueil, Chinon and Saumur-Champigny.

What Is the Difference Between Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon? Cabernet franc is, with sauvignon blanc, one of the parent grapes of cabernet sauvignon. The cabernet franc grape has a thinner skin than cabernet sauvignon, so the wines made from cabernet franc tend to be lighter in color and lower in tannin.

FOOD PAIRINGS:  Hearty red meats (no seafood), root vegetables, mushrooms, squash, eggplant, potato, sweet potato, cabbage, polenta.

With the help of an inexpensive projector (normally used for a child’s bedroom to play soft music and project stars around the room), I was able to set a “starry night” ambience on the ceiling and small portion of the walls of my dining room. The projector provides color variations and the option to project stars with or without a moon and clouds. It’s kind of fun to have an audio visual for the first time. Music can be played using Bluetooth if desired.

For the table, I purchased a dark navy blue (inexpensive) tablecloth at Party City, and a few yards of dark navy tulle with stars and moons on Etsy. I had set aside my battery operated twinkle lights from the holidays, knowing I would use them for the table setting.

The beginning stages.

I added my large cobalt blue candle lanterns (filling each with the twinkle lights) and the small votives with candles. On the actual evening of the party, I will weave fresh flowers in the center through the lights ( I chose baby’s breath for something simple see pictures later in the post).

We use the salad plate for the parties due to the small bite everyone brings and the limited space at the table. The grid above shows some examples of options for the actual place settings that I had and considered.

For the charger, I used dark blue plastic dinner plates from the party section at The Dollar Tree. While the setting looks perfectly fine without any additional adornments, I added white iridescent glitter (already in my supplies from prior creations) along the edges with school glue to represent the “the winter” in my starry night. It gives the impression of glittery, frosty snow that really sparkles in the twinkle lights. (The charger plate would have also looked pretty with the splash of metallic gold paint along the edges like the glass plate above.)

While in Homegoods I found this plate
that would also be perfect for this theme.

My favorite is the first option with its splash of bold gold around a frosted glass edge. Unfortunately, I only have of one of these plates. I have a total of 10 including myself attending. The second option, also a frosty (bubbly) glass with a gold edge would also be pretty, but I only have 6 of this plate. So my only remaining option is my china with a thin gold rim on the inside and outside of the plate that will work just as nicely and adds some contrast to the table setting.

It would seem after all of these years of entertaining, that I would have every color possible in cloth napkins, but I do not. I found dark blue paper napkins with a little white pattern that adds some additional visual interest to the table, works just as well as cloth napkins and there is a stack of extras on the side if more are needed by my guests.

I saw a cupcake set at Homegoods that had gold and silver glitter stars on toothpicks. After passing them up for about four weeks, I finally decided to buy the box that was very inexpensive and used the gold stars to tuck into the folded napkins and used the silver stars to attach to the place cards. The time it would have taken to hand make these wasn’t worth the $2.99 price for having them already made.

Baby’s breath lasts for quite some time and dries nicely. So early in the week I purchased two bunches and made four small bouquets in gold ribbed glasses. I then wove the twinkle lights through the little flowers. It created a soft starlight glow across the entire table.

Baby’s Breath in gold rimmed glasses.

The glow from the twinkle lights reflect on the wine glasses.

Table from end to end.

We ended up with 8 bottles of wine for this blind tasting, which is highly unusual (usually we have 6), but I found some bottles in my wine cooler that I decided to throw into the mix.

One of my members won our Hauntingly Elegant wine party in 2018 (everyone brought a red with a spooky label). We usually have a “wine off” of the winning bottles for each year, but eventually the pandemic paused our parties and we didn’t have enough competitors to do a wine off. So I’ve added her 2015 La Catrina Cabernet Sauvignon AND

A friend gave me a 2013 Francis Coppola Claret several years ago that was hidden away, also a Cabernet Sauvignon, I thought it would be fun to include it as well. Both being aged wines.

I always provide a sheet we call a Scorecard with a pen or pencil so guests can make notes as they try each wine to determine their favorite. Due to the number of wines this time, I did disclose which glasses were Francs and the rest Sauvignons, just to provide a point of separation – but it was still a blind tasting.

The Aperitif

We start the evening with a light aperitif, something with similar flavor profiles to the wines so that it doesn’t interfere with the palate. In the spirit of Valentine’s Day just a few days away, I created this chocolate raspberry spritz. Starting with a thin layer of Chambord in the bottom of each glass, two drops of chocolate bitters, then topped with a sparkling champagne, Cava or Prosecco and fresh raspberries.

The Amuse Bouche

This small amuse bouche with a tasty punch was made with a roll of pre-made polenta – sliced, cut with a biscuit cutter and then sauteed in a little olive oil until golden. Place the warmed polenta on a wire rack in the oven at 200 degrees until about an hour before the party is scheduled to start. This allows the slices to dry of its oiliness from the warm up and creates a crispy exterior. Finally, I topped the polenta with a semisoft cheese rosette from Trader Joe’s, bacon onion jam (made earlier in the week) and a parsley leaf garnish.

click here for recipe

The Cheese / Salad Course

Charcuterie boards can be expensive and bit predictable at a wine tasting party, so after so many years of planning different themed events, I sought out alternative methods to the cheese course. As mentioned in a previous post, I found a back issue of Wine Spectator magazine at a local wine store that was in a stack marked “take for free”. I shuffled through the issues. The Cheese Issue – September 2016 caught my attention. As I fanned quickly through the pages, I found recipes from well known chefs made with cheese. It turned out to be the perfect source to update my cheese course. Over the years I’ve made a few of the unique creations. For this meeting I’m making the “Apple and Fennel Salad With Manchego Cheese, Walnuts and Sherry Dressing” created by Chef Jose Andres.

Serves 4, 20 minutes prep time.

Directions

• In a large bowl, whisk together olive oil and vinegar. Season with salt to taste.
• Cut the Manchego into thin batons. Halve and core the fennel and slice it thinly lengthwise. Place the cheese and fennel in the bowl with the vinaigrette.
• Core and halve the apples. Dice the first one into small cubes and slice the second one thinly lengthwise. Add to bowl, along with the walnuts.
• Add chives, toss salad, and garnish with fennel fronds. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary. Serve.

Ingredients

UNITS: US

• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 tablespoons sherry wine vinegar
• salt
• 4 ounces manchego cheese
• 1 fennel bulb
• 2 granny smith apples
• ²⁄₃ cup chopped walnuts, toasted
• 2 tablespoons chopped chive

The Small Bites & Sides

Everyone contributes to the meal by bringing “a small bite”. I provide the cheese and dessert courses. Occasionally I may also add to the main menu small bites as well if I feel I need to balance out what’s coming or to provide a little more variety.

The small bite sides brought by my guests from top left to right: Beef crostini with horseradish sauce and cornichon, Confit tomatoes with goat cheese, stuffed mushrooms, smashed roasted small potatoes with chimichurri sauce, roasted carrots with yogurt sauce and toasted sliced almonds, and roasted leg of lamb pitas with tzatziki sauce and lima bean hummus.

The Dessert Course

As with the aperitif (we started with a Valentine cocktail), we then ended with a Valentine dessert. These bittersweet chocolate soufflés with raspberry coulis were feather light, not overly sweet and the perfect way to end the evening.

This recipe was easy to follow and can be made ahead, ramekins filled and refrigerated up to two days prior to the party. I used Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate, I always have Chinese Five Spice mixed with my powdered sugar to add an unexpected warmth and made a raspberry coulis to add a pop of red. https://thecafesucrefarine.com/easy-raspberry-coulis/ *** click below for the soufflé recipe.

click here for recipe

And the winner is….

While the voting was not unanimous, the 2013 Francis Coppola Claret (an older wine from my cooler) received the most votes. I asked everyone to pick a second wine so that I could have a winner from the bottles purchased by my guests. The 2020 Mascota Vineyards Cabernet Franc received the next higher number of votes and a close third was the 2017 Chateau Cabonnieux with a mix of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and very small amount ( 3%) Cab Franc and (2/%) Petit Vendot.

Overall, we were not especially impressed with the Cabernet Francs (even though one is the winner, the vote was only 4 out of 9). The two aged bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon stood out the most of the Sauvignons and then the French version above.

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Bookclub Menu: “The Forgotten Room”

The romance and elegance of the gilded age era Pratt Mansion and the original two joined hearts of Olive and Harry in “The Forgotten Room” inspired my table. Love letters, a large ruby filigree pendant necklace, artist’s brushes, paint tubes and an imagined mini portrait of Olive were represented. (See the post “The Forgotten Room” Inspired Bookclub Table)

The cocktail and menu were inspired by

Lucy, John and Philip’s generation in the 1920’s.

FROM THE 1920’S ERA: Philp invites Lucy to have a drink with him at a speakeasy. “The cat’s pajamas are the bees knees” was the password at the door of the bar. After a few drinks Philip tries to kiss Lucy. This caused Lucy to feel hideous shame. Philip Schuyler stared at her in genuine consternation. Or perhaps that was just the gin, slowing his wits, wrinkling his forehead. “I never thought – You’re a girl in a million, Lucy. Has anyone ever told you that? You’re the bee’s knees. The cat’s meow.” Grandly, he declared, “You’re the best secretary I’ve ever had.”

The Cocktail

It is our tradition to start with a little cocktail, so I searched for one on pinterest that referenced “the cat’s meow or the bees knees”. I found the recipe below, but it was extremely strong, much stronger that I know my group would appreciate. So much to the original mixologist’s displeasure, I added a lot more honey syrup, some grand marnier and tonic water or club soda to water it down before adding the champagne floater. I also strained the lime juice (not in the original instructions) to remove the pulp. I would suggest you make the drink ahead of time and test taste to ensure the flavors and strength of the drink will not be too overpowering for your guests to talk about the book or drive home safely! My guests said it was very honey forward, and tasty – they seemed to enjoy my doctored version.

Cat’s Meow Cocktail with the Bee’s Knees

Ingredients: (See my notes above for changes made)

• 2oz (60mls) Appleton 8-year-old rum (I used Bacardi Golden)
• 0.75oz (22mls) Lime Juice
• 0.5oz (15mls) Honey Syrup
• dash Angostura Bitters
• Top with Champagne

Garnish with a sliver of honeycomb (I made a cocktail pick with little bees).

Add the first four ingredients to an ice-filled shaker, then strain into a coupe. Top with Champagne.

Cocktail picks made with Dollar Tree picks and craft store bees to and the “bees knees” flourish.

https://cocktailsdistilled.com/2021/09/29/new-on-the-bar-cats-meow-a-bees-knees-riff/

I made a pitcher full of the base cocktail before everyone arrived and place it in the refrigerator. This saved time when I was ready to serve and I just had to fill the glasses with the mixed drink and top it with a little champagne.

Soup and Salad

“Defiantly, Lucy ordered lobster Newburgh. If Philip Schuyler wanted a steak, he could have one himself.”

My meeting menu is usually composed of a soup and salad. As a nod to Lucy’s decision to have “lobster” at Delmonico’s, I served a small rich creamy bowl of lobster bisque with a citrus fennel salad as a fresh crispy bite to balance out the richness of the bisque. Each guest received a warm mini baguette straight from the oven.

Lobster Bisque and Fennel Citrus Salad

Lobster Bisque Recipe

https://cafedelites.com/lobster-bisque/

I used the recipe in the above link. In order to form 8 to 10 servings, I bought one fairly large boiled whole lobster and four uncooked tails. I found the lobsters on sale in the freezer section at my grocer discounted to make this affordable. The meat from the claws and larger tail on the whole lobster along with four other tails provided sufficient meat to fulfill the required servings.

I doubled the ingredients in the bisque. I cooked the lobster tails per the recipe and once all of the meat was pulled from the shells, I made the stock/broth with the shells from all of the lobster shells (except the body) along with a carrot, a celery stalk and half an onion.

I followed the recipe exactly up to pureeing the simmered soup. The bisque is so rich that I felt it needed some acid, so I added the zest and juice of one large lemon. I stopped at this pointed (without adding the cream) allowing the pureed soup to cool and then placed it in a sealed container and placed in the refrigerator until the meeting. (Two days later). An hour prior to the meeting, I placed the bisque in a large pot and added two cups of cream and slowly warmed. I placed the butter and garlic in a separate small skillet and slowly warmed (careful not to burn the garlic), then gently tossed the chopped lobster in the garlic butter. I was unable to find fresh tarragon, so I used fennel fronds (from the fennel bulbs used for the salad) to garnish.

The lobster bisque is so rich that I made a light fennel citrus salad to accompany it. Nothing complicated…

Fennel Citrus Salad

2 fennel bulbs (shaved on a mandolin or very thinly sliced)

3 large navel oranges (segmented)

1 bag baby arugula

1/3 cup chopped toasted almonds

Shaved parmesan

Dressing:

2 shallots (finely chopped)

4 tablespoons rice vinegar (or until shallots are covered)

Allow the two ingredients to marinate for about 20 minutes

Whisk in:

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon honey

Vigorously whisk until emulsified

salt and pepper to taste

I found mini single serving French baguettes at Trader Joe’s. I didn’t realize how small they were until I got them home and opened the package (of 6). They are the perfect size for each guest to receive one each and take only 8-10 minutes to warm up in the oven (frozen) or in an air fryer. Since they were hot from the oven, I made little paper napkin cozies to wrap around each so my guests wouldn’t burn their fingers. They’re perfect for one serving without the hassle of tearing or cutting a larger loaf into pieces and everyone having their hands on the loaf.

Chocolate Icebox Cake with Caramel Cream

“They stopped at a street cart for ice-cream sandwiches, Mr. Ravenel teasing Lucy for the dainty way she licked the ice cream from the sides first, so the melting treat wouldn’t drip on her gloves.”

Dessert was inspired by Lucy and John’s day spent together riding the carousel and eating ice cream sandwiches. I chose a vintage recipe from the 1920’s modernized by Zoë François, and served a slice with chocolate dipped strawberry hearts.

This is the chocolate wafer cookies and caramel whipped cream (after an overnight stay in a loaf pan in the refrigerator) before the top coat of vanilla whipped cream is added. The concept is for the whipped cream between and around the cookies should soak into the cookies overnight, softening the cookies into a cakelike texture. While mine set in the refrigerator for a good 12 hours, the cookies were still a little too crispy and make it difficult to cut, but I got exactly 8 slices. Regardless it was still delicious.

Below is the final cake with the vanilla whipped cream outer coat, shaved salted chocolate and chocolate dipped strawberry hearts.

How often do you purchase a container of strawberries where every single berry is perfectly ripe and sweet? I always look forward to these beautiful Louisiana jewels from Baglio Farms, LLC in Independence, Louisiana. Simply cut the stem into a “V” to remove and then dip into melted bittersweet chocolate . Valentine hearts to simply eat or garnish a dessert.

What’s hanging from the chandelier??? First let me explain that I left the evergreen branches from the holidays there since Olive and Harry’s final days together were during Christmas and New Year’s Eve. My daughter saw this ornament idea that I couldn’t resist (after Christmas).

By this time all of its components were on clearance, so they cost nearly nothing to make. Inside are small replicas of the books my club read in 2022 (the year charm on top) by printing very small images of the cover for both the back and front of each book so that when it flipped is shows the same book cover. A sheet of foam (99 cents) was used to represent the pages. Unfortunately, when folding each little book to push it through the opening of the clear ornament, the paper crumbled. I told my group they look like worn out paperbacks (HA! HA!). Since we only read about 5 books a year, if I would have used thinner foam it would have been easier to insert the little books, but it would have looked like hardly anything was inside and they would have settled too flatly. I gave each of my members one of these at the end of this meeting.

Several years ago, I learned that the legendary chef and long time friend of Julia Child, Jacques Pépin published a book with sketches and art (from his hand) along the edges of the pages. When open faced the left page provides a place for guests to write a note and or sign and the opposite page on the right provides a space for noting the type of gathering and recording the menu. I host several luncheons and dinners each year, so I loved the idea of this book. Prior to each gathering I search for pages with art that in some way relates to our gathering.

Menus: A Book for Your Meals and Memories by Jacques Pépin.

It was fun to find this page with what resembled a vintage looking sketch of a couple that appears to be a bride and groom encircled by a heart. This of course was a great place to record our day for this book.

Our group enjoyed this book and appreciate the talented authors that composed this mind bending, hopeful, love mystery. I hope the ideas shared from this book club meeting with inspire you for your next book club. Remember to follow or subscribe to see future book club, wine club and entertaining inspiration! Thank you for stopping by!

The Forgotten Room (Inspired Bookclub Table)

Is it possible that two souls that are meant to be together, will continue to seek each other out in future generations? If you are a hopeless romantic like me, you will love the way this book explores such a possibility. A beautifully, sometimes purposely confusing (with the mystery not cleared up until the very end), hopeful and romantic tale of the lives of three generations of women (Olive, Lucy and Kate) will take you on such a journey. As we draw closer to Valentine’s Day, The Forgotten Room by co-authors Karen White, Beatriz Williams and Lauren Willig offers a richly complex story of love that reaches far into the next two generations.

Olive withholds the secrets of an unforgettable love throughout her life leaving both her daughter (Lucy) and granddaughter (Kate) searching for answers after her death. Explanations were never provided from the past in regard to a gilded age mansion Olive (accompanied by her little girl Lucy) strolled by to simply stare at and a delicate filigree chain, weighed down by a prodigious crimson (ruby) stone, handed down to daughter and then from her daughter to her granddaughter, each without knowing exactly why it was secretly maintained by her or it’s significance.

Olive and Harry meet and fall in love in 1892. A forbidden love match, common for the gilded age and beyond where “financial status” suproceeds matters of the heart. The novel is peppered with three eras that could have easily inspired the table decor and menu for my book club luncheon, starting with the elegance of the gilded age, to the art deco style of the 1920’s and finally the turbulent aftermath of World War II of the mid-1940’s.

As I tried to imagine a theme for my table, “the forgotten room” in many ways a character all its own, remained a common theme throughout the generations and is after all the title of the book (while not at all forgotten by its characters). The title of the book should have been something like “The Room Where Memories Remain”.

After some thought, I decided the starting place and era of this love story deserved to be the theme. Olive’s first impression of “the room”. . . . . .

“when she stepped through the doorway, she lost her breath. Olive turned in a circle, coated in moonlight from the long Palladian windows. The brick walls – they were like a secret garden. She gazed upward at the beautiful dome, a smaller version of the one at the top of the staircase, except this one was paned in clear glass, suspending her in the center of a velvet star-flecked Manhattan night. A beautiful and unexpected gift. “

As I brainstormed to put this book club meeting and menu together, I was also in the process of planning an upcoming wine club meeting with a theme of “Starry Winter’s Night”. With the idea of projecting stars on the ceiling and walls of my dining room, I remembered a small projector that plays soft music that my grandchildren had in their rooms (in a turtle form) when they were younger. This one purchased on Amazon, also projects (if desired) a beautiful half moon and cloud and can be changed to different colors. When I recalled the caption of Olive’s first impression of “the room” and how she described the velvet star-flecked Manhattan sky… I realized I could use it for this gathering as well.

It’s not 7 stories tall, but this table lantern was used to represent the Pratt Mansion.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BJP7QV2S?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

Placecards:

With a budget in mind, creating inexpensive props and points of interest pushes me to be creative. The mini portrait of Olive was also a recurring part of the story. If I were a graphic designer I could probably execute my ideas with a more professional result, but since I am not, I have to use my own resources of amateur design. I found an image of a gold oval frame online and just snipped it, then pasted it onto a blank Word document page. From there I had to play with sizing the image, including printing it a couple of times to achieve the size I wanted.

I was able to fit four frames on a 8 1/2″ x 11″ page. Next I worked to line up the names of my guests into the center of the frame. I’m sure there was a better way to do this, but I printed a page of frames and then re-fed the paper back through the printer to add the names. Some are slightly off center as in my example. I created the backing of the frame with card stock templates I made and then thread some narrow ribbon (just like a real frame) from the front of the frame to the back folding stand. I also found one sheet of dark floral paper that reminded me of the time period that I glued to the back side to give a finished appearance and hide the taped ribbon. Finally I bought teardrop ruby rhinestones to hot glue to the front (to resemble Olive’s necklace.)

A description of the miniature portrait as described by Kate…

“The woman appeared to be nude, her long dark hair tumbling around her shoulders, her only accessory a filigree gold necklace about her slender, pale neck, a perfect large ruby dangling from the center.“

While the book did not provide a photo of Olive, I searched the internet for a portrait of a young, beautiful women with dark flowing hair (released from its hairpins) and bare shoulders attempting to get as close as I could to this imaginary character. I happened upon this glittered Christmas ornament frame over the holidays, with a slot for inserting a photo that perfectly displays the portrait with a gilded age elegance and added sparkle.

Those Pratt family dinners were unquestionably served in the ambiance of flickering candles, and the elegance of fine china, crystal and ornate silver. I placed my candelabra to one side of the table with soft cream lit candles to create a similar ambiance and hung the portrait to bask in the glow of candlelight.

With the help of a craft store filigree gold chain and one of the ruby rhinestones, I created an imagined version of Olive’s necklace and displayed in on this similar era bust of a young girl I purchased from an antique store several years ago.

“Olive lowered herself carefully onto the cushions, which were upholstered in silk and threadbare velvel and released a comfortable scent of dusty lavender as she sank among them.”

A red velvet table runner draped across the center of the table was used as the base of my table’s center. A set of old metal keys (similar to the opening page of the book), paint stained artist brushes and tubes of paint with an antique candle snuffer are randomly displayed over the cushion of velvet.

“Harry led her to the wall next to the small fireplace, where a pile of angry coals hissed heat into the room, and pointed to three square tiles above the mantel. Olive hadn’t noticed, and them before, and now she wondered why: They were beautiful, full of color, depicting intricate heraldic shields on either side and a central figure of Saint George bearing his crimson white-crossed flag.

He released her hand and worked the bricks free from the mortar in a single irregular shingle, revealing the cavity within. “You see? There’s a hollow here, as if the builder forgot to put in a few bricks. Well, he didn’t forget. I got to know the architect a little bit, when they were building this place, and he showed me. I guess he like to do that when he designed houses, to put in some little secret. So, if you need anything, if you want to leave me a message of any kind, just put it in here. I’ll find it, I promise.”

Harry revealed a secret hiding place in the wall with loose bricks where he and Olive could leave letters for one another (shown to him by Olive’s father). We can’t have a romantic table without love letters! I recreated the stained letters with a calligraphy inspired font from the two letters written out in the book and then brushed the pages with a mixture of instant espresso powder and water to create a strong coffee. After about 30 minutes I then finished the drying process with a hair blow dryer. Following some examples for following letters from the time period, I folded and sealed the letters with a wax stamp. Two are crumbled, aged and slightly torn at the edges and displayed open on the table and with a few others that are unopened and sealed.

A beautiful heart with thin wooden flower petals I purchased on sale at Hobby Lobby, added a beautiful shot of red and drama to the table for a story that is clearly a matter of the heart.

Narrow dark red velvet ribbon was used to cinch the napkins.

I also used a piece of the dark red velvet ribbon to cinc the excess chain (for the necklace) at the back of the bust. At a glance, it resembles the back of a corset.

With the table set and ready to greet my group and discuss this complex love story filled with surprises and mysteries that require solving all the way to the end, I will pause here. A little note taking is recommended to keep track of all of the twists and clues. I’ve actually created a timeline family tree for each of the main characters to help everyone confirm if they sorted out everything correctly.

My next post will provide the cocktail and luncheon menu for this meeting. So come back soon! Happy reading!

Winter’s Night Sunday Supper

What better way to spend a cold winter’s night during this holiday season than to invite a couple of friends over to gather around the table near the twinkling lights of the Christmas tree for a cozy Sunday supper? This gathering was pulled together in a short 48 hours. I reached out to my friends on a Friday afternoon and once they confirmed they could come, I began to pull my plan for the evening together.

I always start with my table decor, It helps me to set the stage for the evening, starting with my basic gold rimmed china dinner plates and gold inexpensive chargers. A few years ago I used a wide roll of dark red velvet ribbon to cut pieces that fold over and under the chargers for an elegant touch. I fold them one on top of the other on the original cardboard roll to store the pieces away to use from year to year. Finally I placed my Lenox “Pomegranate with Mistletoe” salad plates (a gift from a friend many years ago) on top of the dinner plate for a festive pop of color.

I started collecting pieces of silver cutlery this year and had just enough place settings to use for this small dinner party. I also pulled out my special crystal wine glasses that are not used for my wine parties, but deserved a spot at the table for this ocassion.

With a bag of mandarin oranges and a jar of whole cloves I studded patterns on some of the mandarins and then added a plaid ribbon in Christmas colors to complete their look. I created a centerpiece with fragrant evergreen branches (purchased at Fresh Market) placed across the center of the table with a string of jingle bell garland and battery operated twinkle lights. A clove studded mandarin was placed in the center of each plate and some were placed over the evergreens in the center of the table.

A holiday dinner party deserves the elegance of the season. The house is filled with beautiful twinkle lights and colors throughout the house, making it easy to create a warm ambiance that is perfect for an evening such as this. Why not take advantage of the added glow in the house?

For an easy Hors D’oeuvre, I bought a package of endive (also known as chicory) that contained two light green tipped heads and one purple tipped head. I filled the bottom of the green leaves with sushi snow crab salad and the purple with a small ball of Bouisin carmelized onion cheese rolled in pistachio crumbs and topped with a pomegranate seed. A small silver serving tray presented raisin rosemary crackers from Trader Joe’s, a citrus studded English cheese and toasted whole walnuts.

The Hors D’oeuvres were served with a holiday Lambrusco punch from the link below. Hint: I used all of the Autumn simple syrup from the recipe (not just the 1/2 cup per instructions). The syrup is delicious and added a lot of flavor.

https://www.howsweeteats.com/2018/11/christmas-punch/

I also made cocktail ice cubes (using the large square silicone trays) made with pomegranate juice and a little water, filling the tray sections with fresh rosemary, fresh cranberries and pomegranate seeds. One large cube was placed in each glass and the punch poured over and then garnished with a sprig of fresh rosemary.

The Menu

Champagne Citrus Salad

Coq Au Vin with Mashed Potatoes

Sweet soy glaze and Agave Roasted brussel sprouts with pomegranate seeds

Gingerbread Eggnog Custard Tarts

I started with a citrus salad to follow along with the table decor, that unfortunately did not get photographed. The ingredients are as follows:

• Two navel oranges segmented
• Arugula and mixed greens
• Sliced (leftover endive) for cruch
• Pomegranate seeds
• Dried Cranberries 1/2 soaked in orange juice to rehydrate
• finely chopped chives
• toasted chopped hazelnuts
• Champagne citrus vinaigrette https://canapesandsoirees.com/citrus-champagne-vinaigrette/

Place the greens and endive in a bowl and toss with the vinaigrette. Divide into 4 to 6 portions in separate plates. Top with orange segments, pomegranate seeds, rehydrated cranberries, and nuts.

For the entree I made a one pot comfort dish, French coq au vin served over rosemary roasted garlic mashed potatoes (achieved by simmering evaporated milk with a few sprigs of Greg rosemary and adding severs cloves of roasted garlic).

The side was roasted brussels (with sweet soy sauce, tamarin, a little agave tossed after cooking) and sprinkled with pomegranate seeds.

https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/coq-au-vin

Finally we ended the evening with gingerbread eggnog custard tarts. I had a half a bottle of eggnog leftover from my cookie decorating gathering and decided this would be a great way to finish the bottle off. The recipe I used made one full tart with a thick filling. I decided to make individual tarts so the custard was not as deep (thick) as the single tart, but it was still delicious. I also can recommend making just the eggnog custard and serve in little bowls that was also delicious on its own. My leftover custard was poured into small desserts dishes for another day.

Two of my guests had birthdays (one prior to the dinner and one due on Christmas day), so I put a single candle in each of their tarts so we could celebrate their birthdays.

Here’s proof that using what you have for the table and selecting a simple comfort food menu will enable you to throw together a quick festive winter holiday supper for a few of your friends or family in very little time.

However long you keep your Christmas decorations in place… there’s still time for a small gathering even once the day has come and gone.

Wishing everyone a safe and Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Thank you so much for your support! I’m looking forward to new gatherings with new themes and getting my wine club back together in 2023. See you soon!

Getting Into a Christmas Spirit with a Cookie Decorating Party

A last minute informal invite was sent to a few family and friends to gather on a Sunday afternoon to decorate Christmas cookies, listen to Christmas tunes, nibble on some snacks, and sip Vin Chaud (mulled wine) and eggnog.

Since the group would be small, it gave me the opportunity to use some of my collected sterling silver and vintage (looking) ornaments in the decor that added an elegant charm reminiscent of photos in the stacks of back issues I have of Victoria magazine.

With less than a week to plan, I searched throughout my home and Christmas boxes for things I may have forgotten I had to use for this quickly pulled together gathering. I also tried to imagine how I would set up the table comfortably for everyone to have room to eat while decorating their cookies.

I found my retro Santa mug that my mother made in her ceramics class in 1968. When my daughter’s family comes to stay with me over the Christmas holiday, we’ve used the mug to leave cookies and milk for Santa. I thought it would make a cute centerpiece container to hold culinary tweezers and some brushes for edible gold powder. The mug, surrounded by small bowls with various sprinkles and dragees were placed on a clear plastic lazy susan for easier access to everyone. Two layers of inexpensive plastic red tablecloths were used to protect the table.

Half rimmed baking sheets from Tuesday Morning were used to decorate each cookie. A folded piece of parchment paper placed inside. The rimmed baking sheet provides a clean surface and captures sprinkles when used. The piece of parchment can be folded and helps pour the sprinkles back into the bowl (all to control mess). The rectangle gold plates on the side are from the Dollar Tree.

I baked one per guest of three different cookie shapes, a gingerbread person, a snowflake and a detailed back view of a vintage car. I didn’t want all of the cookies to be too difficult since this was a first attempt at decorating for most of my group. However while the open freestyle cookie would seem the easier version, it took some coaxing to get everyone to tackle them. I shared photos of different snowflake cookies from instagram for inspiration.

The car cookie is very detailed, but provides exactly what you need to do. Simply coloring in the spots like a coloring book with crayons. Time consuming, but already thought out. The task of these three cookies provided just the right amount of time for a little gathering.

I used the scraps of cookie dough to cut out small stars, and place a drop of icing on each for a sample taste.

In lieu of pastry bags and mixing and coloring icing, I’ve always used the Betty Crocker or generic Walmart icings with one pointed tip that is snipped off with a pair of scissors. When I first started decorating cookies with my grandchildren, these icing tubes were only $1.98 each. They gradually moved up to $2.98 and this year they had increased to $5.00 each. I was thrilled when I found the white, red and green at a nearby Dollar General for $3.00.

While at the Dollar General (this was only my second visit there in nine years), I found these reindeer socks and luckily there were 6 – exactly enough to give as favors. So I rolled each one up and tied with some green garland ties (Michaels) and a jiggle bell (pack of 9 from Dollar Tree). I also made with jingle bell necklaces with some narrow ribbon.

I placed a copper bowl at each end of the table and filled each with one red, green, white and lavender (that I had left over from Halloween) tube of icing. On the side I had another bowl with one tube of chocolate, and other leftover Halloween colors of black and orange to share. I also found a box with four very small tubes that included yellow and blue for $3 at Dollar General that included in the share bowl.

I purchased a bouquet of evergreen branches at the grocer and laid those in the center of the table. I then nestled the bowls of icing and lazy susan over the evergreens. I used a string of battery powered snowflake bulbs to drape around the center.

Happy with the table, I moved on to the flowers and food, that were displayed on my kitchen island.

Referencing a couple of cute ideas from instagram, I made stacked Christmas tree turkey sandwiches with black truffle mayo.

Adapted from Gretchen’s post “She Keeps a Lovely Home” – I found water crackers in the pantry, purchased cherry tomatoes sliced in half), a yellow bell pepper (for small ornament tops); Boursin caramelized onion and herb spreadable cheese, and a few sprigs of dill to make these little festive small bites.

Icebox pecan and blue cheese crackers (a Martha Stewart recipe I’ve used for years), usually rolled into a log and sliced – updated by rolling out and cutting with a cookie cutter shapes of stars and small snowflakes to add to the cheese board. The stars are sprinkled with a little crushed pink peppercorn. (Must be made ahead and refrigerated for 24 hours before baking so prepare!)

https://www.marthastewart.com/1072363/blue-cheese-pecan-icebox-crackers

An easy small bite of mini cocktail sausages, wrapped in store bought pie dough (cut into strips with a pastry cutter with scalloped edges), brushed with egg wash and sprinkled with everything bagel seasoning (or sesame seeds would also work). Baked at 450 degrees (f) for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden.

I also made a quick batch of sweet and spicy pecans the day before. The cheese board had raisin rosemary crackers from Trader Joe’s, my pecan blue cheese homemade crackers, a cranberry cheese from England, a Black truffle sheep cheese, a honey goat cheese rolled in chopped dried cranberries and crystalized ginger and a small bunch of black seedless grapes.

For dessert, I found this Flourless Chocolate Chestnut cake. Regrettably, I’ve never eaten chestnuts. I was in New York just before the holidays on two occasions and didn’t grab the chance to try roasted chestnuts! A mistake I will not make again. This cake was light while also being rich with a truffle like texture and not too sweet. It was very lovely and everyone was a fan.

https://www.oliveandmango.com/chocolate-chestnut-cake/

My Vin Chaud was so well liked that I was making a second batch while the others were decorating cookies! Toss in a few fresh cranberries for garnish. (Note to self- make a double batch next year!)

Before departing with their wrapped up cookies, we did a small toast to the holidays and a festive day with a chilled glass of eggnog topped with a fresh grating of nutmeg!

None of us, including me, are professional bakers. Our decorated cookies prove to be homemade and we could not be prouder of them. They represent an afternoon well spent, a first attempt by some who may have been previously intimidated by the idea of decorating cookies and a lot of fun. (I think this will become a new annual tradition).

P. S. My 89 year old mother-in-law REALLY loved the cake and left with some to take home … and the star cookie samples. Happy Holidays!

Setting the Table (For the Christmas Season- Red & Golds)

A Vintage Nativity found in a local antique store for $15; faux or fresh evergreen branches, a silk rose with gold and red velvet ribbon purchased many years ago and a Dollar Tree gold tone jingle bell hot glued to a mini clothespin.

It’s that time of year when the boxes of Christmas decorations are pulled out of the attic or storage and the decorating begins. I’m sure like me, you have some items in those boxes that you’ve either held on to year after year, or some vintage items passed down from family members, that may or may not make the cut for this year’s displays.

This is a perfect time to look through those collected items to create your Christmas tablescape. This issue is to show you that making the table look beautiful doesn’t have to cost a lot, and that you can use things you already have to make a creative display for everyone to enjoy.

Same dishes, same napkin fold, added white glittered church ornament from the Dollar Tree.

The examples in my photos all have the same white tablecloth with gold polka dots, plain white gold rimmed china plate, a gold charger (from the Dollar True); gold tone flatware and gold rimmed glasses. Below each photo is a description of what was used to create each presentation.

The only important thing to remember, is to keep the centerpiece area low so that your guests can see and converse easily. Candlestick or votives are also a beautiful alternative to the battery twinkle lights, but in my situation I have an air conditioning vent that blows over my dining room table and usually blows the wax all over the place. So I only use candles that have a glass cylinder around them to protect my tablecloths or when I don’t need to have the a/c on – weather permitting. In the south we never know if it’s going to be hot or cold for Christmas. Always consider your elements in your room and ways to prevent small disasters.

Different napkin fold topped the same gold tone jingle bell. A red velvet wired ribbon wrapped around the charger. Centerpiece same evergreens with gold and red vintage glass ornaments and golden tree place card holders purchased at Homegoods.

Faux evergreen branches work just fine, but fresh branches can be picked up at the local hardware store and Christmas tree lot for free. Yes – places like Home Depot have a large wood bin next to the tent where the trunks of trees are being trimmed, with free fresh branches for the taking.

Berry branched napkins (from Homegoods), an embroidered Christmas cocktail napkin and Christmas ornament (frame) that a name or picture of your guest can be inserted as a place card. (Wouldn’t it be fun to have photos of everyone on Santa’s lap as a child?)

I often use place cards, just to mix up my group. The same people tend to sit together and I want everyone to visit with a family member or friend they haven’t seen in a while.

For the centerpiece, I used my small collection of Hallmark 1980’s village buildings, a clay timber cottage that was a gift from a friend who sent it from Germany, same faux evergreens, a couple of small red glass ornaments and three sets of battery operated mini string lights. I also swapped out the tablecloth for a muslin and gold stitched version and a table runner with a Christmas village, both from Homegoods.

To elevate this village landscape one step more, I snipped a few roses from my knockout rose bush and tucked them randomly into the evergreen branches.

Evergreens and lights remained, Spode round gift box tied with red ribbon, topped with the knockout roses, a trumpet ornament and two large instrument ornaments.

A string of multiple sized gold toned jingle bells added to the evergreen.

Clipped jingle bell on top of cocktail napkin.

Changed out the jingle bell clip for that silk white rose with gold and red velvet ribbon and clipped the jingle bell to the floral arrangement.

One last version, a golden angel playing a violin and an angel wing ornament. My book club read a Christian fiction novel a few years ago that was filled with angels. I found these wings on sale at a local gift shop after Christmas and bought one as a favor to give each of my members.

With a rose bud.

Without a rose bud.

I could probably find many other ways to use this same place setting. If your collection includes items of the same color tones, you can easily mix and match items, tuck in pops of color and create themes. With a little thought, you can use the same items for years to come in different ways and no one will ever know it isn’t new. I hope these example inspire you to create your own beautiful Christmas tables.

Figgy Plum Friendsgiving 2022

This year, my party planning was thrown off by a kitchen island renovation, and it’s taken me a little while to channel my creative energy and get back to entertaining. It seems this has also been the year that most of my group (including myself) scheduled a much needed vacation after the long pandemic concerns, making it harder to get the group together. Fortunately, we’ve all settled down and I’ll have a full table of guests for this year’s Friendsgiving.

Each year I try to draw from a fruit and/or a color that inspires my table decor and menu. Last year apples were the theme. This year I was inspired by the bouquets of purple, burgundy, maroon, blush, plum, and cream flowers at the market and chose to create a “figgy plum” themed table and menu.

I tend to pick fruits, flowers or vegetables that are in season for about two weeks before my scheduled party and then they are nowhere to be found the actual week of my event! A good plan always requires a little flexibility, but I was thrilled to find a few plums the week before and fresh figs the day before my event. The universe has been kind and given me everything I imagined.

Colorful place cards and this plum cut glass candle by Rachel Zoe were part of what dressed up my table.

Braided placemat, gold charger, Royal Stafford pheasant dinner plates (England), black “cmg” bowls (Portugal), purple table runner and cloth napkins all from Homegoods.

A week prior to the scheduled event, I stocked up on what I could find and stored everything in the refrigerator (including flowers). I could only find small plums (but dark black plums were nowhere to be found) and plumcots. As an alternative, large seedless black grapes provided that moody dark plum color I wanted to achieve. Figs are so perishable I had to wait until the day before the luncheon to purchase them.

THE FLOWERS

These copper bowls with floral oasis (hot glued to the bottom) and chicken wire were used for the centerpieces. The bowls had an original tag on the bottom from Thirstystone for $33.00 each, but at Homegoods they were $6.99 each. Always love a Homegoods deal!

THE TABLE DECOR

Silver bowls collected from antique stores and Rachel Zoe plum colored cut glass with citrus scented candles from Homegoods. (The breakfast table.)

I have ten guests (eleven including myself). I can sit ten tightly at my dining room table, but not eleven – for more comfort I’m setting up three, myself and two of my helpers) at the breakfast table on the other side of the room. We are up and down so much from serving and taking dishes away, that it’s less disruptive to the main table and easier if we are together. None of these events could succeed without the loving help of my sister team of Lanie and Caryl.

While we were sitting at a separate table there were no shortcuts when decorating it. I wanted my two friends (also my guests) to enjoy the same beautiful rich colors of the flowers, fruits and candle just like the others. So the breakfast table had all of the same elements.

Silver plated antique store finds – bowls and creamer filled with large black grapes and figs.

THE PLUM FRENCH BRANDY SANGRIA

French brandy with plums, cinnamon sticks and star anise.

Three to five days before the event, start the plum brandy. I used an extra large mason jar that could be sealed tightly. Place one plum and one plumcot (sliced into wedges), two cinnamon sticks and two star anise into two cups of French brandy (I used Trader Joe’s). Store in the refrigerator to macerate.

• Plum brandy (above chilled)
• 1 bottle of Rioja or other red wine (chilled)
• 1 25 oz bottle of sparkling water (chilled)
• 2 to 3 cups of chilled apple cider (chilled)

One day before serving, mix all of the ingredients and divide into two large jars or pitchers. Place half of two sliced plums, two sliced plumcots, a handful of black grapes (halved) into each container and allow all of the ingredients to macerate for at least 24 hours.

One hour prior guests’ arrival prepare the glasses: Fill each with sliced plums, pomegranate seeds, blackberries, black seedless grapes, fresh rosemary. When the guests arrive as host you can fill each glass with sangria or allow guests to fill their own glass.

Optional : One hour prior to your guests arrival, pour both containers into a beverage dispenser so guest can self serve and refill their glasses.

THE CHARCUTERIE BOARD

A nibble board for guests to enjoy with their sangria while waiting for everyone to arrive. It’s always a good idea to have a little something to eat while drinking alcohol.

From left to right caperberries, Mini basque sheep’s cheese, deli meats, Spanish manchego cheese, blackberries, cornichons, soft blue gorgonzola, and Trader Joe’s pumpkin cranberry and fig olive crackers.

FIGGY PLUM MENU

AUTUMN CRUNCH SALAD WITH QUINOA

WITH FIG BALSAMIC DRESSING

The recipe will be shared in an upcoming edition of “Simply Elevated”.

ROASTED SWEET POTATO AND FIG SOUP WITH CRAB

Those who are familiar with Erin French of The Lost Kitchen will recognize this method for serving soup. The bowls were set out across my kitchen island filled with a mound of fresh Louisiana lump crab, microgreens, edible flowers, a swirl of lime creme fraiche and a parmesan crisp. After the salad course, a bowl was placed in front of each guest with instructions to wait for the soup to be poured.

The soup that was prepared two days before was reheated. The juice of a lime was added and some heavy cream. The hot soup was ladled into a white pitcher and poured into each bowl at tableside (Erin French style).

The recipe for this can be found in the most recent Simply Elevated post (Fall Soup)

DESSERT: PLUM, FIG AND FRANGIPANE TART

WITH FRESH WHIPPED CREAM

To end the meal, I made simple puffed pastry tarts cut into squares filled with frangipane, fig butter, sliced plums and one slice of fresh fig with the corners pulled together over the top. All were prepped before everyone arrived and placed in the refrigerator until the soup course was served.

During that course the trays were pulled from the refrigerator, brushed with egg wash, sprinkled with chocolate sea salt and baked 25 minutes. Fresh from the oven each placed on a plate, dusted with a mixture of powdered sugar and Chinese five spice with a side of fresh Chinese five spice whipped cream.

This very low sugar fresh fruit dessert was a great way to end our fall themed menu, featuring the end of season plums and figs while filled with gratitude for another year of books and wine shared with these special friends in a celebration of Friendsgiving.

Fall Inspired Soup: Simply Elevated

The first weekend in November, I will be hosting my annual Friendsgiving luncheon for ten guests. Inspired by the warm fall colors of a floral bouquet with shades of plum, burgundy, purple, and cream, I decided on a Figgy Plum menu. Figs and plums are both at the end of their season, naturally just before my scheduled date. I managed to find some plumcots, a few plums and dried figs to make this menu work.

A couple of days before my scheduled luncheon, I’ve made the soup, stopping after the purée process. I will add the cream and lime after rewarming just prior to serving.

Roasted Sweet Potato & Fig Soup with Crab

This recipe will serve 4 to 6 depending of the thickness you choose and the size of the bowl.

4 medium sized sweet potatoes 

1 medium onion (sliced) 

1 head of garlic (pre- roasted) **

Olive oil

4 – 6 dried figs (chopped)  – if you can’t find dried figs, a ½ cup of fig preserves can be substituted

4 -6 cups chicken or vegetable stock

1 teaspoon kosher salt (or more to taste)

Ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (spiciness to your liking)

½ cup heavy cream or half and half

2 large limes

Crème fraiche (1 container about 4-6 oz)

1 plastic condiment squeeze bottle with screw on top

Parmesan (crisps) can be purchased or made *** see link below for recipe (can be made ahead)

Lump crab meat (optional)

Fresh edible flowers, microgreens and/or fresh herb leaves such as flat leaf parsley or mini Thai basil leaves (optional)

This recipe requires some time, but results in added flavor.  I keep a jar of garlic confit (**garlic cloves roasted in olive oil until sweet and soft) in my refrigerator that helps speed up the process and I caramelize my sliced onion is a non-stick pan on the stove.  But if you don’t have roasted garlic and would rather not caramelize the onions on the stove you can do the following.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit

Drizzle olive on lightly on to a rimmed, foil lined baking sheet. ( If everything does not fit in one even layer, a second prepared sheet can be used).

Cut sweet potatoes in half lengthwise and place face down on the tray. Pierce each potato on the skin side several times with the point of a knife.

**Place a head of garlic into aluminum foil, drizzle generously with olive oil and tightly close and seal the foil around the garlic, place on baking.

Peel and slice the onion into about ¼ inch slices and spread (one layer) on baking sheet.

Lightly drizzle everything with olive oil.

Bake for 25 minutes and check onions (they may require stirring to ensure roasting or they may be golden enough. If golden remove and place in the blender –waiting on the rest of the ingredients and to limit dirty dishes).

Continue to bake potatoes and garlic for another 15 to 20 minutes. ( Time may vary based on size of potatoes and differences in ovens, until potatoes are soft when pricked and garlic is soft.)

Meanwhile – prepare Crème fraiche

Zest one lime onto a board (or turn the microplane upside down and zest, the zest will remain on the microplane to easily slide into the opening of the squeeze bottle)

Scoop the Crème fraiche into a small zip bag.  Cut one of the bottom corners, twist the top tightly and press contents like a pastry bag into the squeeze bottle. (easier method than using a spoon to transfer to the bottle.)

Cut the lime in half and add the juice of one half of the lime.  Reserve the other half for later.

Close the squeeze bottle tightly and with finger over the pointed top hole, shake until well combined.

Squeeze onto a piece of the foil to check consistency and determine if loose enough to swirl on top of the served soup. (It should not be watery just loosened to easily squeeze out. If too watery, place in the refrigerator the it to firm up a little).

Next:

Remove roasted potatoes, garlic and onions if still on the sheet, from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature (or cool enough to handle)

Using a teaspoon scoop the flesh from the skins and place in the blender with the onions.

Squeeze the soft roasted garlic from their skins on to the foil (to ensure no skins get into the pulp) and then place the roasted garlic pulp into the blender

Add chopped dried figs, some of the stock and puree. 

Add salt, black pepper, red pepper flakes.  Process.  Add additional stock to achieve the thickness you prefer and continue to season to taste.

Pour the pureed vegetables into a large pot and simmer to warm to preferred temperature, stirring frequently to avoid sticking to the bottom on the pot. When completely warmed until fully combined. Here’s where I recommend tasting the soup and adding any additional salt if needed.

Add the juice of the remaining 1½ limes just before serving.  Taste for seasoning and taste make sure there was enough lime to brighten the soup up.

Parmesan crisps: (optional – serve with the soup or a side salad)

Parmesan Crisps Recipe | MyRecipes

To serve:

Ladle pureed soup into bowl

Squeeze a swirl of lime crème fraiche

Stick in a parmesan crisp

Add 1 ½ tablespoons of crab (float on top)

Garnish with edible flowers and microgreens or fresh herb leaves

To serve Erin French style: (The Lost Kitchen)

A wider shallow bowl would be required for this presentation (rather than a cup sized version).

Swirl lime crème fraiche into the bottom of the bowl

Place small mound of crab to one side / sick parmesan crisp into the crab mound

Garnish with edible flowers/ microgreens/herbs

(Place bowls in front of each guest)  Pour pureed soup from a pitcher into the bowl until just below the crab mound.)

I will share the rest of our Friendsgiving Menu in my next post, until then enjoy this beautiful Fall weather wherever you may be! Thank you for stopping by!

Fall Foliage Weekend Getaway (State of Georgia) 2022

Autumn or Fall is my favorite time of year. It’s the most colorful and inviting of all seasons filled with an intense kaleidoscope of every shade of orange, mellon, paprika, cantaloupe, peach, pumpkin, squash, yellow, gold, red, plum, eggplant, chocolate and evergreens that can go on and on in description forever as far as the eye can see. The air is lighter, crisp and cool, with invigorating breezes that encourage outdoor activities and road trips to encircle ourselves with all of its beauty and comfort.

I grow excited at the first cold snap that encourages me to pull out my cozy sweaters and boots, only to be disappointed a couple of days later when the temperatures rise again causing me to abandon them feeling teased by a temporary glimpse at Fall such as it is in the South.

In mid-October I enjoyed a wonderful long weekend visiting family in the northern suburbs of Atlanta. The weather cooperated with cold crisp nights and mornings that then comfortably warmed as the day progressed. I was introduced to the beautiful Georgia mountains where the color was in its early stages of transforming, pleasantly advancing slightly more each day. We visited several of my cousin and her husband’s favorite wineries (I’ll call research), an apple orchard, several antique shops and a grist mill with a lovely burbling creek that powers it.

Their favorite wineries included a beautiful landscape with a relaxing environment, a selection of wines to try by the glass or in a sample flight, and live acoustic guitar and vocalist playing country or classic rock.

The view was often reminiscent of parts of California (where I grew up) that I ‘ve missed so much. Mountains in the distance are not something seen in southern Louisiana and offer lovely weekend drives for recharging and fresh air.

The Nora Mill and Country Store was a quick stop on our way to Helen, Georgia for their Octoberfest that begins in late September and continues throughout the entire month of October. We arrived on an early Sunday morning, hoping to beat the crowds that were sure to arrive as the day progressed. We enjoyed an outdoor lunch and before leaving I had to have a piece of authentic black forest cake!

Authentic Black Forest Cake

On my list of things I wanted to do during our visit was antique shopping. My cousin and her husband enthusiastically and successfully I might add, helped me in my quest to start a silver spoon collection, I call tasting spoons. What is a tasting spoon? Those of you who may be a fan of Ina Garten, may have seen the container of silver spoons on her counter that she uses to taste the seasoning of her food during it’s cooking process. I planned to search through Paris flea markets one day to start my collection, but having not made that trip yet, I decided to look for spoons from the various places I’ve traveled.

The second spoon (these are all tablespoons) from the left was recently purchased in a shop not far from where I live. The rest of the spoons were found mostly by my cousin’s a husband who was on a mission to send me home successfully equipped. The most interesting of those he found is the last one on the right and below, found in a shop across the street from the grist mill. Once back in the car, I had a closer look and noticed that it looked like arms wrapping around the back to the front.

A tag was attached to help locate information about the pattern, Fraget Plaque Russian, however a quick internet search lead to the pattern where one site calls it Gargoyle.

In another search I found several for sale, but none with the exact same symbol in front of the Fraget name. One stated: “For those who don’t speak French, the pattern name – Peau de Lion – simply means Lion Skin which is what is being portrayed on the flatware and hollowware in this pattern. It was supposed to recall the lion skin worn by the mythical Hercules. The pattern was designed by Charles Rossigneux to be shown at the 1867 Paris Exposition. It was created by several companies though I think that Christofle and Fraget (Russia & Poland) were more prolific than Gorham. I have seen the Christofle and Fraget examples and I noticed that there are some small but definite differences in their versions of the pattern.”

Any way you look at it, it is an interesting find and great conversation piece.

The beginnings of a tasting spoon collection.

While the landscape of the Georgia mountains brought back memories of parts of California, the charming quaint mountain towns reminded me of New England.

Dahlonega

Our first day of sightseeing started in Dahlonega where we ate at a really cute Mediterranean restaurant Capers on the Square where we enjoyed a bowl of Greek chicken, lemon and rice soup that I’m trying to recreate and add to my weekly soup rotation.

There were several cute shops and antiques stores that we also searched through and found a couple of spoons to add to my collection.

***Dahlonega is a small city in northern Georgia. Tasting rooms offering wines from regional vineyards cluster around 19th-century Public Square. Dahlonega Gold Museum, in the 1836 courthouse, chronicles mining in the area from the discovery of gold in 1828. Consolidated Gold Mine includes an underground mine from around 1900. Waterfalls, including towering Amicalola Falls, dot the mountains of north Georgia. Dahlonega, the seat of Lumpkin County, lies about sixty-five miles north of Atlanta in the Blue Ridge province. The town is closely associated with Georgia’s gold history; its name derives from a Cherokee word referring to the yellow color of gold.***

From the airport my cousin drove me to the little town of Marietta (Marietta Square) where we had lunch at Taqueria Tsunami (very good) and then strolled around the square stopping into the first of the antique shops during my time there.

While some may not associate northern Georgia as a place to enjoy the Fall foliage (at least I was completely ignorant to this location), it was a lovely way to enjoy the changing leaves, drink a little wine, listen to some great music and do a little antique shopping. I checked in with my cousin the following weekend and it does not appear that they have reached the peak of their season yet. She’s hopeful to see more color this coming weekend (the last in October) when her Dad is coming for a visit. It was beautiful, relaxing and a budget friendly way to enjoy nature and the magic of Fall.

My first buckwheat pancakes made with flour from Nora Mill Granary (purchased at Grist Mill & Country Store in Helen, GA). I used buttermilk in place of milk in my batter. These pancakes have no sugar – just a slight sweetness from a teaspoon of molasses. Drizzled with maple syrup and sprinkled with sweet pomegranate seeds they are light and tender. Perfect Fall🍁🍂🥞morning breakfast!

Book Club Meeting: “The Master Craftsman” by Kelli Stuart

Vintage Fabergu00e9 egg illustration by The British Library is licensed under CC-CC0 1.0

Our Social Writes Book Club selection for October 2022 was made by Pemmie. “The Master Craftsman” by Kelli Stuart is a beautifully written historical fiction novel highlighting Peter Karl Fabergé and his jewellery firm House of Fabergé, in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Commissioned by the Imperial family, Karl supervised the many designers and craftsmen, including two women as they created the over fifty elegant jeweled Easter eggs from 1885 to 1917. The first egg of 1885 delivered to the Russian Tsar Alexander III was given to his wife Maria Feodorovna as an annual gift and continued later by Tsar Nicholas II.

Stuart injects an intriguing current day treasure hunt for a missing coveted egg that reconnects a daughter and her mother with her estranged father, who orchestrates the hunt from his deathbed. A last attempt to connect with his daughter during the limited time he has left. Unexpected twists and turns concludes with the true treasure of all in hand.

Pemmie will host this meeting for our group, and while the plan will be hers, I shared that Russian black bread and chai appeared in the book more than a couple of times. I’m always seeking for food notes in our books in order to introduce myself and group to the flavors and traditions within the stories we read. A small attempt to erect a little life from the pages.

I found a recipe (in the link below) and told Pemmie I would give this bread a test bake, a little excited to see how it turns out. I’m a baker, but bread is not one of the techniques I’ve frequented. Fortunately this was basically a low maintenance version where the stand mixer did all of the kneading. (A bread machine would have simplified the process even further. ) I did not divert from the recipe, but I have noted a couple of tips from my experience.

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/7034/russian-black-bread/?utm_source=pinterest.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=social-share-recipe&utm_content=20220916&utm_term=7034

The hardest part of the process was finding the flours and caraway seeds. My pantry is filled with more things than the average person might have, but these ingredients were not among my inventory. I really didn’t want a five pound bag of bread flour either. After stopping into three or four different grocers, I found a one pound sack of both the bread and rye flours and a reasonable priced jar of caraway seeds. I tried to borrow some dark Karo syrup from a neighbor (needing only 2 tablespoons), but they didn’t have any. Karo syrup is one of those ingredients like molasses that ends up being used once and then the bottle sits in the pantry for years. (Much like this bottle of caraway seeds will also.)

The recipe was extremely simple, adding all ingredients except for the softened butter to the mixing bowl and using the dough hook, kneading for 10 minutes. Then the softened butter is added for another 5 minute kneading (again with the dough hook). The recipe didn’t warn what to expect of the finished dough, but I will say that it’s very sticky. It also didn’t rise as much as I thought it would.

BAKING TIP: Sometimes you learn a tip from a baker and if you don’t bake frequently, it’s easily forgotten when you decide to take a stab at baking again. This is a tip I remembered. When removing the paper from your softened stick of butter, fold the sheet (butter side) together and store in a zip bag in your refrigerator. When a recipe calls for greasing a bowl or pan, take out the buttered sheet at the beginning of the baking process – the butter softens quickly. Use the remaining butter from the sheet to grease your bowl or pan and while not wasting the small amount that remained on the paper.

The softened butter wrapper’s remaining butter used to grease the bowl and loaf pans.

Before rising

After rising

TIP: I didn’t get a double rise out of my dough. It was more like a single rather than double rise of the original dough. I even let it sit in a warm oven for another 30 minutes (the recipe started with 1 hour so my total was 1 1/2 hours) and then when I prepared to cut the dough into two, placing half in each loaf pan, I had to use more than a sprinkling of bread flour to handle it. Make sure your hands are dusted as well as the surface. The dough is sticky. The second proofing didn’t look like it had much of a rise, so again I left the loaf pans in a warm oven (170 degrees F) for another 20 minutes to get the slight rise in the picture above. It filled the loaf pan more than rose.

While I was concerned that the bread would be a flop, it turned out beautifully. I should have used the bread splitter tool that I bought a year ago (that I forgot I had). The split would have formed at the top rather than the side, but it still turned out great.

After allowing it to cool for about 10 minutes, I used a serrated bread knife to slice a piece and was thrilled to see the airy soft texture and knew it was well baked. (Hopeful Paul Hollywood would agree- but not necessarily give me a handshake! Lol)

A warm steamy cup of chai latte’ (my favorite by the way) was all I needed to complete the black bread and chai experience. The black bread has a bitter slightly sweet note that comes from the combination of the small amounts of brown sugar, corn syrup, unsweetened cocoa powder and apple cider vinegar. The carraway, fennel seeds and rye flour add the savory note reminiscent of rye bread. Interesting ingredients and flavor.

One of my taste testers drizzled it with honey. The blogger said it was good with cheese, but didn’t state what kind of cheese. For now I’ve carefully wrapped up the second bread and placed it in the freezer until our meeting in early October. We will rewarm it on the day of the meeting and let everyone choose their own way to savor it.

While chai tea would be a good choice, I also found this chai cocktail made with chai and Russia’s beloved volka. The addition of Kahlua (a coffee flavored liqueur) creates a cocktail take on the dirty chai, where coffee is added to the tea with milk. My book club gals love a fun cocktail.

Use the leftover concentrate, by warming a half cup of concentrate and separately a half cup of milk – then foam the milk with a frother and top the concentrate in a mug for a chai tea latte. It’s the perfect fall morning drink with a big spicy morning inside hug. It’s my favorite!

In lieu of the chai syrup recipe in the link, I used the chai tea concentrate sold by most grocers in a quart carton by Oregon Chai , but there are other versions by Tazo and a small bottle that works perfectly sold at Trader Joe’s that works just fine and does the same job. If you don’t have a bottle of Kahlua – liquor stores like Total Wine, sell smaller bottles that will provide the amount you need and not leave you with a bottle that will sit around for years to come unused.

Cocktail recipe in the link below.

https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/vanilla-chai-tea-white-russian/

The rest of Pemmie’s plan will be a surprise, even to me, which adds an excitement and energy to the day filled with good conversation, laughter, food and spirits!

Russia is one of the largest producers of Sun Flowers.

Pemmie’s table setting, not just because it is Fall, but because Russia is one of the biggest producers of sun flowers!

Bird’s Milk Cake (Ptichye Moloko)

https://momsdish.com/recipe/210/birds-milk-cake

A Summer Home Project – Kitchen Island Renovation

The original center counter design.

Hello followers! I’m sure you may be wondering why I haven’t posted any parties lately. A pending renovation of my kitchen island prohibited me from scheduling any parties for the past few months. I’m sharing what has been going on, and what I feel will be a game changer in available counter space for cooking and entertaining.

I never quite understood this high/low counter top-bar design. Some say it was to hide your sink – from what? It’s still out in the open! In any case it is what the builder’s design provided when I bought my home. My neighbor had her’s leveled into an actual kitchen island and it inspired me to do the same.

First I had to decide how I wanted this revamp to look, and that took more time than I originally expected (a couple of years). Something so permanent requires a lot of thought, and time to imagine what the end result may look like. After all it will last for years to come, so I’d best be happy with it! I had a budget in mind, which of course was greatly exceeded (with everything costing more these days). Still I knew the cost over time would only grow and if I didn’t move forward with it, I would regret it in the future.

Before with bar seating.

My cabinets are already very dark and the granite is very busy. (Basically the only choices provided at the time of construction). To lighten this up a bit, I thought and searched a long time before deciding to add this curio chest to fill the large blank wall on one side of my kitchen. It provided additional storage for my many white serving platters and bowls, but no additional counter space. It also added a much needed brightness to the kitchen.

The curio cabinet that inspired the kitchen island design.

With my curio cabinet as inspiration, I wanted to renovate the island to match the two toned color palette and slightly distressed design. The width of the cabinetry would be expanded out to meet the ends of the pony wall, making room for a large drawer to store a hidden garbage pail and move my small narrow cabinet (used to store my baking sheets and cutting boards) to the other side of the island.

SKETCHES FOR THE CONTRACTOR

To ensure that I was correctly communicating what I wanted to the contractor, I created the above sketches that he said where very helpful.

I searched for antique corbels with no luck. I didn’t want it to look as distressed as the first photo, but the vintage feel was appealing and I wanted to add a little distressing to match the curio. Basically I wanted this island to be one of a kind and resemble a piece of furniture rather than traditional cabinetry.

Doors of my Curio Cabinet.

Due to the addition of a farmhouse style apron sink (but in a stainless steel brass color), my existing cabinets could not be reused. The doors under the sink were too tall and couldn’t be refinished to achieve the look that I wanted (similar to the curio).

Before and after the demo.

My contractor constructed the cabinet sections of the island offsite, and then demoed the existing cabinetry to replace it with the newly designed pieces from my sketches. Modifications to the sketch were made as it came together where necessary.

Garbage can drawer.

The first piece to be completed and installed was this drawer to store a garbage container and enough room to store a supply of garbage bags. No more ugly visible garbage can.

Shiplap was first stained and then painted in a color similar to my curio, so that when a little distressing is added, the stained color will show beneath. At least that was the plan, but when the sanding of areas was applied, the stain did not show through at all, it went straight down to the raw wood, but still gave the appearance we were trying to replicate.

A stainless steel brass farmhouse sink, with two handle brass bridge faucet, brass covered electrical outlet and power button for the garbage disposal all added the pop of sparkle that blended in with the other brass and copper accessories throughout my kitchen and living areas.

Aged brass hanging rail and hooks from deVOL in the UK.

I will not be changing out my countertops at this time, but hope to do that in the near future.

Pestle and Mortar from Homegoods, gold clay bowls, mini copper cups (The Lost Kitchen).

Sometimes a project that you imagine will go smoothly, has multiple setbacks that you can do very little to remedy. PATIENCE will be pushed to the extreme. The process and pieces that are needed don’t always come as easily as it may seem on HGTV. I’m a planner as you all know, so when the plan goes off course a lot of stress and aggravation rises to the surface by everyone involved.

A friend who witnessed my frustration first hand said, “It’s like giving birth to a baby. You have long periods of discomfort, but the end result is something you dearly love!”

• Lyndhurst 2 handle bridge kitchen faucet with side sprayer in matte gold. – Ebay
• Lordear 30″ x 21″ undermount kitchen farmhouse sink (gold) – Wayfair
• InSink Earator (push button for disposal gold) – Perigold
• Stain – Hampton Cottage TIS-058
• Paint – Cameo White MG3-32 (Behr)
• Hickory Hardware P2144-BGB American Diner Collection Cup Pull 3 Inch & 3-3/4 Inch (96mm) Hole Center, Center to Center, Brushed Golden Brass (on garbage drawer) – Amazon
• Leviton PFUS1-BR Pop-Up Floor Box with Dual Type A, 3.6 USB Charger, 15 Amp Outlet, Brass (electrical outlet)

After many, many snafooz, I ended up with a different quartz countertop than I originally selected being advised on the day of installation that my original choice was discontinued. I’ve learned that renovations involve a lot of disappointing promises not kept, lip service and pivoting on materials. In the end the alternative quartz option the stone company offered was more expensive (but they did not charge me the difference due to the multiple forms of miscommunication on their part) and in the end may be a better look that I originally planned.

The top trim is hard to see without squatting and standing very far away to see it (and I’m very short), but it’s there.

I had two decorative tins leftover that match my backsplash, so to tie the island to the backsplash one was placed on each side and framed. Finally a little distressing was added similar to my curio cabinet.

• Leviton PFUS1-BR Pop-Up Floor Box with Dual Type A, 3.6 USB Charger, 15 Amp Outlet, Brass (electrical outlet)

My original bar stools were now too tall and I sold them on Facebook marketplace to a very happy new homeowner, rather quickly. Bar stools vary in pricing and I didn’t want to buy anything overly expensive. I started shopping online for that high end look, at a low price. As always, I pinned multiple versions to a board on Pinterest (Loiret Kitchen Island inspiration); and looked at the photos over and over for a few days, trying to imagine how they would look in my space.

I finally decided on these Abbott 26″ Spindle Stool that I found the best price for on Overstock.com. I had a 15% off coupon, but of course more than a week later they went on sale for another 19% off. I’ve gambled in the past, waiting out a possible sale and the item I want ended up selling out and I couldn’t get it anymore. So I decided the overall price for these was reasonable enough with the discount and free shipping to move forward with my order. The stools do require some assembling, but it wasn’t difficult and I was very happy with the little added visual interest the spindled legs provided to the room.

https://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Bar-Stools/2023/subcat.html?featuredproduct=35976645&featuredoption=69404825&ci_sku=40047287-000-001&cnc=US&cid=317174&track=pspla&gclid=Cj0KCQjwguGYBhDRARIsAHgRm4-mYtS3KBDDTSm4znvfllTeUAjvvfvukEX3mX0W24AyGh7EHMYaTfwaAgFpEALw_wcB

I’m finally going to call this project complete, and moving on to party plans for the near future. Stay tuned! Let the parties begin!

Spice Jar Refresh (A Weekend Project)

The summer heat has been especially brutal this year, but somehow my herb garden has managed to persevere. So much so, that the abundance has resulted in little bouquet deliveries to my neighbors from time to time including a little Mother’s Day gift this past May when my nasturtiums, tarragon and chives were still blooming.

In the colder months to come, when portions of the herb garden may go dormant, those dried herbs in the pantry are more frequently used. How old are the dry herbs in your pantry? Do you even remember when you bought them? Now is a great time to empty those jars and refill them with freshly dried herbs.

To start I cut bunches of each herb (in the garden) and give each bundle a good trim, discard dead or discolored stems and wash well setting the bundle on a tray lined with paper towel to slightly dry.

For the drying process I used the microwave oven, and two paper plates, with one method for thyme, oregano and tarragon and a different method for rosemary and sage. I didn’t dry basil or mint, as those are always best fresh, but I did share a use for using up the large crop of sweet basil below to add elevated flavor to your recipes.

Fresh Tarragon (on top) dried below.

Dried Tarragon

For thyme, oregano and tarragon, I simply laid the washed stems in a small bunch in the middle of the paper plate and then covered it with another paper plate. Place covered plate into the microwave and process for three 30 second intervals. This allows the herb leaves to slowly dry and maintain a green color without burning. Test your microwave (as they are all different) by checking the level of dryness after two 30 second processes. If your leaves are still slightly “fresh” or wet, process a third time and check again. Some may have to process it for less time and others may have to process it a little longer.

Once dried, using your fingertips, gently roll the leaves from the stems and discard the stems. Store the dried herbs into glass jars to prevent crushing.

Fresh Thyme

Dried Thyme

For rosemary, pinch the stem with two fingers at the top and slide down to remove all of the rosemary leaves. Place the leaves between the two paper plates and process for two 30 second intervals. I found that this was dry enough for my liking and know that they will continue to dry over time in the pantry.

For sage, pull the leaves from their stems, stack three or four leaves and then roll tightly like a cigar. Thinly slice into strips (called chiffonade) and depending on the size of the leaves it may require slicing the strips in half.

Placing the chiffonade sage leaves between the two paper plates, process in 30 second intervals in the microwave watching for the level of dryness you prefer.

For many years, my Thanksgiving centerpiece has been a sage butter roasted turkey, with a sage apple cider gravy that requires both dried and fresh sage. Dried sage pressed together into coarse salt is rubbed all over the turkey skin and then placed in the refrigerator overnight. When baking the following day, it is based with melted butter and fresh chopped sage. Both the aroma and flavors are absolutely amazing! My freshy dried sage will be stored and ready for the big day.

https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/sage-butter-roasted-turkey-with-cider-gravy

A practiced cook knows that recipes that go into the oven often call for dried herbs rather than fresh because they tend to better handle the heat and long periods of baking, but less amounts are used because the flavor of the herb intensifies when dried. The Fall and Winter seasons are usually enjoyed by savoring rich stews, roasted vegetables and meats that are often cooked in the oven. Having a pantry stocked with freshly grown and dried herbs is not only a tasty plan, but a thrifty plan since buying dried herbs can be very expensive.

If your garden is plentiful, the holidays are just around the corner. Why not consider gifting freshly dried herbs to friends and family as Christmas gifts? Purchase inexpensive jars or use small dollar store zip labeled pouches filled with freshly dried herbs and then nested in a small basket as a hostess or holiday gift is something the recipient can use and enjoy all year. If gifting sealed pouches of herbs, just as you have refreshed your spice jars, your friends and family can toss out the old dried herbs in their pantry and refill their jars with your gifted herbs. A jar of confit garlic and local fresh baked bread (if you don’t bake yourself) and or a jar of pesto (made with your basil) and encourage the least interested cook into creating something easy and flavorful.

Let’s not forget about the basil. I have both sweet basil and thai basil growing in my garden. Both have grown to nearly three feet tall and this is what they look like after a good trim. While dried basil is not something I personally use, a large amount of fresh basil can be used to make fresh pesto. Using a recipe from Pinterest, basil, garlic, lemon juice, toasted pine nuts, grated parmesan cheese and extra virgin olive oil whirled in a small food processor creates a bright and fresh pesto that is flavorful and delicious spread over grilled chicken or tossed in fresh pasta. It also can be stored in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks and can be spread on wraps or used to make a vinaigrette to toss on a fresh spinach salad. https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/pesto-pea-salad-recipe-2040302

Sweet basil and spicy thai basil with lavender blossoms that the bees are enjoying.

Freshly made pesto.

For my last little project, I made confit garlic and garlic roasted olive oil. Recipes can be found on Pinterest, but for mine I did the following.

For confit: I used a mini ceramic bread loaf pan, and filled with two large garlic bulbs -cloves separated and peeled and then poured extra virgin olive oil close to the top of the pan. Also place on a small baking sheet to protect from spilling. Place in the oven at 250 degrees for two hours. Let cool and store in tightly sealed jar in refrigerator for a couple of weeks. Cover the garlic with the oil and if there is excess add to the roasted garlic oil bottle below.

For roasted garlic oil: I used the same mini ceramic bread loaf pan and sliced the top edge off of two garlic bulbs and placed the entire bulbs in the loaf pan. Fill with extra virgin olive oil, place on a baking sheet and bake at 250 degrees for two hours. Let cool to room temperature. I then squeezed the garlic from the bulbs into the confit jar. Use a coffee filter or cheesecloth folded into four layers and place inside a funnel and filter oil into a measuring cup. Using the same funnel and filter pour the filtered oil from the measuring cup through the cheesecloth again, into your final glass bottle.

Note: You can purchase peeled garlic cloves or break a bulb of garlic apart and place the individual cloves with peel into a tightly closed jar and shake vigorously until all of the peel comes off of the garlic.

How to use your garlic confit and roasted garlic olive oil.

Roasted or confit garlic is sweet and very flavorful. You can spread the soft cloves on breads to make homemade garlic bread, create a vinaigrette, add to soups, pasta or roasted chicken. Be creative and experiment. I had a loaf of freshly baked lucky seven grain bread that I sliced and spread the soft buttery roasted garlic cloves on one slice and caramelized onion chutney on the other slice with thinly sliced honey turkey breast that created a delicious turkey sandwich with intense elevated flavor.

One of my favorite things to do with the roasted garlic infused olive oil, is to drizzle it over fresh tomatoes, avocado or roasted potatoes (any roasted vegetables). Anything you would finish with a little drizzle of olive oil can also be drizzled with the rich garlic infused flavored olive oil.

Bakery Lucky Seven Grain Bread, Confit (roasted) garlic and thinly sliced deli honey turkey breast.

Whether it’s a hot sunny day or a rainy hot day that you are trying to escape, while staying indoors here’s a productive way to spend the afternoon preserving herbs and creating flavor filled pestos and oils to elevate your summer and future Fall and Winters dishes and maybe even create a few gifts for the holidays.

Summer Pancakes (Simply Elevated)

My favorite summertime fruit is the peach, more specifically the white peach and even more so the saturn or donut peach. The donut peach is a squatty version that when eaten fully ripened, has an intense, juicy, sweet white peach flavor that for me is perfection.

Saturn or Donut Peach

Sunday mornings are my time for a break from the weekly routines, with an extra concentrated focus on prayer, gratitude, and rest that begins with a special breakfast. On this Sunday morning, I was in the mood to combine my favorite peach with pancakes.

For my simply elevated experiment, I started with my favorite pancake recipe published in 2012 in Martha Stewart Living magazine. While few changes were made to her original recipe (always the best choice for success), it’s the topping that elevates these pancakes with a fresh twist of white balsamic vinegar and fresh herbs.

Front (left), sage, spring onions, left rear sweet basil, right thai basil, with rosemary in front (right).

To ensure that I always have fresh herbs when needed, I planted a small garden that thrives throughout most of the year. Mint is kept in a pot (or it will take over the rest of the garden), while basil is a Spring and Summer herb that requires new planting in early Spring. Both also provide beautiful floral blossoms. Planting a small herb garden is also a budget friendly way to add fresh flavor to your recipes.

Summer Pancakes with Peach-Blueberry White Balsamic Maple Syrup

Prep time 20 -30 minutes makes 10 pancakes

(This recipe was adapted from Marthastewart.com Nectarine Pancakes https://www.marthastewart.com/909613/nectarine-pancakes

• 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
• 3 1/2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 1/2 cups low-fat buttermilk
• 2 eggs (room temperature)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean (or extract)
• 1 tablespoon butter (melted) and more for skillet
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 medium white or yellow peach (medium ripe -not too firm or too soft) sliced into rings –
• 1 donut peach (small diced)- or white, yellow peach
• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon white balsamic vinegar
• fresh mint &/or sweet or thai (for a little spice) basil (chiffonade or thinly sliced) and more for garnish

1. In medium to large mixing bowl whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
2. In a separate bowl whisk eggs, buttermilk, vanilla, oil and melted butter until thoroughly combined and then mix into the bowl of dry ingredients. Let sit for 10 minutes.
3. With a paring knife slide peaches into 1/4 inch horizontal rings, pulling away from the pit.
4. In a small bowl combine diced saturn peach, blueberries, maple syrup, white balsamic vinegar and chiffonade mint and sweet basil (set aside for serving).
5. Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Working in batches and adding more butter as needed, pour 1/2 cup batter into the pan (I used a large ice cream scoop), top each with a peach slice. Cook until bubbles form on the surface and underside is golden (about 3-4 minutes), then flip (you may have to hold the peach to avoid slipping) and cook until the second side is golden brown (3 to 4 minutes).
6. Serve with peach blueberry white balsamic maple syrup and garnish with fresh mint and sweet basil.
7. Review tips below before you start.

Vanilla paste is a little pricey, but not as pricey as vanilla beans and the overall quantity is greater and lasts longer. While vanilla exact is just as acceptable, vanilla paste is filled with those beautiful seeds from the bean and elevate the flavor in your recipes.

Peaches were used for my version of this recipe, but other stone fruits such as nectarines, apricots, plums and mangos are other options to experiment with. For the best fruit flavor, the fruit should be ripe, but not overly soft.

If you don’t have buttermilk, you can make some with milk and white vinegar or fresh lemon juice or use yogurt or sour cream. See the link below for alternatives. https://celebratingsweets.com/buttermilk-substitute/

I did try placing the peach slice in the pan first and pouring the batter over it. This caramelizes the peach a little more, but the weight of the pancake is less formed (cooked). When flipping the pancake, the cooked portion is thinner and weighted by the peach slice – so the balance is off and the peach can fall out. Feel free to try the version that best works for you.

To elevate the pancake experience I used one of my favorite ingredients, white balsamic vinegar. Using my saturn peaches that are soft, ripe and sweet, diced similar in size to making a chunky salsa (however more of whatever peach you have will create the same results), I then added my second favorite summer fruit, fresh sweet blueberries, a small amount of maple syrup and white balsamic vinegar tossed with fresh mint and sweet basil (or thai basil for a little spice). The vinegar adds an unexpected pleasant brightness to the combination and fresh new way to top our pancakes. The addition of more maple syrup is optional.

These fruit filled pancakes can be further elevated with a serving of crispy bacon on the side.

This summer, freshen up your Sunday morning breakfast pancakes by filling them with beautiful pitted fruits that are at their peak and surprise the family with a new bright, fruity and herbaceous topping they’re sure to remember.

Annual Mothers Tea Honoring Jane

The thing about time…

When we are young, we are so very busy. Busy getting an education, busy building a career, busy having and caring for children and their many needs and later activities, busy shopping for groceries, new shoes for the kids, hair appointments, doctor appointments, yard work, laundry, cooking, cleaning ….. and at the end of each week, there is still a list of things we still didn’t get done. It’s ok, we still have time, until we don’t.

When we are young we think we have an abundance of time just waiting for us to spend later. As a grandmother who has not yet retired (a couple of years away), time becomes more and more precious. My daughter, her husband and my three grandchildren live five and half hours away and between my work schedule, their work schedules and the ever growing busy activities of each grandchild as they grow into lives of their own, attempting to coordinate uninterrupted time together has become an impossible challenge.

I remember when my mother retired, she suddenly had time to spare and fantasized about her family all getting together to take a cruise or some kind of trip together. While she and my dad now had the benefit of time, my brother and I, and our children struggled to clear our schedules all at the same time to make this wish of her’s materialise. We all thought we still had time, until we didn’t.

My mom passed away at the age of 75 with pancreatic cancer. The biggest shock to all of us including her. She was certain she had so much more time, but time for her, had ended.

Mother’s Day is a day to celebrate our Moms, but when Mom has gone to live with the Lord everything changes. Those who have their adult children and grandchildren living near, may be blessed with an afternoon brunch, lunch or even barbecue to spend time with those you hold so dear to your heart for at least a day. For those like myself that live at a distance, the day is less about me and more about my memories of my Mom and the pride I feel for my lovely daughter who is a wonderful Mom trying to find time for forming my grandchildren into beautiful little people.

My Annual Mother’s Tea was formed to gather with friends whose Moms have also gone to be with the Lord, and offers us each a place to share memories and celebrate our mothers.

Held on the first Sunday in May (so as not to conflict with the actual Mother’s Day holiday), we all have a rhinestone framed photo of our mothers that I like to think of as their crowns; that are placed before us at each place setting.

Each year we select a name from a teapot and the following year I create a tea theme that celebrates and honors that mother. Over the years we have found common ground between our mothers from different generations and drawn memories from just taking the time to sit and listen to each others stories.

This year, for our 4th Annual Mother’s Tea, we honored Kelly’s Mom, Jane Peacock. At our very first tea, Kelly recalled a memory of collecting the dried seeds of marigolds so her Mom could replant them in her garden the following year. These seed packets were created from my garden at the end of last year’s season, to use as favors for this year’s tea.

Kelly’s Mom was an eclectic lady, with passions and interests that challenged me in my effort to capture her spirit on this special day. In my previous post https://socialinteractionsandparties.wordpress.com/2022/04/21/a-little-racey-beachy-peacock-mothers-tea/ , I explain the table decor which includes themes of peacock, beach and NASCAR.

I of course had to include some fresh marigolds, and the flowers that Kelly most associated with her Mom which were yellow roses and daisies. Daisies are not readily available in my area, so I used chamomile that resembles a floppy delicate miniature daisy in the floral arrangements. I used purple irises in memory of Lydia’s mother that we honored last year and some lavender from my garden.

The tea I chose met with the beachy theme that was carried throughout the table setting and some of the menu. This tea by Teavana, Beach Bellini was delicious. A couple of the ladies don’t like tea, and this was a perfect choice. I sweetened the pot with honey and the pineapple mango flavor was light and very refreshing. It is a perfect Spring or Summer time tea hot or cold.

While I’m honoring a specific mother, I do try to inject a little piece of each mother somewhere in the day. One friend said her mother loved pineapple sorbet that I put a small scoop of in a fluted glass and topped with champagne for a pineapple bellini cocktail.

THE MENU:

Strawberry Citrus Salad

This strawberry citrus salad with honey balsamic dressing was served in memory of Jane, who added strawberries to various salads and was what Kelly described as the first time she can remember having fruit in salad that she learned to love. A fresh nasturtium flower dressed up the colorful bowl.

Mixed spring greens and wild arugula, sliced ripe strawberries, naval orange segments, marigold petals, feta, toasted slivered almonds (chopped) and honey balsamic vinaigrette.

Finger Sandwiches:

Grilled Ham and Gruyere Cheese Sandwiches (Kelly’s memory of a lunch date with her Mom) at a diner called Mayberry’s in North Carolina.

Pineapple chicken salad wrapped in sweet brown bread tied with chives and chamomile flowers.

Cucumber Radish with herby creme fraiche on white bread when fennel fronds.

Pink peppercorn egg salad in crispy pastry cups with violas.

At the top: Jane’s favorite sandwich, roast beef on toasted rye (topped with onion chutney and tarragon blossoms.)

A Palate Cleanser…

A splash of Spring celebrated with fresh floral ice bowls created to serve a mango sorbet palate cleanser between the tea sandwich and scone courses.

The inside of one of the ice bowls. Each bowl is unique and different.

These coconut macadamia scones were served with the mango sorbet and a side of pineapple preserves. https://www.teatimemagazine.com/macadamia-coconut-scones/

My framed table photo of me and my Mom on the beach in Bermuda.

The Pastry Course

Fig, date and citrus filled pastry envelopes with edible one hundred dollar bills to capture a memory of letters from Mom filled with coupons $$$. The full story and instructions for how to make these can be found in my previous post. https://socialinteractionsandparties.wordpress.com/2022/04/26/pastry-letters-from-mom/

I also served small eclairs and small slices of gentilly cake (a white cake with whipped cream and berry filling) that I did not get a picture of. Kelly said her Mom loved eclairs, and another of our friends said her mother loved berries (so that cake was for her Mom.)

Little winks from Mom…. Kelly told us about a hidden tattoo her Mom sported of a happy face that I put on the place cards. Her daughter told me that the family always laughed about how her grand-mommy loved boiled peanuts. So I presented a serving in a little covered cup just to Kelly in elegant tea fashion that gave her a smile.

As a wink to me and my planning this tea, I was in a bakery where I purchased the pastry shells for the egg salad and on the counter was a basket of happy face cookies. This one with the wink felt like a sign from Jane in her fun and playful way of letting me know I had captured her spirit and that she would be near on this special day.

As Mother’s Day approaches and we are all grasping for time, make sure to clear your schedule now and then. Saying no to something just for one day can make all of the difference in the world for your memories in the future. Once time is up, you can never get it back. In loving memory of Barbara, Edwina, Helen, Jane, Kathleen, and Mary.

(Pastry) Letters From Mom….

Love letters from Mom with a little “coupon” inside.

These Italian fig cookie filled pastry envelopes were created for my Annual Mother’s Tea to capture a loving memory my friend Kelly had of her Mom. She shared that her Mom used to write her little letters and stick $100 bills inside that she called “coupons”. (Referred to as coupons because her Mom used to hide the $100 bills in her coupon envelope so that her husband wouldn’t know.)

While the idea seemed simple to create, it took two tries to get the results I preferred and an effort to recall all of the little baking tips I’ve learned over the years that had to be applied. For the same results, it’s important to follow the tested tricks and recipe below:

1. You’ll need an envelope to use as a template. Mine was from a box of thank you cards 4 1/2 ” x 3 1/4 “. Gently open the envelope to create a flat template.

2. One box of refrigerated pie dough (I used Pillsbury) will make 3 envelopes. Sprinkle your surface with a dusting of flour, remove the dough from the little sealed bag and gently unroll on the floured counter. In order for all of the pastries to look the same and slightly puff, gather the dough sheet into a ball, gently knead together until smooth and then roll it out -long enough for two envelopes using the templates to measure. With a sharp point of a knife, trace the template to cut out the dough. Knead together the scraps and roll out again to create the third envelope. (See the images below that show how the rerolled dough makes a fluffier risen product. )

Shown here – on the left dough rolled out as is straight from the package; on the right the dough was kneaded together and then rolled out – creating a slight puff and prettier end result.

A scalloped pastry wheel used to trim the top part
of the envelope that will remain unfolded.

3. I was surprised by the details I had to pay attention to when making these, and learned from mistakes I made on the first try. If you look at the template I used above, the top triangle of the template is very sharp and pointed, while the folded up bottom is rounded. To add a little cute design, I used a scalloped pastry wheel on the sharp top portion of the envelope that will remain unfolded, resulting in an open envelope. Now transfer the dough to a parchment paper lined baking sheet pan (only 2 fit on one sheet) and place the pan in the refrigerator for 5 minutes.

4) I decided to use my stamp set, that I bought for last year’s tea (I made my signature sugar cookies decorated with dried edible flower cookies and a stamping of each mother’s name), to stamp “Love Mom” on the outside of the envelope. Doing it correctly took to extra thought and practice.

Messy stamp and filling exposed on top.

Clear stamp and filling hidden inside.

Originally I folded the filled envelope and tried to stamp it, but because the surface was let’s say “bumpy” and soft, the stamp did not come out clear or legible. I realized I needed to chill the pastry first (after cutting out the template as instructed above) before stamping.

5. After chilling for about 5 minutes, turn the pastry over with the bottom section at the top (in my case the rounded end). Stamp the message – I used “Love Mom” with a heart so that when folded under – the words are facing the correct direction. See below that when the pastry is turned over again, when the bottom flap is folded up, the stamp is smooth and clear.

Sugar cookies decorated with dried edible flowers and every Mom’s name.

6. I then had to learn the correct placing of my filling. (Recipe further below.) At first I placed the filling over the entire rectangle that would form inside once folded. In the messy version above, you can see that the filing is exposed above the envelope pocket. On my second try I lowered the filling to just below where the side flaps would overlap. Fold in the side flaps and then the bottom flap up using a light brushing of egg wash to glue it in place. Using a fork, dock the top flap to eliminate puffing in the oven. Place the prepared pastries back into the refrigerator for 5 minutes.

Pastry with fig/nut filling and folded.
Then lightly brushed with egg wash and sprinkled with sanding sugar.
The top inside flap “docked” (pricked with a small fork) to prevent puffing,

7. Finally lightly brush egg wash on the outside and then sprinkle with sanding sugar careful not to fill in the stamped message. Place into a preheated oven (350 degree F) for 12 minutes. Read the tip below to address areas that bake at different timeframes.

IMPORTANT TIP: Carefully watch the baking process around 10 minutes. If you look back at the two examples of my first and second bake, you’ll see that because I didn’t dock the top portion it bubbled (puffed) and cracked. It also baked faster than the lower filled portion. So in my second try I docked the top to stop the puffing and after 10 minutes I placed a piece of aluminum foil over the top part to stop it from browning any further, and then baked for another 2-5 minutes for no more than 15 minutes. Everyone’s oven is different, so you’ll have to watch closely to see what happens in yours.

8. Finally, one last reference to my first and second bake pictures. Originally I glued the dried edible flowers to the pastry on to the pastry with egg wash (or water was used on the cookies). My flowers are so dark, that the baking process made them darker and not as pretty. So I decided to attach the dried flowers after baking using a little store bought icing. However, if you have lighter colors to use, the baking process works fine. My edible flowers are violas that were pressed between two layers of paper towel and then pressed together with two microwavable plates. The microwave drying time varies depending on how much water in in the flower. Usually for violas or pansies it can take between 5 and 7 minutes, but only dry in two minute intervals and check after the first five minutes. When complete they are dry and fragile and feel a little like paper. Just don’t touch the plate for about 5 to 10 minutes until it cools down.

For the final touch I needed the $100 bill tucked in. So for the pictures above I just copied a $100 bill on the printer and cut the ends off of each side to tuck in. I actually ordered edible $100 bills on Etsy that are made of frosting that I will cut and should (according to the instructions) slightly melt into the pastry AFTER the baking process. (Don’t judge me if I chicken out and use the paper version.)

While these pastry envelopes or letters were used to represent a memory of someone’s Mom, they would have also made a cute dessert for a book club read involving read letters (that happens often in historical fiction) or a cute Valentine dessert with something like a strawberry filling.

What you’ll need to make the pastry envelopes:

• Pre-made pie dough (I used Pillsbury) 1 box makes 6 envelopes
• 1 egg (scrambled in a bowl with a teaspoon of water – for egg wash)
• White sanding sugar
• Dried edible flowers (optional)
• Printed images of $100 bill or you can order edible versions on Etsy (optional)
• Letter stamping (purchased on Amazon also optional)

How to prepare and bake – follow the narrative above that provides tips learned for the best results. Make the filling below a day ahead. These pastries can be made a day ahead and stored in a tightly sealed container once completely cooled to prevent any moisture from forming.

Cucidati (Italian Fig Cookie Filling)

The Cucidati (that my Mom called Italian Fig Cookies) are popular here in Southern Louisiana and served at the annual St. Joseph Day Altars. They were a special coveted favorite of my Mom’s, so much so that she eagerly attended an altar or two each year to seek out her little gifted bad of Italian cookies. The filling came to mind as it isn’t runny and tucked inside the pastry is very reminiscent of the cookie itself.

Adapted from recipe in the link https://www.familytabletreasures.com/italian-fig-cookies-cucidati/

• 1 Cup Dried Mission Figs or Calimyrna Figs ,stems removed and chopped, about a 6-7 ounce package
• 1/2 Cup Pitted Dates ,Chopped
• 1/2 Cup Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice
• 1/4 Cup Candied Orange Peel ,or Orange Marmalade or Apricot preserves
• 2 Tablespoons Granulated Sugar ,or honey
• Zest from 1 Lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon Chinese Five Spice (or 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon)
• 1/4 Cup Almonds
• 1/4 Cup Walnuts
• 2 Tablespoons Dark Rum, French Brandy, or Orange liqueur such as Grand Marnier

Add all ingredients to a food processor or blender and process until a paste is formed and no large chunks are left. Place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Place in the fridge to chill for at least an hour but preferably overnight so ingredients can meld together.

Edible $100 bills.

Some may ask why go to so much trouble for one of many elements of this mothers tea, but my friends and I are making a special effort to bring back to life some of our favorite memories of our mothers that are no longer with us on Mother’s Day. If you’re feeling the void we all do on Mother’s Day, consider creating your own little tradition to honor your Mom year after year. You’ll feel her spirit present with gratitude.

Suggested Music:

“I Remember You”- Trisha Yearwood

“Supermarket Flowers” – Ed Sheeran

“The Best Day” – Taylor Swift

“Mother” – Kacey Musgraves

“Tell Mama” -Etta James

“Mama’s Kitchen” – CeCe Winans

“Ring Off” – Beyonce

“Turned to You” – Justin Bieber

“Mother Like Mine” – The Band Perry

“Mother” – Sugarland

“Don’t Forget to Remember Me” -Carrie Underwood

“Mom” – Garth Brooks

“God Must Have Spent ” A Little More Time on You-NSYNC

A Little Racey, Beachy, Peacock Mothers Tea

This year we will be celebrating Kelly’s Mom- Jane.

Mother “Jane”

I’ve been putting together a plan for my 4th Annual Mothers Tea over the past few weeks. Little memories have been shared from tea to tea and I’ve tried to carefully listen and make notes to reference as each friend awaits for their year to honor their Mom. This year we will be honoring my friend Kelly’s Mother, Jane.

Marigolds

At our very first tea, Kelly told us that she had recently been planting marigolds in her vegetable garden, to protect against insects. As she was planting, she recalled an image of her mother collecting the seeds from marigolds in her own garden to replant the following year. Her shared memory stayed with me, and as my marigolds began to wither I collected their dried buds and created seed packets for each of our guests as a favor. (See the past post: https://socialinteractionsandparties.wordpress.com/2021/06/13/a-marigold-memory-of-mother/ of how I dried the flowers and made the seed envelopes in mid-June last year in preparation for this year’s tea.)