A Spring Coffee

I just love azalea season, so when I had the opportunity to have a great group of women to our home for coffee, I jumped at the chance to entertain them this month.  

It was just a simple coffee with juice, fruit, and coffeecake, but I really wanted it to celebrate spring.

After deciding on the azaleas as a centerpiece, I used this striped runner from Ikea.  I think it was about $6.00.  Gotta love Ikea!  Then I added these little velvet birds for a little more springness.  Is that a word?  Spell check says it's not.

My favorite china to use this time of year is this Lu-Ray china with its mix of pastels.  It's from the 40's and I've collected it for ages.  You can see the Easter table I set with it here.

The juice glasses are a mix of some wonderful old depression glass ones and some Ikea ones.  They are not carrying this particular color now, but do have this style in some other colors.

The luncheon plates are pretty small, so I put them out for our coffee and fruit.  I guess servings were a lot smaller 60 years ago, as lots of china seems dainty in comparison to today's plates.

I just love to use this mixture of silverplate.  You can see that the keystone shape is the same, but the patterns are different.  I think that makes an interesting table.

You can hardly tell in this photo, but these are light pink.  They iron very easily, so I never hesitate to use them.  Call me crazy, but I'd rather iron napkins than use paper, except for maybe cocktails.

The fruit is on a lettuce patterned platter from Pottery Barn.  I wish I had bought the plates that matched.

Coffee and tea set-up.  This makes it self-serve and keeps things hot for the duration.  Since it is a 2-hour drop-in window for the coffee, this works so much better than a silver service or urn.

Mixed berries.  Yum.

The star of the show was this unassuming blueberry coffeecake.  Seriously.  You have to try this.  No, really, you HAVE to try this.  I thought I had a great recipe for this and then my world was rocked when I ate the version they serve at a funky little restaurant here in Atlanta called The Flying Biscuit Cafe.  It serves  wonderful comfort food, mostly vegetarian, some vegan, and is run by a woman names April Moon.  Don't you love that name?  Well, when I learned that she had a cookbook, I was praying that this recipe was included......and it WAS!  I love many of the recipes, but I must admit that my copy opens automatically to "Cream Cheese Coffeecake".  Here's the recipe:

CREAM CHEESE COFFEECAKE FROM THE FLYING BISCUIT CAFE

Cake Batter:

2 sticks (1 c.) butter, at room temperature

1 c. sugar

2 eggs

2 c. flour

2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

Cake Filling:

2 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese at room temperature

1 egg yolk

1/2 c. sugar

1 t. vanilla

Cake Topping:

1/4 c. sugar

1/2 c. flour

4 T. butter, room temperature

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease a 9x13 baking pan.  Set aside.

2.  Make the cake batter.  In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar together with an electric mixer until smooth.  Add eggs one a a time, scraping the bowl well after each addition.  Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together and add to the butter mixture.  Beat until flour is incorporated and batter is thick, pale, and creamy.  Set aside.

3.  Make the cake filling.  Using an electric mixer, combine all ingredients.  Mix until sugar is dissolved and filling is smooth.

4.  Make the cake topping.  Combine sugar and flour in a small bowl.  Using a pastry cutter or your fingertips, cut butter into sugar and flour until mixture is crumbly.  Set aside.

5.  Spread half of the cake batter over the bottom of the prepared baking pan.  Then spread the filling over the cake batter.  If you wish to add chocolate chips, peaches, or blueberries, sprinkle them over the filling now.  Using a large spoon, evenly distribute remaining cake batter over filling in small dollops.  Sprinkle entire cake surface with cake topping and bake for 45 minutes.

Serves and satisfies the masses.  You can make this several days ahead, but I recommend refrigerating it.

Old China and Warm Chatter

Sometimes you just need a day to catch up .  My dear friend and I have recently been on similar pathways but they haven't seemed to converge.  We both experienced a loss of someone in our immediate families in the last couple of months, and while we tried to be there for each other, we just never seemed to be able to get together to privately share.  So, today, we set aside the day to lunch and get caught up.  

I wanted to make her feel extra loved, so I tried to set a table that was just a little special.  It recently feels a bit like spring, so I tried for a fresh, crisp table.  I started with this organdy embroidered cloth layered over a white linen cloth and set at a small table in our breakfast room.

Isn't this a pretty cloth?

Then I chose this old china that has a maidenhair fern pattern on it.  I often use it for St. Patrick's Day because it reminds me of shamrocks.  It's made in England by John Haddock and Sons, but I don't know the pattern name.

It was a simple, but pretty table, using green handled flatware from World Market.

The napkins were a grass green cotton, layered with a fine, white, hand-embroidered linen one, then I settled on a simple white wicker napkin ring.

These water goblets might be the deal of the century.  They are a knock-off of some exquisite William Yeoward fern-patterned ones at about one twentieth of the price.  Our daughter chose the real things for her wedding crystal, and they have become so expensive that I declared her collection complete.  Then I found these and I scooped some up for her and added a few for me.  Hope she isn't reading this, as I'm planning to surprise her with these for her anniversary.

This delicate green swirl glass was picked up at Scott's Antique Mart years ago.

This china came with lots of extra pieces and I couldn't resist using these tiny little butter pat plates .

For the asparagus soup, I layered a green depression glass plate, a white paper doily, and a small soup tureen.

This white azalea in a white urn, topped with bright green moss reigned in place of flowers.

It fed my need for spring! 

This little salt and pepper holder came from Pierre Deux years ago.  Don't you miss that beautiful store.

The Waterford cream and sugar rested in another piece of the china.

I make it a policy not to photograph my friends when I blog about a get-together, but I wish you could begin to know the beauty that my guest brought to this table.

Joining:

The Scoop

Bridge Buddies and Azaleas

Thanks to these wonderful bloggers, there's a great Spring Linky Party happening.  I'm joining by reposting this luncheon I held for my Bridge Buddies.  Take a minute to visit this fun day with me, and then go to the rest of the blogs and remind yourself how wonderful spring can be!

Several weeks ago, when my azaleas were at their peak, I invited my bridge group here for lunch.

I can't remember what kind these are, but I love to mix them with these tiny, fringy native azaleas.  They are exactly the same color, but add a really lovely texture.

This organza and pique tablecloth is perfect for this spring table.  It is so sheer, that I layer it over a white caterer's linen cloth.

I just love the embroidery and the fabric combination.

I chose this white Portugese wicker patterened charger, with a lime green dinner plate from Target.  Then, just for this photo, I put the majolica pink cabbage leaf that I use for a bread and butter plate on top.  The flatware is from World Market, but I only have place settings for four, so I used a different pattern, but still in green at the ends of the table.

I layered the napkin over a plain hot pink linen one and used a lucite napkin ring that holds water to keep the azalea fresh. 

These dainty little placecard holders are perfect for the girls, and I added some white china birds here and there. 

These cranberry glass goblets made just plain water beautiful.

I love to include a menu card and I'm always surprised how many people take it home.  The quote that I used this time from Henry Van Dyke reads:  "The first day of spring is one thing and the first spring day is another.  The difference between them is sometimes as great as a month".  

The salt and pepper set is nestled in a wire basket.

This dish held Splenda and lemon wedges.

Here's the way the coffee/tea tray looked.

This was such a happy day and a happy table.

When the girls arrived, we had what we call "bridge tea" in the bar.  It is a calorie-free ginger tea. These glasses are from Ikea and so are the napkins.

This tray is from Ikea, too.  I used it for spoon shaped pastrys topped with pimento cheese and garnished with chives.  The spoons are just refrigerator pie crust with seasoning sprinkled on top and then baked.  I saw this in some magazine this spring and it said that Crate and Barrel had a spoon shaped cookie cutter.  When I went shopping for it, they said they never had such an item, so I just cut one out of light weight cardboard and cut around it.  They were fragile, but oh, so good!

Asparagus soup was the first course, garnished with pink sour cream and chives.  I found these little lidded ramekins at Homegoods several years ago.  The green plate is vintage depression glass and I added a paper doily.  The soup spoons are vintage silver plate.

The main course was a luncheon salad that was a riff on procuitto wrapped melon.  The greens were wrapped in procuitto, and then the plate was napped in melon coulis, small melon chunks, and toasted pine nuts.  I first had this salad at a bistro in State College, Pennsylvania called Zola's when were were there for a Penn State football game.

What better spring dessert is there than strawberry shortcake?????

It was a lovely day with lovely ladies and I am so grateful for their friendship.  I love to set a table and cook for them, as their appreciation is deep and genuine.  The day just ended too soon.

Joining:

Open House Thursday

No Minimalist Here

Tablescape Thursday

Between Naps On the Porch

Featherd Nest Friday

French Country Cottage

Seasonal Sundays

The Tablescaper

                                                                 

Let's Dish

Cuisine Kathleen

Springtime At Mary Janet's

Today I decided to do a simple trayscape in my sweet friend's yard.  The tray was actually just an excuse to visit her and photograph this exquisite display of springtime.  She is very generous to give all of the credit for this beauty to her husband, Cy, but a project of this scope probably takes the efforts of both of them.

This bedtray reflects the soft springtime colors.  I used vintage LuRay china on a cutwork placemat.  I usually use this china for our Easter dinner.  You can see a post of our retro Easter dinner from last year here.

Is there a house like this in your neighborhood?  With swaths of tulips and daffodils?

This is a beautiful, historic area of Atlanta with gracious lawns and beautiful homes.

And, come spring, the entire area waits for these blooms.  People even bring their grandchildren here to get their Easter photos.  

Our spring is so early this year that I almost missed the window to get this post.

This guy seems to be proudly surveying the expanse of florals.

I moved the tray from the tulips over to this incredible azalea for a quick shot or two.

I can't imagine a more beautiful background for this tray.

Sigh!!!!!!!

Between the house and the garage, they have made this charming area with fencing, an arbor, and a brick floor.

Look at these great pots.

I can't remember what vine they have on this trellis, but don't you love the shape of it?

These boxwoods will stay, but our Georgia weather will necessitate pulling those pansies out and replanting this window box on the garage.

This lovely pond is centered so that you see it through a huge Palladian window in their family room.

Some of the beauty was unintentional......

but lovely, never the less.

I'll shut up now so that you can just take a virtual tour.

This display is a gift to the city and people talk about it every year.  Cy actually lifts these bulbs and replants new ones every year.  Imagine!

Thank you, Mary Janet and Cy.  I've been waiting and waiting to be able to feature this. And thank you, also for the beautiful bouquet you sent home with me.