The Table is Set!

This is the way our dining room table has looked for a couple of weeks now.  You can see my gilded turkeys on the buffet and these paper mache vegetables are gathered cornucopia-style down the middle of the table.

Can you spot the real vs the paper mache in this picture?

or this?

or this?

New, this year, is this embroidered runner from Pottery Barn.  I should have taken a picture of the Soumak rug in the dining room to show how well this runner works with it.  (Sometime the silliest things can make me so happy!)

These Thanksgiving plates relate so well to the colors, that they became the star of the table setting.

Nothing bold or bright, just neutral, autumnal colors here.

The tan charger is from Z Gallerie and the acorn embossed dinner plate is from Crate and Barrel several years ago.  I broke one, so if anybody has one or two they would like to sell, I'd really love to replace it.

This barley twist flatware is my most used, next to our everyday stainless.

 

Since our meal is casual and informal this year, I used this tortoise patterned glass for water, and a raffia wrapped one for wine. 

The napkin I chose is not nearly as bright as it photographed here. Really.  And it doesn't need to be ironed as badly as it appears here.  It really is a pretty bittersweet.  On it, I placed a wishbone ornament with the cut hanger off.  I meant to spray these gold, but I ran out of time.  Maybe next year!

I ordered a dozen of these from Oriental Trading. 

We'll eat a quick meal on these tomorrow, go to the USO, and then we're eating a proper Thanksgiving meal late with friends.  No matter what the plans, Tom Turkey is the star, isn't he?

 

Joining:

 

Let's Dish

at

Cuisine Kathleen

Gobble, Gobble, Gobble

Pintrest

I thought I'd show you what I took to a dinner party Saturday night.  Since it was the weekend after Thanksgiving, and I thought everyone might be looking for a fresh, lo-cal nibble, I fixed this guy.  In full disclosure, this is not a photo of my dish, as I forgot to snap before I had it in the car.  This photo is from Pintrest, but, I'm not kidding, mine looked exactly like this one!!  And I have to say that even though they were all adults, I think the guests got a giggle out of it.  Cute as it was, it couldn't hold a candle to the rest of the truly delicious meal we were treated to!

To accompany it, I made this dip that has been a family favorite for a long time.  Do NOT be afraid of the anchovies in it.  I promise you, that if you don't mention them, nobody will be frightened off.  BTW, this keeps for several days.  Enjoy!

Lemon-Anchovy Dipping Sauce

(You’ll never know there are anchovies in this!  Even those who think they hate them will love it!)

2 egg yolks

3-4 T. Dijon Mustard

2” squirt of anchovy paste(from metal tube)

Juice of 1 lemon

1 shallot

Capers to taste

1 c. (or less) vegetable oil

¼ c. sour cream

Salt and pepper

Combine 1^st 6 ingredients in food processor.

With machine running, add oil a little at

a time until thick and creamy.  You may

not need all of the oil.  Stir in sour cream and

seasonings.  Garnish with a lemon twist and

a couple of capers.

Great with pea pods, sugar snap peas, peppers, squash, tiny corn ears, green beans, or any vegetable.

I use the left over sauce as a mayonnaise on a sandwich, or thin it a bit for a salad dressing.

It will be a late entry, but I'm joining:
 Yvonne at Stonegable for On The Menu Monday:  http://www.stonegableblog.com/2012/11/on-menu-monday-week-of-nov-26-2012.html

Thanksgiving Wishes

Today, I'm wishing you the blessings of enough.  In a country that celebrates abundance in everything, everywhere, everyday, we lose sight of  how lucky we are to just have enough.  

Blessings,

Linda

Twas The Night Before Thanksgiving

T'was the night before Thanksgiving and our guest were arriving at dinner time after a long drive.  I wanted to greet them with a pretty table, but I wanted it different from our Thanksgiving table, which was the same as I used last year.  See it here.

I decided to go dark, since the next day was going to be gold and white.  There were lots of pops of color, though.  Here's the sun hitting the table in the late afternoon.

I've been wanting to use this dark brown poly-silk cloth all season.  Can you see the texture of the embroidery?  These flowers are almost like chenille.

And these are so colorful.

Even though I promised myself that I would not buy any more dishes for fall, I wondered into World Market, saw these, and wondered out with eight of them.  Hey!  It happens!!!

Here's why I had to have them.  I've had this guy for years and my favorite way to display him is as a centerpiece.  I did a cream and brown dinner party with him last fall.  You can see it here.

Then a trip to the floral wholesaler provided these flowers.

I used a round oasis ring for the flowers and I love how they echoed the colors in the cloth.

The charger is an old tan, opalescent plate and then the dinner plate was a cream scalloped one from Z Gallerie. 

The dark brown linen napkin looks pretty faded here, but I don't think it really is.  At any rate, the coral wired ribbon and pheasant feathers perked it up.  My much-used brown handled flatware kept this from being too formal.  Silver would have given it a totally different feel.

Someday I'll learn how to photograph glassware.  This is the stem I used for water.  It is etched with maple leaves and acorns.  Then I added a plain Tiffany wine goblet.  Whose hand has all of those sun spots on it?  Yikes!

Three old wooden turned candlesticks were on each end.  Aren't they handsome?

These little pewter salt and pepper shakers are pheasants, too.

After I had taken a lot of shots, I decided to add these bright green tapas plates as bread and butter plates and then placed horn handled fruit knives on each as a butter knife.  Not exactly proper use, but Emily Post wasn't on the guest list.

This is sort of  the cousin of the centerpiece.  It's on a chest in the dining room where I've done a fall vignette with the same colors and feel as the table.  You can see a post here that I did last fall with this pheasant as the centerpiece.

This sort of says it all.  Here's Michael, our very special friend after dinner on Thanksgiving day.  Can you say low-key and laid back weekend?  When I look back on this wonderful weekend, this will forever be my memory.  Not a moment that we didn't thoroughly enjoy!

And here's Michael the next day, sleeping and reading in the rowboat.  This is a busy man who knows how to relax.  How did we get so lucky to have them for friends?

This was an easy menu that was flexible if they were delayed.

Menu:

Double Cranberry Croustini

Roasted Pear Salad

(I've posted this recipe from our New Year's Eve dinner here.)

Chiopinno (Fish Stew)

Hearty Bread

Pumpkin Praline Cheesecake

(from the cover of Nov. '11 Southern Living)

See this post at these fun blog parties:

Tablescape Thursday

http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/

Open House Thursday

http://nominimilisthere.blogspot.com/

Feathered Nest Friday

http://frenchcountrycottage.blogspot.com/

Inspiration Friday

http://www.atthepicketfence.com/

Fridays Unfold

http://www.stuff-and-nonsense.net/

Seasonal Sunday

http://thetablescaper.blogspot.com/

Wow Us Wednesday

http://savvysouthernstyle.blogspot.com/

On the Menu Monday

http://stonegable.blogspot.com/