The Apple Table Challenge

Fun with “More Fun Less Laundry” — Along with Mary, from "Home is Where the Boat Is," Linda, from "More Fun Less Laundry" has been my teacher and virtual mentor for beautiful living, from setting a lovely table that is charming, sentimental, beautiful and appealing, to picnicking with style, traveling, and just enjoying life.

The image below from Linda’s blog has captivated me for years. It’s a Fall table, but she avoids going too heavy on the oranges and rusts. Instead, she brings in some of her favorite colors, like greens, purples, and even a touch of pink! I’m not much a purple aficionada, but somehow this combination of rich colors and textures really appeals to me, as does the theme — Apples!

Delightfully, I either, already own many of the components of this table, or can come pretty close, so, why not? This is going to be a fun challenge for me! If you’d like to see Linda’s post, here's the link:  Apples of My Eye.

The inspiration for Linda's table, came from a picture of her children during an apple-picking expedition while they were young.  When I saw it, I remembered a similar experience with my own kids, and, well . . . hold my apple cider . . .

Here are my two sons, John and David, looking thrilled to be posing for photographs while bees buzzed around them, just so I could capture their cuteness.  They are dressed alike because these pictures were supposed to be for the Christmas card that year (although I ended up not using them).

Okay, back to the table.  Linda used a red and white plaid throw as tablecloth, and I went through my stash hoping to find something that would come close. Here’s the Royal Stewart that usually comes out at Christmastime. Nope. It feels too bright, and, well, too Christmas-y.

The Dress Stewart tartan. I used this one last January at our Three Kings Day Open House. Better, but it still doesn’t feel quite right. These are the only two red plaids I own. I didn’t think I’d be in trouble this soon . . .

The Buchanan Antique Tartan. The oranges and gold would work for a Fall table, but I wanted apples, not pumpkins. Nope.

The English Tartan, a gift from a friend.  Doesn't it remind you of a well-cut English suit?  My son, John, has had his eye on it for a while.  One of these days, I'll pack it in his suitcase before he notices and send it home with him.

It sure does feel cozy, and it's a possibility for this table because the colors are neutral.  Maybe.

The Burgundy Irish plaid throw, and my last one. It’s not red, but it does bring in many of the colors in Linda’s design, including a bit of pink! This is it.

Here’s another inspiration photo from Linda’s blog post.  Perfect.  

My rattan chargers match the napkin rings and will work; and the Spode Delamere Brown dishes are lovely to use in the Fall.  I'm not sure if Linda uses a real leaf under her apple, but mine is Cheese Paper from Sur La Table.  I use it on charcuterie boards all the time.

Here is my tribute to Linda's masterpiece. The centerpiece proved to be my undoing.

The flowers simply did not want to hang out with the apples.

They demanded a separate space!

These are the last of my Phantom Hydrangea, which we just planted this Spring. They range in color from white to pinks, to rusts. I wasn't expecting any blooms this year, so this is a special treat!

The Pommes (apples) dish towel is yet another towel in my collection. 

This one was sent along with a bushel of apples. But not these apples. These are new apples.

I looked for the Effervé everywhere, but did not find it. Linda's emerald tumblers are available through Overstock.com.

But I already had some lovely hand-blown green juice glasses from Mexico. The Trader Joe’s Apple Cider was delicious and made a nice substitute!

We are now ready for our hot apple cider and dessert.

I made Apple Pecan Crisp, topped with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream, and drizzled with homemade Dulce de Leche.  No calories or carbs were counted that day.  The only thing I counted was my husband's moans of delight.

My kids are out in the world now doing adult things, but in our house, this night, they were very much with us.

Three Kings Day 2014

I have nothing but the greatest admiration for those who, efficiently after Christmas, or at the latest, New Year's, start taking down and packing all the Christmas decorations.  By the time they are back to work, Christmas is but a fond memory and are already perusing gardening catalogs, looking forward to the coming Spring.  Not me.  For one thing, Christmas is not officially over at our house until after Three Kings Day.  We usually host an Open House on the Sunday closest to January 6th, which is when the Catholic Church celebrates Epiphany, and gather friends and family one last time before settling in for the onslaught of snow and frigid weather.

Our Open House was wonderful, despite the fact that many friends were unable to come because of the snow.  Typically, on Three Kings Day I tend to make treats evocative of my Cuban roots.  We usually serve guava pastries, turrones (sweet nougats made of almonds, marzipan, or ground almonds) and hot chocolate is a MUST.  This year, I also made sandwiches, and cookies, and an almond spice cake.  

 

Here is the Coffee Bar set up to keep my chilly guests warm:  Piping hot coffee, with a little something something - Butterscotch Schnapps, Kahlúa and RumChata.  

Have you tried RumChata yet?  If NOT, please put this on your "Must Try" list for 2014!  This is a new twist on Horchata (hence, the "Chata" part of the name).  Spanish horchata is a sweet, milky drink made from the chufa, or tiger nut.  It tastes a lot like almond milk.   You can read all about horchata here.  It is delicious!  If you are ever in Spain, you must try it, but to truly enjoy it you must sit in a little café under sweltering sun, and wait an hour for the waiter to notice that you are even alive.  By the time you get your icy horchata, you would be ready to swear that it's the nectar of the gods!  Mexican horchata is slightly different and often made from other kinds of nuts, or even rice!  It's still delicious.  RumChata took the next step and made it into a liqueur.  Add some to your coffee, and you'll be warm and smiling in no time!

The Coffee Bar also included peppermint candy canes, and homemade Vanilla Bean syrup, something sweet without the alcohol.  There were also some dark-chocolate covered almonds nearby, in case anyone had a chocolate emergency.  That happens to me once in a while, so I'm very sympathetic.

There's always cake on Three Kings Day, so we can bury the Baby Jesus in its batter before baking.  Whoever finds the plastic baby, is King of the Day and wins a prize.  This year's Almond Spice Cake was delicious.  My son David gave it a thumbs up, and he's a tough cake customer!

 

Here's another treat:  Pecan Butterballs from the Silver Palate Cookbook.  I have been making these since 1984, the year I got married.  My sister-in-law, Angela, who is a wonderful cook, gave us the cookbook as a wedding present.  I'm on my second copy right now.  It wouldn't be Christmas around here without these little gems.  They are sweetened with a little honey, and they just melt in your mouth.  Here's the recipe:

8 tablespoons (1 stick) sweet butter, softened

3 tablespoons honey

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 cup shelled pecans, chopped moderately fine

¾ cup confectioners' sugar

1. Preheat oven to 300°F.  Grease one or two cookie sheets.
2. Cream butter.  Beat in honey; gradually mix in flour and salt, then vanilla.  Add pecans.  Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill for 1 hour.
3. Form balls by hand, the size of quarters.  Place 2 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheets.  Bake for 35 to 40 minutes.
4. Remove from oven; as soon as cool enough to touch, roll in confectioners' sugar.  Allow to cool and roll again in sugar.

 Yields 36 cookies.

Guests were asking me for extras to take home!  You'll want to double or triple the recipe, if you want any leftovers for yourself!

 

The basket of Chocolate Chip cookies held four batches of CCCs made by my son, John!  I love it when the family gets involved in the party preparations!

On Three Kings Day I try to bring out the gold in remembrance of the Magi who brought gold to the Baby Jesus, so this year, the table is covered in a gold cloth.  The covered platter held sandwiches of Tuna Salad à la Vizcaína (Basque-style), a delightful tuna salad recipe that calls for adding roasted red peppers.

The Christmas centerpiece was given a facelift.  I removed the wilted blooms, and replaced them with snowy white carnations, gold balls, and a little red cardinal that begged to come out and play.

After taking a look at his little cousin outside, he realized that he got the better deal . . .

 

It's time to put away the extra Christmas cards!

Now we can sit by the fire and enjoy the wonderful memories we created during this joyful Christmas season!  May you have a wonderful new year!

A Romantic Christmas Eve

I was going to call this "A Very Paisley Christmas" in honor of the Red Caroline Paisley from Pottery Barn that captured my heart a while back.  You can see a little bit of the napkin here in this Valentine's tea post from last February.

But then, I decided to fold the napkins à la fleur-de-lis to show off its gorgeous pattern . . .

The centerpiece from Teleflora.com had pretty red roses in a mercury glass container . . .

 I love the look of mercury glass . . .

But the arrangement seemed a bit too dark to me, so I added some Baby's Breath . . .

 

Suddenly, the romance of it all struck me . . .

It reminds me of a Victorian-era table . . .  Hmm . . . would Mr. Dickens approve . . . ?

Each little box contained Godiva truffles.  Everyone should wake up to truffles on Christmas morning, don't you think . . . ?  The little packages were tied with red ribbon and I added a Christmas ornament, to be hung on the tree later on . . .

We had a toddler in our midst this year, so we dug up the table and chair set that my boys used when they were little, and set up a proper table for this young man . . .

Oliver, my brother's first grandson, and my great-nephew, stole the show, in the same way that he's stolen our hearts.  What a cutie!

Here's the family, as we sat down to say grace.  The menu:  Waldorf Salad on Baby Romaine, Filet of Beef Au Jus, Mashed Potatoes, Steamed Broccoli . . .

And for dessert a Cookie Tower.  I became a baking fool this Christmas with the help of my son, John, enabler and invaluable assistant.  The phrase "visions of sugar-plums danced in her head" could have been applied to me!

The tower included Cranberry Pistachio cookies, Magic Bars (Chocolate Chips, Butterscotch Chips and Coconut with a gooey center), Double Chocolate Chip Peppermint Cookies, Pecan Butter Balls, Almond Cream Cheese Cookies, Chocolate Espresso Snowcaps, Chocolate Chip Cookies, with semi-sweet chocolate drizzles, Almond Raspberry Thumbprints, Potato Chip Cookies, and Peanut Butter Chocolate Blossoms . . .

A closeup of the Almond Raspberry Thumbprints, Potato Chip Cookies and Peanut Butter Chocolate Blossoms . . .

The chocolate chip cookies are on the right, because it isn't Christmas around here without your basic CCC, and to the left . . . Pecan Butterballs, recipe from the Silver Palate Cookbook.  Let me tell you, those Butterballs are the essence of winter, they are kissed with HONEY and seem to melt in your mouth . . . fabulous . . .

Here you can see the Chocolate Espresso Snow caps and the Almond Cookies a little better.  These are not the best pictures but I was snapping away as fast as I could before the cookies were devoured . . .

The Chocolate Espresso Snowcaps were a new addition to our cookie repertoire, I found them in Pinterest but they are Martha Stewart's.  The were delicious and so pretty, too!  Here is the link for the recipe. 

My sister-in-law, Kathy, also brought a gorgeous, delicious flan to share!  I wish I had taken a picture of it.  It was a beautiful thing.  It can be tricky to bake a flan to a proper consistency, but hers was perfect!  Oh, if only we could slow events down a little bit so we could capture everything on camera!

And here is the photo that still makes me smile:  My son, John, trying to hold on to a slippery Oliver, and my other son, David, in the background with a half-smile on his face.  He seems to be thinking:  “Better you than me, bro!”  Oh, what a wonderful Christmas Eve!  I hope yours was, too!

I'm joining Tablescape Thursday at Between Naps on the Porch and Let's Dish! at Cuisine Kathleens!  Please stop by for inspiration!

Romancing the home

Little touches of romance can be found everywhere around the house . . .

Turtle dove soaps in the Powder Room . . .  I'll have to remove the pretend straw . . . I was hoping for an egg . . .  What do you think . . . ?

My husband was very happy that I didn't wait for Easter to bring home some jelly beans . . .

For my son and his college buddies, red velvet cupcakes in these darling liners that stay bright even after baking . . .

Mama love . . .

I'm trying out the new heart dishes that I won in Linda's (More Fun Less Laundry) giveaway . . .

The guy I married has an insatiable sweet tooth.  He ate the chocolates Linda sent before I got home!  So I just had to go out and buy some more chocolate . . . Doesn't this bit of cake look just perfect on the new dishes?  Should I share . . . ?

I am so in love with these dishes!  Aren't they fun?

They remind me of a Picasso drawing, except it's done in red, not black . . . and it's not done by Picasso . . . mere details . . .

Linda also included this lovely glass heart ornament.  I tied the yellow ribbon that came with the chocolates as a reminder to my honey that there was a box of chocolates with the package that I didn't even get to see . . .   I rather like the contrast of the orangey-yellow with the red . . . I think I'll keep it like just like this . . .

A glass of cherry juice in honor of George Washington, who has a birthday in February . . .

And there's Oprah all decked out in red for February . . . Is she trying to tell me something . . . ?

The Swarovski swans have come out to play just in time . . .



. . . to remind me that they mate for life and don't let a box of chocolates get in the way of true love . . .