Lunch With the Birds

This cardinal-inspired table was a quickly arranged table for an impromptu lunch that was made easier because a) I didn't have a lot of time to think about it, and, b) I had been planning for the opportunity for a while, although not specifically for this day.

Mary, from Home Is Where the Boat Is deserves all the credit for having inspired me, through countless bird posts and incredible creativity, into trying out my very own table.  I do love little birds, and over the years, I've established a little collection of bird ornaments and dishes, without any clear idea of what I would do with them, until now.

The salad plates are Certified International, and the pattern is Holly and Ivy,  The set comes with two variations:  The cardinal . . .

And the chickadee.  The dinner plate is from Williams-Sonoma Woodland Berry collection, which I will use again on Christmas Eve (I've had them for two years, but with Covid, haven't really had a chance to use them.  The twigs and branches make it a perfect place for birds to hang out.

I dug into my stash of napkin rings and found these which put me in mind of a twiggy bird's nest.  I paired them with the Red Caroline Paisley napkins.  I liked the softer red they brought to the table.

The cardinal salt and pepper set came out to play.  Now, I grant you, the female cardinal doesn't have the startling plumage of the male, but she holds the pepper, and keeps things spicy.

The live ivy wreath came from Trader Joe's. TJ's also yielded a small evergreen wreath that I placed around the base of the ivy.

Then I reached into the stash of bird ornaments in my collection.  I like that they seem to be peeking out here and there, and you can't see them fully.  

The chickadee made itself at home under the ivy.

The Pottery Barn placemats came home with me a couple of years ago.  I use them all the time, and really like the rustic charm they bring to the table.

I am having a hard time deciding which of the two plates I like better!  The green water goblets came from Dollar Tree almost a decade ago.  They have served us well!

More forest birdies came out of the woods to join the party . . . 

And a curious deer came to investigate.

So, what did we serve at this lunch?  Well, we started with a Winter Wedge Salad, with crumbled maple bacon, Red Anjou pears, walnuts and Marzetti Blue Cheese dressing.  The lunch came together in a hurry, and I didn't have time to make my own dressing from scratch, but this one was really good!

The salad was followed by a really scrumptious sandwich:  Ham-off-the bone, Provolone, a schmear of Dijon mustard on one side, and strawberry jam on the other, then grilled on a frying pan with creamy butter, and served with a Vlasic zesty dill pickle spear.

And for dessert, Almond Joy Cookies — the most amazing cookies to ever come from a supermarket! — served with grapes (to pretend we were eating healthy).  The cookie was so rich, no one was able to finish more than one (we need to work on our endurance).  I'm going to make these for Christmas.

Wishing you a wonderful holiday season, and fun (but safe) entertainments, big and small!

A Gingerbread Kind of Day

My husband's pancakes are legendary within our family.  Everyone loves them, and, when the kids are home one of the first things they ask for is Dad's pancakes.  When I walked by this bottle of maple syrup at Williams-Sonoma, it just fell into my basket!  Can you believe it?  Mr. Gingerbread Man must have heard about my husband's pancakes, too!

I had planned a cute breakfast for Christmas morning, and, although my son, John, was not able to come, I decided to proceed with it all.  I'm telling myself that this is a dry run, and I'll do it all over again next year.

Well, if we are going to bring Mr. Gingerbread to the table, he's going to need some gingerbread company, so these little Mug Toppers were "needed" to make Mr. Gingerbread feel welcome!  To tell you the truth, they proved a challenge.  They refused to stay straight in the mug!  So I called on my house engineer/tech/geek expert, my husband, Lee, who promptly straightened it with little wads of Scotch tape.  Ah!  The technical mind boggles!  Some friends have suggested chocolate next time.  I'll have to try that next year.  See?  Dry run.

With a few added gingerbread people, the breakfast table was set.  I used last night's red tablecloth.  Isn't it a fabulous red?

This was my husband's Gingerbread Man.  The guy that never notices details asked me why his man had four eyes.  I explained that two dots were for the eyes, and the other two for dimples.  He remains unconvinced.

Miss Peppermint had ruffles on her arms and legs.

The Gingerbread Salt and Pepper shakers insisted on being invited.  The lady held the pepper.  She's also a little "caliente," like me.

The Wedgwood Nantucket Basket Coffee Pot is no longer being produced.  I had been looking for one for a while, and put in a request at Replacements.com to notify me if one was ever found — and it was, and it's now mine!  Bwahaha!  Happiness!

I placed these absolutely delicious gingersnaps on the table to nibble on, as I got the rest of the breakfast ready.  The Villeroy & Boch Winter Bakery Delight Bowl depicts . . . you guessed it, gingerbread!  This Christmas porcelain collection is truly a delight, and I plan to add a few more pieces for next year.  Sigh!  A dish collector is never done!

I really felt very efficient this year, reusing the tablecloth, the rattan chargers and the salad plates from last night.  It was such fun to play with all these favorite pieces!  Breakfast table is set, now let's talk about the food.

I prepared a breakfast strata.  Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 pkg. frozen hash brown potatoes, defrosted

8 eggs, beaten

1 pound bulk sausage, crumbled and cooked

¼ onion, chopped

½ red bell pepper, chopped

½ green bell pepper, chopped

2 cups of any cheddar, or combination of cheddar cheeses, divided

1 can evaporated milk

Salt and pepper to taste

• Butter the casserole dish.  Set aside.
• In a large bowl, mix all ingredients, but only 1 cup of the cheese.
• Pour into the casserole dish.  Scatter the remaining cheese on top.
• Bake at 350º F for 55 minutes or until edges are slightly brown.

It was delicious!  We cut the leftovers in individual servings, and saved them for upcoming breakfasts.

That was accompanied by a stack of hubby's pancakes, and some fresh berries — and real maple syrup drizzled on top.  The taste of real maple syrup is incomparable.  Aunt Jemima doesn't stand a chance in our house.

We had a sunny day, which had me moving things around on the table so I could get good pictures.  Actually, it was a nice problem to have at this time of year.

When the table was cleared we witnessed a gingerbread spat!  These lovers quarreled and it was a duel at twenty paces between Mr. Salt and Ms. Pepper.  Nothing would dissuade them!  Each of them brought their seconds as witnesses.  Doctors stood by in case of casualties, and a bunch of gossips waited nearby to hear the outcome.  Limbs were lost, death ensued, and crumbs were scattered everywhere.  The lovers survived, as did the doctors.  The rest have all gone to their reward.

When breakfast was over, we lit a fire in the fireplace, and didn't budge from our chairs for the rest of the day.  I'm already planning for next year's breakfast.

A Very Berry Breakfast

Some days are just special.  It's nice to indulge in a totally unexpected, middle-of-the-week breakfast as a treat for someone you love.

The food doesn't have to be fancy.  In my humble opinion, an ordinary breakfast, or any meal, actually, can be elevated with the proper setting and mood.  Mornings start early at our house, so I did most of the prep work the night before.

For a change of pace, I am using a pair of delightful Berries Kitchen Towels that we received recently as a gift.  That was the starting point for the rest of the table.  

Pairing bees with berries seemed like a no-brainer, so the La Rochère Bee glasses came out to play.

The cream tot was filled the night before, then covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated so it would be ready to go right away.  Mr. & Mrs. Red volunteered to help out.  They usually come out for patriotic tables, and occasionally for other holidays.  It's fun having them around.

The Blue Calico sugar bowl withdrew in a snit when it realized that neither my husband or I adds sugar to our tea.  Very temperamental, that Blue Calico.

We like berries and eat a lot of them at our house.  They are high in polyphenols, those magic antioxidants that do so many great things for the human body, and it's wonderful that something that is good for us, is also so darn delicious!

Won't you have a croissant . . . or a scone . . . ? 

The jam came along with the dish towels, and I couldn't wait to try it.  Oh, my!  If you have a chance, please don't pass the opportunity to buy a jar.  It is so delicious.  Most of the berries remain whole.  I wish I had taken a picture, but I was too busy licking my fingers!

And, since we were serving Blueberry Jam, the Blueberry spoon came out.  This was part of the gift package.  I'm going to remember to do this for someone else.  Everything was a delight from beginning to end!

Don't you love the Mason Woven table runner from Pottery Barn?  It adds so much to the textural mix on this table!

Even a few simple daisies can brighten your day.  The miniature vases are part of a set of three that my son, David, gave me for Christmas a few years ago.

I've gotten into the habit of always taking a rim shot, to see how my plate stack looks to any tiny bug that might wonder to the top of the table.

The Napoleon Bee flatware did not want to be left out.  I say, the more the merrier!

Breakfast in heaven includes a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice.  Did you know that?

The mini vase on this side has a different shape.  There's a lot of texture and color on this table, but the white Wedgwood Nantucket Basket dishes calm everything down.

Hard-boiled eggs, with extra ones to snack on later in the morning, or tomorrow.

Another low-carb offering:  Prosciutto wrapped in Mozzarella, and Emmentaler cheese slices.  I prefer Gouda, but he likes Emmentaler, and it's a special day, so he gets his Emmentaler with a pretty tomato rose to fancy up the plate.  Everything had to be pretty today.  You see, today my husband and I celebrate our 36th wedding anniversary.  

“Come grow old with me.  The best is yet to be.” 

—William Wordsworth

Christmas 2014

We celebrated Christmas a bit early at our house this year.  Our celebrations are changing, as our sons, now adults, have complicated schedules of their own, so Christmas is whenever they can be with me.  My son, David, who is in the Army, came home on leave on December 10th.  We gathered up the gang, and moved up our celebration to December 14th, so we could all be together.

I got to use my new Christmas dishes:  Winter Greetings Plaid, just released this year by Lenox!  Now that's a rim shot!

I'm so happy to see that plaid remains such a strong element at Christmastime.  I love plaid!

My friend and florist, Robert, of Robert Floral Design Studio in Chicago, Illinois, made this gorgeous centerpiece, which included white heather, fresh Winterberries, Boxwood, apples, oranges, frosted pinecones, a few red glass balls, red ribbon, all resting on a bed of cedar boughs.

The Italian red water goblets came from HomeGoods.  It's such a gorgeous red!  The wine glasses are rimmed in gold and match the gold chargers.  They were a Dollar Tree find!

I used the Spode Woodland flatware.  I really find this flatware so charming at Christmastime!

The little boxes hold Fannie Mae truffles.  Everyone got to take one home.  It was pure serendipity when I found the wrapping paper in the same colors as the dishes!

The table is set.  We are ready for our guests . . .  We sat down to dinner at 3:00 P.M., since my son, David, was leaving very early the following morning, and many of us also had to get an early start the next day!  It seems that everything at work was moved up for the week of the 15th, in anticipation of Christmas the following week, so we all had jam-packed schedules . . . (sigh . . .)

Lee and I, relaxing for a minute in front of the Christmas tree . . .  One more Christmas with my wonderful guy . . .

And here we are!  We had a last minute addition when my nephew, Colin, and his baby daughter, Sofia, joined us!  And, of course, the more the merrier!  Nothing makes me happier than to be surrounded by family. This year, we were also blessed by the presence of our dear friends, Layda and Nick!  And there's David, kneeling right behind me!

May the Baby Jesus fill your homes with love.  May the Prince of Peace blanket the earth with kindness, understanding, generosity . . . and, above all, peace.  God bless!

Linking to Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursday.  Stop in and see some amazing seasonal tables!