A Blues Table for Five (Recipes!)

I have been dying to use this TJ Maxx tablecloth for something pretty on the porch, but the pollen and weather are not cooperating. I was too impatient to wait, so tonight we dined on new thrifty finds in the kitchen.


Oh, where to start?


Well, the bargain on the table is the sherberts. I found them on eBay for less than $1 a piece! I can't even believe I almost passed them up! 

And the china was another eBay find. It is the Carlotta pattern made by Eternal Stone.  While it wasn't quite the deal of a $1 per piece, it was still a bargain. 

There is some crazing on a few pieces, but I adore the pattern and the two shades of blue. It is at least 75 years old and so chic! I love, love, love the way it looks with the sherberts and blue in the tablecloth! 

I could kick myself for not buying napkins in Homegoods that would have matched! I am one of those shoppers who (sometimes but not often enough) walks around with all the things I want, and gradually put most of them back only to regret it later! Do you do that, too?


The tablecloth is a good example of that very thing. I found four placemats and a runner in this same pattern at a TJ Maxx in Atlanta, walked around with them, and decided I didn't want just four placements. I left them there only to find the tablecloth in a different TJ Maxx a week later. This time, leaving the first stash behind was a good decision!

The Azaleas in the ice bucket are from the yard. I have one plant with a few flowers. The rest are still budding. The other green comes from camellia and honeysuckle leaves.

So, what's the menu?


Cocktail Shrimp


Frozen and thawed from the supermarket (easy recipe, huh?)
Serve with dipping sauces


Mandarin Orange Salad


Salad:
1 head of lettuce, washed and torn
4-5 green onions, chopped fine
3 stalks celery, chopped fine
1 11oz can mandarin oranges
Combine and chill.


Dressing:
1/4 vegetable oil
1 T white vinegar
5 drops hot sauce
2 T sugar
1/2 t salt
1/2 t pepper


Topping:
1/2 c slivered almonds
2-3T sugar
Caramelize on stove. Spread on wax paper to dry. Can be stored in an airtight container for a snack.


Combine salad and dressing. Toss. Top with almonds. Mmmmm. :)


Easiest Poppyseed Chicken



Preheat oven to 350 degrees.


Casserole:
1-2 lb of shredded or cut up chicken, whatever you have on hand
1 can of mushroom soup (10 3/4 oz)
8 oz sour cream
1/4 c. milk
Combine so that the chicken is covered, even if just barely.


Topping:
Place 1-2 stacks of Ritz crackers in a freezer bag and crush
add 1 stick of melted butter or margarine
add 2 T poppy seeds (if you have them)
Shake.


Spread over chicken mixture.


Bake until bubbly, (about 30 minutes).


Easy Rice Pilaf


Prepare 3 c. quick rice.


Melt a tablespoon or so of butter in a large skillet.
Add 1/2 c. green onions (chopped), 1/3 c. slivered almonds,  and 1 crushed clove of garlic.


When almonds are lightly browned (3-5 minutes), add rice and seasonings to taste such as salt, pepper, thyme, etc. Blend and serve.




I also served a can of corn. Another easy recipe. :)


Enjoy!
-Andrea

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Rose Chintz and Baseball Season

This morning is a ball park morning. I got up early, made breakfast, running around the kitchen plating one thing at a time as it was ready: pancakes, cheese eggs, grits, bacon, refills of juice and milk. I sent up children to get dressed, brush teeth, and brush hair. I ran up upstairs to find misplaced cleats. I ran back down to help locate hats and ballbags. I rushed everyone out the door with their dad for pre-game practice, only to realize I had never eaten my breakfast!

So I decided to take a little while to enjoy it since the games don't start for another hour! I made a little breakfast tray, adding the potpourri from my earlier post here.

Until recently, I shied away from a lot of pinks and pastels on the table. But, I have fallen in love with the Rose Chintz pattern by Johnson Bros.  I found four dinner plates at TJ Maxx for 3$ each. Whoo hoo! (I have 24 snack plates, too. You can see them in my daughter's post here. They are a very unusual shape. To die for!) Here I am using the dinner plate with my Fortecrisa pink swirl glass dinner and salad plates. The glass plates are a little smaller, more like the size of a luncheon and a bread and butter, so it's a perfect fit!

Old Master by Towle.

A sterling goblet.

A sterling sherbert with potourri.

And a rose napkin! I will post a tutorial ASAP, but the ballfields are calling!

 All in all, it was really nice to take a breather. Now I have to run to the ball field and cheer on the Cardinals and the Screamers! This is my favorite time of year!

And later that day...

My littlest at bat getting ready to make the first hit of her game, and my middle one at the fence cheering his sister on. I love ball season. :)


Happy Saturday!


-Andrea


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The Pinkest Party on Earth!

In my city, March brings a festival which celebrates the blooming of over 300,000 Yoshino cherry trees. It is truly a sight to behold! Time to “think pink”!

Pink pancakes, pink poodles, balloon glows, free cherry ice cream being served in one of the downtown parks – just of few of the sights and tastes that we enjoy this time of the year. Even the local newspaper prints a pink edition each year.

We have our own cookbook, which contains only recipes using cherries as one of the ingredients. I will share one of the recipes with you at the end of the blog – White Chocolate Cherry Tart. Yum!!

My contribution this year is a luncheon table setting for six friends to enjoy, before going to the annual tour of homes. In keeping with the spirit of the season, almost everything is pink!

I so enjoyed bringing all of the pink together, but I started with a white “Peyton” tablecloth, which is made by Ralph Lauren and I bought it at Dillard’s. I thought that the pink would photograph better on white.

Pink placemats purchased at Big Lots for a ridiculously low price were added on top of the tablecloth.

Pink napkins and “pearl” napkin rings were purchased online.

The white plates on top of the placemats are Lenox Opal Innocence Carved. I love these plates – they are dinner plates, but large enough to use as chargers for older china patterns.

On top of the Lenox plates are smaller plates with marbleized rims. They are actually Johnson Brother’s “Rose Chintz” accent dinner plates. There are roses in the centers, but you cannot see them under the smallest plate.

The plate on top is a salad plate made by Narumi and is the pattern, “Mountain Cherry”, which fits into the theme perfectly!

The tall pink water goblets are from an unknown maker, although I saw some similar blue ones for sale on Etsy that were advertised as having been made by the Dugan Glass Company. I bought mine from Replacements. My daughter loaned me the other lovely footed pink glasses.

The pink centerpiece holding the flowers is an Indiana Glass compote in the “Teardrop” pattern. I bought this one on Ebay, but I have owned a clear glass one for many years. It belonged to my mother.

Also, decorating the table are two pieces in the Fostoria “Fairfax” pink pattern. One is a mayonnaise bowl.

The other is a bon-bon basket. I will use it as a butter dish with a round mound of butter in the center.

Pink Hocking “Block Optic” footed salt and pepper shakers are used at one end of the table.

Hanging from the chandelier is a Japanese paper lantern – who could resist, when setting a table to celebrate Japanese Yoshino cherry trees?

The place setting sterling flatware is “Strasbourg” by Gorham.






My favorite things on the table consist of the other two pieces of sterling silver. The pattern is a very old Blackinton pattern, which is named, “Cherry Blossom”! One piece is a master butter knife and the other is called a large cream ladle, although, it does not look that large.

I wish that all of you could join us in my city to enjoy the beautiful spring weather and witness the look of thousands of cherry trees bursting out in blooms at the appointed time, as though some magical alarm clock woke them just in time for our glorious Cherry Blossom festival!! Enjoy the recipe!

WHITE CHOCOLATE CHERRY TART

1¼ cups butter, softened

¾ cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 bar, 3 ounces, white chocolate

Crunchy Almond Pastry Shell

Cherry Topping

¼ cup toaster sliced almonds

Cream butter until smooth. Gradually beat in sugar until mixture is smooth and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Blend in vanilla and white chocolate. Spoon into Crunchy Almond Pastry Shell. Chill until firm.

Spoon Cherry Topping over tart. Chill up to 8 hours. Remove from refrigerator about ½ hour before serving. Sprinkle with toasted sliced almonds to serve.

Crunchy Almond Pastry Shell

1 cup flour

2 tablespoons sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

1/3 cup butter

¼ cup diced toasted almonds

3 tablespoons water

Combine flour, sugar and salt. Cut in butter until mixture looks like coarse corn meal. Stir in almonds. Blend in water to form crumbly dough. Pat into bottom and sides of a 9-inch tart or pie pan. Chill 20 minutes. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool.

Cherry Topping

1 can, 21 ounces, cherry pie filling

2 tablespoons brandy

3 tablespoons sugar

¼ teaspoon almond extract

Combine cherry pie filling, brandy and sugar. Boil 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Blend in almond extract.

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