Confession of a dishaholic (part 4)

If you let a dish-aholic start collecting a set of blue and white dishes,

Confession #1: She will have to have other blue and white dishes to go with those she started out, and sink her love deeper and deeper and yet even deeper in the blue and white pile of dishes there are out there…

Confession #2: Then, she will think she needs to start collections of other dishes to balance out the blue/white monopoly in her cupboards…

Confession #3: Then, she will want to collect pieces for her silverware chest, piece by piece…

Confession #4: Then, she will have to have serving pieces to go with her silver ware…

— platters (what a surprise, she would have blue/white transferware platters!)

— gravy boats

— pitchers and other tea-related thingamagigs!

— chargers

— bowls (big bowls, small bowls, shaped bowls, leaf bowls!)

— and of course, pyrex and pie-PALS!

— and this!

If you are inflicted with the same weakness as I am, I would love to know what serving pieces in your stash you use the most!

Thank you for stopping by and humoring me while I confess. I hope you have a fun-filled day!

Confession of a dishaholic (part 2)

If you let a dish-aholic start collecting a set of blue and white dishes,

Confession #1: She will have to have other blue and white dishes to go with those she started out, and sink her love deeper and deeper and yet even deeper in the blue and white pile of dishes there are out there…

Confession #2: Then, she will think she needs to start collections of  other dishes to balance out the blue/white monopoly in her cupboards…

(to suit the different seasons, don’t you know?) :)

Thank you for visiting.  I would love to hear from you if you are suffering from the aforementioned symptoms! :)  Have a great Friday, everyone.  I will see you next week!

A dishaholic’s dress-up party!

My tablescape this week is a “pretend” one using pieces that are normally eye candies and aren’t used at the table.  But that certainly does not mean these pieces can’t appear on the table for a “dress-up” party, does it?  So, here it is, with the trinket trays doubling as individual salad bowl, and bread plate respectively.  You will also notice that a framed picture is used as a charger for the place setting:

The bouquet motif is based on an 18th century Chinese export bowl.  There are over thirty colors in the motif.  Think of the different metal oxides used to produce the exuberant colors:

The border is the famous Fitzhugh border, which also appeared in the Order of the Cincinnati, service of Martha and George Washington:

Among those who are invited to the “dress-up party for dishes” are – some crystal stemware, an antique cobalt/silver salt cellar, a pair of Italian brass birds, and an Italian brass candelabra:

Thank you for popping by my “dress-up party for dishes”!  I hope you have enjoyed my pretend tablesetting.  Have a lovely day!

Setting the table just because…

… I felt like doing so, even though I was only serving roast beef, green beans and homemade rolls for dinner:

Peeling off the layers:

The rose sprigs are Baby Blanket from Jackson Perkins.  They are groundcover roses that have vigorously blossomed this year:

The centerpiece was quickly assembled from my Italian brass pheasants on a framed picture that I haven’t hung on the wall, fluffed up with a bit of English Ivy from the front yard.  You will notice that you have probably seen the tablecloth before.  I don’t have a large repertoire of tablecloths.  The tablecloth you see is actually my quilt that has appeared “The Quilter”:

Let’s get started with our comfort food dinner before everything turns cold, shall we?

Thanks for stopping by – Have yourself a lovely day, won’t you?  Blessing to you all!

Setting the table for simple pleasures

Setting the table is one of my most enjoyed simple pleasures of life:

On a particular afternoon, I started setting the table for the company of my family — another simple pleasure:

I used my “Simple Pleasures” quilt to dress up the table:

Nothing too fancy, I just used my Spode Blue Italian, mixed in with a bit of Johnson Brothers Heritage White:

We were having Chinese-style stuffed buns. So I included the teapot for green tea at the table:

A great time was had by all! Thank you for stopping by – I hope you enjoy your Thursday – may your day be blessed with many simply pleasures!

A baby girly tablescape

Coming up with an all baby girlish look was fun for me. The conventional “pink for baby girl” color scheme was easy with the Royal Albert Lady Carlyle pieces I already have. I added the silver tea service for a slight contrast:

A baby party would not be complete without petit fours decorated with baby booties, in this case pink. I also added the white cupcakes decorated with pink and lavender flowers to match the Lady Carlyle bouquets:

A cake (though not consumed by the baby) personalized with baby’s monogram added a touch of special-ness:

A fruit salad topped with a pacifier for a fun touch:

At the other end of the table are various heirloom lovelies that belong to the baby —

A less formal setup in another room for the little people:

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you had enjoyed my baby girl tablescape.

A bit of “special”

I set out to make an ordinary dinner special. I started with the basics:

My “secret “in making the dinner special is simply adding some details to the tablesetting…:

… and some prettier serving pieces:

Not too long after, food items began to materialize:

Now, I present to you the “star” of the show — Mexican Casserole (now you see why I called it an ordinary dinner) — it wasn’t Chicken Cordon Bleu; it wasn’t Porterhouse Steak; it was just a hearty cheesy Mexican Casserole that happened to be a favorite in my house:

The little bit of effort in setting a nice table sure made an ordinary dinner extra special. Here is my recipe:

A bag of corn tortillas

5-6 cups shredded cooked chicken

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1/2 can water

2 cans 4 oz green chilies

1 medium can sliced olives

12 oz block of marbled cheese (Monterey Jack and Cheddar), or 1 1/2 blocks of 8 oz blocks, shredded

Chopped Jalapeno Peppers (to taste)

1 large onion, chopped

1 large tomato, coarsely chopped

Salt, pepper, chili power and ground cumin to taste

For garnish (optional) – extra olives, cilantro, tomatoes and sour cream

1. Heat soup, water and green chilies on stove top.

2. Meanwhile, mix chicken together with onion, olives, tomatoes, and chopped jalapeno peppers. Season with salt, pepper, chili power and cumin to taste.

3. Layer the bottom of 9″x12″ baking dish with corn tortillas.

4. Top with half of the chicken mixture, and then half of the soup mixture.

5. Sprinkle half of the shredded cheese on top.

6. Repeat layering one more time with remaining tortillas, chicken mixture, soup mixture and cheese.

7. Bake in 350 F oven for 30 minutes.

8. Garnish if desired.

We had Apple Enchilada for dessert to keep with the Mexican Menu. Husband was very pleased, and therefore, I am pleased! :)

Have a wonderful day, everyone — do stop and enjoy some cheese if you remember! :)

Irish Lemon Curd Tarts

I participated in the “The Sweet-and-Yummy- Savory” recipe sharing hosted by “Gracious Hospitality”. I had used this recipe for Christmas last year in keeping with my colonial-themed Christmas dinner. The recipe is from “Entertaining Ideas from Williamsburg”. Unfortunately, I had forgotten to take a picture of the actual tarts. I didn’t know I would be needing the pictures for blogging. But I will show a quick picture of my Christmas tablesetting with my Spode Christmas Rose plates. The tarts aren’t exactly “sweet”, but they are “yummy” and go great with coffee or tea! By the way, did I mention I am a dish-aholic?

2 eggs

2 egg yolks

1/2 cups sugar

rind of 4 lemons, grated

2/3 cup lemon juice

1 cup butter, melted

24 small baked tart shells

Beat the eggs, egg yolks, and sugar. Beat in the grated lemon rind, lemon juice, and butter, and pour the mixture into the top of a double boiler. Cook the mixture, stirring constantly, over hot water until it has thickened. Cool, cover, and refrigerate. Fill the baked tart shells with the chilled mixture.

Dish-aholic Part 1: One thing led to another…

I have to admit I am a dish-aholic. I love dishes of all shapes and forms, whether or not they are functional. I have always love the blue and white color combination on dishes. So, years ago, I started with a couple of Spode Blue Italian plates (well, and other blue and white dishes) for our spring and summer dining uses —

Then, when I started looking around, I realized I had to have these to go with the plates (the middle Devonia tray on the middle shelf is a gift from my cousin):

Next, I discovered I needed these to make my collection more complete:

Somehow, I just couldn’t (or rather wouldn’t) resist these:

Now that it’s been almost 10 years since I started collecting Spode Italian, I look at my stash and wonder why in the world I had thought a few years ago I simply couldn’t live without this ( a spoon rest?!):

Yet, Spode still makes many many more pieces that I don’t have. The Blue Italian pattern has got to be one of the most exhaustive collection Spode makes – mustard pot, Parmesan pot, Dutch jug, wash basin, mixing bowl, measuring pitcher, sandwich platter and the list goes on. You name it, they would probably have it! (Notice I am naming the pieces I don’t have — wonder if my brother-in-law would get a hint if he reads this post, hehe! You can find explanation on my brother-in-law in this post.)

I have to say collecting dishes has been a very enjoyable process and hobby. I have learned to appreciate the beauty of each piece of handiwork. I love taking time out once in a while to just stop and admire each piece and see how the motif is incorporated onto the form and shape of each piece. Some stop to smell the roses, I stop to look at my dishes because right now my roses aren’t anything to speak of – make that the whole flower bed in the front yard (*SIGH*)! That is another story for another post.