Sunflower Summer Tablescape

 

There is a little doubt that the star of this table is the wine bottle salad bowl. Designed to hold succulents, these food-safe glass, half wine bottles are perfect for serving a fresh starter salad with a side of dressing. It’s fun, and guaranteed to be a conversation starter. You can find the wine bottles  here and the salad dressing cups here.

 

The rest of the table is so wonderfully summery, with hot colors of yellow and orange against a forest green backdrop. (Honest to goodness, that tablecloth is hunter green. Why it photographed blue is beyond me, but I digress.)

Placemats are water hyacinth, chargers are metallic gold, and the plates with the rippled edges and bursting with sunflowers are by Maxcera in their “Sunset Sunflower” pattern. These are some of my favorites of all of the plates that I own, and trust me when I tell you, that’s saying something.

 

 The sweet coffee/tea cups are by Boston international in their “honeycomb” pattern. You can find them here.

The yellow stemware is by Lennox, I do not know the name of the pattern. The gold flatware can be found here.

 

The green napkins are from Amazon and can be found here. The pitcher is a Blenko double spouted glass pitcher in “Tangerine.”

  Summer will be gone before you know it, so get out that colorful dinnerware and set yourself a fabulous table.

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This post is linked to: Tablescape Thursday

Potato Salad Perfection

 

The late Mr. O-P was a big fan of potato salad. As he did all of the grocery shopping, every week he would invariably come home with a container. He preferred to enjoy potato salad with his sandwich at lunch rather than any type of chip, potato or otherwise, and, after a while, I tended to agree with him.

 Today, because I’m having ribs for dinner, I decided to make a big batch of potato salad to enjoy not just this evening, but for the coming week. I wanted to try something new, so this is a riff on Ina Garten’s potato salad that always gets rave reviews, not only for taste, but for her unique way of cooking the potatoes. I was not able to get fresh dill (it’s obviously being held hostage somewhere, and that place is a place I cannot find), so I had to make do with dried. I also like more crunch in my potato salad, so I doubled up on the vegetables, and threw in some hard boiled eggs. The end result was, in my opinion, potato salad perfection.

Potato Salad Perfection

Adapted from a recipe by Ina Garten

 2 1.5-oz. bags Melissa’s baby red potatoes

Kosher salt

1 c. Duke’s mayonnaise

¼ c. buttermilk

  2 T. Dijon mustard

 2 T. whole-grain mustard

1 T. red wine vinegar

2 T. dried dill weed

1 t. kosher salt

1 t. freshly ground black pepper

1 c. chopped celery

1 c. chopped red onion

4 hard boiled eggs, chopped

Place the potatoes and 2 tablespoons of salt in a large pot of water. Bring the water to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, until the potatoes are barely tender when pierced with a knife. Drain the potatoes in a colander, then place the colander with the potatoes over the empty pot and cover with a clean, dry kitchen towel. Allow the potatoes to steam for 15 to 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, buttermilk, Dijon mustard, whole grain mustard, vinegar, dill, salt, and pepper; set aside.

When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut them in quarters or in half, depending upon their size. Place the cut potatoes in a large bowl. While the potatoes are still warm, pour dressing over them to moisten. Add the celery, red onion, and eggs. Toss well, cover, and refrigerate for a few hours to allow the flavors to blend. Season to taste, if necessary.*  Serve cold or at room temperature.

 *At this point in her recipe, Ina called for an additional 2 teaspoons of salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper. I didn’t think it needed either. Gee, Ina, can you say hypertension?

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Slow Cooker Apple Bourbon Baked Beans

 

My parents used to have a very large house at the Lake of the Ozarks. Every holiday, all five of those bedrooms were filled, many sections of the floor covered in sleeping bags, and it was always a whirlwind of activity. Some people would be out fishing, others boating, I would be in the water with my friends, the men would be stoking the outdoor barbecue, and the women in the kitchen working on desserts and sides, and happily chattering away. I don’t think I appreciated those times nearly as much as I probably should have.

 

My number two son, now in his 30s, caught his first fish at the lake. 

But before I bring all of you down with sweet nostalgia, I’ll tell you that one of the ways I deal with holidays, now lacking all of the senior family members with whom I used to enjoy them, is to make myself a good, holiday meal. For me this past Memorial Day that meant pork steaks, my grandma‘s mustard potato salad, deviled eggs, and baked beans. I have a lot of good recipes for baked beans, but wanted to vary from what I normally do by looking up recipes online, and adding my own special spin. These turned out to be phenomenal! I ate more of them than I probably should, but I could not stop. They were that good.Slow Cooker Apple Bourbon Baked Beans

2 22-oz. cans baked beans

2 21-oz. cans apple pie filling

1 small onion, diced

½ c. BBQ sauce

1 12-oz. pkg. bacon, cooked and rough chopped

¼ c. bourbon

1 t. Brown Sugar Bourbon seasoning

Place all ingredients into a 6-quart slow cooker in the order listed. Give it a good stir, and cook on low for 4-5 hours; high for 2-3 hours. Serve hot.

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Grammy's Mustard Potato Salad

 

Is it permissible to have a barbecue without serving potato salad? Because from my experience, I can tell you it is not. The first time I had potato salad was at my grandmother's house when I was a little girl. Hers was always the creamiest, most delicious potato salad. Not too tart, not too sweet, just flavorful, perfectly textured with an equal amount of potato creaminess to vegetable crunch. She didn’t have a recipe saying that she would just mix things together until it "looked right." I’m sure that a lot of your grandparents described things in a similar fashion. Through trial and error, this is what I came up with that is the closest to my grandmother's potato salad that I can remember.

Grammy's Mustard Potato Salad

  2 lbs. russet potatoes, peeled and cubed

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 T. sherry vinegar

¾ c. Duke’s mayonnaise

¼ c. sour cream

2 T. yellow mustard

1 T. sugar

1/3 c. dill pickle relish

2 T. pickle or olive brine        

3 stalks celery, chopped

4 scallions, chopped

¼ c. chopped fresh parsley

3 hard boiled eggs

Paprika, for topping

 Put the potatoes in a large saucepan with salted water to cover. Bring to a simmer and cook until fork tender, 8 to 10 minutes.

 Drain and transfer to a large bowl. Add the vinegar and ½ teaspoon salt; toss, and let stand for 10 minutes.

 In a small bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, sour cream, mustard, and sugar. Fold in relish, brine, celery, and scallions. Pour over potatoes and fold together to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper; fold in hard-boiled eggs and parsley. Refrigerate two hours or overnight. Sprinkle with paprika to garnish.

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Orgy in a Barn

  

Okay, here’s the thing. Knowing that I am going to need a lot of cocktails to get me through the baseball season, I decided that I was going to find one signature cocktail for the entire summer of 2024. I chose a cocktail that I found online called Sex on the Farm because it sounded refreshing, included cranberry juice and orange juice (that I knew I would freshly squeeze), and just seemed to be exactly the flavor profile that I was looking for.

 

What happened was, when I went to make this cocktail I had completely forgotten the measurements of the ingredients, and ended up quadrupling the amount of peach schnapps!! I also decided to use the juice from a Melissa's Ojai pixie tangerine because they are so deliciously sweet, instead of orange juice, and both of those changes took this cocktail over the top. It is magnificent! As a consequence, I figured that I really needed to rename the cocktail with a nod to the original, but giving it something of my own, ergo the Orgy in a Barn cocktail was racily born. Try it! (The cocktail, not the barn orgy. That would be rude and perhaps off-putting for the animals.)

Sex at a Farm Stand

 1½ oz. vodka

2 oz. peach schnapps

2 oz. cranberry juice

2 oz. freshly squeezed Ojai tangerine juice

 Give it a stir and pour it over ice in a glass. Garnish with a wedge of tangerine, and a stemmed cherry.

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Slow Cooker Cheesy Broccoli Potato Soup

Do you like soup in the summer? I do. It probably seems like a strange choice for a hot day, but I always find it to be very satisfying, particularly when it comes to replacing a heavier entrée. What I don’t like to do, in the dog days of summer, is to heat up the kitchen in the making of it. Here is a crockpot version of that ubiquitous favorite, broccoli cheese soup, that is (after a bit of chopping) super simple, and very delicious.

Artisanal Ceramic Soup Bowl

Slow Cooker Cheesy Broccoli Potato Soup

 1 head broccoli, broken into florets  

2 medium russet potatoes, diced

½ c. diced Melissa’s shallot

1 t. Melissa’s minced garlic

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

¼ t. dry mustard

Few gratings fresh nutmeg  

1 32.-oz. container chicken stock

¼ c. cornstarch  

2 c. shredded cheddar cheese  

1 c. heavy whipping cream

 In a slow cooker combine broccoli, potatoes, broccoli, shallots, garlic, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. In a bowl, whisk together the chicken broth and cornstarch, and pour over the vegetables.

 Cover and cook on “high” for 3-4 hours until the potatoes are tender.

 Stir in shredded cheese and heavy cream. Cover and continue cooking for an additional 20 minutes, until the cheese has melted.

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No Churn Chocolate Malted Oreo Ice Cream

 

Malt powder is not used nearly often enough. When I was a little girl, I used to be able to get little frozen malt cups from the local dairy, the school cafeteria, or the grocery store. They came with their own little wooden spoon attached, and I don’t know what I miss more, the taste of that malt cup, or the taste of that wooden spoon. I have since gotten some of those wooden spoons in order to wax nostalgic, but, until last weekend, had yet to make my own version of the ice cream used in those malt cups. I stumbled upon this recipe on the Half Baked Harvest website and decided to give it a try with my own adjustments. This is the adult version of malted ice cream and it is, in a word, magnificent! If you plan to share it with the kids, don’t add the Kahlúa, add more vanilla. Either way, you must try this.

No Churn Chocolate Malted Oreo Ice Cream

Adapted from Half Baked Harvest

2½ c. heavy cream

½ c. unsweetened cocoa powder

¼ c. vanilla malted milk powder

2 t. espresso powder

1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk

1 t. vanilla extract

1 T. Kahlua

1 t. Fleur de Sel

16-20 Oreo cookies, crushed

Using an electric mixer, whip the cream, cocoa powder, malted milk powder, and instant espresso in a large bowl until soft peaks form, 1-2 minutes. Add the condensed milk, vanilla, Kahlua, and fleur de sel. Whip to gently combine.

 Fold in the crushed Oreo cookies.

Transfer to a 9”×5” loaf pan; cover and freeze until firm, at least 6 hours. Let the ice cream sit at room temperature 5–7 minutes, then scoop and enjoy!

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Fat Hooker

 

Once August hits, and it is here, I feel as though summer is over. Summer weather is certainly not over, and won’t be for another couple of months, but August is my stair step into September, and that’s when I start thinking about fall decorating. I mention this because I had plans to try loads of tropical drinks this summer and I didn’t get to a one of them. I plan to make up for that in the next couple of weeks sharing my results with you. Having recently purchased a bottle of peach schnapps with no idea why, I started looking for recipes that contained this as an ingredient, pleased at how many there are. Ergo, my first cocktail of this summer is the Fat Hooker.

This is a good one. It’s a nice blend of ingredients so that it doesn’t taste like too much of any one thing. I think this would be an excellent cocktail to serve with brunch. It’s far more complex and interesting than the Mimosa, and would make such a pleasant, tropical change. The only downside is that it is very refreshing and drinkable, so it’s hard to realize that it is indeed an alcoholic beverage, and to slow down.

Fat Hooker
Serves 1

1/2 oz. Peach Schnapps
1 oz. Vodka
1/2 oz. Coconut rum
4 oz. Orange juice
4 oz. Pineapple juice

Place all ingredients into a tall glass. Add ice, stir, and enjoy. Garnish as you see fit. 

Sizzling Summer Tablescape

It’s amazing how one small change can alter your entire household. I recently discovered blanket hangers. You’re probably wondering where I’ve been all these years that I didn’t know about them; I can in no way defend myself. I chalk it up to cluelessness. I will say that these things are great! Instead of storing my quilts on the downstairs guest bed, stacked one on top of the other, making it appear as though there were three mattresses rather than two, I now have them freshly laundered, lightly pressed, and hanging up in my closet.

 

You’re probably wondering why I’m talking about these in a post that’s about tablescapes. It’s because this table is the result of my discovering blanket hangers, because at the same time I discovered the blanket hangers, I also rediscovered the quilt that I used here as a tablecloth. I bought this during my colorful bohemian stage just after Mr. O-P passed. I was eager to change things up to begin the next chapter in my life, and didn’t entirely think things through. This quilt, purchased six years ago from Urban Outfitters, was part of my effort to completely redecorate the guest bedroom. In giving it a fresh new look, I was curious as to how it would look on my table. I know a lot of people use quilts as table coverings, but that’s really not my style. I enjoy making my statement with plate stacks. Today, however, I threw caution to the wind, and honestly think it works.I decided to use every color that I found in this quilt beginning with the centerpiece, a green Tulipiere into which I placed a variety of faux tulips.

From there I was off and running, grabbing red, blue, and orange.
Water hyacinth placemats make up the base and they are topped with white washed rustic tin chargers that I purchased at a local shop. Rustic orange melamine plates from Williams-Sonoma will be used for dinner, the bold Sicily ceramic salad plates, also from W-S are on top.

Orange flatware and napkins are from Amazon, as well as the red rose napkin rings.

The red stemmed water glasses are by Villeroy and Boch; the champagne flutes that will be used for sparkling lemonade. I found here.

Cupcakes are for dessert, and they will be served in these darling domed cupcake stands that I found at wayfair.com.Make your summer and table settings awash with color. Stay cool!

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 This post is linked to: Tablescape Thursday