special events at home – Debbie-Ann Scott

Mother’s Day Tea Party for 10

Our Mother | Our Butterfly

It has been some time now since I last wrote about our Mum. I think I went to sleep for a few years and just woke up again. Health jumped in the road of blogging for some time; however, now I see the road ahead a little more clearly, and I see happy gatherings as our way of living together and with the people we love. Mum turns 92 next week. How could we not want to celebrate Mother’s Day? Covid meant that we needed to be a little more careful and possibly prevented us from doing anything too elaborate, yet what truly matters is being together and doing something.

Like a person upgrading from a small car to a large family van, as with our Mum, she just upgraded from a domestic wheelchair to something much larger and more durable. Mum suffered a stroke a few months back, and moving her about has become a little more complicated. Despite this, she still thinks she has wings and can fly. Therefore we need to support her and fly with her.

Her body struggles massively, and yet her mind still sees the flowers in bloom on what is more so a mushy and brittlebush. One beats the bush, and another catches the birds.

Sometimes I think I prefer laying the table over all else: the precision, the little touches, my anal retentiveness starts to surface again.

The little detail is important to me. The bits one sees and the bits nobody notices yet form part of the total picture.

Happy Mother’s Day

A mother’s hug lasts long after she lets go. Hug your mother and hug her some more. As a mum, I don’t plan to stop hugging my boy for the rest of my life. ♥️

Here is my checklist for a smaller more intimate Morning Tea Party. I hope it provides you with some ease. Remember, you dont need an excuse to have a party. Just go do it.

Table Checklist:

Centrepiece
Table Cloth
Tea Pot
Milk Jug
Sugar Bowl
Tea Cups & Saucers x 8
Coffee Cups & Saucers x 4
Side Plates x 10
Tea Spoons x 10
Cake Knife x 2
Serving Tongs
Cake Stands x 2 (for a high tea, use a three-tiered cake stand)
Chocolate Bowl
Serving Bowl x 1
Serviettes x 10
Water Jug
Crystal Water Jugs x 10
Music – Background
Lighting
Candles

Menu:

Savoury Sandwich Cake
Pear Upside Down Cake with Clotted Cream & Candied Walnuts
Rasperry & Dark Chocolate Cake with Rose Petals & Pistachio
Franski Sausage Rolls & Sweet Chilli Sauce
Bowl of Bacci’s (my favourite)
English Breakfast Tea
Green Tea
Nespresso Capsules
Sparkling Water with a hint of Elderflower Cordial, Fresh Fruits & Mint (Iced Tea ideal for Summer)
Champagne (only the best – your Mother deserves that) ❤️

it’s all about the food |insanely sweet chicken

dinner parties, it's all about the food, Recipes, special events at home

Here is a simple (well, simple enough when it comes to anything Ottolenghi) chicken recipe for that special occasion.

It is as sweet and delicious as it sounds.

Ottolenghi’s Sweet and Smoky Mexican Chicken. Emphasis on the sweet is achieved by the grated dark chocolate added before roasting. Surely you are salivating just thinking about this dish?

His recipe uses chicken thighs and legs; however, I am a breast girl, and I used plump chicken breasts with the skin on and wing in.

Photo | there is always something gorgeous about how Ottolenghi marinated his food. Who would have thought raw chicken could look and smell this good.

Photo | my favourite little grating accessory, just perfect for grating fine dark chocolate.

Photo | indeed, you can smell this as it cooks its fabulous sweet and spicy head off in the oven. I had to stop myself from continually opening the oven door and enabling the chocolate fumes.

Photo | all good things must end as my family quickly devoured these tiny plump breasts.

This recipe is perfect for a special dinner with the family or a dinner party. I served our family chicken with a simple coleslaw.

Other side ideas:

-roast potatoes and carrots

-chunky fries

–

top 10 decorating ideas | home 4 Christmas

Christmas, Entertaining Outside the Box, entertaining products, Entertaining Tips, gifts from the heart, let's talk tables, special events at home

Keep Calm … Christmas is Coming

A few friends have asked recently why they haven’t heard from me lately. Good question! In truth, I think the Christmas mayhem hit home earlier than usual. At times like this, we often find ourselves overwhelmed by all the pre-Christmas house guests, the gift shopping, the food shopping (which generally starts a good month out), the festive social encounters, and getting the house looking like it’s just a little bit of Christmas. The action plan keeps growing by the minute (a little like my waistline at Christmas…argh!).

Why is it that we place so much pressure on ourselves in the lead up to Christmas? If I consider my relentless need to create, update and mark off a daily action plan, I suspect the problem could well be me.

Despite the mayhem and energy that drains me like the kitchen sink, I adore Christmas. Bringing together family, friends, fun, love, and laughter is worthwhile.

Our house consists of two these days … and yet this does not stop me from filling our home with Christmas joy. It is about creating a festive welcome for every guest who visits. Share the cheer, I say!

Let’s get to the more exciting part of entertaining at Christmas, home decorations! What better excuse than Christmas to pull out all your little bits and pieces and apply some decorating glory.

1: Christmas tree | black is black

A busy working mum said that she did not have time to put up a Christmas Tree for her children. She is so busy juggling her business, house and children, and I am sure many of us know exactly what that feels like (well, at least remember what that felt like). She is so not alone. Many of us feel overwhelmed, yet if we take a breath, we might find that decorating can be one of the most mindful things you can do leading up to the Christmas mayhem.

Decorations need not be extravagant or complicated work. Find a theme and do more with less.

This year I have gone with a lit black Christmas Tree adorned with baubles (a great eBay find). Black is more contemporary, and I love how the black worked back with an abundance of colourful, bauble splendour.

Photo | well, isn’t this a little ray of pitch black!

2: bauble delight

Each year I grow my collection of Christmas baubles. I invest in 10 new ones each year, in different colours and styles. Baubles work for me with a touch of heart here and there, while another friend has a collection of birds. I go with a more lux look while she has a more natural organic look. We love many of the same things, yet we both create entirely different looks. I love that! Share ideas, and then go make them yours.

photo | the more colourful, the better

3: light show | the easy way

I purchased a few outdoor lamps online this year. They were inexpensive and yet gave a great splash of Christmas cheer … with nothing more than the click of the switch. You don’t have to spend weeks installing outdoor lighting (but please don’t let that stop those who provide such magical wonder); you just place this in your yard, shine it on your house, and have an instant light show in red or green.

I plan to also install one in our internal courtyard for our Christmas dinner. In seconds it showers thousands of lights and movement all over the walls. What is a little more movement when the house is already awash with so many busybodies?

photo | google laser light

4: glorious tulle

Personally, I adore tulle (while my friend again prefers more natural fibres). The softer tulle gives a softer look and is easier to work with. It is a cheap way to get some wow. Fill gaps in your tree with a handful of tulle, which can resemble a rose when bunched correctly.

photo | naturally black tulle for a black tree

5: doing more with less

Hint | Don’t attempt to fill the entire house with decorations, as this can sometimes resemble decoration mania and quickly go from elegant to overwhelming. Focus on various locations throughout your home that you can decorate…more with less.

Don’t forget to layer your Decorations. So much more attractive to the eye.

Photo | decorations don’t need to be expensive!

photo | don’t forget your little touch of cheer in the guest bathroom

6: wrapping up Christmas

Wrapped boxes to match your tree makes for a gorgeous complementary look. Better still, shop where they wrap your gifts which can then be placed under your tree and create some additional wow (the added bonus of shopping in the same shop is that the packages all look lovely in the same boxes and paper).

Photo | we have a bit of a Chanel thing happening this year, so there is no great surprise for my family here.

7: the power of flower

Flowers are a gorgeous Christmas inclusion, yet they can cost the earth and not last past a few days! This is an already expensive time of the year. I prefer investing in white potted orchids because they keep giving for months and months (if you talk to them nicely and don’t overwater them). Dried stems can also look equally as attractive.

Photo | this orchid has been given back to me for 18 months. I am still astounded by its kindness.

8: secret scents

Loads and loads of candles always look fabulous at Christmas. Combine plain with scented because nothing looks better than when it gives off a wonderful scent.

Hint | tie bunches of cinnamon sticks together with black ribbon (or a colour of your choice) and place them in your tree to add another beautiful slight secret scent.

photo | there can never be too many fairy lights

9: adorn the table with all your little wonders

Your table is a great space to decorate. You can provide a look filled with Christmas decorations before and on Christmas Day. Load your table with anything you think looks festive, and move it around. Add coloured stones, candles, nuts, potted herbs, etc. My husband knows that the table is not for eating in December.

I appreciate this is not terribly practical if you need to use your table in the lead up to Christmas, but since when has practicality played a role in the art of decorating? Remember to layer your table and add your little treasures here and there to make a gorgeous splash of Christmas. Many looks can be achieved very affordably.

Don’t be limited by colour. Christmas does not need to be red and green, you know.

Photo | Lesley would be proud of me for shopping at K Mart and buying a few table decorations. So affordable and so good!

9: all plated up

I cannot believe that we are switching to disposable plates this year (can you hear me gasp). We are opting for a more leisurely Christmas Dinner, and paper plates come with that option. Finding the ones that actually look great on the table can be a challenge. So many of the more decorative plates are way too small and very expensive. So, what to do? I opted for a mix of more expensive paper plates, which I now plan to team back with a cheaper Coles variety.

photo | paper plates and paper napkins – mix up for larger gatherings

10: just how sweet can one get?

Don’t forget the lolly jar. When you fill it too early (as we have done), you will just need to keep on refilling. Every house should be filled with lollies for our little treasures and big kids.

How can I do a Christmas blog without sharing a pav! I tried this one out last night to see how we could make it look more like Christmas. Add some pistachio and dried raspberries to a brittle, and then add the shards to the top of the pav for a little added wow! Note, however, I had 3 goes at this before I got the brittle to look more like shards and less like a slab of peanut brittle. The key I found is to make sure the sugar is totally melted before bringing it to a boil.

Sending you loads of love and sugar!

all about table|and labels

Breast Cancer, entertaining products, let's talk tables, on a personal note..., special events at home

I adore great homewares & accessories, yet I constantly see much of the same. So when I recently fell across a gorgeous homeware & accessories store, Ondine, in Double Bay, Sydney, it was hard not to get just a little bit excited.

Talking excitement | It wasn’t that long ago that my niece suggested that both my sister and I maybe had ADHD (so we already share a love of Ottolenghi and breast cancer, so seriously, what is one more thing)! You might well ask why I drop the big “BC” in from time to time…it is simple…to serve as a constant reminder to you all to stay on top of your mammograms and take excellent take care of yourself…which has always been and quite possibly continues to be the only true purpose behind my blogging, camouflaged as incessant food chatter.

“When it rains, look for RAINBOWS. When it’s dark, look for STARS”. FionaChilds.com

At first, I wasn’t totally comfortable being handed yet another label. Still, then I didn’t much care because I know our niece loves us both equally, and it was never intended as a criticism, more an observation. Regardless, I thought about what she had said and decided that if this is the label we get for being mindfully energetic, doing with our minds what our body is way less inclined to do, gymnastics, then so be it. So my sister and I love creativity in any form. We are constantly looking for something new to challenge us. Rather than this being viewed as something positive, it can be considered unhealthy hyperactivity and labelled as some medical condition.

However, it makes me question why we are all so quick to try to hang labels on our behaviour! I love shopping. I love homewares. I love clothes, so the love keeps on pouring out all over the shop…so does this mean I am a shopaholic or does it simply mean I am passionate about beautiful things?

Interestingly, I googled shopaholic the other day to see if I had any of the same traits. Remarkably, I almost got a perfect score. So now I have ADHD…and I am a shopaholic! So help me if I start reading up on people who need to hang all the same colours together in their wardrobes or store their spice jars in alphabetical order!

I love and adore my family and friends, and I can become equally obsessive when it comes to that, yet there doesn’t appear to be a medical label for excessive heart matters. Why is that?

I always hate to digress, but let’s digress anyway…after all, I am hyperactive. My sister and I recently undertook a spring cleaning of our mother’s bedroom. Something which could only have been done when your Mother is in hospital having a total hip replacement and incapable of moving (at 87, I am still so totally in awe of her having had her hip done).

We ruthlessly tossed away bottles of unopened perfumes and handbags (after all, surely you only need about 10 good bags, so the other 20 odd starts to become somewhat obsolete).

As the clean sweep progressed, so did my self-awareness, which somehow and sometimes I had morphed into my mother. I adore my mother, so maybe this is not such a bad thing. Seriously, why do we think she has a problem? She stashed away 30 plus handbags (and the rest, but I am doing my best to be nice here). Does it really matter in the bigger scheme of things? Can’t we just be happy being and accept these little habits, obsessions, and delights? However, we want to describe them. Indeed they can simply be attributed to who we are as people. It is these things that define us rather than label us! The way I see it is simple, if it makes you happy and feeds your soul or the soul of others, then embrace it. If it makes you feel somewhat anxious, you may just need to give it some kind of attention.

Now back to earth | another one of my obsessions, homewares. I adored the earthy heartiness of these Danish ceramics pictured below. I am a little frustrated that I did not purchase any and bring them home to add to our already heavily (maybe obsessive) range of plates and serving trays. I am sure I can find a little more space…just might need to move the other half out!

Photo |Ondene Transvaal, Double Bay, New South Wales. A Nordic range by K. H. Wurtz (an internationally sought-after Father and Son team of studio ceramics, located in Horsens, Denmark. Exclusively sold in Australia at Ondine.

Photo | Ondine carries another gorgeous range by Rina Menardi, Italy.
Photo | Another piece by Rina Menardi, Italy, available at Ondene, Sydney.

Photo | K. H. Wurtz Go see for yourself just how wonderful they are | There is something fabulous about the tools, colours, and textures sitting so harmoniously together on their website.

Photo | taken from K.W.Kurtz website. It reminds me of that utterly sexy scene from the movie “Ghost” with Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore getting down and dirty in clay. This was one of my best movie scenes and soundtrack of all time. Maybe I am getting old when I think potting is the new sexy!

My time to get down and dirty | So it is only to be expected that I now want desperately to do a ceramic class. When I told my sister, she said, “but you know you won’t be content making an ashtray…you will want to make a full dinner set”. I wasn’t sure what point she was trying to make because I wanted to make a complete dinner set (who smokes anyway)! I enrolled and started my first lesson today! Stay posted; you never know what fabulous things I might come up with, or be warned, you might never know what you might get for your birthday.

Photo | This photo was taken today at my first pottery lesson (SO not sexy). When I asked Graham Hay, my instructor, where the potting wheel was located, he said, “we are a ghost-free studio”. Oh seriously…what have I let myself in for!

tip | removing candle wax & water stains

Entertaining Tips, on a personal note..., special events at home

Tip 1 | When candle wax falls on your stone bench (as it did on mine), your first thought is, that the bench is ruined. Naturally, I had purchased dripless candles (dripless my foot), and by the end of the evening, the wax was all over the benchtop (so nasty).

Possibly you already know how to resolve this, and yet despite the many years I have on my odometer, I didn’t! There might be a reason my husband calls me “Mrs Google”, and yet, thankfully, for google, the day was saved.

Google | to the rescue. I scraped (ever so carefully) the excess wax off the benchtop with a blunt knife (in my case, a butter knife). Then I placed paper towels directly on top of the wax and put warm iron on the paper towels. I continued doing this until all the wax melted its way onto the paper towels. BTW…paper towels are my best friend in the kitchen! I can’t move sideways without grabbing a paper towel for one thing or another.

It worked! I restored our stone bench. p.s. my sister said she does this (who needs Google when you have a sister), and yet she uses a brown paper bag! You can use either, yet I don’t find too many paper bags in my house, whereas I can find a cupboard full of paper towels.

Photo | my trusted paper towels and the iron did the trick!

Tip 2| It was only a year earlier that I awoke to a water stain on our dining room table (a dinner party and teapot can do this). I don’t do colours well and thought the table would need to be put out on the next verge pick up.

Fortunately, before I had time to do this (and the table is a tad heavy), I googled and found on YouTube that several videos showed you how to iron the water stain out of your table. I could not believe it! I considered sending the table out to the ironers (just kidding…remember it is too heavy), and it worked just like magic.

Photo | With stain and photo below post stain!

The only difference with the water stain was that I had to cover the colour with a tea towel and then with a steam iron and iron away (I started ever so slowly)! I so wished I had taken a video of myself doing this so that I, too, could join the world on YouTube. And yet I wasn’t quite sure how to handle iron in one hand and my iPhone in the other. Trust me, it works! Our table was saved for another occasion.

I will buy my husband one of those t-shirts, “I don’t need Google; I have my wife”. 💋

cheese please | platters

Entertaining Outside the Box, entertaining products, Entertaining Tips, it's all about the food, special events at home

“Life is too short for fake butter, cheese or people” SheFinds

After a fabulous relaxing girlie week in Bali, I got to spend a further girlie week with two wonderful friends in our equally fabulous South West. Life just keeps getting better!

We did what every great woman does; relaxed, slept, movied, chatted lots (and naturally the world is now a better place) and dare I mention we ate lots!

I ask myself, why it is, that in my life, all roads lead back to food? Maybe we will let that one slide for the time being. Girl time is such an important time for me (and I hope for you). While food fills your belly, girl talk fills your head and heart. All three of us are experiencing little brain freezes for one reason or another (mostly treatment-related) and this at times makes for a very funny conversation. It feels great to be able to laugh at yourself in safe company. The beauty is that when I think back to those conversations I can’t remember them! Girls your conversations are safe with me. I have become the most trusted friend of all, the keeper of secrets because I can’t damn well remember them! Well, some maybe.

Each night, we pulled out the rather large cheeseboard and pretty much emptied the fridge onto it. It was surprising how that small fridge just kept on giving back to us.

We purchased our little “girl in bathers” in Bellagio, Italy last year (so important that I add this bit to the story, serving no or little purpose whatsoever other than to say we went to Italy) and she now has a home in our beach house, oh and of course sometimes on the cheeseboard (for that little bit of drama).

Photo | girl in bathers and cheeseboard (cheeseboard from Empire Homewares, Mt Lawley and small bowls by Ecology). Cheeses are no longer whole after a few nights of being regurgitated time and time again onto that same board.

The cheeseboard became our happy time of day. Where we sat together around the table, with a drink in hand (and surprisingly mostly sparkling water filled with delicious fresh berries and fruit). Some of you might argue the toss that a “Claytons Cocktail” cannot possibly be as good as the real thing, and yet it tricked this little brain of mine.

Susie tried to teach us Bridge, which is difficult with only three people (and remember women who are experiencing memory malfunction). She made it more difficult by creating a fictitious fourth player named “Drongo”. So I found myself playing my hand and the hand of this idiot named Drongo and I am starting to think that maybe Susie had intended the name for me. It was difficult juggling my hand, the hand of Drongo and a fist full of cheese and biscuits.

Not every night was filled with quite so much food (oh…maybe most), however, we did manage to bring out the smaller board on one occasion as the fridge stock tragically started its slow descent into nothingness and was fast becoming depleted of all things delicious.
Photo | a BIG cheeseboard is the next best thing to an Italian long table!

Photo | a small board can work just as well (small blue and white coasters, doubling as small serving plates from Ecology).

I love a great cheese board! For me, it needs to be packed and is a great excuse to clean out your fridge (remembering to keep it fresh). It should result in an abundance of glory on the board. Done well, this can also double as an alternative to a dessert at a dinner party. You could add a few sweet treat items and fresh fruits to the cheese board, and voila, dessert is done!

A few ideas | homemade rocky road, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, walnuts, pistachio nuts, dark chocolate, dried apricots and how about trying your hand at homemade violet crumble.

Check out my Pinterest boards (Debbie-Ann Scott) for more ideas – photos saved under the board titled “Event Food | Cheese & Fruit”. I have 220 photos that have been pinned to this board alone. Many an hour has been wasted pinning!

Photo | cheeseboard from Empire Homewares, Mt Lawley

Photo | Tom Dixon cheeseboard

While cheese plays a massive role on a board, it is more than just cheese. It is about the board, the plating and the other wonderful items which fall onto the board as little bits of heaven. Imagine your board with just cheese, biscuits and grapes for example. How bland! Cheese needs to sit alongside rich colours and flavours, anything which is in season.

Photo | a recent backyard party – talk about a massive cheese board! The fairy lights simply added impact.

Investing in a couple of great cheese boards is an investment well made. Ideally, three boards are best. A small one for more intimate grazing, a medium for a dinner party for 8-10 and a massive one for that dinner party when you need to please a much larger crowd. I won’t tell you how many we have!!! They are starting to look a little like my napkin collection.

Photo | cheeseboard by Tom Dixon comes in many shapes and sizes

Photo |farmhouse serveware from the Ecology range. A gorgeous new (and massive) whitewash cheeseboard just waiting to be filled.

Photo | long-styled boards perfect for grazing platters.

No ordinary butter | Of course, we made our butter! Nothing beats (and trust me there is a lot of beating and is the reason why every girl should have a sister) homemade butter!

Tip |As a minimum you should have the following 3 kinds of cheese on your board. Don’t forget the honeycomb!

soft cheese

hard cheese

blue cheese

💋

it’s all about the food | dinner menu

dinner parties, entertaining products, Entertaining Tips, it's all about the food, let's talk tables, special events at home

It is An Ottolenghi inspired dinner party for 12 guests.

I am blogging this from Bali, surrounded by the many wonderful foods and let’s not mention cocktails at sunset. What better time than right now to blog about food! So here goes, my blog on a dinner party for 12, which includes the menu and photos from a recent dinner party held at our table. Hope it inspires you for your next home entertaining.

Starters | Ottolenghi’s Labneh with Olives, Pistachios and Oregano. Search http://www.ottolenghi.co.uk for this recipe. The best thing about this is that you can make the labneh 2 days ahead of your dinner party. You can cut up all the other bits and pieces and store them in small containers, ready to serve at the night. I served this with Lebanese flatbreads purchased from the Lebanese shop (I was too lazy to make the yoghurt flatbreads from my earlier blog).

Entree | Antipasto Platters and small serving dishes. Again this is a very easy option because everything can be prepared ahead of time and stored in the fridge. I prepared 2 antipasto plates, one for each end of the table. To accompany this was fresh baguettes and flatbreads. Don’t forget the olive oil and balsamic vinegar and those little dishes of other lovely antipasto items such as olives, marinated capsicum, dried fruits and the likes.

Main Meal | Simple Spinach Salad with spinach leaves, roasted tomatoes, purple onion, pinenuts and a great dressing of zesty olive oil, lemon and honey dressing. Again you can prepare the dressing ahead of the dinner party and throw it together at the last minute.

Ottolenghi’s Roast Potatoes and Jerusalem Artichokes. All Ottolenghi’s recipes can be googled if you cannot find them in one of his cookbooks. This is one of my favourite potato dishes. If you cannot find Jerusalem artichokes you can substitute using water chestnuts which can be purchased in a tin. I have tried both and I prefer the tinned water chestnuts because they give a slightly nuttier result. I always make more than is needed. It is a great left-overs dish.

Ottolenghi’s Za’atar Roasted Chicken Breast | is another of my favourite dishes because the chicken is packed with flavour. Check with your butcher when purchasing the chicken breast, bone-in, skin-on, that they can supply medium size breasts. These were massive and it felt as if you were eating a full chicken. I would have preferred smaller breasts so that our guests didn’t have to experience an “I feel stuffed” kind of moment.

Ottolenghi’s Meringue Roulade with Rose & Morello Cherries. What a surprise, another meringue/pavlova dessert from me! At least I am not rolling out the same one each time, because we are always keen to try out a new pav and meringue recipe! I must say this was delicious! It was more about the meringue and the cream than the actual fruit which was a change from the usual fruity pav. Well so “the other half,” said …and he does love his pav! I have had morello cherries in the fridge in the past and never quite knew what to do with them. Now I know!

The photo looks a little like a dog’s breakfast, but don’t let that put you off. Hard to prepare and photograph sometimes!

table talk | it’s all about the little stuff

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Part 2 | For fear I might forget Part 1 of “a well-laid table” it seems pointless to wait.

Laying the foundation of your table setting is one thing, building it up can be great fun!

Photo | a well-laid table – from Part 1

I always start setting the table a day, and sometimes 2-3 days ahead of a dinner party. You might well ask why, and the answer is simple. Starting early allows me time to gradually build the table setting as the mood takes me. I can then focus on the food during the day and have fun at night.

In all honesty, I am still working on the having fun part, spending way too many hours in the kitchen. I never know if it is my menopausal flush or the heat of the ovens, and yet I suspect both!

Tip | invest a large net to cover your dining table. I purchased a white roll of mosquito net, 5000 x 2000 (or thereabouts) from Spotlight. Even better still, it was only $50! It works magic on a dining table, once set, keeping everything clean and free of dust (but hey who has dust in their house 😩).

My best investment has been the black food stands. I purchased these from Table Culture (my absolute favourite exclusive housewares store in Subiaco). I understand that they are now difficult to purchase, possibly because a number of my friends have them as well. Ask anyway, Paddy can always put your name down.

Photo | my stands come in 3 different heights

You can also use bowls (refer to my home page photo…that table was built on an assortment of glass bowls). Whichever you select as your “special” make sure they are sturdy enough to accommodate your serving dishes. Could be an absolute nightmare if your dinner collapsed under the weight of the stand. However, let’s be optimistic!!!

My stands play out on the table and our stone bench (the serving area). I love to layer in as many ways possible. Think about how much more interesting this is when the eye travels across space in many different directions. The sensory load for the eyes are just as important as the mouth.

Invest in some great boards and serving bowls (including oversized) and use these to further elevate your food.

Photo | serving bowls in white (and stands of course)!

Photo | bowls and stands in use on the stone bench (a different occasion)

On this occasion, I wanted to get away from flowers and do something a little more organic. I potted a mix of fresh herbs and small cacti. Each potted in different size glass bowls, adding large nuts to decorate the inside of the bowls, adding walnuts and some dried limes which I purchased from the Iranian shop. The fresh earthy mint and coriander gave off a delicious aroma. Better still, you can plant them after your dinner party and you have fresh herbs at the ready.

Surprisingly, I went to Ottolenghi style (my absolute favourite style) and served the main dishes to the table in a large round serving dishes. In all, I used three large serving dishes (all the same because I like continuity) and ran them down the centre of the table on the black stands, (having removed the wooden boards post the antipasto entree).

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Think of your table as a work of art. It can be minimalist or it can be extravagant, it doesn’t much matter. Just let it reflect you and your style.

Photo |table ready for the food (oh and guests of course)!

Photo | the potted herbs worked well on the dining table after the dinner

To follow | I will share in my next blog, the Ottolenghi inspired menu for the evening. This might give you some ideas for your next social dinner with great friends.

table talk | a well laid table

dinner parties, let's talk tables, special events at home

Dressing a table for a dinner party or for that matter any special occasion doesn’t have to be boring…or even hard for that matter.

I prefer not to cover the entire table in a linen cloth. I select my colour scheme and then pull from the linen cupboard all my linen and table accessories that work with that scheme.

Photo | as painful as it is, don’t forget to iron your cloth.

Firstly, let me digress (the strange thing that). We went to dinner at a friend’s house over the weekend. As expected dinner was just gorgeous and I went home so full I thought I might blow up in the middle of the night. It was comforting to wake in the morning and find myself still in one piece. Monty Python’s “just a little bit more” came to mind. But there again, I am digressing further from my point. Her table was beautifully layered, simple and yet very elegant. She covered the table with a white linen cloth and folded a black table cloth so that it ran down the centre of the table, as a wide and generous band. Added to this, she placed a more rustic casual dark chocolate oval placemat at each guest setting. Given the Indian menu, she complimented the table with the inclusion of a gorgeous silver Indian antique, a family heirloom filled with colourful flowers (I adore those little treasures which just pop up in a setting…the ones which carry a story). Message to self | photograph it next time!

As for me, my dinner theme was bold and a little organic. I dragged my bright orange linen cloth out, ironed out the creases (still just a little fatigued from the iron) and then folded it in half and placed it down on one side of the table (the long end). Just go with the flow, you can’t go wrong!

photo | Don’t fear the spots are wet from the iron! Cloth folded down half the table.

I layered the cloth and table with long table runners across each place setting. I simply adore these runners as they are just so flexible. In addition, I added single matching placemats randomly around the table (and yet maintaining the balance), and threw in a few brightly coloured French linen tea towels (reserved for this purpose only). I did have matching linen napkins, but the thought of washing and ironing them on this occasion was a little overwhelming. My faithful paper ones worked just as well.

photo | Laying various complimentary linen tea towels (remember ones which are only used for this purpose, not washing up!

Photo | Don’t forget to let the tabletop peek through regardless of what you lay. I love white on just about any coloured table.

Just have fun! This is your chance to pull out all those hidden treasures!

next blog | a well-layered table (all about adding items to the tablescape and adding a little height). Example pic below…

it’s all about the food | freeze dried rose petals

it's all about the food, Recipes, special events at home

I usually don’t blog more than once a week, but I needed to share with you a fabulous find … and recipe! My Ottolenghi’s Meringue Roulade with Rose & Morello Cherries was calling out for sugar-coated (pesticide-free) red rose petals.

If you haven’t already made this recipe, you have the weekend to try it out. Trust me, you will love me for sharing it with you!

I struggled to find pesticide-free petals!!! Frustrated, yet again, that I was unable to find something I was looking for, until (thankfully your google) I fell across a family run business located in Victoria that produces freeze-dried edible rose petals Simply Rose Petals Family Farm.

Photo | Yotam Edible Red Rose Petals

In a total exciting frenzy, I ordered online and the delivery arrived at my front door the next day (just in time for our dinner party). They come in just every colour and petals are all they do! Great for those upcoming weddings!

I don’t think they have much taste, and besides, it was more about the look than the actual taste for me (no less, I did not want to poison our guests). I did, however, coat a large handful in egg white followed by sugar and roast in a low oven for about 30 minutes. These did taste amazing (another little sugar rush).

I also purchased a small jar of Freeze-Dried Edible Pansies (see photo below). While each is freeze-dried, the size and colours remain large and vibrant.

Photo | My Kitchenaid beats egg whites like nothing else

Photo | Morello Cherries (drained and dried off)

Photo | Single Meringue before the cream and roll

Photo | I love that the double cream has sour cream added! It cuts through the sweetness. The roll is easier than it appears. You use a sheet of baking paper and gently roll the meringue over into a log

Photo | Sugar Coated Edible Red Rose Petals

Photo | Ottolenghi’s Meringue with Rose & Morello Cherries (2 back to back on a large wooden serving board – serves 12-14 people). The taste was more about the meringue and the cream than the fruit, which was a refreshing change.

Photo | Freeze Dried Edible Pansies in a Jar – also from Simply Rose Petals Family Farm, Victoria