Fall Table Inspiration

Fall is in the air! I am sharing five tips for creating a perfectly layered, cozy, and inviting fall table—seasonal recipes and wine pairing resources included!

Photo: Silas Fallstich

Creating a table like this may seem overwhelming, especially if looking only at the finished result. Here is the break-down, step by step.

1. DOUBLE UP ON BASE LAYERS

Don’t have a big table cloth to cover the entire table? Don’t have a beautiful wooden table worth showing off? No worries! Using multiple linen cloths to layer on top of each other does the trick and helps create a more casual and cozy look. For this white picnic table I used the signature FOLD hand-stitched cloth in heather gray and a solid version of the same cloth to cover the picnic table.

Stacking plates for each place setting may seem superfluous if you only end up using the top plate, but the stacking does serve a visual and textural purpose. It allows for more options for combining and alternating colors if you are mixing and matching plates, and the circle-within-a-circle look creates a dynamic and cohesive place setting pattern. For this dinner, each of us brought one or two (or three, or four) plates, and they all worked together beautifully.

Table cloth and linen napkin in mulberry: FOLD. Salad plate: Jos Ceramics for FOLD. Flatware: FOLD styling inventory. Photo: Silas Fallstich

2. GO FOR FLAT VS VERTICAL FLORALS

Vertical arrangements have their place, but unobstructed eye contact can be so valuable when sharing a meal. Laying flowers and greenery directly onto the table allows for food to be placed on top of them, too, without too much moving and rearranging of the flower vessels. Featured here are persimmon branches—with leaves and fruit attached—cascading down the table in place of vertical arrangements. Seeded eucalyptus, dry yarrow, and fresh rosemary were scattered around to add an extra layer or texture. Seasonal fruit (Bosc pears, pomegranates, jujubes) and whole nuts added visual interest and punctuated the otherwise wild and free-form branch placement. Best part: it only cost a few dollars to pick up the fruit at the local farmer’s market. The rest was foraged.

3. MIX UP THE STEMWARE

Adding different colors of glass to the mix—especially smoke glass or amber hues this time of the year—can add some dimensionality and extra sparkle to the festivities. I always combine tall stemware with short, stemless tumblers for a chic, bistro-like vibe.

Vintage smoker glass tumbler: FOLD. Photo: Silas Fallstisch

4. THROW IN SOME BLANKETS

Having a few blankets on hand can go a long way both functionally and aesthetically, especially in an outdoor setting.

The complete fall harvest table. Photo: Silas Fallstich.

5. GRAZE, ROAST, BAKE, REPEAT

Whether you are hosting or bringing a designated dish to the party, here are some ideas on what to make that will please everyone at the table. Read on for links to individual recipes on this menu.

+ Grazing Board
+ Roasted Squash Salad with Warm Cider Vinaigrette
+ Root Vegetable Gratin
+ Red Wine Roast Chicken with Grapes and Herbs
+ Spiced Up Grape Apple Pie

Becky of Baking The Goods put together an amazing array of flavors and textures (brie brûlée included) for this grazing board. Photo: Silas Fallstich.

Above: Roasted Squash Salad with Warm Cider Vinaigrette (recipe on Wander & Wine) and Red Wine Roast Chicken with Grapes and Herbs (recipe on CaliGirl Cooking).

Denisse’s Root Vegetable Gratin (recipe on Le Petit Eats).

Above: Spiced Up Grape-Apple Pie (recipe on Baking The Goods). Danish modern candlesticks: FOLD styling inventory.

Cheers!

The original post was published on November 15, 2018

The creative team:

FOLD
Denisse of Le Petit Chef/Le Petit Eats
Becky of Baking The Goods
Robin of CaliGirl Cooking
Hana-Lee of Wander & Wine

Location and wine contribution: Folded Hill Ranch. Photography: Silas Fallstich (where noted)

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RESOURCES

In the shop:

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A Favorite Salad

What makes a meal memorable? Sometimes it is an unexpected combination of the ingredients, and other times it is the company or the setting that ignite our senses in a way that leaves a lasting impression. Can a simple salad be one of those memorable meals? Totally. I first made this salad a couple of years ago for a small dinner party I hosted around my birthday. Looking back at that day, I can certainly say it was one of the more memorable meals in my life, and the salad with burrata cheese, tangerines, shallots, and watercress was the unrivaled star of the show. I’ve made it many time since then, and so did a few other guests. It has made many an appearance at potlucks. On this very blog it was discovered by strangers who have since become dear friends. On a personal level, it gave me confidence to launch a cookbook club, Cookbook-ish (now in its second year), for which this particular meal was a test run. It also helped me keep one of my perennial New Year’s resolutions: to spend more time in the kitchen, try new recipes and techniques, and invite friends over for dinner more often.

The recipe for the salad and the entire meal came from Alison Roman’s book DINING IN. Seeing all the gorgeous winter citrus at the farmer’s market this morning and remembering this birthday dinner made me share this recipe with you again. I hope you give it a go. Who knows–maybe it will move the mountains, or at the very least create a memorable meal for you as well.

Above: I painted our dinner menus by hand with watercolor ink and used a sprig of wax flower to pin down the sides of the menus. With each guest’s name on the outside, the manes doubled as place cards. Linen napkins in Heather Gray complement the neutral table setting.

Burrata with Tangerines, Shallots, and Watercress,
Alison Roman, DINING IN

Ingredients:

1 shallot, thinly sliced into rings
1 table spoon fresh lemon juice
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 8oz ball burrata
3 tangerines, peeled and sliced 1/2" thick
3 cups small spicy greens (watercress, mizuna, arugula)
Olive oil
Flaky sea salt

Preparation: 

1. Toss the shallots with lemon juice in small bowl and season with kosher salt and pepper
2. Tear, slice, or cut burrata into pieces and arrange them on the serving platter.  
3. Scatter the tangerine slices around burrata
4. Combine the shallots and spicy greens, and season with salt and pepper.  Toss and scatter around the burrata mixture.  
5. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt.

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About Cookbook-ish: 

Cookbook-ish is a book club and a community of like-minded foodies and creative people in my hometown. I curate the book selection and ask everyone to choose 2-3 recipes they'd like to make. I then come up with a cohesive menu based on everyone's selections. We cook at home and bring our respective dishes to share in a potluck-style meal. Not in Santa Barbara? You can still participate by following @foldsantabarbara on Instagram, cooking and tagging your posts with #cookbookish_sb. 

FROM THE SHOP:

Thanksgiving Table Inspiration

Holiday season is upon us! With Thanksgiving being just a few weeks away and winter holidays on the horizon, I am sharing five tips for creating a perfectly layered, cozy, and inviting fall table—seasonal recipes and wine pairing resources included!

Photo: Silas Fallstich

Creating a table like this may seem overwhelming, especially if looking only at the finished result. Here is the break-down, step by step.

1. DOUBLE UP ON BASE LAYERS

Don’t have a big table cloth to cover the entire table? Don’t have a beautiful wooden table worth showing off? No worries! Using multiple linen cloths to layer on top of each other does the trick and helps create a more casual and cozy look. For this white picnic table I used the signature FOLD hand-stitched cloth in heather gray and a solid version of the same cloth to cover the picnic table.

Stacking plates for each place setting may seem superfluous if you only end up using the top plate, but the stacking does serve a visual and textural purpose. It allows for more options for combining and alternating colors if you are mixing and matching plates, and the circle-within-a-circle look creates a dynamic and cohesive place setting pattern. For this dinner, each of us brought one or two (or three, or four) plates, and they all worked together beautifully.

Table cloth and linen napkin in mulberry: FOLD. Salad plate: Jos Ceramics for FOLD. Flatware: FOLD styling inventory. Photo: Silas Fallstich

2. GO FOR FLAT VS VERTICAL FLORALS

Vertical arrangements have their place, but unobstructed eye contact can be so valuable when sharing a meal. Laying flowers and greenery directly onto the table allows for food to be placed on top of them, too, without too much moving and rearranging of the flower vessels. Featured here are persimmon branches—with leaves and fruit attached—cascading down the table in place of vertical arrangements. Seeded eucalyptus, dry yarrow, and fresh rosemary were scattered around to add an extra layer or texture. Seasonal fruit (Bosc pears, pomegranates, jujubes) and whole nuts added visual interest and punctuated the otherwise wild and free-form branch placement. Best part: it only cost a few dollars to pick up the fruit at the local farmer’s market. The rest was foraged.

3. MIX UP THE STEMWARE

Adding different colors of glass to the mix—especially smoke glass or amber hues this time of the year—can add some dimensionality and extra sparkle to the festivities. I always combine tall stemware with short, stemless tumblers for a chic, bistro-like vibe.

Vintage smoker glass tumbler: FOLD. Photo: Silas Fallstisch

4. THROW IN SOME BLANKETS

Having a few blankets on hand can go a long way both functionally and aesthetically, especially in an outdoor setting.

The complete fall harvest table. Photo: Silas Fallstich.

5. GRAZE, ROAST, BAKE, REPEAT

Whether you are hosting or bringing a designated dish to the party, here are some ideas on what to make that will please everyone at the table. Read on for links to individual recipes on this menu.

+ Grazing Board
+ Roasted Squash Salad with Warm Cider Vinaigrette
+ Root Vegetable Gratin
+ Red Wine Roast Chicken with Grapes and Herbs
+ Spiced Up Grape Apple Pie

Becky of Baking The Goods put together an amazing array of flavors and textures (brie brûlée included) for this grazing board. Photo: Silas Fallstich.

Above: Roasted Squash Salad with Warm Cider Vinaigrette (recipe on Wander & Wine) and Red Wine Roast Chicken with Grapes and Herbs (recipe on CaliGirl Cooking).

Denisse’s Root Vegetable Gratin (recipe on Le Petit Eats).

Above: Spiced Up Grape-Apple Pie (recipe on Baking The Goods). Danish modern candlesticks: FOLD styling inventory.

Cheers!

The original post was published on November 15, 2018

The creative team:

FOLD
Denisse of Le Petit Chef/Le Petit Eats
Becky of Baking The Goods
Robin of CaliGirl Cooking
Hana-Lee of Wander & Wine

Location and wine contribution: Folded Hill Ranch. Photography: Silas Fallstich (where noted)

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RESOURCES

In the shop:

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Layering Up for Fall, Table Edition

Fall is a season for layers—be it in our wardrobe or in our living spaces. We take our cues from nature, where thicker, winter coats grow on our furry friends, and falling leaves create the magically crunchy, layered blankets under our feet. And while the transition from summer to fall is very subtle in my neck of the woods, and “sweater weather” is a term all too relative, I take every opportunity I can get to create cozy, textural environments and make time for gathering with friends and family. One such opportunity was a recent dinner collaboration with some of my favorite local creative entrepreneurs. Read on for my tried-and-true tips for creating a perfectly layered, cozy, and inviting fall table—seasonal recipes and wine pairing resources included!

The creative team:

FOLD
Denisse of Le Petit Chef/Le Petit Eats
Becky of Baking The Goods
Robin of CaliGirl Cooking
Hana-Lee of Wander & Wine

Location and wine contribution: Folded Hill Ranch. Photography: Silas Fallstich (where noted)

Photo: Silas Fallstich

Creating a table like this may seem overwhelming, especially if looking only at the finished result. Here is the break-down, step by step.

1. DOUBLE UP ON BASE LAYERS

While a white picnic table doesn’t immediately evoke a sense of coziness, having multiple linen cloths to layer on top of each other often does the trick. In this case,natural fibers and linens in a light grey tone softened the bright white table top and provided a perfect neutral backdrop for the rich, colorful food. I used the signature FOLD hand-stitched cloth in heather gray and a solid version of the same cloth to cover the picnic table.

Stacking plates for each place setting may seem superfluous if you only end up using the top plate, but the stacking does serve a visual and textural purpose. It allows for more options for combining and alternating colors if you are mixing and matching plates, and the circle-within-a-circle look creates a dynamic and cohesive place setting pattern. For this dinner, each of us brought one or two (or three, or four) plates, and they all worked together beautifully.

Table cloth and linen napkin in mulberry: FOLD. Salad plate: Jos Ceramics for FOLD. Flatware: FOLD styling inventory. Photo: Silas Fallstich

2. GO FOR FLAT VS VERTICAL FLORALS

Vertical arrangements have their place, but unobstructed eye contact can be so valuable when sharing a meal. Laying flowers and greenery directly onto the table allows for food to be placed on top of them, too, without too much moving and rearranging of the flower vessels. It is no secret that I drive with garden shears in my car and forage whenever I can for wild flowers, herbs, dry grasses, seeds and pods. My mother-in-law has a gorgeous persimmon tree, and it is especially fruitful this year. When she told me that the fruit was so heavy that it was breaking off some of the branches, I knew I could put them to good use. And just like that, persimmon branches—with leaves and fruit attached—became the star of the show, cascading down the table in place of vertical arrangements. Seeded eucalyptus, dry yarrow, and fresh rosemary were scattered around to add an extra layer or texture. Seasonal fruit (Bosc pears, pomegranates, jujubes) and whole nuts added visual interest and punctuated the otherwise wild and free-form branch placement.

3. MIX UP THE STEMWARE

It’s hard to think of glassware as something warm and cozy, but adding different colors of glass to the mix—especially smoke glass or amber hues this time of the year—can add some dimensionality and extra sparkle to the festivities. I always combine tall stemware with short, stemless tumblers for a chic, bistro-like vibe.

Vintage smoker glass tumbler: FOLD. Photo: Silas Fallstisch

4. THROW IN SOME BLANKETS

Having a few blankets on hand can go a long way both functionally and aesthetically, especially in an outdoor setting. If you are still reading, you’ll remember that the table we used was white, and so were the benches. “Work with what you have” was our mantra for the day, and casually spreading the three blankets over the two benches worked like magic for visually tying the scene together and providing an extra layer of comfort. Bonus point: they served as protective layers for hauling the dishes and other breakable pieces to and from the location.

The complete fall harvest table. Photo: Silas Fallstich.

5. GRAZE, ROAST, BAKE, REPEAT

While most fall days in California are too warm for me to turn on the oven, the food that’s made in the oven is undoubtedly my favorite this time of the year. I can’t imagine a cozy meal without anything roasted, baked, layered or topped with melted cheese, or all of the above. Our menu for this fall harvest dinner was off the charts in every category:

+ Grazing Board
+ Roasted Squash Salad with Warm Cider Vinaigrette
+ Root Vegetable Gratin
+ Red Wine Roast Chicken with Grapes and Herbs
+ Spiced Up Grape Apple Pie

Becky of Baking The Goods put together an amazing array of flavors and textures (brie brûlée included) for this grazing board. Photo: Silas Fallstich.

Above: Roasted Squash Salad with Warm Cider Vinaigrette (recipe on Wander & Wine) and Red Wine Roast Chicken with Grapes and Herbs (recipe on CaliGirl Cooking).

Talk about layers: Denisse’s Root Vegetable Gratin (recipe on Le Petit Eats).

Above: Spiced Up Grape-Apple Pie (recipe on Baking The Goods). Danish modern candlesticks: FOLD styling inventory.

While all the wines from Folded Hills were delicious, some were just spot on for each dish. Read Hana-Lee’s pairing notes on Wander & Wine. Cheers!

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RESOURCES

In the shop:

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How to Eat a Peach, or What I Did Last Summer

Those who know me well know that hosting my cookbook club gatherings has become my biggest passion this year. I enjoy every aspect of it: from choosing the next book, to sifting through all the bookmarked recipes to arrive at a cohesive menu, to curating and crafting every last detail. And the details are many, location being one of the more challenging ones. While most people in Santa Barbara (including me) live in pretty tight quarters, we are truly blessed with endless outdoor options to host a crowd of any size, from a casual picnic with a few friends to a large wedding celebration, and everything in between.

As beautiful and accessible as an outdoor space can be, in most cases it resolves the imminent challenge of just that—space—as everything else has to be hauled in. From real to makeshift tables to crates and totes full of dishes and glassware, I certainly hope that I will never run out of schlepping favors with my husband, Brett, and my gracious guests who help load it all back into the trusted Honda Element. But what can I say? Providing a beautiful space for people to commune over a delicious meal and conversation is just so incredibly rewarding. Read on for photos of a recent outdoor gathering I hosted and the recipe for Pear, Blackberry and Hazelnut Cake we all enjoyed at the end of the meal.   

All photos are by Lerina Winter.

Our last gathering featuring Diana Henry’s newest book, How to Eat a Peach, was held Santa Barbara’s West Beach, and was pretty much the sum of all the challenges that an outdoor space can present. But what hurdles cannot be overcome in the name of the meal that tastes as delicious as it looks, with cake and homemade ice cream to top it off? I certainly can’t think of many.

Why am I writing about a beach party at the end of October, you may ask, when most people find themselves firmly planted with both feet in the pumpkin patch, apple cider in hand? Because with all the hustle and bustle of the new school year, I completely forgot to tell you what I did last summer, which still hasn’t quite transitioned into the next season in my part of the country. This brings me the point I have been trying to articulate for a while now: given the effects of climate change, fall (or any season for that matter) has to become a state of mind rather than the weather report alone.

THE SPACE

To help anchor our gathering space on a widely-stretched public beach, I chose to work with The Cabana, Santa Barbara’s only resort-style cabana, umbrella, and beach chair rental service. Their team helped me with the key necessities for a successful beach gathering: shade, seating, and shelter. In addition, the bold white and red stripes of The Cabanas’ material were the perfect complement to the iconic West Beach setting, visually reaffirming once again our town’s rightful nickname—the American Riviera.

THE TABLE SETTING

To keep the sand out of the food, and the food away from the sand, I used two tables: one—a proper, albeit basic folding table—to serve the food, and another—a table of sorts—to gather around to enjoy the meal. The latter presented yet another challenge, logistical mostly, but in the end proved to be a worthwhile effort. A set of doors (hardware intact!) borrowed for the day from Restore, Habitat for Humanity’s building and home refurbishing warehouse, rested on wooden crates that were used to carry supplies to and from the beach. Layers of linen cloths covered both tables and provided much needed hiding space for extra supplies and containers.

THE MENU

Culling an entire menu from How to Eat a Peach was not hard, and it honestly felt like I could not go wrong with any of the possible combinations. Henry’s recipes are easy to fall in love with, but to know that she herself is the master of putting menus together (starting from the age of 16) is a fact that can hang over your head should you read the preface of the book. Nonetheless, the menu came together beautifully, and we managed to find the best of local produce (even some late harvest peaches in September) to use in our respective dishes.

TO START

melon and goat cheese with red wine & lavender dressing
ceviche de sierra
zucchini, ricotta & pecorino fritters

TO FOLLOW

green salad with hazelnut dressing
roast tomatoes, fennel & chickpeas with preserved lemons & honey
sarassou + lamb kofta + sweet pickled cherries
olive oil-braised leeks with harissa & dill

TO FINISH

pear, blackberry & hazelnut cake
pink grapefruit & basil ice cream
white peaches in chilled moscato

To keep the food safe from birds (yet another challenge in outdoor settings), I used various covers which I collected over time and refurbished with driftwood and palo santo sticks as handles.  

THE CAKE

Having hosted a few potluck events for Cookbook-ish, I am now able to easily spot the recipes that will stand the test of time and distance. Time, as in make-ahead recipes that don’t look stale or soggy the next day. Distance, as in easily transportable without any special containers. This Pear, Blackberry and Hazelnut Cake checked all the boxes and many more. I hope it will become your go-to dessert to bring to any gathering, indoor or outdoor. I know it is already my favorite.

Pear, Blackberry and Hazelnut Cake
from How to Eat a Peach by Diana Henry

Serves 8

unsalted butter, for the pan
1⅔ cups all-purpose flour, divided
1 large pear, peeled, cored, and chopped
1 cup blackberries, plus more to serve
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup packed soft light brown sugar
pinch of sea salt flakes
1 cup plain full-fat yogurt
½ cup regular olive oil
3 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
finely grated zest of ½  orange
⅓ cup hazelnuts, toasted and very coarsely chopped
confectioner’s sugar, to dust

Preheat the oven to 375ºF and butter a loaf pan measuring 9½ x 5 x 2½ inches. Line the bottom with nonstick parchment paper.

Toss 2 big spoonfulls of the flour with the pear and blackberries. Put the rest of the flour in a large bowl and add the baking powder, sugar, and salt.

Mix together the yogurt with the regular olive oil in a cup and the eggs, vanilla, and orange zest.

Stir the wet ingredients into the flour mixture, making sure the flour is properly mixed in, carefully fold in the floured fruit, and then the nuts. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Leave in the pan for 10 minutes, then carefully run a knife between the cake and the pan and invert onto a wire rack. Turn the cake over so it is the right way up. Let cool, then dust with confectioners’ sugar.

Serve in slices, with extra blackberries on the side.

Diana henry suggests serving sweetened crème fraîche or whipped cream with it, but we enjoyed a scoop of pink grapefruit and basil ice cream with it, also from the book.

Cheers to summer, friends—past, future, or the kind that likes to linger well into November!

RESOURCES

In the Shop:

Elsewhere:

Photography: Lerina Winter

Floral design: Margaret Joan Florals

Beach cabanas, chairs, and umbrellas: The Cabana

Vintage Milk Glass Goblets: Otis + Pearl Partywares

Paper cards with event hashtags: Irene Hoffman

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About Cookbook-Ish: 

Cookbook-ish is a book club and a community of like-minded foodies and creative people in my hometown.  I curate the book selection and ask everyone to choose 2-3 recipes they'd like to make. I then come up with a cohesive menu based on everyone's selections. We cook at home and bring our respective dishes to share in a potluck style dinner. Next month's book is SIMPLE by Yotam Ottolenghi. Not in Santa Barbara? You can still participate by cooking and tagging your posts with #cookbookish_sb. 

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The Art of Simple Table

Hosting a large crowd can be daunting, but it does not have to be. It is easy to fall into the mindset of worrying about what we don't have—or what we don't have enough of—in order to invite people over for dinner. With Thanksgiving and other major holidays just around the corner, some of us will probably end up with a few extra people at out table. Here are five things I learned while hosting a dinner party for twenty-five last month, as part of my cookbook club dinner series, Cookbook-ish. When dinner is at your house next time, I hope these tips will come in handy.

All photos are by Lerina Winter. Location: Fairview Gardens Organic Farm.

MAKE IT A POTLUCK

Unless it is a catered event, the obvious choice for organizing a large dinner party is a potluck. One thing I remember from hosting potlucks in the past, is that while people often want to bring a dish to share, they don’t always know what dish to bring. So, before it gets easy, it can get hard with everyone asking you the same question, "What can I bring?" One way to navigate this part of the process, and the exact mechanism I use for my cookbook club gatherings, is to ask everyone to cook something from the same cookbook. Chances are most people already have a trusted classic cookbook, or they can borrow your copy. For this Cookbook-ish gathering I chose The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters. 

We ended up with quite a feast of four appetizers, two salads, and four main dishes. There were cookies with fruit compote for dessert, too. I knew that having individual menus printed for each guest was out of the question (did I mention twenty-five people and over ten menu items?). Enter Susan Silverberg, hand-lettering and calligraphy extraordinaire, who wrote the names of dishes on various objects and surfaces that were displayed next to the food.  

MAKE IT NEUTRAL

Choosing a neutral color palette for the table can provide the perfect backdrop when you have a variety of food and serving dishes to display. Think of it as a blank canvas for the communal art piece that everyone will have tried their hand in. First off, a neutral tablecloth. Nobody (including me!) has a big enough tablecloth to cover a table that seats twenty-five, and most people don't have a long enough table that's pretty enough to go uncovered. I don't use the term "life hack" lightly, so when I say "use a painter's drop cloth if you don't have a proper tablecloth", I really mean it. They are inexpensive and come in a variety of sizes. Just be sure to get one without the protective plastic lining, or you won't be able to machine wash and dry it. Layer smaller tablecloths over the drop cloths for a more dimensional look.  

MISMATCH, BUT NOT TOO MUCH

Choosing one color for all the dishware helps keep the mismatched look from edging into the hodgepodge territory. Especially if all the chairs are different, too. Chances are you already have some plates in a solid, neutral color and can easily buy, borrow or rent a few extra ones in a similar color and style. I used vintage ironstone plates I collected over time and supplemented them with similar ones from a friend and long-time collaborator, Gretchen of Otis & Pearl.  

White plates aren't the most exciting choice and can certainly make the long table look like a scene from a cafeteria. To avoid the other extreme of having the table look too uniform, I mixed in salad plates in earth tones and vintage pewter.  

When it comes to flatware, I suggest using the same type of a metal while mismatching the patterns and styles.  

SPLURGE ON ONE THING

I might be slightly biased here, but I firmly believe that having high-quality napkins can make a lasting impression. Not everyone will have a chance to try all the dishes on the table, but everyone will touch the napkins and use them often throughout the meal.  Natural fibers like linen are always my first choice. They have beautiful texture, won't leave any lint on your lap, and add an extra degree of style to the table. There is really no such thing as too many napkins and, unlike extra plates and cups, they take up very little drawer "real estate". I used FOLD linen napkins in mulberry for this event. 

ASK FOR HELP

After hosting a few larger gatherings for Cookbook-ish, I learned two things. One: I can't do it all by myself. Two: people like to help. By now I am not too shy to ask my guests to bring a few extra chairs unless it's a picnic, in which case I ask them to bring extra blankets. 

RESOURCES

In the Shop:

Elsewhere:

Vintage Plates: Otis + Pearl Partywares

Calligraphy and Signage: Susan Silverberg

Photography: Lerina Winter

Location: Fairview Gardens Organic Farm

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About Cookbook-Ish: 

Cookbook-ish is a book club and a community of like-minded foodies and creative people in my hometown.  I curate the book selection and ask everyone to choose 2-3 recipes they'd like to make. I then come up with a cohesive menu based on everyone's selections. We cook at home and bring our respective dishes to share in a potluck style dinner. Next month's book is How to Eat a Peach by Diana Henry. Not in Santa Barbara? You can still participate by cooking and tagging your posts with #cookbookish_sb. 

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A Cookbook-ish Birthday

It was the beginning of the year, and the air was filled with New Year's resolutions.  But, since "resolutions" has become somewhat of a dirty word, I will use "intentions" and "goals" as its euphemisms from now on. One of my personal goals was to spend more time in the kitchen, invite friends over for dinner more often, and to connect with other creatives in my town beyond the social media.

I also wanted to get out of the cooking rut I found myself over the last few months, possibly years. My husband and I found ourselves cooking the same go-to things over and over or simply making Trader Joes frozen meals. If it’s not broken, why fix it, right? Plus, living with a five year who old wants to eat dry pasta for every meal really puts a damper on adventurous cooking.

I am sure you noticed, there are SO many new cookbooks out there, and the rate they are coming out at is growing exponentially. And while I want to try some of them, I don't necessarily want to buy all of them, or at least not before I know that they are any good. Plus, I already have a good dozen or more of cookbooks at home. Thus, an idea of sharing cookbooks while sharing the meals lead me to start a cookbook club. I called it Cookbook-ish, and on my birthday in February I decided to try it out with close friends before extending the invitation to more people. It was a great success, and I am now ready to let it see the light of day. So, if you are reading this and want to be a part of it with me, please reach out! 

How it Works:

1. We meet once a month or every two months.
2. I choose a cookbook (a new one or a classic).
3. Those who already have the book (or choose to buy it right away) pass it around to those who aren't ready to commit in advance of the meeting.
4. Each person puts their name on a few recipes they are interested in making (but in the end will end up making just one).
5. A week before the event I come up with a cohesive menu based on what everyone chose and assign specific dishes to people who chose them.
6. Everyone cooks their respective items at home and brings them to the potluck.

For our inaugural meeting, I chose the book I got for Christmas—Alison Roman's DINING IN. I have heard so many good things about it, and her chocolate chunk short bread cookies were becoming an internet phenomenon. Naturally, I made the cookies first, and they became my gateway drug to the rest of the book.  

Our group was small (5), so adding a few extra touches didn't take too much time. I painted our dinner menus by hand with watercolor ink and used a sprig of wax flower to pin down the sides of the menus. It served a functional purpose and it looked pretty! 

Since my dining table is wee, keeping table setting simple made the most sense to allow space for the food (the important part!). Having a business specializing in table and kitchen linens came in very handy. Since I always test the items I put in the shop, I have a set of almost everything in my linen drawer. For this dinner party I used linen napkins in Heather Gray.  A complete list of tabletop items is at the end of the post.  

While we all agreed that every single thing on the menu was stellar, the one dish that everyone raved about was the burrata salad with tangerines, shallots, and watercress. Here is the recipe. 

Alison Roman's Burrata with Tangerines, Shallots, and Watercress, from DINING IN cookbook: 

Ingredients:

1 shallot, thinly sliced into rings
1 table spoon fresh lemon juice
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 8oz ball burrata
3 tangerines, peeled and sliced 1/2" thick
3 cups small spicy greens (watercress, mizuna, arugula)
Olive oil
Flaky sea salt

Preparation: 

1. Toss the shallots with lemon juice in small bowl and season with kosher salt and pepper
2. Tear, slice, or cut burrata into pieces and arrange them on the serving platter.  
3. Scatter the tangerine slices around burrata
4. Combine the shallots and spicy greens, and season with salt and pepper.  Toss and scatter around the burrata mixture.  
5. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt.

If you'd like to be involved in the future Cookbook-ish gatherings, be sure to sign up for my news and updates or send an email to foldsantabarbara@gmail.com and let me know how you would like contribute. I am looking for passionate home cooks who want to try new recipes and share them with people. I am also looking for hosts, photographers, guest stylists, vignette-arrangers, flora foragers, dish washers, and story tellers. AND...there is always a spot at the Cookbook-ish table for those who may hot love to cook, but are rich in wine, bread, or sparkling water.  If this sounds like you, I would love to have as part of the Cookbook-ish adventure!

Resources:

From the Shop

Elsewhere

Matte black flatware: IKEA (link here)

Recycled glass water tumblers: Hawkins New York (I got mine from NEED Supply Co.)

Double Old Fashioned Duralex Picardie glasses (we used them as wine glasses): World Market (link here)