This is a special milestone post, as it is the fiftieth Tuesday Table Setting installment! Although I don't always post on a Tuesday, that day was set aside a few years ago to celebrate my love and appreciation for the art of table setting. I'm hoping to get back to blogging on various subjects for those specific days, but for now I'll be catching up! Life does have its way of taking over!
For the month of March, I like to decorate and use things that are made in Ireland, or have some sort of an Irish tie-in. I recently purchased some place mats and matching runners that are made in Ireland from QVC. They are made by Charles Gallen and Company and are a linen/polyester blend. There are several different embroidery patterns available (as of this writing, daffodil, fuchsia, lavender and lily are available in the placemats and the runner options are hydrangea, snowman, cornucopia, daffodil, Easter bunny, fuchsia, holly, lavender, lily and rose), but I chose the daffodil because 1) both the placemats and runners came in the pattern; 2) the daffodil showed up better on the linen than the other patterns; and 3) I don't have anything daffodil in my linen or dinnerware collection. I'm glad I made my choice, as you will see in upcoming table setting creations!
One of my favorite color combinations is green and yellow, so I took the opportunity to dig out my Fiesta Shamrock and Daffodil colors for this table setting. It was as if the daffodils in the placemats and runners were made just for these shades of Fiesta! (I purchased all Shamrock pieces at Herberger's, now out of business, and all Daffodil was purchased through Homer Laughlin China's website, now Fiesta Dinnerware Company). The glassware chosen is Brookside by Marquis by Waterford (Jamey got these as a gift for something or the other). I chose copper clad flatware due to the fact that so many Irish immigrants found their way to Butte, Montana, to work in the copper mines (Capanile by Gibson, purchased at Herberger's, I believe this was also marketed under the Ruff Hewn brand at Herberger's). Each cover has its own individual salt and pepper shaker set (Mainstays, Walmart), and the yellow hemstitched napkins are also by the same brand. The centerpiece is a simple Fiesta Shamrock Pedestal bowl with faux lemons-yes, they're faux!
On the menu was:
Irish Farmhouse Vegetable Soup
Irish Herb-Stuffed Roasted Chicken
Irish Cally (or Champ, a.k.a. mashed potatoes with scallions) with pan gravy from the chicken
Buttered corn kernels
Lemon bars for dessert (plates are stacked on the Pepin sideboard)
It was a lovely meal with my parents, sadly the last for a while because the following week, Governor Bullock issued his stay at home order. As my parents are aging, and gracefully at that, we're listening to the scientists and doctors and staying physically away from each other, but we do communicate on a regular basis. So far, so good!
