Informal Autumn Luncheon

Yes, I know today is Wednesday, but I'm posting my "Tablescape Thursday Post" a little early. This is a post I did when I first began blogging, so please excuse all the spacing issues! Susan at Between Naps on the Porch is hosting the tablescape display. Check out her site later on this evening for all the great entries. Thank you Susan for allowing me to participate in this fun event!

My tablescape is an Informal Autumn Luncheon I hosted last year at our home in Mississippi. This is our table in the breakfast room and the food was served from the sideboard in the adjoining hearth room. Let's take a peek:

Informal Autumn Luncheon

Pumpkin Soup Tureen Centerpiece

Menu Card

Lunch Served Buffet Style

Pumpkin Cheese Ball

Spooned Southern Caviar

Miss Janice's Salad

Walnut Crusted Chicken with Pumpkin Sauce

Pumpkin Pie and Hot Apple Cider

This informal tablescape was set with autumn-tone dinnerware and glassware (purchased several years ago from Stein Mart). The butternut squash soup was served at the table from the pumpkin soup tureen (a Homegoods find). The gold-tone flatware was a gift from my mother many years ago. Autumn-theme place cards, pumpkin napkin rings, and a menu card brought the tablescape together to create a relaxed, but festive fall setting. The spooned Southern caviar is a recipe that helps to Make it Southern. Yummy pumpkin pie and hot apple cider was served fireside in the hearth room.

Autumn Luncheon Menu
Spooned Southern Caviar*
Pumpkin Cheese Ball with Green Apple Slices
Miss Janice's Salad**
Butternut Squash Soup
Walnut-Crusted Chicken with Pumpkin Sauce
Pumpkin Spiced Iced Tea
Pumpkin Pie and Whipped Cream
Hot Apple Cider

*Recipe for Southern Caviar
1 green onion, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 can black eyed peas, drained
1 can petite diced tomatoes, drained
1 can shoe peg corn, drained
A small amount of Italian dressing

Mix all ingredients and serve on large spoons.



**Recipe for Miss Janice's Salad
Mixed greens
Dried cranberries
Glazed pecans or chopped walnuts
Crumbled low-fat feta cheese
Trader Joe's Red Wine & Olive Oil Vinaigrette

I hope y'all have enjoyed visiting with me today.

AUTUMN RECEPTION

It's been a few weeks since I've participated in Tablescape Thursday. Susan, at BetweenNapsOnThePorch, is the hostess and she has THE most awesome blog. Y'all simply must go over to visit with her. Today, I'm featuring an Autumn Reception I hosted in my Mississippi home last year...take a peek.

To kick off the entertaining season, have a few friends over and serve a signature beverage and some tidbits.

Autumn Reception, very simple...served from the sideboard...
Signature beverage, Apple Punch*... Butternut squash salsa, served with whole grain chips...

Pumpkin dip, served with graham sticks...
Majolica appetizer plates and stemware from Stein Mart...
*Y'all know I always like to serve a signature beverage at my parties. A signature beverage should complement the menu, theme, and season. Here's the recipe for my signature beverage:

Recipe for my signature drink, Apple Punch

1 - 1/2 quart of apple juice
2 cinnamon sticks
8 whole cloves
1 - 1/3 cup pineapple juice
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 pints orange juice
28 oz. ginger ale

Simmer the apple juice in a kettle with all the spices. Strain the spiced apple juice and mix with the remaining fruit juices. Add the ginger ale and ice. Served chilled and enjoy the taste of the season!

Hope you are getting your holiday started with a little entertaining...Southern style! Thanks again to Miss Susan for hosting Tablescape Thursday...y'all stop in for a visit with her.

Mother's Day Brunch

It's Tablescape Thursday and Susan at Between Naps on the Porch is once again hosting this awesome event. Susan is definitely the "Tablescape Queen," so stop in and check out her beautiful blog and all the tablescapes linked to this event!

Today, I'm featuring a Mother's Day Brunch tablescape. This Mother's Day, I will not be able to travel home to Georgia to visit my mama. However, she will be celebrating this special day with my brother.

Mothers are the most important people in the world. If you are lucky enough to still have your mama, please honor her everyday and make this Mother's Day special for her. In the South, ladies judge a gentleman by the way he treats his mama. I can tell you that my brother loves and respects our mama and treats her like she's the Queen. He's always driving Miss Pauline all over the place (to church on Sundays, to the beauty shop for her standing appointment every Friday morning, shopping, etc.--mama loves to scoot)!

A sweet Southern tradition on Mother's Day in the South...ladies are given a red corsage if their mama is still alive and a white corsage if their mama has passed away.

Today's feature is a Brunch that I had last year for my mama at my home in Mississippi.

Mother's Day Brunch Tablescape...Brunch egg casserole*, fresh mixed fruit, Southern-style biscuits, orange juice, and coffee.

Mother's Day Brunch Place Setting--The china is Accoutrements, designed by Anna Griffin for Lenox. The napkin rings are monogrammed, of course, and a silver tray is used as a charger plate .

Brunch Egg Casserole...

*Recipe for Brunch Egg Casserole
4 cups seasoned croutons
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
8 eggs, slightly beaten
4 cups milk
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
8 slices bulk sausage, cooked, drained, and crumbled

Combine croutons and cheese and place into a greased 3-quart baking dish. Combine eggs, milk, salt, and pepper; mix until well blended and pour over the crouton mixture. Sprinkle crumbled sausage on top. Bake at 325 degrees for one hour. Serves 8-12.

I hope that y'all have a wonderful Mother's Day!

Youth fades; love droops; the leaves of friendship fall; A mother's secret hope outlives them all.
~Oliver Wendell Holmes

Bunny Toile Tablescape

Here's another tablescape that I'm presenting for Tablescape Thursday! Susan, the hostess with the mostess, at Between Naps on the Porch, is hosting this awesome event again this week. Please stop in at her site and check out all the tablescapes.

It's Easter week and that means it's time for a Bunny Toile Tablescape! This is one of my personal favorite tablescapes because the china pattern looks so cute in my dining room with my toile covered chairs and window treatments. These are photos from last Easter, but like a lot of other occasions at Miss Janice's, (Christmas, Thanksgiving, et cetera) the menu stays the same!


Let's take a look...The china is Bunny Toile, by J. Willfred and the teapot, sugar bowl and creamer is the Green Leaf pattern and also by J. Willfred. The green moss charger plates were purchased at one of my favorite stores in Collierville, Tennessee--The Fresh Fruit Collection.


Easter Sunday lunch tablescape...

Easter Sunday lunch place setting...
Bunny-fied centerpiece and menu...

Most Southerners celebrate Easter Sunday with an informal lunch, served family or plated-style at the dining room table. I will be serving my lunch at the dining room table, plated-style. (In family-style service, the dishes of food are placed on the table and passed around to each guest. In the plated-style service, the host/hostess places the food on the plates in the kitchen and serves each guest from the left-hand side, beginning with the guest of honor and continuing counterclockwise, serving him/herself last).

Menu
Honeybaked Ham
Macaroni and Cheese
Asparagus Casserole
Deviled Eggs*
Croissants
Sweet Southern Iced Tea
~
Coconut Cupcakes, Coffee, and Tea

*The deviled eggs are a Paula Deen recipe for Traditional Southern Eggs:
(Makes 12 eggs)
6 large eggs, hard-boiled and peeled
1/4 cup of mayonnaise
1 1/2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
Salt & pepper
Paprika
Sweet gherkin pickles, sliced
Pimientos

Halve eggs lengthwise. Remove yolks and place in a small bowl. Mash yolks with a fork and stir in mayonnaise, pickled relish, and mustard. Add salt and pepper to taste. Fill egg whites evenly with yolk mixture. Garnish with paprika, pickles, and pimientos. Store covered in refrigerator.

Paula Deen's "Traditional Southern Deviled Eggs", served on my Arthur Court deviled egg tray. All Southern ladies have a fancy deviled egg plate...we wouldn't be caught dead without one. We have the de rigueure to-go deviled egg plates, as well! We just have to.
Dessert and tea will be served from the sideboard..."Coconut Cupcakes, Tea, and Tulips...

The party favors for Easter Sunday double as place cards. These are Martha Stewart cute little pink boxes, filled with green Easter grass and jelly beans (the good kind--from The Fresh Market).
Coconut cupcakes are another take-home gift placed on green shred inside a pink take-out box, adorned with a pink polka dot ribbon.

I am also linking this post to the "Spring Fling Event" at The Decorating Voice. Please visit the lovely site for awesome decorating ideas!

Thank you so much for stopping by today...I hope y'all have a wonderful Easter and remember to Make it Southern...Make it Memorable.

Tea and Red Velvet Cupcakes

Welcome to "Tablescape Thursday," hosted by Susan, at Between Naps on the Porch. Today, I'm featuring a sideboard tablescape to celebrate the romantic season of Valentine's Day.

"Tea and Cupcakes"...absolutely! Nothing sweet could be more Southern on Valentine's Day than a Red Velvet Southern Belle Cupcake. Pair these with chocolate and hazelnut-infused black tea--"Florence Tea" from Harney Tea for a wonderful afternoon treat.

A romantic sideboard setting...

There's nothing more Southern than red velvet cupcakes...and a cup of tea!

Here are some packages I will be giving as small tokens of love: A cupcake in a "to go" box, chocolate truffles in a small gold bag with a cherub applique' and cherub-motif tissue paper, and a wine-color toile print gift bag to hold a sweet gift of chocolate tea.

Sweet Treats...

If you are into American Idol, you might like the tablescape from my previous post on Tuesday of this week.

Thank you for stopping by and please join in the fun! Stop by Between Naps on the Porch and visit with all the other bloggers who are participating today in Tablescape Thursday.