I’ve mentioned that I love to set a pretty table. I don’t think you need to own fancy bone china and real silverware to do that. I would love me some china though. Someday I will inherit some lovely pre-war Noritake china in the Acacia pattern but that is still 20-30 years away (at least - please don’t rush Mom/Dad).
I don’t know why I’ve never purchased a china service. Practicality probably. Steve and I didn’t have a big wedding so we never registered for wedding china. Also, we have a ton of children and I’ve never liked having things that couldn’t be used for fear of breakage. I have recently decided to start buying my own china. I absolutely love the Lenox Solitaire 
White pattern and want to collect a service for 14.
My everyday dishes (Symphony) and my Sunday dinner dishes (Enhancements) are from Corelle. They are pretty and durable. I also picked up a set of Corelle Calloway at a yardsale for a couple bucks that coordinates nicely with my Enhancements dinnerware. I will be using my Enhancements dishes along with the luncheon and dessert plates from my Calloway set for the dinner party.
I also do not own any crystal stemware. I don’t believe I ever will. Glass breakage at our house is rampant and I refuse to get totally whacked out when someone breaks a glass by accident. I have broken several myself. I purchase my stemware from Kohl’s or Target or Wal-mart when needed. I have some very pretty water goblets made by Libbey that have withstood heavy usage pretty well. I also have several different styles of wine glasses that look nice with them. I recently picked up 6 of these cute little balloon glasses at Connie’s Antique Mall (a large indoor flea market) for $3! I am going to use them to serve the sorbet.
I keep most of my stemware “on display” so just to be sure that everything is bright and shiny, I’ve washed all my glassware. I like to hand wash my glasses in hot, soapy water then rinse and drip-dry in the drainer until they are almost dry. Then I finish drying them with one of those cloths that are made for cleaning windows and mirrors. You can pick them up in the automotive section at Wal-mart pretty cheaply and they are so much better than a tea towel at not leaving lint behind.
One of the most important (and tedious) tasks that must be done before a dinner party is cleaning your flatware. No spots and very shiny are musts for a beautifully set table. I have a set of very pretty silver-plated and gold-trimmed flatware. Unfortunately, it is a service for 8 and so there are not enough pieces for this dinner. So I will be using my old standby, my everyday set of Oneida Distinction flatware.
I originally purchased this set of stainless flatware over 20 years ago and it hasn’t lost its appeal over the years. I think that’s because it’s a very plain style. Over the years I’ve had to replace pieces that have been lost or eaten by the garbage disposal. I’ve also added additional place settings and special pieces to my original service. I have a service for 20 as well as the cocktail forks, butter knives, fruit spoons, etc. Sadly my pattern was discontinued so replacements and additions are a little harder to come by these days.
Some of my flatware pieces are a little less shiny than others. Why? Because we use this flatware everyday and we wash it in the dishwasher. Over time, stainless pieces will pick up a kind of haze from dish detergents and regular use. Dishwasher detergents are the worst offenders although even hand washing with liquid dish soap will leave a haze over time. Even water can leave behind deposits especially if you have hard water with a lot of minerals in it. Some foods will discolor the stainless as well. Then there is the inevitable scratching that occurs from normal wear.
Today I am cleaning all of my flatware so that it will be shiny and beautiful. Stainless flatware can be revived by wiping with plain white vinegar and buffing dry. Stubborn haze or stains, and even small scratches, can be removed by buffing with a paste made from water and a gentle cleanser like Bon Ami or Bar Keeper’s Friend. You will be amazed at how shiny the vinegar will make your flatware.
Planning a formal dinner party isn’t really that hard but it is time consuming and there are a lot of details to see to. I’m trying to keep track of everything with a checklist. Here are some basic planning steps:
- Determine the when of the dinner party and who/how many people you will invite. Then you’ll actually need to invite them. A formal dinner party really requires written invitations. I’m not sending written invitations since all of the dinner guests save one live here and the one that doesn’t is my child. I’ve invited her by phone.
- Determine the number of courses and general menu
- Check that you have enough dinnerware, glassware and flatware for the number of courses you plan to serve. Make a note of anything you need to purchase or just change the menu to match what you have. I’ll be mixing 2 dish patterns that coordinate well together. This would have been a no-no back in the day, but is completely acceptable these days.
- Determine what serving pieces you will need and whether you have them on hand.
- Finalize your menu including determining wine pairings and other beverages that will be served.
- Plan your prep and cooking schedule. Ask yourself these type of questions:
- What can I purchase ready-made? Some items won’t suffer quality or taste-wise by being purchased ready-made and can really help with the amount of prep time required. I have decided to purchase my dessert from the bakery and just add the final touches myself. I’ll also be using store-bought sorbet.
- What can be made ahead?
- What can be made early in the day and either kept warm (like in a crock pot) or reheated just prior to serving?
- How will you plate & garnish each dish? Can the garnishes be prepped ahead of time?
- In what order do you need make each dish? How long to prep and cook? Any steps that can be done ahead of time?
Here’s the menu I’ve decided on:
1st Course: Stuffed Mushroom caps and Stuffed Cherry Tomato appetizers; Garnish with fresh parsley; serve a Sauvignon Blanc
2nd Course: Roasted Tomato Soup; Garnish with Sour Cream star; serve a Sauvignon Blanc
3rd Course: Caesar Salad; no additional garnish needed; serve a Chardonnay
4th Course: Baked Cod with a Lemon Butter Sauce and fresh steamed Asparagus; Garnish with a Lemon Rose; serve a Chenin Blanc
Sorbet: Serve a Lemon Sorbet garnished with mint leaves
5th Course: Grilled Chicken with Wild Mushrooms & Cream on Linguine; Garnish with Tomato Rose; serve a Chardonnay
6th Course: Beef Tenderloin on a bed of Onion Mashed Potatoes; Garnish with Tomato Petals; serve a Zinfandel
7th Course: New York Style Cheesecake with a Strawberry glaze; Garnish with a Strawberry fan; serve with Coffee
And here’s my to-do list for the next couple of days:
- Make a shopping list and purchase all grocery items.
- Purchase wines. I’ve chosen the general type of wine for each course but will need to make my actual selections based on what is available.
- Wash & dry glassware making sure it is spot-free.
- Polish flatware and any silver serving pieces.
- Iron table linens.
- Order or make centerpiece.
- Fill individual salt & pepper shakes.
- Make & freeze butter pats.
As far back as I can remember I have loved getting dressed up for special occasions, setting a fancy table, using real linens, china, crystal and silver. My mother always let me set the table for holiday meals using the “good” dishes and the real silver flatware.
Setting a pretty table and preparing a nice meal takes a little extra effort and creates a lot of extra cleanup work, but I don’t mind it. In fact, I love deciding what dishes or linens to use, what centerpiece and candles will look especially pretty for the meal, and even the clean-up can be enjoyable. I love to see rows and rows of sparkling clean silverware that has been double-dried and laid out on tea towels before being packed back into their storage chest.
Most of my children enjoy a fancy dinner but don’t like the work involved in making it happen. Only a couple of my children have inherited the gene that makes the prep and cleanup enjoyable. No sign of what I call the fancy-schmancy gene in Amber or Vicki. Sure, they enjoy the fancy dinner (and will happily dress up to attend) but they would just as soon take a pass on the prep/cleanup. Not that they won’t help just that they don’t really enjoy it. Stephanie must have had a latent fancy-schmancy gene - one that has only emerged since she got her own house and started hosting her own dinners. There isn’t even a smidge of the fancy-schmancy gene in Jonathan. He’d prefer paper plates in front of the TV anytime.
April clearly inherited the fancy-schmancy gene from me. She will happily help with laying out the place settings, folding the napkins in intricate designs and the inevitable hand-washing of the dishes, stemware and flatware. She has been hosting fancy-schmancy tea parties for years and always takes such care to lay a pretty tea table with lovely little tea sandwiches and treats.
My youngest daughter, Violet is showing signs that she has also inherited the fancy-schmancy gene. She likes the prep work like helping plan the menu and laying out the table. She will spend quite a bit of time looking through the napkin books for a really great fold. She’s still not too keen on the cleanup part but I’m hopeful that will come in time.
What’s all this talk of fancy-schmancy have to do with anything? Well, at the beginning of the summer, Violet asked if we could have a really fancy dinner party. One with multiple courses and fancy foods. A 7-course gourmet meal. I was immediately intrigued with the idea. I’ve never attempted anything that grand and wondered if I could pull it off. So I told her sure!
We are currently in the planning stages for our grand meal. We’ve decided what the courses will generally be but haven’t selected the actual menu yet.
- Appetizers
- Soup
- Salad
- Fish
- Sorbet (not counted as one of the courses - a palate cleanser between the fish and meat courses)
- Fowl or Pasta
- Meat
- Dessert
A dinner like this takes a huge amount of flatware, glasses and dishes. We’ve laid out the table several times and made a list of the dishes and silverware required per person in order to make sure we have enough pieces. I don’t have enough dishes in a single pattern to serve a 7-course meal. I do have 2 patterns that coordinate well with each other so I will be using both sets of dishes, alternating patterns for each course. We also had to check how much space is required for each place setting. We will only be able to comfortably seat 6 at our table because of the width of each cover. Since all the dishes will be plated, 6-8 is really the most one person can serve and keep the food hot anyway. Each place setting will require:
- A charger
- Dishes: 3 Dinner plates, Soup plate, Salad Plate, Bread & Butter Plate, Appetizer plate, Sorbet dish w/ liner plate, Dessert plate, Cup & Saucer
- Flatware: 4 knives, 5 forks, 1 soup spoon, 2 teaspoons, cocktail/seafood fork and butter knife
- Stemware: Water goblet, Red wine glass, White wine glass
- Individual salt & pepper shakers
Next up will be deciding on the linens, candles, and centerpiece and selecting the menu.
Cross-posted on my other blog.
