Tablescapes, Winter Warmth & Wishes
Oranges have long been a traditional gift or food offering for the New Year. They symbolize life, new beginnings and wishes of good fortune see source here
Rosemary is symbolic of love and friendship and features strongly in the mythologies of the ancient Greeks, Romans, and the Egyptians see source here
I set this simple table for 4 with these thoughts in mind for a winter Saturday night supper with friends
I got out my favorite summer plates to symbolize the warm weather to come
and for dreaming of ripe summer tomatoes and sweet fresh corn
Topping the plates were colorful bowls, each bearing a fresh clementine and a rosemary sprig
to bring our dear friends good fortune, new beginnings and best wishes for the New Year
I made initial napkin rings from leftover gift tags for a personal touch
The centerpiece is a grapevine tree with some tiny gold sparkle stars and fairy lights
We still have white lights twinkling for winter warmth and January sparkle
It helps brighten dreary days and icy nights
James the butler is standing by in case some one wants a martini
Shaken, not stirred…
The menu was all about warmth and comfort too~
HH cooked the pork all day long so it was ready when our guests arrived and he didn’t have to grill in the sub freezing temps after dark. I made a creamy dip, a quick potato casserole and roasted some veggies
Dessert was a treat brought my our guests, Mama’s Mississippi Sour Cream Vanilla Pound Cake with Cinnamon Swirl~ and guess what, it was great for breakfast the next day too!
It was a treat to spend a quiet Saturday night with simple food and good friends~
Juicy Details
see Monogrammed Frame Mat for lettering info
click on the names for the recipes Tator Tot Bake
Honey Roasted Maple Carrots & Green Beans
Sour Cream Vanilla Pound Cake with Cinnamon Swirl
Smokey BBQ Pulled Pork was slow cooked all day then pulled and placed in a slow cooker with BBQ sauce to hold for serving
You can get the recipe for Creamy Corn Dip here. I modified the recipe by eliminating bacon and serving it with celery to lighten it up a bit
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Jenna, I wish I had some white lights still up for some winter warmth and January sparkle! We’re getting freezing rain this morning that should taper off in a couple of hours. Your menu sounds wonderful and I can only imagine how tempting Mama’s Mississippi Sour Cream Vanilla Pound Cake with Cinnamon Swirl must be 🙂
I like the little lights adding a pretty warm feeling Jenna! Nice to see you putting James to work:@)
Lovely! I feel warmer just looking at this winter warmth table. I love the Summer veggie plates, they are perfect to symbolize the seasons ahead. The mantel is very attractive with the sparkle lights and the greenery to remind us that Spring will soon be here again
I awoke to a dusting of snow and a scrubwater sky–your post brightened my morning! Love your sparkling white lights. I’ve got some, too, and they add a little fairy dust to winter, don’t they? What a beautiful, inviting tablescape and a delicious menu! Love the orange lore (I’ll tell Mama–she’ll love it) and your butler table–he’s adorable.
I love that table,…the orange and lime are so cheery. Jenna, the last photo reminds me of the old game show, Let’s Make A Deal…3 doors to choose from!
Pulled pork sounds delicious, one can never eat too much of it. Will anxiously await the recipes for the other part of your yummy sounding menu.
Have a great week.
thanks so much Marigene! That is too funny about the doors! I always forget to close them when I photo this table, you’re right it does look like Let’s Make a Deal! Next time, they will be closed 🙂
So pretty.
We had a very fun evening with ya’ll. The meal was so very delicious! HH cooked some fabulous pork! Love your blogs everyday!!
Love this post…your ideas…what you said about Rosemary…I want to go put together a winter dinner now. Thanks for sharing with the Thursday Blog Hop!
thank you!
Such a pretty table and I laughed when you said james was on standby for anyone who wants a martini….I’ll be back at 5 for mine! lol
Your table has all the perfect reminders of warmer weather. Aren’t we all ready for that?! The vegetable plates are beautiful…can’t believe I’ve not seen them before. Or, maybe I’ve seen them in a completely different setting that made them look completely unlike they do here. So glad you and your guests enjoyed your time together. 🙂
Thanks Kim, I found those plates on Amazon.com a couple of years ago, and just love them! They are especially good for BBQ ribs and corn on the cob when you nee a BIG plate! We actually did have ribs on Sunday, it was so mild here 🙂 I hope you are having a great week in “The land of making do!” 🙂
This table feels so cozy and James is adorable!
Thanks Sandra, we’ve had James a long time, he doesn’t get much done these days, just catches some dust bunnies 🙂
I did not know the little tidbit about oranges. I like small gatherings with friends and make an effort to have a foursome almost every week. It’s so much better than going out as so many places are too loud for conversation.