Wedding Wrap-up.. Last one..

We just had so many photos of the wedding fun-ctions that I have to do one more blog on Amanda's wedding.  Fairytales do come true..

(Thanks to Kathy for these photos!!)

Mark and Amanda

Cake made by Mark's mom

Gaines and buds from the hood

Amanda and MOB, Wilda

Gaines and Wilda, couldn't be happier... 

Wedding Luncheon!

Katie, Amanda, Evie, and Julia

The luncheon took place under a perfect Carolina sky. Temperature: about 70 degrees.  Skies: pure blue.  Faces: glowing. It was a perfect day for the luncheon, the 5:00 p.m. wedding, and the lovely reception at the Science Museum. You will have to check in with Amanda for the wedding photos but we do have a few of the bride and groom (who entered an hour apart from each other so as to keep their distance on wedding day!) and lots of friends.  And, uh, of course, the lovely preparations.

Mark in the center

Proud parents- Gaines and Wilda

for more Amanda and Mark...http://eviesindependentliving.blogspot.com/2010/10/you-tube-friday-going-to-chapel.html
http://blog.kateaspen.com/?cat=405

Amanda's Getting Married!

So, it is Amanda and Mark's wedding day!

Amanda and Mark

A group of us (friends of mom Wilda and dad Gaines) are hosting a wedding luncheon for out of towners today, so we spent a bit of time yesterday preparing lunch. We are still not exactly sure how many to expect, but we planned for 80-100.  Since Amanda lives in Atlanta, and family are scattered from NC to PA, there are quite a few out of towners.. The menu is turkey croissant sandwiches, pasta salad, a lovely cantaloupe, kiwi, and blueberry salad, and trays of assorted bars and cookies. Tomorrow I will post photos of the lunch!

 Here are some of the prep photos in my kitchen and dining room:

Projects Update! Two down. 500,989,938, to go....

Remember the dreary ottoman?  And the lovely hide I got for $70 at the flea market? Let me refresh your memory.. When I went to a local little shop, they said I would need two hides ($200 each) and it would cost me around $200-$300 to reupholster. Since that was pushing the $600-700 range in which I could purchase a NEW ottoman, I drug my feet until I was out at the Raleigh Fairgrounds at the weekend Flea Market and found this one HUGE hide, caramel colored, for $70.  The upholstery work cost me about $225.  Total cost: less than $300. Total savings? around $300. So, why don't husbands understand this simple mathematical concept of savings?  Elementary.

"Before".. aging chenille fabric

This is the "after" photo..
Notice the nice little nailhead detail?

Bench with storage .. this is the "after" in case you are confused..

I have searched my computer for the "before" photo of this bench, and cannot seem to find it.  It was custom painted by the manufacturer back when we first moved to this house in the early 90's.  A. remembers sitting on it to learn to tie her shoes.  It was a merlot/burgundy shade with edging in the panels of deep green, to work with the deep teal color our kitchen was then painted.  Well, needless to say, when we renovated our kitchen several years ago, there was no place for burgundy and green, much less the bench since we eliminated the wall against which it was placed.  So, off to the storage house it went.  I asked A and her roomie M if they could use it at the apartment. Both said yes, and now A is looking at it going, sheesh, it's kind of big.  Good grief.  So M, if you see this, what do you think?  It would sit right where you take the right turn to head to A's room and the bath.. 

Aside from want/don't want issues, (boo hoo) it is painted in an eggshell finish (to make it look older than the glossy finish would) in a very creamy yummy color called Mascarpone,  and the three panels are painted with chalkboard paint.  The color of the chalkboard is such a rich deep gray.  I love chalkboard paint, whether it is written on with chalk or not. Now.. if I can just get this out of my dining room.. 

Dates!

When the air begins to turn crisp, I think of fall recipes and begin to think about baking again. And I think of dates.  I guess it's because my mom always cooked with dates in the winter time-- she had about three wonderful date recipes.  Dates are a fruit and they grow on a date palm tree.  They are a staple in the middle eastern diet and have been for a million years. They have been cultivated since perhaps 4000 BCE. The medjool date is known as the crown jewel of dates or King of Dates.  The fruit is dried, and should have a shiny brown smooth skin.  Inside is a a long pit, which is pretty easy to remove.  If you can, buy dates at a place like Whole Foods or a Lebanese grocer or someplace for special sweetness and lusciousness, but the standard for baking (as opposed to stuffing with goat cheese and eating as an appetizer) is the familiar orange box of Dromedary dates.  These come pitted. You can even get them cut up, but usually then they are much more dried out and cease to resemble the actual fruit.

This is what they should look like.. (above) and here they are stuffed with walnuts, pine nuts cream cheese, and other stuff.  Some people wrap them in bacon and bake them.   Me, I just like to bake with them.  They are a tad sweet for just snacking, but some folks roll them and coconut and feed them to their kids.  

Now, on to baking them!  You can make date oatmeal cookies, date bars, date pie, date nut bread, you can make a compote with colorful root vegetables, chop 'em up and put them in rice with some pine nuts and a little chopped green onion. You can make a lovely strudel with dates and ricotta, a great English style warm pudding topped with bourbon whipped cream... ready for me to stop yet? Well, here are some recipes. One is new, the other is old.  And it will be hard to choose from the "old" ones because, as I have said, my mom cooked with dates a lot. She thought they were healthy, which they are in that they are really packed with iron.  Sort of like raisins.  So This is sort of what the good old basic date bars look like: They should be sort of delicate and flakey.

Here is the recipe: (From my very first cookbook, given to me by my Dad, who got it for free from the ad agency he worked for.  Sentimental, huh?) Betty Crocker circa 1968)
Heat oven to 375, and cream 3/4 cup of soft butter with a cup of packed brown sugar.  Using a pastry cutter, work in 1 1/2 cup of rolled oats, 1 3/4 cup of flour, 1/2 tsp soda and 1 tsp salt.  Press about half of this into a 13 by 9 inch cake pan- or use a larger 9 by 15 jelly roll pan like I do. Spread with the cooled date filling and then sprinkle with the reserved crumbly mixture of butter and oats, etc.  Bake for about 25 minutes. Date filling: de-pit and chop 2-3 cups dates, add 1/4 cup of sugar, and 1 1/2 cups water to a saucepan and cook on medium low until thickened and sort of like really thick applesauce. Let it cool a bit. Yum.  Great for breakfast! (hey, oats, dates, wholesome stuff. )   By the way, I usually chop some walnuts and and add those to my crumble mixture.  Thanks Betty! I have been making these.. since I was about 5 years old...  :-)

Okay the "new recipe"? I am running out of space a bit and will need to give you the Epicurious link. The recipe is for a Date, Dried-Cherry and Chocolate Torte. It has all kinds of good fall flavors- orange zest, etc.  I added a pinch of ginger, a handful of chopped walnuts, and just a tee-tiny dollop of brandy to mine.  It's one of those almost fruitcake-y kind of things that need to sit around for a few days, possibly in the fridge.  Serve it with brandied whipped cream on a chilly night with a cup of coffee and a couple of friends.. I mean you chat with the friends, you don't eat them.   If you want my two date cake recipes (one with a coconut pecan topping), or the date pudding recipe (very British) you will just have to ask me
.. The link won't work, so go to www.epicurious.com and search for "Date, Dried- Cherry and Chocolate Torte".  mmmmmm

French Bistro Chairs

I love French Bistro chairs!  However, I will not buy them until I have a cute little teeny kitchen-y table that seats only 2-4.  They cost around $400 apiece, and with our 10'x 48" dining table, the cost would be ridiculous as we would need like at least 10.  What appears to be the finest, most authentic manufacturer, and these are all made by hand, is Maison Gatti.  There is a store in NYC, but the "original" is in France, of course. The company has been making them since 1920.  Apparently there is a difference between cafe chairs and bistro chairs.. I think the cafe chairs are simpler, intended for outdoor use, and appear more like a folding chair, with a simple slat back. These elaborate little numbers come in every imaginable color combination.   

www.capsudusa.com

They also have a lovely banquette. 

Aren't they beautiful?  I found another site, which seems to feature more armless chairs.  It is to the trade onl, which is a bummer, and I imagine they sell to restaurants, etc. Here are some of their chairs. www.tkcollections.com  I have no idea what they cost.. SO for the near future, not me.  But maybe a barstoool.. or two.. when I have a bar... 

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The French Sailor Shirt

Peter Beaton of Nantucket ($60)

Everywhere I look I see a version of the French Sailor Shirt, so called because - ah- apparently these shirts were worn at sea aboard fishing boards under a fisherman smock, a reefer jacket which was made  from  heavy oilskin as protection against the elements.  The "original" Meridien shirt was made from heavy cotton or wool as an under layer, and sported about the docks on the  French Riviera with little black berets and black wool bell bottom pants. The shirt has come in and out of "fashion" for several decades. Coco Chanel is shown here (below) wearing what was referred to as the mariniere shirt in the 1950's.. Isn't she cute and sporty?

It was also worn in the movie ABOUT  Coco (Coco Before Chanel) by Audrey Tautou. Well, the French Company Saint James is still making these babies.  They sell a version in the authentic wool, but uh, itchy. The preferred version is in a heavy, densely woven cotton that washes and wears and washes and wears for a million years. The shirt always has a "bateau" or boat neck: it is sort of signature.

Yep, Pablo Picasso

Today you see these on the streets worn by dapper young men in their 20's with jeans, maybe a navy sport coat on top, perhaps a pea coat (another friend from the sea) or a duffel coat. The girls often wear them with cut off jeans (jorts! mom, Jorts!!!) even heels or wedges, and sometimes hair tied back with a bandanna.

J Crew has a St James shirt.  Each of my "children" has one.  It is unisex and costs ..again ugh.. $175. They also have "lesser", non-authentic sailor shirts .  One even has .. sparkles. Yeah.  Sparkles.

I recommend the Saint James. It is thick and heavy, and comes in either dark navy (as left) or with colors reversed, navy on white.  Buy one, wear it forever.  Just make sure it's big enough to last for 30 years or so.. trust me on this.

Enza Costa version, in cashmere, available
 here in Raleigh at Gene Chandler.. 

"Old" version of the Saint James,
minus the anchor, $115