For the July issue of ELLE DECOR, Charlotte worked with photographer Pieter Estersohn and curator Susan Stein to produce a story on dining in the newly redecorated dining room at Monticello.  After doing several tablesettings, we realized that there were countless options.  We couldn’t help ourselves – so here are some others for you to consider…

There are always more options in your pantry than you think.  Take the time to experiment, to explore, and create combinations.  Photograph them so you won’t forget them, it will make setting the table that much easier.

Create a scrapbook for yourself of ideas and success stories – you will be glad you did.

Dining at Monticello: In Good Taste and Abundance, Edited by Damon Lee Fowler.

Dining with Jefferson, by Frances Carnahan

Thomas Jefferson’s Cookbook, by Marie Goebel Kimball

Check out Mitch Owens’ article on Monticello, Inspiration: Golden Age, in the July/August issue of ELLE DECOR!

“Thomas Jefferson’s table, ‘genteely and plentifully spread’ with a great array of foods and his ‘immense and costly variety of French and Italian wines,’ impressed his visitors and no doubt played a large part in establishing Monticello’s culinary distinction.  The ceremony of dining and the cosmopolitan menu helped to establish Jefferson as a member of an international community of educated and worldly people.  But in addition to cultivating the palates of family, friends, and visitors, the twice-daily meals were a purposeful social experience designed both to entertain and to edify.  With Jefferson as host, the dining room was a stage for engaged discussion, or as his granddaughter recalled, Monticello was ‘completely the feast of reason.’” – Susan Stein, from Dining at Monticello: In Good taste and Abundance

What better way to welcome spring than an intimate dinner with friends.

For me, the flower that has always announced “Spring is here!” has been the daffodil.  So looking no further than that ,with several varieties and two different containers, a parade down the center of the table was a simple but abundant gesture that could be adopted by anyone without generating any flower arranging angst.

While I selected from a number of available varieties, I would have been happy with just one.  But grateful for the choices that I had…. Who could resist?

We had cocktails in the living room before dinner.  For that room I decided to have a bouquet that represented spring in all its explosive glory – more daffodils – ranunculus, oriental poppies, viburnum and roses.

Across the landing in the library, in a palette I love and use very often, was a vase of oriental poppies, ranunculus, roses and tulips in shades of butter yellow, apricot, soft melons and spring greens.

A menu that began with minted pea soup and finished with an apricot soufflé was an evening that ended in the garden on an unseasonably warm night.

Several different styles that coordinate with your china, or just your preferred colors -  if your china is all white.

The simple gesture of a linen cocktail napkin can set the tone for the evening.  I started collecting linens as a teenager because  my mother and grandmother both embroidered.  Then I started buying them at antique shows and flea markets.  I am still buying them and having them made for special events.  Simple things can become your signature, and they are such an easy way to have fun in entertaining.

I have piles with my own initials and some with beautiful hand-stitched monograms that I bought because they are decorative and the linen quality was superb.  Have a basket or tray with a tidy stack, and an obvious receptacle for soiled linens.

Remember that tablesetting is an opportunity – to decorate every day.  With each course, I used a different floral china pattern, each announcing the arrival of spring.

Everybody loved the Apricot Soufflé…I thought it might be a recipe worth sharing….

Photography by Charlotte Moss.

Flowers by Zézé.

“You’ll be drooling over Julie & Julia!”

- Rex Reed, The New York Observer

The new hit film “Julie & Julia”, starring Meryl Streep as Julia Child,  is causing quite a “stir” around the country – stirring up fun, prompting “bring a dish get-togethers,” and reminding us that butter is a necessity!  Child was a visionary woman with discipline, desire and the guts to take the lobster by the tail.  And Streep plays her to perfection, expertly inhabiting her characteristic voice, gestures and iconic self-confidence as she turns out culinary pearls….  As Savarin writes “To know how to eat is essential to knowing how to live.”

And live it up we do at my house in East Hampton every year.  Last week and every year, my family descends on my country home, where there is fun, relaxation and of course…family dinners!  Only with the help of chef Mark Sanné, who has worked for me on all such occasions for – I can’t believe it, 17 years!  My sister Martha, who is an avid cook (caterer and private chef in a previous life), always contributes.  This year she made white peach cobbler and blueberry cobbler from my mother’s original recipes.  Have you ever had blueberry cobbler à la mode for breakfast?   My husband has….

Julia Child understood the power of good food, as do many women who have written on the subject.  Among them Lesley Blanch (Around the World in 80 Dishes), the prolific Elizabeth David, who sums up her love of cooking most perfectly in An Omelette & A Glass of Wine, and MFK Fisher (The Gastronomical Me, Consider the Oyster, The Art of Eating).  These women understood that the arts of living embrace an understanding and appreciation of decorating, fashion and good food, combined with hospitality.

In her introduction to The Gastronomical Me, MFK Fisher writes -

“People ask me: Why do you write about food, and eating and drinking?  Why don’t you write about the struggle for power and security, and about love, the way others do?

They ask it accusingly, as if I were somehow gross, unfaithful to the honor of my craft.

The easiest way to answer is to say that, like most humans, I am hungry.  But there is more than that.  It seems to me that our three basic needs, for food and security and love, are so mixed and mingled and entwined that we cannot straightly think of one without the others.  So it happens that when I write of hunger, I am really writing about love and the hunger for it, and warmth and the love of it, and the hunger for it…and then the warmth and richness and fine reality of hunger satisfied…and it is all one.”

Simply serving food to eat is a bore.   One of the best parts of cooking, dining and entertaining for me is creating a beautiful presentation at the table.  Setting the table for two or twenty is everyday decorating, an opportunity to create something beautiful, however simple or elaborate as you choose to be.

When I travel, I am always looking for beautiful things for my table.  On a recent trip to Italy, I went straight into Milan after a long overnight flight to several shops, including G. Lorenzi.  Lorenzi has the most gorgeous implements for the dining table, writing, shaving, knitting, you name it!  The selection is broad – mother of pearl, horn, bone, bamboo, bronze, forged steel, carved wood – all of it DELIZIOSO!

All collections develop over time.  Whenever I find myself in a flea market or a country antique fair, even if I am on the hunt for a specific thing, one must always be prepared to expect the unexpected.  Stay open-minded, be spontaneous, consider things with possibilities – and above all, enjoy the hunt.

Some Wit & Wisdom on Cooking, Eating & Entertaining -

“Food must be succulent, nutritious, properly balanced, and as pretty as one can make it.  We eat with our eyes, you  know, and you can’t starve them.” – Van Day Truex

“In my philosophy of food, the perfect meal is the short meal, and at every meal there should be a surprise – a dish that, if possible, is a new dish presented in a new manner. We have tables with different size tops, and we choose colors, table linen, and china to suit the moment.” - Fleur Cowles

“Etiquette means being thoughtful.” - Joan Rivers

“If you accept a dinner invitation, you have a moral obligation to be amusing.” - The Duchess of Windsor

“Dining is and always was a great artistic opportunity.” – Frank Lloyd Wright

“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.” - Virginia Wolff

“A hostess must be like a duck – calm and unruffled on the surface, and paddling like hell underneath.” – Anonymous

“A host is like a general – it takes a mishap to reveal his genius.” - Horace

AND A FEW LAUGHS, TOO -

“Vegetables are interesting but lack a sense of purpose when unaccompanied by a good cut of meat.” – Fran Lebowitz

“Anyone who believes for one second that the nouvelle cuisine has had any impact on the way Americans eat in their homes is crazy.  It  has nothing to do with anyone except possibly ten people who have chefs and are silly enough to think raspberries go with meat and kiwi with shrimp.” - Nora Ephron

“If you throw a lamb chop in the oven, what’s to keep it from getting done?” -Joan Crawford, in the movie The Women

“Reminds me of my safari in Africa.  Somebody forgot the corkscrew and for several days we had to live on nothing but food and water.” – W.C. Fields

“A gourmet who thinks of calories is like a tart who looks at her watch.” – James Beard

***

As quoted in Monday’s NEW YORK TIMES (8/24/09), Nora Ephron said,

“This was a secret dream, that the movie would sell a lot of books… I’m completely delighted that people are walking out of the multiplex and into the bookstore.”

AND WHAT COULD BE BETTER?

As we launch into The Fourth of July weekend, we decided to consult with a few of our favorite bloggers and get some of their ideas for Summer 2009.  After reading the Q & A with these three style mavens,  I am certain you will be making plans of your own…

BLOGGER #1: Ronda Carman

Q & A with Ronda Carman, author of All The Best:

Do you have a fun, fabulous summer trip coming up? If so, where?

Now that we live in Scotland it’s possible for us to travel throughout Europe most of the year. When it comes to the summer, I most look forward to spending a month in Texas with family. It so nice to sit by the pool, watch the kids swim and gossip with my sisters. We will also be traveling to Berlin and end the summer with a trip to visit good friends in Barcelona.

What book is in your beach bag?

I am playing catch up this summer! Want to finally read Living Well Is the Best Revenge by Calvin Tomkins and Making It New: The Art and Style of Sara and Gerald Murphy by Deborah Rothschild.

What is your favorite summer activity?
Swimming. It’s so relaxing and it always reminds me of Slim Aarons’ fabulous photos.

What is your summer chic day wear and evening wear?

I adore Trina Turk for both day and evening. Her look epitomizes summer chic.

What are you serving your guests at picnics this summer?

New Potato and Green Bean Salad with fresh basil and balsamic dressing. It’s my favorite summertime salad from a 1994 issue of Bon Appetit.

New Potato & Green Bean Salad

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 clove  garlic – minced
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2  pounds small red-skinned potatoes – stems trimmed
3/4  pound fresh haricot verts or green beans – stems trimmed
1 small  red onion – coarsely chopped
1/3 cup fresh basil – julienned

For Dressing: Whisk first 5 ingredients in medium bowl. Gradually whisk in oil. Season to taste with coarse salt and fresh ground pepper. (Dressing can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature and whisk again before using.)

For Salad: Steam potatoes until tender. Cool; cut into quarters. Cook green beans in large pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Drain. Transfer beans to bowl of ice water and cool. Drain. Cut beans in half. Combine green beans, potatoes, onion and basil in large bowl.

Add dressing; toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper.

(Can be prepared 4 hours ahead; cover and let stand at room temperature.)

6 servings

THANKS RONDA!

Ronda Carman, Founder & Editor
All the Best – A Passport to Stylish Living

BLOGGER #2: Joni Webb

Q&A with Joni Webb, author of Côte de Texas:

Do you have a fun, fabulous summer trip coming up? If so, where?

Nothing fabulous – just our family tradition. We spend a month at the beach on South Padre Island, Texas – a six hour drive from Houston.  It’s at the southern most tip of  Texas, on the border of Mexico.   South Padre is a real laid back beach town with the prettiest beaches in  all of Texas and a strong Mexican vibe.   Staying in the state makes it easier for my husband to check in with work and his motto is, of course, “there’s no place like Texas.”

What book is in your beach bag?

Whatever new design book  that comes out that month.  And of course, all the latest design magazines and my laptop.   My laptop is glued to my hip.

What is your summer chic day wear and evening wear?

In the summer  – it’s all about white.  White linen shirts and white jeans or loose, white linen pants.  I accessorize with bold silver jewelry and turquoise.  Summer to me is white linen.  Day or night.

What are you serving your guests at picnics this summer?

Fried chicken and watermelon!   A true southern classic picnic.  And lemonade and iced tea  for drinks.

What is your favorite summer activity?

Laying on the beach, under the umbrella, napping or reading.   My next favorite activity is shelling.   I’ll probably be a wrinkled old prune one day, but at least, I would have enjoyed earning each and every line.

THANKS JONI!

Joni Webb, Webb Design
www.cotedetexas.blogspot.com

BLOGGER #3: Jennifer Boles

Q& A with Jennifer Boles, author of The Peak of Chic:

Do you have a fun, fabulous summer trip coming up? If so, where?

I have no summer trip planned this year, but for a very good reason.  I’ll be playing Mother to my Cavalier King Charles puppy.  Any trip would cause too much separation anxiety for the both of us!

What book is in your beach bag (or in this case bookshelf)?

My summer reads are:
“Nancy Cunard: Heiress, Muse, Political Idealist” by Lois Gordon
“Churchill’s Bunker: The Secret Headquarters at the Heart of Britain’s Victory” by Richard Holmes
“The Bolter” by Frances Osborne

What is your summer chic day wear and evening wear?

Summer chic day wear: white jeans, linen shirts and tunics, my gold Jack Rogers sandals
Summer chic evening wear: a coral colored patio dress, strappy Manolo Blahniks, and lots of Kenneth Jay Lane jewelry (Oh, and my Charlotte Moss ikat clutch!).

What are you serving your guests at picnics this summer?

I’ll be serving my guests cold fried chicken, curried couscous, peach pound cake, and lots of iced tea and chilled Domaine Tempier rosé.

What is your favorite summer activity?

My favorite summer activity is relaxing on the beach and reading.  As I won’t be at the beach this summer, I’ll settle on reading books out on my terrace while sitting in the shade- with a tall glass of iced tea, of course.

My summer reads are:

“Nancy Cunard: Heiress, Muse, Political Idealist” by Lois Gordon
“Churchill’s Bunker: The Secret Headquarters at the Heart of Britain’s Victory” by Richard Holmes
“The Bolter” by Frances Osborne

THANKS JENNIFER!

Jennifer Boles, The Peak of Chic
Musings on Stylish Living

BLOGGER #4: Heather Clawson

Q&A with Heather Clawson, author of Habitually Chic:

Do you have a fun, fabulous summer trip coming up? If so, where?

I wish!  I haven’t planned anything yet because now that I am out on my own I am always working but I have discussed visiting Versailles with another blogger, Stefan Hurray of Architect Design, since neither one of us has ever been.  I think I might get moving on that one!

What book is in your beach bag?

I already finished The Ex-Mrs. Hedgefund by Jill Kargman and Hedge Fund Wives by Tatiana Boncompagni, notice a theme?!  So the latest book in my bag is Lessons of a Lipstick Queen by Poppy King which is about how she started her lipstick brand and will hopefully be inspiring!

What is your summer chic day wear and evening wear?

During the day, I can usually be found in a white dress and flat sandals and for evening, I usually just add a pair of heels in a fun color.

What are you serving your guests at picnics this summer?

I love serving fresh mozzerella, tomatoes, and basil with prosciutto and a little olive oil along with Italian sparkling lemon water or chilled white wine!

What is your favorite summer activity?

I love nothing more than sitting on the beach all day reading a good book but when I am stuck in the city, I love checking out all the new museum exhibitions.

Heather Clawson, Habitually Chic Design (www.habituallychic.blogspot.com)

We know that there is no shortage of ideas in blogosphere – send us your comments, thoughts and suggestions to info@charlottemoss.com…And have a wonderful Fourth of July!

We don’t mind stopping traffic to get the perfect photograph or some inspiration – even at the risk of running into a few Vermont moose!

That’s how Charlotte got this great shot showing how an architect integrated wood storage into the design of this cabin -

Of course, you can get drive-by inspiration without having to stop traffic…check out the interior of this phone booth in the lobby of Charlotte’s hotel, Twin Farms, which was designed by the late Jed Johnson and Thad Hayes.

You thought you were making a simple phone call – and then noticed a little inspiration all around you!  This is a cool and affordable way to dress up a closet or a corner.A masterful & rustic tramp art buffet in the hotel sitting room – filled with ceramics by artisans of the region.  A great way to store dishes and show them off at the same time!

So, our “Drive-By Design” points:

• Decorate a closet or a corner with postcards…you can visit a museum shop for postcards of your favorite artists, paintings, or anything that excites you!
• What’s in your cupboard?  A collection of something that would be great to display?
• Not everyone can design their house especially to organize & show off logs, but the idea is to get organized – grab a basket or a bin and create your own outdoor still-life.
• Even the simplest things elegantly arranged can be an artful composition
• Great colors don’t just come from paintchips.  This barn picture reminds us of faded Nantucket red trousers….Look outside the paintbook to get inspired!