Christmas China

Christmas comes to Linderhof slowly now

Thanksgiving weekend is not a hectic week

madly decorating every nook and cranny.

But rather a time for family,

A time for friends

But on Sunday,

we do set up the Advent Wreath

(for it is the first of the four Sundays before Christmas)

and light the candle

And say a prayer

And . . . 

we bake the very first of the Christmas cookies

Usually Christmas tree cutouts sprinkled with green sugar

This year however we made gingerbread cutouts

And . . . 

We bring out the Christmas china

Eleven months of the year it lives in the top corner cabinet in the kitchen

Way up on top where they are out of the way

Come the first Sunday in Advent

We climb a ladder and swap them out for our beloved Indies breakfast china

So that it's handy for the month of December

Because (unless we're eating soup) that's our china of choice for breakfast, lunch and dinner

Most of it is Royal Dolton Tartan

8 cups, saucers and plates bought on a long ago trip to England and the Royal Dolton potteries

(for the amazing sum of $8)

We added 4 more of each along the line for 12 seemed a better number

And because Royal Dolton Tartan was so expensive and we decided we needed dessert/salad plates,

we bought Lenox Holiday

We started with 12 but friend Shirley Ann pointed out that you really need 24

If you have a houseful for dessert, you'll have enough plates

If you serve both salad and dessert at a Christmas dinner party, the extra plates will come in handy.

It's always good to use the Christmas china again.

It's like an old friend who returns for a visit!

The Prophecy Candle

Light One Candle for hope,

one bright candle for hope,

He brings hope to every heart,

He comes!  He comes!

Everything Has a Story -- A Curved Glass China Cabinet It Only Took 45 Years

 Our dining room

Before

To the left of the window is an Asian chest

which we bought about 13 years ago

Supposedly it is an antique

I think once upon a time buyers would go to China

and buy anything old looking and ship it back

(or buy anything that the Chinese said was old and ship it back)

And it was sold as "antique"

It held my china

And I have lots

It kept it behind closed doors

A look that I liked at one time

Some of my silver napkin rings ringed the top

Sometimes, however, you want change

And I decided that I would like people to see my pretty china

So I started a quest to find a china cabinet

There were "rules"

in my quest

a - it had to be old

b - it had to "make a statement"

(for the Asian cabinet did)

c - it had to be reasonably priced

(No $3,000 cabinets for me!)

I trolled Craig's List

Clear up to Nebraska

(although how I would have gotten it home, I'm not sure)

And found a couple

In that $2,000 to $3,000 price range!

And a lot of "cheap", "new" versions of

a curved glass oak china cabinet

I did find one locally

Old

But didn't make a statement except it was really tall

And it was $1,000

(which was a little more than I thought it was worth!)

And then on Facebook . . . 

I see this picture

OMG, I say to myself

That looks really neat!

And then they posted the second picture

"Perfect" I thought

The pictures were advertising a farm auction (which also included household goods)

on Black Friday

The forecast for Black Friday -- rain!

The pictures of the furniture were inside

So I thought the sale (at least of the furniture) would be inside!

Wrong!

The forecast was right!

It started raining Thanksgiving night

And it was raining Friday morning

"Wrap up well and layer"

Husband Jim said to me as I headed out

(But the furniture is going to be inside the house, I thought, as I also grabbed my

needlepoint which should occupy me while I waited for the item to come up for bid)

I did grab a coat, and wore a long sleeve turtleneck and a cardigan

But I also wore my everyday crocs

Parking was hazardous

for it a sea of mud

And I almost got stuck in the mud leading into the designated parking

But I got myself free

And found parking on wet but solid ground further up.

The auction, I learned, was all in a shed down the way

And so I sloshed through puddles and mud to the shed where all the household merchandise was

And there . . . 

Leaning against the wall was that cabinet

More magnificent than the picture showed

For it had claw feet!

I sighed!

$1,000 thought I

The other one in Fort Scott was $1,000

This was a much better piece

And so I set that as my limit

Of course, the furniture was not first

The "little" household goods were.

The rain pouring outside

The ground in the shed getting muddy in spots

I found a chair and proceeded to needlepoint

But it was cold

My hands were cold

My body was cold

And my feet were freezing

For beside regular crocs, I wore no socks!

I put aside the needlepoint,

tucked my hands inside my sleeves

But there was no warmth for my toes

Which were freezing!

The crowd was small

Few women for it was a farm auction

(read tractors and bailers and tools)

But I did watch many come and look at my cabinet

Finally, they started on the furniture

And it went cheap

Really cheap

There were few antiques

And what was there was not in prime condition

Finally, they got to the china cabinet

"$500" said the auctioneer

"who'll give me $500"

no one did

"$300, who'll give me $300"

no one did

So I jumped in with a hundred dollar bid

And I had someone bidding against me

Then someone else bidding against me

It rose quickly at $25 intervals

But then at $200, I had the bid

And no one else bid any more!

It was mine!

I had made previous arrangements to have it brought home

if I was successful

So I called and set the time for pick up and delivery

And then I slogged through the mud and mire and rain

Got a big cup of cocoa

Sat in the car with the heater on high

And thawed from the inside out!

And finally it was delivered

Looking more perfect than I thought

A nicer piece than I thought I would ever get

I had unloaded the Asian chest while I waited for delivery

The dining room was piled high in china

As tempted as I was to begin "playing" with my new toy

The old glass had been out in the cold all day

And I didn't want it to crack

So I let it get adjusted to the warmth of the house

This morning, after breakfast,

I got to play . . . 

And everything fit into the cabinet

(with the exception of the silver trays which I knew would not)

And before lunch it looked like this!

The Aynsley Pembroke plates are on the lower shelf on the left

Grandmother's Noritake plates are on the right

And platters are in between

Grandmother's Noritake is on the shelf above

(as well as some lovely little odd white with gold trimmed cups and saucers that I adore)

Miscellaneous bowls and plates are on the next shelf

The Aynsley Pembroke is on the fourth shelf up

While the top shelf holds the partial set of

white with gold trim Old Paris that I got for a song

here in Fort Scott

My silver napkin rings ring the top of the china cabinet

While crystal pitchers and the silver coffee urn are also on the top

Husband Jim decided that the cabinet was my Anniversary Present

I adore it!

I only wish he could have attended the auction with me

(but he's home recovering from surgery

and so I had to "go it alone")

The new look in the dining room with the china cabinet on the left

(The middle table was changed out eons ago and the mirror dispensed with --

It's an civil war era dining room piece and holds the tea service and punch bowl nicely)

The dining room as you see from the front door --

It's decorated for late November

with colorful mums in the epergne

And the turkey salt and pepper on the sideboard

The Story of "Why Forty-five Years"

We celebrated our 46th Anniversary on Thanksgiving

When we were first married we had little money

And so our furniture purchases were "used" furniture

Mostly golden oak which was just "used" at that time

rather than the antique it did become.

And I so wanted then a curved glass china cabinet

Really, really bad

And "plain" ones

(not as fancy as the one I got)

were $100

which was a lot of money in 1969/70

We really couldn't afford it

And I never got one

Not even a plain one

So forty-five years later,

I finally got my curved glass china cabinet

And I am elated!

It is a statement piece

It does hold all my china

(but I'm not sure how much more it would hold --

which Jim thinks is a good thing)

And the price was definitely right!

I smile as I walk through the dining room and see the cabinet

And I shall never forget that "Black Friday" when I bought the cabinet

in the rain and the cold and how miserable I was

waiting for it to come up for bid!

It will always remind me of cold and rain!

And when I walk past it, I get shivers
From excitement
Or remembering the cold and the rain?

Husband Jim likes the piece

(He had only seen the picture)

And was only too happy to gift me with the china cabinet for our anniversary.

It was one of the best anniversary presents ever!

And as my son-in-law's Aunt Jo said

"I think china cabinets are one of my most favorite things.    

they are usually full of memories and family stories of great times past."

A Dual Holiday -- Thanksgiving and Anniversary

Thanksgiving at Linderhof was a quiet affair

Just Husband Jim and I

For he is recovering from surgery

So we chose a

"Home Alone"

Thanksgiving

But this year

It was also our 46th Anniversary

Thanksgiving food won out over Anniversary food

And we had a traditional Thanksgiving dinner

In the dining room

And as our marriage is two people who become one

Our Thanksgiving table reflects that melding of two families

My mother's water glasses

His grandmother's cutlery

The bread tray celebrating a 25th anniversary in 1914

Napkin rings which he bought for a gift

In fact, it was two of the very first ones I got when I started collecting

Belonging to Abe and Dora

A couple's napkin rings

for an Anniversary Thanksgiving Dinner

The plates are Spode Festival

While the bread and butter plates are Queesware

And Thanksgiving is turkey

Turkey to eat

Turkey for the cranberry sauce

Turkey salt and peppers

A big tom holding a bouquet of fall flowers

The salt and peppers and centerpiece I got the second year we were married

At a dimestore in downtown Kansas City

for less than $5!

We've had them ever since!

(And I found a second flower holder but then I like things in pairs!)

Our places at the head and foot of the table

The feast spread between us

The glass turkey

(one of a pair, naturally)

holding cranberry sauce

And the wee turkey holding pepper

A casserole of dressing

(Which is what we call it whether it is inside or outside the turkey)

Our plate of Thanksgiving food

Most of it from my childhood Thanksgivings

And after dinner

But not after pie

We were too full!

The dishes are done and stacked on the breakfast room table

That's a tradition too

For usually someone helps with the dishes

And not knowing where they go they get piled up somewhere

For the hostess to put away later.

It wouldn't seem like Thanksgiving without clean dishes on a table

ready to be put away!

Dinner tonight will also not be an anniversary dinner

It will be Thanksgiving leftovers

My favorite

A turkey sandwich and cold glass of milk!

We'll celebrate this weekend or next week!

In hindsight, I'm not sure I would have gotten married on the day before Thanksgiving

Because every few years our anniversary and Thanksgiving fall on the same day.

I am a romantic

And turkey and all the trimmings doesn't seem "romantic" enough for me!

But it is what it is

And I'm happy to be celebrating 46 with the love of my life.

Over the river and through the woods,
To grandmother's house we go;
The horse knows the way to carry the sleigh,
Through (the) white and drifted snow!

Over the river and through the woods,
Oh, how the wind does blow!
It stings the toes and bites the nose,
As over the ground we go.

Over the river and through the woods,
To have a first-rate play;
Oh, hear the bells ring, "Ting-a-ling-ling!"
Hurrah for Thanksgiving Day!

Over the river and through the woods,
Trot fast, my dapple gray!
Spring over the ground,
Like a hunting hound!
For this is Thanksgiving Day. 

Over the river and through the woods,
And straight through the barnyard gate.
We seem to go extremely slow
It is so hard to wait!

Over the river and through the woods,
Now Grandmother's cap I spy!
Hurrah for the fun! Is the pudding done?
Hurrah for the pumpkin pie!

We at Linderhof wish you and yours

A very blessed Thanksgiving!

A Thanksgiving Eve Tea

It's quiet this year at Linderhof

Thanksgiving will be just Husband Jim and I

celebrating and giving thanks

that his surgery is done and that he is healing

And we will be celebrating our

46th Anniversary as well

Had I given some thought 46 years ago, I'm not sure I would have gotten married

Thanksgiving week!

But . . . 

it is what it is!

This afternoon, however,

after the pumpkin pie was in the oven

after the cranberry sauce was made

I had a couple of friends over for tea

In the breakfast room

Touches of fall

the compote of fall fruits

(apples and pears)

The "new" old turkey salt and pepper

Because on Thanksgiving Eve there should always be

a turkey on the table!

These have a story

Replacements for the ones I misplaced

that I bought in 1970

When we celebrated

our first anniversary

with a Thanksgiving Dinner!

I also bought a centerpiece turkey which matches.

The original salt and peppers somehow got misplaced over the years

But I found them this year on eBay and bought them back!

These I won't put in such a "good" place!

They'll go with their big brother centerpiece

(and the companion one I found years later for pennies --

but then I like things in pairs!)

The nosh for a Thanksgiving Eve Tea?

Cookies

Fall cookies

Decorated fall cookies

Alas, not mine

but bought from Friends Lori and Rosemary

Who make them for a fundraiser that's held at our Middle School right before Thanksgiving

Fall turkeys, fall cookies

on my beloved blue and white

For a Thanksgiving Eve Tea

Looking for the Perfect Key Lime Pie

The first three weeks of November

we spent in Key West

At a wonderful house with this wonderful view

And a pretty sunset every evening!

On this trip to Key West

I decided that I would find the

perfect

Key Lime Pie

 Key Limes

Found on the Florida Keys

Little limes, these

And every restaurant has Key Lime Pie on their menu

It was my duty to find the best!

Happy Tales

Not a restaurant but a place that sells frozen Key Lime Pie

The Fish Camp at Geiger Key Marina

Topped with whipped cream and a lime wedge

(but a Persian lime wedge!)

Pepe's

More whipped cream, 

Another wedge of Persian Lime

And a cinnamon graham cracker crust

Pincher's

A bit of whipped cream, a really creamy pie

And another Persian lime wedge

Latitudes

The first pie with meringue

Presentation was A+

DaVinci's

A real cheesecake instead of Key Lime pie

And you don't need to go to Florida for Key Lime Pie

For stores even in our little town has Key Lime Juice for sale

and in January

You can find bags of Key limes in the market

And if you want, 

You can use regular Persian limes in your pie

The recipe is a simple one:

Crust:

1 1/2 cups finely ground graham cracker crumbs (from about 10 crackers)

3 T. sugar

2 pinches salt

7 T. butter, melted

Filling:

3 large egg yolks

14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk

2/3 c. fresh lime juice

For the crust, combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and salt into a medium bowl and stir until mixed.    Add butter and stir until crumbs are evenly coated.     Press crumbs into the bottom and up the sides of a standard 9 inch pie dish.     Bake at 350 until lightly browned, about 10 minutes.    Set on cooling rack while you make your filling.     

For the filling:   Beat egg yolks with an electric mixer until pale and thick, about 5 minutes.    Add sweetened condensed milk and beat until thickened again, about 3 minutes more.     Whisk the lime juice into the yolk mixture until combined.     Pour into graham cracker crust and bake pie for another 10 minutes, until set but not browned on top at all.     Let pie cool.    Top with sweetened whipped cream if you want.

And I would add the zest of those limes that you juiced although most of the pies that we ate didn't have any zest in them.

Oh, and I bet you're wondering which one won?     I must admit that no two pies tasted alike.    Oh, they were all lime but some were sweeter than others, one did add cinnamon to the crust (which I didn't care for).    

The winner?

Fish Tales!

The very first one!

And this winter, when it's cold and snowy outside

And there are Key limes in the market

I shall make a Key Lime pie

and have happy thoughts about our trip to Key West

(and wish I was there once again!)

Cranberries -- They're Not Just for Sauce!

I adore cranberries

But then I adore tart fruits

Rhubarb and Gooseberries

The cranberries disappear from the market sometime in January

(and often at reduced prices)

And I buy many packages to tuck into the freezer

Because they freeze so well!

But cranberries aren't just for sauce for the Thanksgiving turkey

or pork or chicken

And everyone knows cranberry bread and cranberry muffins

Recipes for those treats abound in cookbooks and on the internet

And I make them at least once during late fall or early winter

Cranberry muffins are perfect for breakfast

while cranberry bread is a great nosh for tea!

But then cranberries make great desserts, too!

 Angel Meringue Tort with Cranberry Jubilee

It's not the whole dessert -- just the topping but it is full of cranberry flavor!

Cranberry thumbprint cookies 

A delicious use for leftover cranberry sauce

Makes for nice early December tea treats!

Cranberry Trifle

A pretty dessert and we just love trifles.    The creamy sweet whipped cream and the tart cranberry combine together to make a smashing dessert!

Pumpkin Cranberry Coffeecake

I've had this recipe for 20 years or more and at least one of these comes out of the kitchen every November!    It's a great cake for breakfast, dessert or tea!     

It is truly one reason that I stock up on pumpkin in November and cranberries in January

Ina Garten's Pear, Apple and Cranberry Crisp

Cranberries are a fruit and fruits make great crisps.    Especially when you serve it with a pour of cream!

Cranberry Tart

I adore tarts and often make them as individuals when I have company.

There's just something nicer, I think with individual tarts rather than one big one

But you certainly can make this tart as one large one.

Cranberry Cake with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

We all know how well cranberries go into breads and muffins

Well, they go into cake too!

And cranberry and orange is one of those marriages of the mouth1

The frosting "makes" the cake!

Cranberry Spice Cake

Another great cranberry cake

For dessert or tea

And it keeps well, too!

Orange Cranberry Coffee Cake

The recipe calls for a 9 x 13 but I like to make them in round tins

One for us for breakfast and perhaps one for a Christmas gift

It's a great coffee cake and would make a good addition to your Thanksgiving or Christmas morning buffet!

Cranberry Crumb Tart

From one of my culinary heroes, Anna Pump

It's a great dessert in November and December

Heck, it's a great dessert anytime

(Especially if you have those little packages of cranberries in the freezer)

Mary's Pear and Cranberry Upside Down Cake

One of Husband Jim's favorite desserts is pineapple upside down cake

I'm not sure if it's the cake or the topping of butter, brown sugar and fruit!

Pears and cranberries seem to have an infinity for one another

And this cake, says Husband Jim, ranks right up there with the pineapple one!

We'll enjoy some of these treats as 2015 winds to an end.

In fact, I cannot think of an autumn the last 20 years that we haven't had the pumpkin cranberry coffeecake!

And I know that husband Jim will petition for the upside down cake!

THE Birthday Cake

When we first first married

And I was learning my way around the kitchen

Husband Jim mentioned to me this cake

This cake that he loved

Now, I'm not sure why a teacher brought a cake to school,

but they did

And Jim loved it so much that he asked for the recipe

And although I've never asked

I think it was in high school that he first had a taste of

RED VELVET CAKE

I'm sure at the time it must have been a new recipe

But his mother did make it for him

And he declared that his favorite cake!

Then I married him

And the red velvet cake story became lore

So I asked for the recipe

Which his fourteen year old sister provided

Two ounces, the recipe said, two ounces of red food coloring

I was sure that must be wrong

(In her fourteen year old wisdom she had wrote ounces instead of drops)

for I had only bought food coloring in the multipacks

For tinting cake frosting and make Easter egg dye

So I put in two drops

It was a light pink

So I added more

Still pink

Then I put in all of that small bottle

Still pink!

That first cake

was not 

red velvet

but

pink velvet!

But it tasted good

And when we next saw Sister (and Mom) we asked about it

Yep, Mom said, you had to buy a whole bottle of red food coloring

And that bottle was two ounces!

I bought the bottle, made another cake

And Husband Jim realized one of the reasons he married me

I can cook!

From that very first "pink" velvet cake

To the latest "red" velvet one

We've always made on for Jim's birthday

It's a tradition!

(As much so as the Halloween Chili or Sarah's birthday lasagna!)

The cake in all it's pre candle glory!

Love the layers of red and white!

 A glorious red!

And ablaze with candles

For the birthday boy!

I've made a few changes in the recipe over the years --

The original one called for Crisco as the frosting fat as does the cake itself

I now use real butter

What was an obscure little cake recipe for so many years

Has all of a sudden become a very popular cake

Often seen on restaurant menus!

It's a good cake

And over the years, we've made it a Christmas cake

Tinting half of the frosting red 

And half of the frosting green

So that when you cut into it, it was red and green and white!

The cake has gotten so popular that they now make a cake mix version

And different colors, even, besides red

(I think I saw a box of blue velvet the last time I went to the super market)

Jim's Red Velvet Cake

1 cup vegetable shortening
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 t. cocoa
2 ounces red food coloring
2 1/2 cups cake flour
1 t. salt
1 c. buttermilk
1 t. vanilla
1 t. baking soda
1 t. vinegar

Preheat oven to 350.

In the bowl of a mixer, cream together the shortening, eggs and sugar. In a separate small bowl, mix together the cocoa and food coloring. Add the paste to the shortening mixture. Sift the flour and salt together. Add to the batter alternately with the buttermilk in 3 additions. Add the vanilla extract. Fold in the baking soda and vinegar. Pour the batter into 2 greased 9 inch cake pans. Bake for 30 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Let cool on a cooling rack.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING:

1 pound cream cheese at room temperature
3 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1 t. vanilla
1/2 t. almond extract
1 1/2 pounds powdered sugar, sifted

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, on low speed, cream together the cream cheese, butter, vanilla and almond extracts. Add the powdered sugar and mix until smooth.

To assemble cake. Put one layer on cake plate, put frosting on top. Place second layer on top. Frost top and sides of cake.

Thanksgiving Accroutrements

I don't "theme" a lot

Really, I don't

But in November, it seems to be

"Turkey Time" 

at Linderhof

Perhaps it is my way of ignoring

all of the Christmas

in the stores in November

But they are a slowly collected lot of turkeys

That sometimes end up on the table during the whole month of November

Not just that 4th Thursday!

It all started in 1970

When I bought this guy

At the dime store

He's made in Japan

And quite handsome I thought

He holds flowers sometimes

Ten or so years later, I found another

just like him

At a garage sale

for probably 50 cents

I like things in pairs

And so I bought it!

My love of blue and white dishes

And my love of my Christmas China

And my love of antiques

found me lusting after "Turkey" china

Oh, the "real" turkey plates from before the turn of the century

Especially the blue and white ones

Had me salvatating!

And searching on eBay --

Where I found

Eight Spode Festival plates

Reasonably priced

And I felt that I could fill in with my other blue and white

(And if hard pressed and with a lot of company, I could use them with my other blue and white plates in say, July!)

Never go to T. J. Maxx

for the next year

I found these plates by Myott.    They're English made

They're blue and white

They have a turkey in the middle

And they were only $15 for 4 plates

I bought 2 boxes!

Now, I had 16 turkey plates

And with more than 16 guests, I can still fill in with my other Spode!

I decided I needed a "turkey" platter

I have a couple of turkey platters

But not a turkey platter

Spode Festival

From Ebay

And like the other turkey dishes, it can fill in if needed anytime of the year

when I use my blue and white!

My last purchase

Which is not very turkey-ish

For the turkey is inside and would be covered by gravy

But there is always gravy at Thanksgiving

I didn't have a blue and white gravy boat

And like the other turkey dishes . . . 

I can use it all year long

(and often do!)

It's a pretty Thanksgiving table

With the blue and white

And I like the fact that I can use my regular blue and white serving dishes

for a cohesive table!

Years ago

At a garage sale I'm sure,

before the turkey china, and

before Martha Stewart featured them

And before Williams-Sonoma sold them

I bought two of the heavy clear glass turkeys

They make a great container for cranberry sauce

And look festive

And make the table (with plain ordinary china) more Thanksgiving-ish!

Alas, when I bought that first turkey in 1970

I also bought

The matching salt and pepper shakers

Turkey "centerpiece"

Salt and pepper shakers on each side

I'm not a salt and pepper shaker collector

But mother always had a couple of "holiday" salt and peppers

that made our table more festive

(for she had one set of good china which was used not only for holidays

but for Sunday dinner as well)

I cannot find them.

I do remember seeing them several years ago

(putting them away because I felt they were too "kitch=y" and not "sophisticated" enough)

But where, I do not know!

So now I'm on a hunt

To find either my originals

or a replacement pair.

I feel that they need to be on the Thanksgiving table again!

From a Thanksgiving for two

To a Thanksgiving with 30 guests,

It's down to two again!

But I fix a "real meal"

turkey 

dressing

mashed potatoes

gravy

homemade cranberry sauce

green beans

(although this year I think I'll do Brussels sprouts)

rolls

And pumpkin pie

(with real whipped cream)

The turkeys will be on the table

And in our tummy

On Thanksgiving Day!

Wish me luck on finding the salt and peppers

And any salt and pepper won't do

They have to match the turkey centerpiece!