Soup and Salad

Friday night when we had the young folks over for dinner and games, I wanted a casual table since I would be serving soup and salad. I knew we would be more comfortable in the dining room, since my breakfast nook table is kind of small, but the fine china and silver would not have been appropriate.

I used woven plaid placemats and napkins that I bought a couple of years ago at market, topping the placemats with Johnson Brothers Old Britain Castles Pink dinner plates that really functioned as chargers. The salad was served on the square salad plates from the Old Britain Castles set, but I don't have soup bowls for those dishes, so I served the soup in bowls from my Mikasa Italian Countryside.

My stainless is from a set that I ordered from Neiman-Marcus about five or six years ago. I paid under $100, and it came with 12 dinner forks, 12 dinner knives, 12 soup spoons, 24 teaspoons and 24 salad/dessert forks, plus serving pieces. It's called Hotel Flatware, and each piece is a different pattern. It's really nice having extra teaspoons and salad/dessert forks.

The three chickens in the centerpiece are very versatile. At Christmas they become the Three French Hens when I decorate with a French country look. At Easter I put them on grass and scatter dyed eggs around them. Friday night I set them on a tray and surrounded them with votive candles. I bought these at market from IMAX, which is a line carried by a lot of shops.

Dinner was a favorite soup recipe called Cowboy Stew, which is quick and easy to make, and a tossed salad. And don't forget the cornbread, cooked in a cast iron skillet. For dessert we had lemon meringue pie. Yummmm.

You can find more wonderful tablescape ideas at Between Naps on the Porch. It's hosted by Susan, and I'm always amazed at what some of these creative bloggers come up with.