Birthday dinner

I co-hosted and cooked for a small birthday dinner last night for my dear friend Nancy. Nancy and I have been friends for about 13 years now and really enjoy each others company, have lots of laughs when we get together for friends. Our mutual friend Vicki hosted the party at her charming house in Shrewsbury and I did the cooking. I helped Vicki with her kitchen about 10 years ago in a complete gut/remodel and I think this is the first full meal that has been cooked there! Vicki is a busy career woman and is more prone to stop and pick something up in the evenings. But she was very interested in helping with the menu and learning a thing or two.
We set a simple but elegant menu of a fresh green salad to start followed by pork roast, brussels sprout and potatoes. We also decided a great cake from Cravings in Webster Groves would be better than anything I could ever make so we ordered that. Good call!

For the salad, I used a bag of good field greens and made a mustard/balsamic vinegarette dressing. I hardly ever buy salad dressing in a bottle anymore, they are so easy to make fresh as you need them. I just whisk together a tablespoon of good dijon mustard, teaspoon + of brown sugar, tablespoon of balsamic vinegar, salt & pepper and about 2 -3 tablespoons of good olive oil and I have a great dressing. A tip for dressing a salad - put the dressing in the bowl first, swirl around to coat the sides and then toss in your greens. This is a good way to coat the greens without clumping together. I added toasted walnuts, warm roasted grape tomatoes and medallions of herb encrusted grilled goat cheese on top. In the winter months I love to add warm ingredients to my salad, it is so comforting. The goat cheese is easy, cut a log into 1/2" rounds, dip in egg wash, dredge through breadcrumbs with herb de provence, salt & pepper and then chill in the fridge, covered, until ready to cook. Heat 1 - 2 tblsp of oil in a pan, really hot. Grill the goat cheese for about 1 minute on each side until golden brown and gooey on the inside. These are always a crowd pleaser!

For dinner, I just soaked my pork loin in a brine overnight, crucial to keep moist, rubbed with olive oil, salt and pepper, then roasted in my dutch oven with chunks of onion and dried mission figs. Roast at 375 until a meat thermometer reads 160- 165. Take and let rest for about 15 minutes. The pork should be just barely pink in the very center. No need to cook pork until sandpaper dry and dead like our mothers did! I spoon some of the juices and figs over the pork slices, delicious.

Toss your halfed brussels sprouts with olive oil, diced red pepper, finely chopped onion, partially cooked thick bacon, chopped into small bits, and salt & pepper. Either roast these in a 400 degree oven spread out on a cookie sheet or saute in a large pan until the olive oil carmelizes the edges darkly and the bacon is a little crispy. Trust me, even those who don't like brussels sprouts will love these! They are sweet and tangy.

Potato wedges tossed with olive oil, salt & pepper, finely chopped onion and herbs de provence get spread on a cookie sheet and roasted at 400 until the edges turn brown and crispy. perfect and easy.

Dinner was great, we sat at the table until 11 pm talking and laughing. To me, this is the perfect way to spend a birthday.

Have a seat!

Have a seat!

One of my most important goals when working with a client is to maximize the seating potential in the living room. All too often people, many decorators included, fall back on the sofa, loveseat, chair combo dropped smack in the middle of the room regardless of what the space is.

I was working with a delightful couple in St. Louis a few years ago when she asked me to take a look at her living room. It had been “done” by her previous decorator but never really felt finished. The room is a gracious 16’ X 28’ with a center fireplace and 4 large windows letting in lots of gorgeous light. The far end has French doors leading out to a screen porch. Sure enough, one sofa, two upholstered chairs and two small accent chairs were the only seating in this room and to make matters worse, the sofa and large chairs were upholstered a matching print fabric. The side chairs had garish pink satin upholstery. A large herringbone sisal rug did anchor the room nicely but left lots of wide open space.

The first thing to address was the layout. I left the sofa on the wall opposite the fireplace and the two large chairs flanking the hearth but recovered them in sky blue linen velvet for richness and contrast. A cozy faux bamboo ottoman ties these together. A new plush lounge chair in sumptuous leopard velvet epingle from France now sits by the sofa. I then banished the pink satin, replacing it with a small scale silk taffeta check. These two chairs now sit in front of the two front windows to be pulled into the room as needed. The open area in front of the French doors was ample to do a second seating area using a small scale tufted sofa in camel colored English wool damask. Two new Regency armchairs flank this sofa with an antique tea table in front. I salvaged the original fabric from the large chairs for new cushions on these chairs. These two seating areas work well independently as well as together for larger gatherings. And I upped the seating capacity by 5 -6 additional seats.

The next step was adding some texture, pattern and color in the form of area rugs under each seating group. These sit directly on top of the flat sisal and really add dramatic detail. The larger Turkish rug was chosen to contrast the light yellow walls and sofa, pulling out the deeper colors from the sofa print. The smaller antique Persian rug is an unexpected contrast with intricate patterns, vivid colors and rich feel. These are a perfect example of two items not matching but totally complimenting each other.

Last, I banished the “circus tent” curtains! The colors may have been a “perfect” match but often that only leads to disaster. The skimpy panels on too low rods had bright gold painted finials. All in all, too bright, too cheap, too matchy. I searched for about 4 months to find the perfect softly colored silk taffeta stripe that would complement the room’s colors but not overtake the whole. I had my workroom take the curtains all the way to the ceiling for height and added fullness. A total of 60 yards went into these but the end result is soft, warm and elegant. A custom made trim finishes these perfectly.

My client was absolutely thrilled with the end results. Over time, we upgraded lamps, accessories and artwork. This is a room always being tweaked and added to, the way great rooms in great homes are.