The Flowers of Tiffany & Co.

Years ago, Tiffany & Co. used to have the loveliest floral print china. Tulip lovers and wildflower fans alike could find a pattern that struck their fancies. That must be a thing of the past because a recent search on their website yielded only one such pattern.

I admit that if I were allowed to have only one china pattern, it would not be floral. I would have to choose a Chinoiserie pattern. However, I do find floral patterns to be very charming. Can't you see using floral print dinner plates for a Spring or Summer dinner party or ladies lunch? What about serving dessert on a set of flowery dessert plates? A berry dessert would look lovely against the backdrop of delicate flowers.

I realize that to some, floral china looks old-fashioned. And in a way, it does, but that's the charm of it. I searched the internet high and low for photos of discontinued Tiffany & Co. floral china, and if you ask me, I don't think any of the patterns look old nor stodgy.




I've always loved Sybil Connolly's Mrs. Delany's Flowers for Tiffany & Co. The black background is a nice twist.






Tiffany Tulips




Fleurettes, Tiffany Private Stock





Wildflowers





Famille Noir





Tiffany Garden



Image at top: Tiffany's Biedermeier earthenware; photo from Tiffany Taste; the other two tabletop photos from New Tiffany Table Settings.

Lee Bailey at Henri Bendel

I used to find it odd that there are people who buy cookbooks solely for the purpose of reading them. Actually preparing the recipes is beside the point. Strangely enough, I have now found myself as one of "those people." It's not that I don't want to cook, but I truly have no time! If there were 27 hours in a day, well, then maybe.

Some of my favorite cookbooks to read are those by the late, great Lee Bailey. His recipes look delicious, and I'm even planning to take a stab at his Rigodon soon. (It's a chicken custard with brioche topping.) But what really gives me great pleasure are the books' photos of Bailey's marvelously chic tablesettings. By the looks of the photographs, Bailey obviously preferred china, glassware, and linen that was minimal, slightly casual, not fussy, and enormously stylish. For someone with a background in design, Bailey knew the importance of creating atmosphere for one's dinner parties. He also knew that food looks its best against a simple setting.

Bailey once had a noted food and accessories shop within Bendel's (back before it was bought by The Limited) that later moved to Saks. People still talk and write about his boutique today- almost twenty-five years after it closed! It must have really been something, and I regret that childhood was what kept me from knowing anything at the time about Lee Bailey or his shop.

In the book Lee Bailey's Good Parties, Bailey included photos of some of his favorite china, glassware, flatware, and kitchen tools and gadgets, some of which were available for purchase at his Bendel's shop. Below, I'm showing just some of the items that were sold at Bailey's shop. Even if many of us never got the chance to see it in person, perhaps we can get a little taste of what the magic must have been like.





Stainless steel all-purpose pots by Opa.




A Perfect Fish measure.




Left, a 12 1/4" Stainless Steel buffet plate by Bailey-Bannett Inc. At right, an 11" khaki porcelain dinner plate by Taitu for Lee Bailey.




Matte white Japanese flatware.




Chef Master plastic-handled flatware with nonstick Chefcoat.




Bailey-Bannett Inc. stainless steel dessert bowl and saucer.




Lee Bailey all-purpose bistro glass.




Taitu burgundy/brown porcelain dinner plate.


All images from Lee Bailey's Good Parties.

That Rascal-y Radish

Hip and cool is something that I most definitely am not. The things that I like aren't cool, the music that I listen to isn't hip, and the movies that I watch are old, old, old! Anyway, any attempt at being cool would be dashed by my posts on my likes and dislikes. And the like that we'll discuss here today is...radishes.

Quite frankly, I'm not big on the taste of radishes, especially if they're too hot. (Some radishes even taste like dirt. Well, to me at least.) China, linen, and porcelain with radishes on them, on the other hand, never fail to whet my appetite. It's an odd thing to like, I know, and I have no earthly idea why this City Girl would be taken with of all things a root vegetable. Really, who knew that radishes could be so haute cuisine?





Raynaud's Villandry Radish Dessert Plate



Embroidered Radish napkins by OKA Direct.




Look at these vintage Marghab napkins that were sold at auction. Tiny radishes, peas, and carrots were held together by a yellow ribbon.




This is one of my trompe l'oeil pieces. I admit that the radishes and carrots don't look terribly realistic, but the green onions look pretty good.





A Royal Vienna radish plate from around 1760.




Seeing that I can't do this kind of needlework, this placemat kit won't work for me, but I do find it charming.

Image at top: My Porthault hand towels have radishes and other veggies on them.

Jamee Gregory and New York Parties

Fall is a great time to curl up with a book on entertaining. After all, at some point in the next few months, you'll be entertaining whether it's for Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas, or New Year's. I just got through reading a really great book that gives the reader a behind the scenes look at how some of Manhattan's tastemakers entertain. New York Parties: Private Views by Jamee Gregory profiles parties and dinners held at the homes of Tory Burch, Michael Kors, Jamie Drake, and others. Jamee is the perfect person to pen such a book. She knows a lot about entertaining, she's a popular guest at said parties and dinners (no surprise as she's incredibly nice and down to earth), and she knows how to write a great book. Her first book, New York Apartments, is a favorite of mine.




Jamee was kind enough to chat with me last week about her book and the subject of entertaining. When asked why write a book on entertaining, Jamee responded that she wanted to document all of the great parties that she was attending. Parties by their nature are ephemeral, so she wanted to be able to give them some sense of permanency. And when asked why New York, she replied that New York hosts and hostesses often pull out all of the stops. Thank goodness there are still people who have the time, energy, and desire (and, okay, the means) to entertain at home.




Food, of course, is one of the most important components to successful entertaining, but Jamee stressed in both the book and in our interview that it does not have to be elaborate. Case in point? Tory Burch hosted a luncheon for her staff in which she served Greek take-out. And Michael Kors ordered lobster rolls from a neighborhood restaurant for his outdoor summer party. That said, Jamee also feels that it helps to know something about food. Even if you're not cooking the meal, you'll have an easier job of planning the menu if you have some epicurean knowledge.




Now on to tablesettings. Again, Jamee says there is no one way to do it. Mix and match your china. Use high and low. Yes, there is a lot of amazing tableware in this book: Herend, antique Sevres, Christofle. But you'll also see a few things from CB2 and Pier 1. There is even a Hunt Breakfast featured in which, because it's outdoors, the napkins are paper and the glassware is plastic. That's the ultimate high and low, and it totally works.




I asked Jamee if she had a signature dish that she enjoyed serving. It's a dessert prepared by Glorious Foods, and, according to Jamee, it's gaspingly beautiful. Around the edge of a large silver platter are dark chocolate dipped strawberries that rest in pink spun sugar, and in the middle is a meringue nest with both peppermint and chocolate sorbets. A chocolate sauce is served on the side. I'm dying to see this for myself because it sounds pretty magnificent. Jamee made sure to say, though, that a dessert like this needs to be served where appropriate, i.e. the city. In the country, one would want to serve a dessert that is more, well, country. She suggested a strawberry rhubarb cobbler with frozen vanilla yogurt. For those of us who want to try our hands at the city version of the dessert, Jamee thought that meringue molds (which can be bought at bakeries and grocery stores) piled with strawberries, mint, whip cream, and sorbet (with Hershey's chocolate sauce on the side) would be a great substitution.




For those people who don't entertain often or who are just starting out, Jamee recommends serving something fun like Chicken Curry that can be prepared ahead of time and served in a pretty casserole. (Preparing dishes ahead of time is a true life-saver.) You could then serve all of the appropriate accompaniments- coconut, chutnies, etc.- in small dishes. Sounds good to me.





Finally, for a few of Jamee's no-no's. Don't experiment with a new dish the night of a party. (You'd be amazed at how many people do this. Rarely does it turn out well.) No scented candles on the dining table. Unscented votive candles on the table or buffet, though, cast a nice glow. And if you have a few guests who stay beyond the witching hour and who don't seem to want to leave, you should yawn to give guests the hint. If that doesn't work, plan B is to say, politely of course, that it's getting late and you have an early morning to face.

So, if you'll excuse me (yawn), I have an early morning to face.




(All photos courtesy of New York Parties: Private Views by Jamee Gregory; Eric Striffler photographer; Rizzoli, October 2010)

The China Syndrome

I need more china like I need a hole in my head. But still, I can always come up with justification for just one more pattern. The one I've been smitten with as of late is Tiffany's "Framboise Rose". The pattern was part of Tiffany's Private Stock, meaning it was hand-painted in France and...that it was very pricey. Not an issue, though, as I believe the pattern has been discontinued. It's odd, really, that I'm even drawn to this pattern. You have to admit that the pattern is pretty feminine, and I tend to prefer more "gender neutral" china. I do like the color pink, though not so much on my table with the exception of flowers and linen. And floral patterned china is not my cup of tea, although the "Framboise Rose" doesn't scream floral- at least to me. I guess the reason is as simple as the fact that the china is really beautiful. That Van Day Truex designed it doesn't hurt either, although I didn't learn this tidbit of info until after I had fallen for the pattern.

I've culled a few images of the china in situ. In almost every photo, the china has been placed on pink table linen. Way too sugary for me. I don't mind being in the pink, but this is just too rosy for me. I'd probably mix "Framboise Rose" with plain, masculine flatware and sleek crystal. And for the table linen, I'd choose a color or even a print that might give the china an edge. Can't you see it on a solid aubergine or prunelle linen cloth? What about mossy green? Even saffron might work. Maybe one of these days I'll get the chance to experiment with my very own "Framboise Rose".


"Framboise Rose" in the frescoed dining room of Earl Blackwell.



On the table of Mrs. Guilford Dudley, "Framboise Rose" holds court with Rock Cut crystal candlesticks and those fabulous (and famous) Baccarat decanters, both of which were also designed by Truex.


Denning and Fourcade must have liked the pattern too. As this is a mouthful, I'm going to quote: "A mahogany cellarette is placed before a trompe l'oeil window composed of a nineteenth-century Chinese panel painting whose summer palace garden is framed by lavish Napoleon III Aubusson tapestry portieres complete with deep valance and gold lace inner blind." Whew!


All that pink is excused here since it's a Valentine's Dinner. How extravagant to use those Peretti silver mesh scarf necklaces as napkin rings.

(Image #1 from The Tiffany Wedding; all others from The New Tiffany Table Settings; both books by John Loring)

At Home with Wedgwood

Recently, I was thinking about my favorite Tiffany & Co. tablesetting books from the 1980s and 90s (The New Tiffany Table Settings, Tiffany Taste, and The Tiffany Gourmet Cookbook) and lamenting the fact that there haven't been many books of late that have captivated me like the Tiffany books. On a lark, I ordered At Home with Wedgwood: The Art of the Table by Tricia Foley and frankly wasn't sure what to expect. I just received it yesterday, and guess what? No more lamentation- this book looks fantastic.

The book discusses the illustrious history of Wedgwood china and includes chapters on prominent Wedgwood collectors, including Suzanne Rheinstein, Charlotte Moss, Stephen Drucker, and Michael Smith. To be honest, I didn't have a chance to read the text last night. But if the photos are any indication, the text should be quite interesting too.


Designer Diane Martinson created a Neoclassical look for her home; the table is set with Wedgwood candlesticks in the Edme pattern.


Charlotte Moss set a table for a post ballet supper using Wedgwood black basalt and creamware- all set on a pink tablecloth. Gorgeous.


Stephen Drucker is an avid collector of black basalt portrait busts. In this photo taken in his apartment, a basalt wine ewer and a collection of over 500(!) reproduction plaster casts provide a graphic display. Now I'm inspired to start collecting plaster casts.


Lord Wedgwood's home outside of Philadelphia. (I thought for sure it was in England.) The green Chinese Tigers teacups are a c. 1984 Wedgwood pattern.


Author Tricia Foley's Upper East Side apartment where drinks are set on a table with black basalt ware and silver punch bowls used as coolers.


(All images from At Home with Wedgwood: The Art of the Table)