We purchased Braeburns at our local apple orchard this past week. They’re the last of the heirloom varieties to be picked, so that’s it for apple season. Finito!
Clearly, the solution to any sadness that might invoke is an apple pie! It was also Glenn’s birthday yesterday, so we indulged in a “Black and Appleberry Pie”, a slightly modified version of the Apple Pie with Oatmeal-Almond Crumble I baked while we were in the Cape.
Apple plates help extend the season, too! With the black background and rich colours reminiscent of a Dutch Masters painting, this set of salad plates sets the mood for a warm, candlelit dinner.
Taking the cue from the black background and gold rim on the apple plates, I set a base with gilded chargers and black-rimmed rimmed dinner plates, Nocturne by Royal Prestige. Both the salad plates and dinner plates were eBay finds. The chargers came from Pottery Barn aeons ago.
The glasses are a relatively recent purchase. One of our readers tipped me off to a marvellous sale at Juliska a few months ago, and I indulged in these Ruby Arabella Highball glasses. They’re being discontinued, and the sale is still going on if anyone is interested in stocking up for the winter season. Won’t these work well for Christmas tables? The small gold tumbler is an online item from Pier 1, the Yute tumbler, which reminded me forcibly of the scene in My Cousin Vinny with Joe Pesci and Fred Gwynne, “What is a Yute?”
But back to the table!
Four different apples grace the plates, two primarily red and two with more yellow tones. The quality of the artist’s renditions is really outstanding, particularly the veining of the leaves and the slight tension you can sense from the taut stem.
I’m sure an apple specialist could tell us more about the particular varieties, but these look like the kind of wild apples we would have found growing on farmers’ trees when I was a kid.
The yellow ones are really similar. In both cases, the apple is aligned to the left of the plate with a green leaf on the right. The only distinguishing aspect is the size of the leaf. I don’t seem to have a shot of the second one on its own, but you can see the difference in the photo below.
Trusty Twig flatware and Fiddlehead napkin rings from World Market continued the black theme. Cactus Wheaton striped napkins from Pottery Barn (currently on deep discount) added another layer of texture.
An apple salt & pepper set (an eBay find) snuggled up to the candles.
Thanksgiving for us Crazy Canucks is long gone, Halloween is over and with the final hurrah for Apple season behind us, it’s time to start Christmas preparations. I’ve been reluctant to invoke any more turmoil in our household with the renovations limping to their conclusion, but this week will see the kitchen china switch as I start preparing to snap Christmas tables. Speaking of the renovation, we await glass for the shower stall and the marble top for the island in the walk-in closet, which I am assured will come this week. The prints I ordered are being held hostage in the Canada Post labour dispute, so heaven knows when they will appear. Grrrr.
Dundee has entered the Diabolical Stage. He is fast becoming a household menace (though a very cute one). He flies from one end of the room to the other, climbing screens, caroming off furniture and chasing the other two cats mercilessly, batting them with his paws and tearing off before finally collapsing into deep sleep. He most often turns to Taylor, one of our Golden Oldies (she’s 12) for a naptime cuddle. She licks him, soothes his hurts and no doubt gives him wise counsel about tempering his mischievousness. We’ve noticed that he is particularly boisterous if his stomach is empty, so we are very attentive to keeping the food bowl full. There is never a dull moment with that scamp around! He looks deceptively innocent in that particular shot. Do not be deceived!
Happy Monday, everyone!
I’m sharing this post with Between Naps on the Porch.
Dear Ms. Kain,
I too succumbed the Arabella sale at Juliska, purchasing the highballs, double-old fashioned, and wine glasses. The color and the swirling pattern (similar to your amber glasses that I admire so much) were too much to resist at the sale price. After receiving them I became worried because it really is a very strong red and I realized I had nothing except plain white dishes to use with them unless I wanted to go red, white and blue. The above table reveals how beautiful they can be on an autumnal table. I’m realizing how little imagination I have and look often to you for inspiration and encouragement. I’ll soon be looking at more than Christmas dishes on eBay and Replacements thanks to you.
I can’t leave without remarking on the sweet cinnamon bun swirl that Dundee displays on his side. I am enjoying the tales of his antics and am wondering how he will respond to your Christmas tree.
Warmest regards,
Elizabeth Speicher
Good morning!
It was you who put me onto the Arabella sale, Ms Speicher, so I have you to thank!
I think you’re being far too hard on yourself with the observations about your imagination. We all need the inspiration to spark ideas; I suspect that’s why Pinterest has become so popular. I’m always on the prowl for creative combinations, and when I set a table, I will often pull out two or three different glasses, napkins, chargers, etc. and keep swapping them out until I find something that seems to gel. I also use Evernote to plan out table settings, starting with the plate I want to use, then dragging and dropping images of glasses, linen, lanterns and/or floral arrangements so the imaginary combination doesn’t flee as soon as it’s popped up.
Arabella is indeed a very vivid red and can come across quite forcefully, as you mention. But as the very wise table designer Tom Hayes from much-mourned Country Dining Room Antiques told me, you can mix reds quite easily. Never yellows, but have at it with different shades of reds. Greys, browns and ambers will mellow it and tone it down. Complementary green will emphasize its vigour. If you’re near a HomeGoods, you might look in, as they often have sets of napkins at astonishingly good prices. A tartan or paisley pattern with some red in it would go a long way. Your white dishes are the perfect backdrop to any number of settings with those lovely red glasses.
A cinnamon bun swirl is a perfect description for Dundee’s markings on his side. He has very interesting triangular markings over his shoulders and stripes down his back and around his face, too. Trying to capture them in a digital image (as he flies by) is a challenge, but I’ll keep working at it!
Thanks for chatting this morning!
Best,
Helen
Never mind salad on these plates. What about a large piece of warm apple crumble with a dab of vanilla ice cream. They are striking in colour and project a warm feeling of fall. And, it looks like Taylor is a real sport.
Hope all goes well and quickly with your renovation. Happy baking.
Thanks, Maura. The version I made for Glenn’s birthday was very well received and is almost completely gone. Pie doesn’t last long around here.
I hope all is well with you and Bill. See you soon, we hope.