Fruits of forest cake
food

Fruits of the Forest Cake

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This is summertime in a cake, a cornucopia of fresh berries (and sugar plums) from the farmer’s market: blueberries, strawberries, gooseberries, currants, cherries, sour cherries, sugar plums, and black raspberries. Black raspberries! I was so excited to find them at the market. They’re my favorite berry and very different from a blackberry. If you have the chance to try some, don’t hesitate because they have a short growing season. I used these fruits on a Victoria sponge, with some strawberry […]

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Place Settings and Table Manners
formalities

Place Settings and Table Manners

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This is a subject that makes people nervous, because nobody wants to invite friends over and then worry about whether or not they set the table properly – or, worse, that they might use the wrong fork or bread plate at an important dinner and embarrass themselves.  Like it or not, table manners are a reflection of one’s education, and people can be judgmental about it. There’s no need to memorize a long list of arcane rules; good manners are […]

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Tips for Silver
formalities

Tips for How to Enjoy (and Use!) Your Silver

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I recently had the most educational and entertaining visit to Frank Milwee Antiques, one the hidden treasures of Georgetown. Mr. Milwee sells 17th-21st century silver, as well an astounding collection of vintage corkscrews and wine paraphernalia. When I worked at the White House and we needed place card holders, Frank Milwee Antiques produced them (see photo below), and I’ve been a fan for many years. People are sometimes reluctant to use or buy silver because they don’t want to clean […]

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food

Yellow Tomato Gazpacho

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They had beautiful golden yellow tomatoes at the farmer’s market yesterday and I went a little crazy. There’s nothing like the smell of a real, grown-in-the-earth tomato. It brings back childhood memories of going out to the garden to pick tomatoes for supper, standing barefoot in the rough ground, and brushing the dirt off a sun-warmed tomato to breathe in that pungent tomato smell. The scent of a tomato is unique – it reminds me of geraniums, or maybe rosemary, […]

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This is a classic recipe from a classic source: The Inn at Little Washington Cookbook.
food

Lobster Salad with Grapefruit

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This is a classic recipe from a classic source: The Inn at Little Washington Cookbook. For people who live in the Washington area, The Inn is the place to go to mark a special holiday or family celebration, and we’re lucky to have their cookbooks as a source of inspiration for those extra special occasions we spend at home. The lobster with grapefruit butter sauce is an unlikely combination of flavors, but the grapefruit plays off of the butter and […]

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