We're running away, Howard and I. . . getting out of Dodge
for a few days before he rejoins the Monday through Friday suit crowd in Manhattan.
It's out to the beach house for us!
Can't wait to turn into this driveway:
Bring our bags into this house:
And settle down on the deck with a tall cold drink, and this view:
We will be back probably on Saturday night. That's the plan, but I've learned that plans don't always pan out!
About a year ago, Howard and I went out to the beach house for a long weekend.
We had a grand time, and cooked a grand East End meal. . . using the old dishes and tableware that
my Mom had used in our summer houses since I was a little girl.
We picked up corn, burstingly ripe local tomatoes, and flowers at local roadside stands. The Southold Fish Market at Port-Of-Egypt (yes, that is really the name) yielded fresh-off-the-boat flounder filets.
Now how does this look, for a simple, quick, fresh and local Long Island supper?
I put butter and salt on the table, but we didn't use either of them. The corn was so amazingly sweet and delicious, it didn't need any embellishment. All we added to our meal of fish, corn and tomatoes was some wine. I'd have served this to Julia Child!
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The dishes came from John's Bargain Store in Smithtown, New York. They are Japanese knockoffs of Staffordshire, and they are a bit mis-printed, and oddly colored. I remember Mama buying them for 25-cents apiece one summer, and they make me smile.
The dishes came from John's Bargain Store in Smithtown, New York. They are Japanese knockoffs of Staffordshire, and they are a bit mis-printed, and oddly colored. I remember Mama buying them for 25-cents apiece one summer, and they make me smile.
My sister-in-law Doris says they remind her of old hand-colored postcards,
with odd blobs of color dabbed on monochrome prints.
with odd blobs of color dabbed on monochrome prints.
Old amber goblets from the back of the cupboard:
Also on the table -- serving bowls and platters of Hull brown drip pottery.
My Mom had lots of it -- good sturdy pottery for big family meals.
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I love fresh cut flowers, and they are cheap on the North Fork, sold at rickety wooden
tables in front of old farm houses along the Main Road.
It's done on the honor system; you put your money in a coffee can
or an old cigar box, wrap your flowers in newspaper, and take them home.
My Mom had lots of it -- good sturdy pottery for big family meals.
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I love fresh cut flowers, and they are cheap on the North Fork, sold at rickety wooden
tables in front of old farm houses along the Main Road.
It's done on the honor system; you put your money in a coffee can
or an old cigar box, wrap your flowers in newspaper, and take them home.
A pair of porcelain quails kept us company.
(Hey, that's Howard's hand. He is patiently waiting to eat!)
That's as fancy as it gets at the beach house.
But when your main course is absolutely fresh flounder. . .
. . . you don't need fancy. Simple works best, for the food and for the setting.
It's Thursday, and bloggers are busy tablescaping!
Go check out Susan's Tablescape Thursday at
You'll be glad you did!
See you when we get back.
Meanwhile . . . play nice! -- Cass
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