thanksgiving – In the Vintage Kitchen: Where History Comes To Eat

Cheers to All Souls: Our Annual 40% off Sale Is Next Wednesday

Published on October 27, 2022 by In The Vintage KitchenLeave a comment

The last bouquet of summer included the final flourish of zinnias, dill, okra, daisies, cosmos and nasturiums.

The leaves are falling, the pumpkins are picked, the last of the summer tomatoes have been plucked. The zinnias were clipped for a final garden bouquet. The okra stalks were added to the compost pile. The herbs moved from the garden to the greenhouse and the rockery raised beds are full of autumn leaves. October is waving goodbye. And that means something exciting is just around the corner… our annual one-day-only 40% off sale.

If you are new to the blog or the shop, you might not know that we always host this sale on All Souls Day, which falls on November 2nd every year. Technically a Catholic holiday, we selected All Souls Day not for its religious connection, nor its aura of spookiness (being so close to Halloween), but for the sheer fact that it is one of the few holidays in the calendar year that pays tribute to deceased ancestors. We wouldn’t have a shop full of wonderful heirlooms had they not traveled through other people’s lives, other people’s hands for generations, collecting stories and memories along the way. To us, all Souls Day seems like the perfect day to celebrate vintage style.

It’s also a lovely time of year to start preparing not only for the holiday season but also for the winter ahead where cooking adventures, gift-giving, and craft time await. Autumn doesn’t officially end this year until December 21st. If you’d like to hang onto the season as long as possible you’ll find many fall-favored pieces in the shop that will carry you all the way through…

If you are ready to start gathering ideas for Thanksgiving, you’ll find an assortment of items ideally suited for Turkey Day 2022 and beyond…

Christmas in the Vintage Kitchen always comes in little details. Red and white restaurant ware, a mini Christmas tree, an antique green striped serving plate or a shimmery candelabra that we are sure has seen some magnificent parties in its day. In the shop, you’ll discover a sampling of festive treasures waiting to add a little sparkle to your celebrations…

The sale begins at 12:00am on Wednesday, November 2nd, and ends at 11:59pm that same day. All items in the shop will automatically receive the 40% discount at checkout, so there is no need to fuss with coupon codes or discount names. We encourage you to use the wishlist feature on our site if you have multiple items that have caught your eye. Just click on the heart under each listing title and it will automatically add the item to your favorites list where you can then add them directly to your cart.

Since it is our only sale of the year, shoppers in the past have been known to set their alarms for the moment the sale starts at midnight. If you have fallen completely in love with something in particular, please keep that in mind. New (old) items continue to be added to the shop daily, so stop by for fresh finds leading all the way up to the sale. One of the items coming to the shop today is this set of six vintage Czechoslovakian luncheon plates full of pink, purple and cranberry-colored flowers.

As always, if you are looking for something that we no longer have in stock or you can’t find in the shop, please send us a message. We’ll be happy to add your name and needs to our waitlist. Having said that, I hope on this year’s sale day you will find something truly magical that makes your heart sing with joy. Cheers to all the old souls. And to all the cherished items that they have left for us to enjoy. Happy shopping!

Thanksgiving Prep: The Platter SALE That Starts Now and the Random Conversation That Inspired It

Published on November 2, 2018November 2, 2018 by In The Vintage Kitchen5 Comments

Happy November! Isn’t it exciting to think that Thanksgiving is just 20 days away? All summer long the shop has been filling up with vintage and antique platters in anticipation of the big turkey day soon to arrive.

An array of antique and vintage platters available in the shop. They range in age from the early 1900s to the 1970s.

Unlike some other pieces of dishware in the kitchen, a large platter is pretty much essential when it comes to dealing with big food for a big crowd. Big plates are one of those items you can’t really skimp on or try to improvise with something else. I know because I’ve tried. Back in the day when I lived in several tiny apartments in New York City with either no room for a big dish or no extra room in the budget to buy a big dish, I tried all sorts of creative ways to present a turkey.

There was the year of the giant wood board, when the roasting juices ran all over the table. There was the year of serving it in a speckled enameled roasting pan, which I hoped was going to look wonderfully homey but instead looked wonderfully woebegone. There was the year we hoisted the turkey up on an elevated cooling rack, only to have it slip and slide around each time we attempted to carve it. That next year, the turkey was carved in the kitchen and separated out onto several dinner sized plates according to white meat and dark meat, but that lacked all the festive pomp and circumstance of bringing a big bird to the table. Then I found an antique platter on a weekend getaway trip in South Carolina and everything got a whole lot easier. Every Thanksgiving turkey since has come to rest on this two hundred year old dish that originally came from England…

It is my most prized treasure in the kitchen. The cracks and the crazing and the beautiful staining carry so many stories. It has a lovely decorative backstamp and a deep rim which is perfect for holding not only the turkey, but also all the herbs and the onions and the citrus fruit that go with it for presentation. I don’t have to worry about the juice running all over anymore or the bird slipping and sliding as we carve it.

I love this platter so much it gets used for non-holiday meals too like tacos, cheese and crackers, charcuterie, etc. Everytime I use it I think about how I’m adding another layer, another meal, to its 200 years of meals. And that feels exciting. I like to think about what the Victorian Englanders would say about their platter being used as a serving dish for 21st century tacos. I like to think about all the Thanksgiving turkeys that have been presented here on this very platter over the course of two centuries. And I like to imagine the people who used this dish and how they carried it and where they lived. I love that it is not only a platter but it’s also a piece of history from other people’s past lives.

This summer I overheard a conversation between two women at an estate sale who were talking about tableware. One woman remarked on the fact that she had a different platter for every holiday. And that her collection, a mix of vintage pieces and contemporary pieces, acted as the anchor for her table decorating decisions every year. She went on to say how it made party planning easier because she knew what food looked good on which platter and what colors worked together and which didn’t. Her platters helped narrow down the choices of what to make and how to serve it.

Her friend responded by saying that she only owned three platters – all plain white and all in different sizes. She admitted that she used them but didn’t love them and certainly never thought of them as inspiration for her table decor.

The collector explained that it had taken over a decade to find just the right platters but now that her collection was complete and all the holidays were accounted for, she looked forward to celebrating each occasion, anticipating new memories while remembering old ones. The two friends went back and forth about holiday decorations, and other things not related, but the best part of this story comes when it circled back around to the platters and the collector who had one for each holiday. “Mine feel like old friends,” the collector said. “I look forward to seeing them every time I pull them from the cabinet.”

For four months that conversation has stuck in my head and I’ve thought of that woman, the collector, every time I’ve been out curating items for the shop. I think it is her, and all the like-minded dish lovers out that I have been shopping for all along. I love the fact that her platter collection is now a tradition and helps carry sentiment along with food and festivity.

I wanted to help bring that sense of nostalgia to your table too, in hopes that you would find a new friend and a new helper from history. One that would make your party planning and your table setting easier and more interesting at the same time. From now until November 9th, the kitchen shop is hosting a 20% off sale on all platters, antique and vintage. They run the gamut as far as styles and patterns from traditional to boho, plain to fancy, and small to large. A little something for everyone.

As with all the items in the kitchen shop, my greatest desire is to pair old pieces up with new people so that the stories of food and family and history can continue to thrive long into this century and many more beyond. Hope you find a platter that’s suited just for you!

To see a list of all the platters available in the shop click here or visit the serving pieces section here and hunt around yourself. All eligible pieces have already been marked down so you don’t need to worry about entering coupon codes or any additional sales info upon checkout.

Happy friend finding!

Bringing Zest to the Viands: Dinner Giving Advice & Etiquette from 1902

Published on November 21, 2017December 15, 2017 by In The Vintage Kitchen5 Comments

The Victorians had their love of family and chivalry and formal presentation. The Edwardians had their love of nature and get-togethers and burgeoning athleticism. Combine the best elements of those two eras for a dinner party and you get a cacophony of advice on how to throw (and attend) the most enjoyable evening of the year as deemed perfect in 1902.

It’s Thanksgiving week and kitchens are busy across the country as we cook and eat and celebrate the holiday with friends and family. Here in the Vintage Kitchen, we thought it would be fun to pull out the do’s and dont’s list of what was considered proper partying in the first few years of the 20th century to see just how many elements we have retained over the course of 115 years. It’s cliche to say that good manners never go out of style, but do they evolve to fit our modern lives or are we still putting our best Victorian/Edwardian foot forward when it comes to entertaining? In this post, we’ll discover how our ancestors prepared to feed a crowd, how they decorated their tables to reflect a festive atmosphere and how etiquette guided eaters through the event. Is it all that different from what we do today? You might be surprised by the list below. Let’s dive in and see…

Preparing turkey in a kitchen from long ago…

How to Throw A Successful Dinner Party circa 1902…

Send your dinner party invitations by mail or personal messenger at least 10 days in advance. Sending via messenger is more ideal in order to ensure accurate delivery.
Study your guest list. Seat opposites together… talkers with listeners, strong opinionators with yielding dispositions, etc.
Select a color scheme and harmonize everything on the table within that palette.
Dishes with a background of white appeal to the eyes of all.
Never starch your napkins.
Each table setting requires four forks (placed on the left) and three knives (placed on the right) between each plate. Oyster forks begin the fork parade on the outside. Among the grouping of the three knives, steel knives for meat rest closest to the plate. Napkins are placed directly in front of each guest and soup spoons lie next to each napkin.
Individual salt, pepper and butter dishes should accompany each place setting.
Ideal flower centerpieces include roses, lilies, carnations, lilacs, ferns and smilax which should be arranged in a low, flat edged cut glass bowl. If you are using roses in your bouquet scatter petals artistically around the table.
Battenburg lace table clothes are the most ideal cloth covering but if you cant afford one- a simple doily style is recommended.
Hang satin ribbons, bows and smilax from your chandelier for a visual effect of fresh, dainty beauty.
Autumn leaves threaded on a string make an eye-catching border when tacked around the perimeter of the entire table.
Any natural bit of vine found in season produces a wonderful opportunity to make a crown for every single guest. Autumn offers the chance to incorporate pumpkin vines in such a manner.
Lighting should be kept to subdued shades. Use of colorful gas lamps and transparent globes produce a dreamland in the dining room.
For a snowy table scene, dip evergreen fir branches in a weak solution of glue and roll in coarsely crushed alum to create an enchanting winter wonderland.
If your dining room is not carpeted, use large rugs to deaden the sound of footsteps.
Dinnertime is most commonly observed at 7:00pm.
Dinner is announced just after the last guest arrives.
It is recommended to have at least one servant available to attend to the needs of every six guests.
Sideboards should be neatly stacked with all the pieces (dishes, cups, glasses, and flatware) needed for the entire meal so that when the servant staff (or hosts) are clearing dishes from a finished course they can easily access the appropriate dishes for the next course without causing undue chaos and uneccsary noise.
Menu guidelines for a traditional 11-course dinner party are as follows … FIRST COURSE: Contains oysters or littleneck clams. Oysters are only served in the months when the letter “R” occurs. SECOND COURSE: Contains soup along with crackers, bread or celery. Clear soups are most preferred. THIRD COURSE: Contains fish that is either boiled or fried and served alongside small boiled potatoes or radishes. FOURTH COURSE: Contains fancy main entrees that do not require carving. This course is served with bread and small garnishes like olives and nuts. FIFTH COURSE: Features a roast of beef, veal, lamb, venison, turkey, goose or other wild game and is served alongside two vegetables. SIXTH COURSE: Contains punch or sherbert. SEVENTH COURSE: Features poultry such as chicken or pigeon. EIGHTH COURSE: Contains salad and cheese wafers. NINTH COURSE: Features dessert served either hot or cold like ice cream, pudding, cake etc. TENTH COURSE: Features fresh fruit and bonbons. ELEVENTH COURSE: Wraps the entire dinner up with coffee.

Roast Turkey from Woman’s Favorite Cook Book published in 1902

How to Master Good Manners at Table circa 1902 –

(As A Guest)

Ladies always take their seats first.
Do not overload your dinner plate.
Never rise from your chair to reach anything, request what you need and then wait for it to be passed.
Never eat anything with a spoon that can be eaten with a fork.
Do not hesitate to take the last piece.
Never overload your fork or spoon.
In the case of restaurant or hotel dining, a lady always rises to greet another lady who has stopped to visit at the table, even though the visitor will not be eating with them.
At the start of the meal, napkins should always be unfolded below the table.
A gentleman folds his napkin in half and places it on his left knee.
Never touch any part of your face with your napkin except your lips.
If food is being carved at the table do not wait to begin eating until all the food is served.
Spread soft cheese on a cracker with a knife. Eat hard cheese with your fingers.
Do not break crackers or bread into your bowl of soup.
If strawberries are served with stems intact, eat them with your fingers.
Never touch potatoes with a knife except to butter them. Forks should be the only utensil involved when eating potatoes of any kind.
Immediately pass anything that is requested (salt, butter, cream, etc) to your fellow tablemates.
Do not refold your dinner napkin when you are through eating.
Never talk with your mouth full and never leave the table with food in your mouth.
Do not spread your elbows when cutting meat, keep them securely tucked at your side.
Do not reach after a knife, fork or spoon that has dropped, instead, ask for another.
When asked what cut of meat you would like answer promptly and confidently. Never leave it up to the host to consider your preference for you.
Do not continue eating after passing a plate for a tablemate until that plate has been filled and returned back to the guest.
Do not twist your feet around the legs of your chair.
Never touch your face or head at the table.
Never take a larger mouthful than will permit you to speak with ease.
Never loll back in your chair or press forward against the table but sit upright to aid digestion and present yourself with controlled decorum.
Never lift a glass by the rim. Goblets should be held by the stem and tumblers near the base.
When addressing anyone at the table or asking for anything to be passed, mention the guest’s name to whom you speak.
Do not leave the table until everyone has finished eating.
When invited to a formal dinner party in which you have worn an evening dress and gloves, do not take your gloves off until you have been seated at the table.
Guests who bring simple, homemade, monogrammed gifts are far more admired by hosts and hostesses than gifts that are expensive, elaborate or store-bought.

This is an Edwardian dinner party photograph from the early 1900s. Even though this is a Halloween photo you can see that they carried the theme in their decorations with a witch hanging from the chandelier, a hanging garland of fall leaves and a low floral centerpiece on the table.

(As a Host)

First and foremost, as host, it is your job to ensure that every guest is well cared for and attended to at all points of the evening.
After dinner has been announced at the start of the evening, the host leads the way to the table with the lady guest he wishes to honor. The hostess comes last with the gentleman guest she wishes to honor.
Dinner plates should be arranged attractively. Any part of the meal that includes vinegar should be placed in its own separate bowl or plate. Bread should also be served on its own separate plate but beware of having too many plates on the table. Then it becomes cluttered and takes on the appearance of a boarding house-style meal.
The task of carving meat at the table is always conducted by the host. If no male host is present, then the hostess may carve the meat herself or select a gentleman guest to do so on her behalf.
Ladies are always served before men.
Do not ask anyone at the table whether they would like “more roast or more salad (or more of anything).” Instead, ask them if they would like “some roast or some salad, etc” so as not to imply that they are eating too much or that excess effort is being put forth to serve them.
Never make introductions after the guests are seated. This should have already been done as each guest arrived for the evening before everyone proceeded to the dining room.
Gentlemen who are remaining at the table for cigars following the meal should stand when the ladies rise and stay standing until they have all left the room.
If all dinner guests are leaving the table at once, then ladies should group together and exit the dining room first.

We were surprised to see that so many commonsense manners from the list are still very much in play in regards to today’s table etiquette (is there even such a universal thing as this these days?!), like serving women before men, not talking with your mouth full, and sitting up straight at the table. But some things seemed foreign like keeping your elbows tucked in when cutting meat, never using knives to cut a potato, tucking into your meal while food was still being carved and not being hesitant to take the last piece. And then there were the more curious bits like selecting guests to honor and escort into dinner and the situation with the ladies and their gloves. Where did the gloves go once they were removed them at the table? In your lap? Under your chair? In your evening bag? Perhaps we need to re-watch a few episodes of Downton Abbey to see where Mary stored hers!

On the table decorating front it was also interesting to see how white-centered dishes are still popular as well as the notion of incorporating elements from nature into table centerpiece displays. But head garlands and chandelier decorating and extensive place settings are a less common sight these days. So many houses don’t even have dining rooms or chandeliers anymore. Head garlands are fun though – I could imagine that a table full of guests wearing beautiful wreaths of autumn leaves or pumpkin vines would lend a wonderfully theatrical sense of whimsy to the party.

I think having good manners is lovely. I also think in our busy modern lifestyle with so much interrupting us while we eat, it is easier to forget or fall out of the habit of eating deliberating with the company we are keeping. Good table manner etiquette hasn’t really changed all that much in one hundred years but our awareness of it has.

Sometimes, now it seems we pull out our best manners only on the holidays or when eating at a super expensive restaurant or a wedding reception or only when we are trying to impress someone. This is not to say that the majority of Americans now eat like animals at home, but its the fact that there is not as many people looking over our shoulders reminding us to tuck our elbows in or keep our napkins in our lap or to serve the ladies first. In the Victorian and Edwardian days they had hours to enjoy a meal and socializing was treated like a cultural event that could be extended for days. Now we are not as indulgent with our time and focus more on quick preparations and easy recipes so that we can eat fast in order to get onto the next event or activity filling up our busy schedules.

In 2018 one of our goals in the Vintage Kitchen is to slow down dinner time (at least a few nights a week), so that we can sit down and have a conversation with our dinner mates free of phones and screens and television and outside distractions. Perhaps that will help us practice and keep good manners so that mealtime will feel a bit more decadent in the leisure department and more fulfilling on the socialization front. What do you think dear readers about this topic of manners? Do you employ them at home? Were you surprised by this list? Do you think there is still a place for them in our modern landscape? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below!

In the meantime, hope your kitchen is full of good food and good friends in the days leading up to Thanksgiving! Cheers to all you, ladies and gentlemen!

A Holiday Tradition – Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

Published on November 21, 2012February 27, 2022 by In The Vintage Kitchen1 Comment

Oh dear readers… it has been many, many weeks since Ms. Jeannie has been able to be in touch. She has missed all of you dearly. November found her busy with house guests and shop sales and holiday preparations. And although time is pressing and it seems like every moment is accounted for these days, Ms. Jeannie wanted to stop and say a big-hearted THANK YOU to all of you lovely readers. It is such a joy to be able to share these vintage adventures with all of you. And she hopes for more exciting time travels in the New Year.

As we approach the big day, Ms. Jeannie is looking forward to one of her most favorite Thanksgiving family traditions – the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Watching the parade is a highlight every year in the Ology household dating all the way back to when she was a little girl, in love with giant balloons and Broadway musicals.

Usually she watches it every year on TV, while she is cooking, but one year, when she was 8, her older brother and sister surprised her by taking her into the city to see the parade in person! The whole entire event was a treat! The streets were so crowded, and Ms. Jeannie so little, that she wound up spending most of the time on her brother’s shoulders. Having a 6′ foot tall big brother does come in handy! But whether you are there watching the festivities in person, or home watching it on tv – the level of energy and excitement is felt either way (as least to Ms. Jeannie!).

In 2014, the parade will be celebrating it’s 90th anniversary! So she thought it would be fun to take a look back at some vintage parade footage…

Here’s the parade in 1954. Check out those vintage floats and the tree at Rockefeller Center!

We have this man to thank for the creation of the giant balloons that have floated down the parade route for over 85 years…

anthony-frederick-sarg — Anthony Frederick Sarg (1880-1942), puppeteer and illustrator

Anthony or “Tony” as he was known, moved from Germany to New York City to test out his puppetry skills on Manhattan streets. Word got around that he was quite talented and Macy’s executives asked him to design a Christmas window display featuring his marionettes. That led to designing giant balloons for the parade. His first big balloon creation, Felix the Cat, debuted in the Thanksgiving Day parade in 1927.

Felix-the-Cat — Felix the Cat float, 1927. Photo courtesy of thephoenix.com

The address of Macy’s was sewn into the fabric of all the balloons and at the the end of the parade route they were let go from their tethers and left to float high above Manhattan. A few days later they’d float back down from the sky, withered and exasperated, and a prresent was waiting for any person who found them and returned them back to Macy’s. Can you imagine finding a giant Felix in your back yard?!

If you live in the New York area, you can go up to the streets surrounding the Museum of Natural History and watch the balloons being blown up the night before the parade. It is magical to see these flat pieces of billowy material take shape before your eyes. A bit of whimsy in the urban environment of hard lines and hard stone. Ms. Jeannie used to take her dates – it was very romantic and holiday-ish.

In this parade footage from 1935, you can see that it is quit tricky to maneuver the balloons. But no one seems to mind the minor faults and frailties of the procession. Even the street dogs are enjoying the spectacle!