Lunch at the Kintner House Part Two

I promised to tell you more about our lunch at Kintner House Inn today.  Our hosts were very sweet and the Victorian Decor was pretty but I'm sure you want to know about the food right?  They offered a nice menu with light entrees that were perfect for the Tea Room atmosphere. 

I think this is Elvin's Chicken Salad with Pink Arctic Salad and Banana Bread

The selections were delicious and plated beautifully.

This the Joey's Egg Salad Sandwich with a Mandarin Spinach Salad and Chips.

We were served an assortment of beverages from the Beverage Bar.  Assorted glass containers on a Victorian Buffet.

My favorite container was the Bee Hive beverage dispenser.  I thought it might be vintage but I found several sources to buy one on the internet.  I'm tempted to get one of my own.  How about you?

Isn't it cute?  Also, did you notice the little bees and grasshoppers in the wallpaper behind it? Unexpected, but perfect placement.

I was told that the desserts were delicious but I was holding out for Ice Cream later in the day.  Maybe next time!

Did you get any ideas about plating a meal for a luncheon of your own?  Plating, which is the art of presenting food in an attractive way, doesn't have to involve really elaborate techniques or anything.  It just makes the food taste better since you are appealing to more than just the sense of taste.  A beautiful plate of food satisfies the mouth, nose and eyes.  It also gives us another reason to be creative!  You know I'm all about that :)

Mary Jo's Design Divas June 2011

Dee Windell - Innkeeper and the Kintner House Family and Staff

 Left to right - top row Connie, Dee, Debbie

Next row - L to R Bradley, Jennifer, Joey

This charming group gave us a warm welcome and made our visit just perfect.  We took a tour of the rooms (there are photos here) and learned a little more about the Inn after lunch before we checked out the local shops.  I look forward to another visit some day.

And ye shall eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the name of the LORD your God, that hath dealt wondrously with you: and my people shall never be ashamed. --Joel 2:26

Ravinia Picnic under the Stars

It was the afternoon of our trip to Ravinia to see the Moody Blues. Even though we were looking forward to the picnic and concert, our lives had been so crazy busy that we didn't actually plan ahead.  I knew we had Jason and Sarah's small picnic table, four lawn chairs and a cooler. We thought about buying food and wine but not much more. Well, I think Sarah and I both got inspired at the same time and when I called we collaborated on a really quick and delicious picnic. We loved the finished tablescape!

We started with a Roll Up picnic table.  So cute!  It's 30" X 30" and 15.25" high. We brought our aluminum lawn chairs (a little vintage but really light weight, easy to carry and comfy).  We also had a good quality set of acrylic glasses and plates with matching flatware.  The Bamboo plates, which we used as chargers, were a perfect way to tie everything together. 

Sarah found this cute cloth napkin, matching paper napkins and the votive cups in the clearance bin for .99 cents each.  I gathered my small cylinder vases, cut a bunch of Hosta leaves from my garden and grabbed the "moss" balls from my stash. (artificial but they look so real) I used bottled water from the cooler for the vases which gave them an unexpected but nice frosty look.  I didn't see the colors of the napkin until we met and packed the car but the colors look great together don't they?

I brought cheese and crackers for appetizers.  The basket is lined with a king sized cupcake liner, the cheese ball with almonds is on a vintage milk glass plant tray and the herb and garlic cheese spread came straight from the grocery store. A glass of wine (beer for the guys) and we were good to go!

View from the top. The early evening light, right before sunset, really highlighted the texture of the leaves. 

I picked up Destroyer Subs from the Sandwich Shop at D'Masti Catering. This is a long time favorite of the guys, well actually lots of people in Blue Island, since they've been selling it for as long as I can remember. 

Sarah made the Waldorf Chicken Salad recipe from Southern Living Magazine. We would use less dressing next time but it's really good!  You should try it. (oops, guess I should have brought a smaller serving spoon.)

Fresh, crisp grapes and La Bella Romana Butter Cookies from Angelo Caputo's Fresh Market  in an antique wooden bowl lined with a king sized cupcake paper. The light was quickly disappearing so you'll have to imagine the shine on the grapes and the wonderful color of the cookies :)  

Lovely candlelight on the table and Citronella candles on the ground that outlined our picnic area helped to set the mood and protected us from those pesky mosquitoes.  Time spent together with Jason and Sarah, a lovely picnic, absolutely perfect weather and familiar songs at a live performance of The Moody Blues.  What a wonderful anniversary gift!  The only thing that would have made it better was if Jon and Tawn could have been there too!   Here's to another 35 years together Lee.  LYM!

 

Tablescape Thursday