Flavorful Fridays: It's okay, use the fancy dishes
March 13, 2024 at 7:00 a.m.
Since childhood, my mother has loved tableware, collecting beautiful china and real silver platters. Setting the table for a special occasion was very much a part of the celebration — choosing the right tablecloth, napkins, plates, flatware and goblets, all situated with ruler-precision around the family table, heralding the culinary delights forthcoming.
As I entered 4-H Foods and other home economics projects under her guidance at age 10, the table-setting task fell to me. I even entered a 4-H county fair category for table-setting. I found displaying the matching appointments soothing, a way of establishing order and beauty designed to complement the occasion and the food we used to celebrate it.
I also was tasked with designing holiday-themed place cards, so each family member knew where he or she would be seated. Seeing one’s name at the table was, to me, a declaration of belonging to the celebration — a confirmation that one’s presence was anticipated and necessary.
My affinity for this task has waned over the years; most weeknights we make our plates in the kitchen and carry them to the table, and several trips are needed for everyone to collect drinks and forks.
But it’s good to remember that we eat with our eyes first — and that a beautiful presentation can enhance any meal, no matter when it takes place.
Engaged couples may not register for fine china the way they used to. Practicality has become the trend that has replaced stacks of gilded plates and etched glassware, which are more likely to be found in grandmothers’ hutches, set aside for handing down but certainly not for everyday use.
I’m reminded, however, of the Gospel passage in which when Mary Magdalene poured costly perfume over Jesus’ feet and dried them with her hair. Although Judas Iscariot protested the expense, saying it could have been sold and the money given to the poor, Jesus corrects him, saying, “The poor you will always have with you, but you do not always have me.”
Perhaps it’s a stretch, but it inspires me to rethink saving fancy dishes for holidays.
We will not always have our families with us. Spending time with them while we can — and making that time special by setting an attractive place for them at the table — can be a way of honoring their importance in our lives. Many cultures and faith traditions also set an extra place at the table — either to symbolize welcoming the stranger or to honor those who have passed into memory.
This humble Asian Coleslaw dish is a quick, no-cook meatless option that works either as a full meal or as a side dish. And situated in the china of my husband’s grandmother, on my great grandmother’s tablecloth, with my mother’s flatware, lends it new significance and reminds me to cherish that — and who — is most important.
EmmaLee Italia is a contributing editor to The Monitor and sole proprietor of Flavors by EmmaLee LLC. For more information email [email protected].
Asian Coleslaw
Ingredients
3 Tablespoons peanut butter or SunButter
5 tablespoons peanut oil or avocado oil
½ teaspoon sesame oil
¼ cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
2-3 teaspoons soy sauce
1 pound bag tri-color coleslaw mix (or 4 cups shredded cabbage and ½ cup shredded carrots)
sea salt & pepper to taste
3 green onions, finely sliced
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
Steps
In a large mixing bowl combine the peanut butter, oil, rice vinegar, honey and soy sauce, and whisk together until smooth.
Add the coleslaw mix and toss to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper if needed.
Refrigerate until serving time, up to 4 hours. Garnish with sliced green onions and sesame seeds.
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Since childhood, my mother has loved tableware, collecting beautiful china and real silver platters. Setting the table for a special occasion was very much a part of the celebration — choosing the right tablecloth, napkins, plates, flatware and goblets, all situated with ruler-precision around the family table, heralding the culinary delights forthcoming.
As I entered 4-H Foods and other home economics projects under her guidance at age 10, the table-setting task fell to me. I even entered a 4-H county fair category for table-setting. I found displaying the matching appointments soothing, a way of establishing order and beauty designed to complement the occasion and the food we used to celebrate it.
I also was tasked with designing holiday-themed place cards, so each family member knew where he or she would be seated. Seeing one’s name at the table was, to me, a declaration of belonging to the celebration — a confirmation that one’s presence was anticipated and necessary.
My affinity for this task has waned over the years; most weeknights we make our plates in the kitchen and carry them to the table, and several trips are needed for everyone to collect drinks and forks.
But it’s good to remember that we eat with our eyes first — and that a beautiful presentation can enhance any meal, no matter when it takes place.
Engaged couples may not register for fine china the way they used to. Practicality has become the trend that has replaced stacks of gilded plates and etched glassware, which are more likely to be found in grandmothers’ hutches, set aside for handing down but certainly not for everyday use.
I’m reminded, however, of the Gospel passage in which when Mary Magdalene poured costly perfume over Jesus’ feet and dried them with her hair. Although Judas Iscariot protested the expense, saying it could have been sold and the money given to the poor, Jesus corrects him, saying, “The poor you will always have with you, but you do not always have me.”
Perhaps it’s a stretch, but it inspires me to rethink saving fancy dishes for holidays.
We will not always have our families with us. Spending time with them while we can — and making that time special by setting an attractive place for them at the table — can be a way of honoring their importance in our lives. Many cultures and faith traditions also set an extra place at the table — either to symbolize welcoming the stranger or to honor those who have passed into memory.
This humble Asian Coleslaw dish is a quick, no-cook meatless option that works either as a full meal or as a side dish. And situated in the china of my husband’s grandmother, on my great grandmother’s tablecloth, with my mother’s flatware, lends it new significance and reminds me to cherish that — and who — is most important.
EmmaLee Italia is a contributing editor to The Monitor and sole proprietor of Flavors by EmmaLee LLC. For more information email [email protected].
Asian Coleslaw
Ingredients
3 Tablespoons peanut butter or SunButter
5 tablespoons peanut oil or avocado oil
½ teaspoon sesame oil
¼ cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
2-3 teaspoons soy sauce
1 pound bag tri-color coleslaw mix (or 4 cups shredded cabbage and ½ cup shredded carrots)
sea salt & pepper to taste
3 green onions, finely sliced
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
Steps
In a large mixing bowl combine the peanut butter, oil, rice vinegar, honey and soy sauce, and whisk together until smooth.
Add the coleslaw mix and toss to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper if needed.
Refrigerate until serving time, up to 4 hours. Garnish with sliced green onions and sesame seeds.