sundaysuppers

Another great thing about working with this beautiful color was thinking of other beautiful purple foods that could compliment it. One such food is the beautiful pearl onion. This dish combining the two is a perfect side all year round. We like it as much on a summer burger from the grill as we do next to mash potatoes and turkey on Thanksgiving.

Summer temps have us craving fresh + sweet, and as you know, we’re always craving pretty : ). Hence our recent obsession with purple grapes and all the beautiful + yummy things you can do with them. Turns out they are not just for cheese plates. They can be the star of a main course, or a perfect pickle (who knew?). Get excited to for a week filled with purple grapes in many different forms.

Grapes are an unlikely pickle, but so many different fruits shine so brightly with just a little kick of spice + tartness of vinegar that we decided grapes deserved a chance too. We did these as a quick pickle, so the grapes are ready for eating a short time after combining everything. For these we halved a small bunch of grapes and combined them in a jar with a few bay leaves, a pinch of whole cloves, sugar, white wine vinegar and peppercorns (see recipe card for details). These make a great snack on their own, they’re a great addition most sandwiches, and they add quite a bit to different snacks.
We did: a nice crusty sliced bread, ricotta + these peppery tangy grapes. We promise this is one your guests will not have tried before, and if you make your pickles the day before it couldn’t be easier to put together ! We’re loving this for summer cocktails in the backyard.

We were so honored to be asked by the wonderful talents behind Lonny magazine to contribute to their new design mag Trad Home. If you haven’t seen it – you should definitely check it out. Trad asked us to create 4 concepts, all classic ideas with a new twist. Oh how fun…right ? Our first thought was a high tea- a la sunday suppers.

For this series we turned to one of our favorite Chefs, Camille Becerra. Her creative and intuitive flavor combinations and interesting ingredients create the most delicious + beautiful food we’ve eaten. She’s our  go-to source about seasonal and wholesome foods.

We created a selection of tea sandwiches; perfect for any afternoon event or summer day outside. Here we bought a variety of breads and ingredients from the market. We had our cookie cutters on hand for shaping, and Camille created these amazing combinations ::
- Pea mash with Mint, White Radish, Olive oil, and Black Sea Salt on Rye Bread (egg shape)
- Blue Cheese, Pear, Violas on Mixed Grain (open faced Square)
- Tomato, Avocado, Salmon, on Brioche (circle shape)
- Cucumber, Goat Cheese, Sea Beans, and Flowering Broccoli  on rustic white (open-faced organic loaf shape)

These beautiful + cooking free sandwiches are easy to do, and completely malleable to taste + ingredient availability. These cuties are so aesthetically pleasing on their own we knew we didn’t need much decor. We love the rustic feel of these cutting boards from one of our favorite stores for sourcing, Canvas,  as well as the added texture of cloth dish towels from another perennial favorite, Brook Farm General Store. A few solitary blooms, and plates for our guests and there you have it- an easy afternoon tea. Bon Appétit.

Photos + Styling: Karen Mordechai, Styling Assistant: Lizzy Sall  Recipes: Camille Becerra for Sunday Suppers

We want to pinch ourselves this week’s weather has been so beautiful. It has made us crave simply prepared beautiful ingredients. Can you get over how gorgeous this purple asparagus is ? A little change of color, and a common side becomes an exotic treat. We want this quickly steamed, blanched, or grilled. And we want to eat it on the roof outside this weekend. We hope you have similar plans : )

Surprisingly our Mother’s Day post has no recipes and no decor ideas. A first for us when we’re talking about entertaining + gathering with friends + family.

We’re recipe free for two reasons. First, as you all know Karen is a new mom + our fingers are crossed that she is pampered this Mother’s day. Also, the test kitchens of Martha Stewart Everyday Food kindly invited us for their mother’s day brunch with their editors, chefs, and fellow bloggers (we dined with Betsy of Cool Mom Picks, Isabel of Alpha Mom, Jennie of In Jennies Kitchen, and Olga of Sassy Radish). We had such a wonderful time meeting them all and learning a little bit about this fantastic mag’s behind the scenes. Their brunch was beautiful, delicious, and attainable for every home cook — everything that’s important to SS — so why would we compete ? Check out our visit here, the recipes are available in the May issue of Everyday Food (on newstands & Ipads too, plus there’s a great instructional video on how to make the potato bacon cake here too). Happy Mother’s day to new + long time moms alike ! (Written by Lizzy Sall , Photos by Karen Mordechai, scroll down for the full menu below)

The Menu:

Cranberry-Orange Sparkler

Potato and Bacon Cake

Tomato-Onion Casserole

Orange-Poppy Scones

Croque Madame Sandwiches

Chocolate-Dipped Macadamia Cookies