I think it is fun to serve cookies on a plate that goes with them. Vintage Noritake china often makes that easy, with so many beautiful patterns to choose from.

I know that Cookie Monster would not be so picky. Probably wouldn’t even bother with a plate, let alone choose one that makes the cookies look especially tasty. But when you have the choice of so many pretty china patterns, why not?

The vintage Mardi Gras pattern by Noritake has great warm colors, on white, in late 1960s to 1970s vintage style. This dinnerware features design that is just as hip as many, more recent wares that you may see.

Mardi Gras comes from the Progression line, a casual classic. I’ve mentioned some other patterns from this product line before, include the yellow and green Palos Verde and the blue and white Stephanie.

Now for the cookies! Hermits are a handy, cookie jar cookie. It’s the cold coffee and dates that make them old fashioned.

Hermit Cookie Recipe

½ cup soft butter

½ cup vegetable shortening

2 cups brown sugar

2 eggs

½ cup cold coffee

3 ½ cups sifted all-purpose flour

1 t. soda

1 t. salt

1 t. cinnamon

1 t. nutmeg

2 ½ cups chopped dates

1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

• In a large bowl, cream butter, shortening and sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time, until smooth.

• In another bowl, combine the flour and spices. Alternately add the flour mixture and coffee to the creamed mixture. When the batter is smooth, fold in the dates and nuts.

• Chill dough for at least ½ hour before baking. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake just until set, about 10 minutes. Be careful not to over bake. The centers should be just set.

• Cool on a rack. Makes about six dozen cookies, 2 ½ inches in diameter.

This cookie recipe is based on the version found in the classic Betty Crocker cookbook.

I think the coffee also helps the cinnamon flavor bloom. And the nutmeg gives these an extra kick of spice.

Vintage Noritake china provides many mix and match possibilities for your table setting. As expansive as a party or company dinner. Or as simple as a cookie snack, with a hot cup of coffee, tea, or another favorite drink.

Last minute preparations for tomorrow’s Turkey Day. Serving Thanksgiving dinner and found you need an extra, or different, serving piece?

Repurpose the china serving pieces that might be in the back of the cabinet, Use what you have, mix and match with other pieces.

These extra pieces can come in handy when there’s a last-minute change or addition to your menu as well.

Little-used dinnerware serving pieces will help you get the meal served, and create an eclectic setting for your table or buffet.

Mix and match serving pieces to fit your menu

• Round platters – also called chop platters. Use for sliced meat, antipasto and appetizers. Also cupcakes and muffins. Make your own chip and dip set with a soup or cereal bowl in a complementary color or pattern. Put a big cheese ball in the center, and pile on the crackers around it. The round platter in the photo is Catalina by Style House.

• Gravy boats. Use for sauces, salad dressings – any pourable addition, savory or sweet. Gravy or sauce boats are generally large enough to serve a crowd, and if you have a lot of people, you’ll need more than one. The gravy boat in the photo is Patricia by Seltmann.

• Serving bowls – round or oval. Use for vegetables or salads. Mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes can go side by side in the same bowl, if needed. Need a bread basket? Line a serving bowl with a napkin or bread cloth and use to serve rolls, muffins or bread sticks. The round bowl in the photo is Deauville by Denby.

Serving Thanksgiving dinner can be eco-friendly by mixing and matching your new dinnerware, your vintage china and family heirloom dishes in your table setting.

Dinnerware featured in a movie? Be still my heart!

Twilight by Carmona is your key phrase, to see the wonderful bone china dinnerware that is featured in the latest film in the Twilight saga.

As fans know, Bella Swan (human) and Edward Cullen (vampire) get married in the film version of Breaking Dawn, which opens tomorrow, November 18.

There’s a nighttime wedding and reception scene, and as you might expect, there has to be a beautiful and classy table setting for this very special event.

The marriage of Bella and Edward has been anticipated for at least two prior installments of the Twilight story.

This lovely dinnerware is just what you’d expect for this long-anticipated wedding.

Simple and sleek, with lots of style via the shapes, the pure white color, and made exclusively for Carmona New York in bone china.

(All bone china is porcelain, but not all porcelain is bone china. It depends on the types of materials used in composition of the ceramic body of the piece.)

I’ve seen similar shapes in classic Mid-Century Modern wares from 50 or 60 years ago, but those are generally made from earthenware, a different clay mixture, and more porous, than fine porcelain and bone china.

This sleek, white bone china takes elegant to a whole new level.

Can’t wait to see how beautiful this looks in candlelight on the big screen!

Check out the dishes at Twilight by Carmona, and find them via Facebook as well.

Photos courtesy of Carmona New York and Media Maison, as well as Summit Entertainment.

Holiday time means cookie time, and peanut butter cookies are a classic favorite.

You may remember them, with the criss cross tops, made by a fork.

They are featured here on a salad plate in the Buckskin pattern by Mikasa, from the Potters Art line. This china was made from the 1970s, into the 1980s.

The warm brown bands complement the colors in the cookies. Eat first with your eyes.

It’s Peanut Butter Month – Have Some Cookies

This recipe would have been created to use the standard peanut butter available 40 years ago.

I made mine with a combination of Simply Jiff, and Jiff Natural Peanut Butter, which doesn’t separate like some other natural types do.

For each, the first ingredient is peanuts, as you would expect. As the second ingredient (after peanuts), one has oils and the other has sugar.

My cookie baking is a bit rusty, though I also suspect the balances of shortening and sugar could be a little different, making these cookies bake a little differently than I remember from the peanut butter cookies I made years ago. Next time, I’ll choose one peanut butter or the other, and see what kind of results I get.

I know I like how these cookies look on the Buckskin china plate. I like the Potter’s Art line by Mikasa, especially for comfort food, as I’ve written about before. It’s sturdy and classy.

Old Fashioned Peanut Butter Cookies

½ light brown sugar

½ cup granulated sugar

1 egg

½ cup soft butter

1 cup smooth peanut butter

½ teaspoon soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon vanilla

In a large bowl, cream the sugars and egg. Add butter and peanut butter, incorporate thoroughly.

Sift flour, add soda and salt. Mix into creamed mixture until smooth. Add vanilla.

Chill dough for about half an hour. Then roll into walnut-sized balls. Press down with a fork, criss cross. Placed on greased cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees for about 13 minutes, in center oven rack. Remove from cookie sheet and place on paper towels or rack to cool.

Tips For Baking Peanut Butter Cookies

• Use half butter and half vegetable shortening if you wish
• Try crunchy peanut butter, or another of your favorites
• Test with dark brown sugar if you like a bit of molasses flavor

Peanut butter cookies make a tasty afternoon snack. When you make them at home, you know exactly what’s in them. Serve them on your favorite vintage china, and remember days gone by, or create a new savory memory.

Get out the cookie jar, and make some easy, no-bake peanut butter bars for quick snacks.

Not that they’ll last long.

If you’re of a certain age, you’ll remember Rice Krispie Bars made with marshmallows, or the version with chocolate tops.

This one is something of a hybrid, to my mind. It has peanut butter to give it some extra goodness. Just make up the “sauce”, stir into the cereal, and top with some melted chocolate.

No Bake Peanut Butter Bars
(Also called Sweet Marie Bars)

1 cup light brown sugar
1 cup mild honey
1 cup smooth peanut butter
5 cups Rice Krispies (or the generic version)
12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate pieces (or more if you like)

In a heavy, medium sized sauce pan, melt the first 3 ingredients, over low heat, stirring often.

Meanwhile, measure out the cereal in a large bowl and set aside. Butter a 13×9 pan, and set aside as well.

When the heated mixture is smooth, pour into the cereal and mix gently. Spread into the pan, and set aside or refrigerate to cool.

In a heavy, small pan, melt the chocolate. Stir often. (Can also be melted in a microwave.) Be careful not to scorch the chocolate.

When all the pieces are melted, spread on top of the cereal mixture, using a small spatula.

Cut the bars when the bars have cooled completely. Makes about 36 bars, cut 1 inch by 2 inches.

Tips:

• Try with crunchy peanut butter if you wish

• Let the bars cool before cutting. I like to cut them small, because these are rich

• Enjoy with a cup of coffee or tea, or your favorite cold drink

• Make a double batch, if you have a pan big enough, to work fast when spreading the bars

Recipes like this one for no-bake peanut butter bars are handy for holiday treats, everyday snacks, and bake sale offerings. They also make a tasty holiday gift for special friends and family. (Photo shows the finished product, on a square salad plate, in the Summer Chintz pattern by Johnson Brothers.)

Who would have thought, a National Deviled Egg Day, devoted to one of the most popular appetizers ever to make it to a Midwest holiday feast?

We always had deviled eggs at home, at Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter especially, and for other special family gatherings, too. Couldn’t put them out too early, though, because they would start disappearing well before dinner time.

I never knew there weren’t special plates made to serve them, because this dish was so popular in my world growing up.

When it comes to the best deviled egg plates, the more spaces the better. My mother had several, as well as the special Tupperware totes designed to take them to pot luck dinners.

So do I.

Deviled egg plates are made in glass, ceramic and plastic, to help you select from a variety to suit your event (formal or casual) and table setting style. They come in all kinds of colors, shapes and sizes, even egg-shaped plates.

At home, the filling for our deviled eggs was made simply with the egg yolks, some mayonnaise and a little salt. Not even a sprinkle of paprika. My dad liked his food bland.

Nowadays I enjoy mine with some yellow mustard for zing, paprika on top for color, and even experimental versions.

My friend Chef Lynn Miller, author of Flavor Secrets: Back to the Basics, has really inspired me to play around with food. She added some leftover smoked salmon to hers, and oh yeah, those are good!

The photo above shows her eggs in a ceramic egg dish by Hartstone, in the Russet Apple pattern. Plenty of indents, a pattern that can work for all seasons, and color to show off the eggs.

Her style is to teach you to experiment and learn the “why,” so that you can make creative choices and take your cooking to the next level. That works well to explore many different dishes, old favorites and new ones, too. (See my Chef Lynn/Flavor Secrets page for more of her cooking ideas.)

So, my next venture into making deviled eggs will include some finely chopped sweet pickle, and some celery, too.  When I try adding salsa, I’ll leave out the mustard.

Some Deviled Egg Tips

• Follow instructions that help you peel the eggs cleanly, such as using older eggs, and plunging them into cold water. Just about every food and recipe website has these tips.  Your eggs will look their best in the dish if they don’t have craters in the whites (except in the spot where the yolk has been).

• Take unfilled deviled eggs to a gathering, along with the filling in a piping bag. Fill the eggs on-site to keep the serving plate clean.

• Look for vintage deviled egg dishes by Indiana Glass and Anchor Hocking for a retro touch to your table setting. Those will take you, your family and friends back to the 1960s and 1970s. Some were made to serve eggs alone, others to serve eggs with some pickles, olives, radishes and other finger foods on the same plate.

• Add new deviled egg dishes to your collection, to give you flexibility in your table setting. Glass goes for the main dinner table, and melamine for the kids table, for example. Pick your favorite patterns and colors to complement your best table settings.

A selection of deviled egg plates in your cupboard will help you serve these tasty morsels at any occasion. The best of old and new come together in this favorite holiday food tradition.

Shiny bright glass, and gold vintage glassware in particular, offers a special opportunity for your Thanksgiving and fall table settings.

Warmer than amber, bright gold glasses and other serving pieces can give extra spark to complement your china.

Finding Vintage Gold Glassware

• Check the secondary marketplace. This is a color from the late 1960s to early 1970s, as you may remember if you’re in the right age bracket. Remember those Harvest Gold refrigerators and stoves? Cookware was also made in this color.

• Learn the patterns and choose the one(s) you like best. Some of the patterns: Swedish Modern, Fairfield and Eldorado. Soreno glassware was also made in a bright golden amber.

• Check gold and amber in your searching, as different makers sold golden color using different names.

• Be prepared to be flexible. You might wand the tumblers, but can only find the relish dishes, or another serving pieces. If your menu works with the pieces you can get, other pieces can go on your “looking for” list for the future.

The photo above shows a 3-part tidbit dish in the Swedish Modern pattern by Anchor Hocking. The small juice glasses are the Eldorado Gold pattern by Hazel Atlas.

Many patterns of gold vintage glassware have classic appeal, and once you get started with this rich, warm color, the possibilities to use and enjoy your “new to you” glassware will expand. A magic pot of gold? May be.

Pie lovers are very loyal to their favorite flavors. Pie serving plates are made specifically to enjoy a large slice, especially served with ice cream. Some of them are flat like regular plates, generally in the 8-9 inch diameter size.

I’ve written about a favorite pie plate made by Syracuse a while back.

By pie serving plates, I mean the kind that have sides, similar to the kind of dish that a pie is baked in, but made specifically for serving. These are made for serving up a generous piece of pie, perhaps warming it in the microwave, then serving it with a good-sized scoop of ice cream.

I’ve seen many of these kinds of plates in my travels, with lots of different designs. Their shapes and sizes are pretty uniform, even though there are different makers.

For baking, those pieces are generally referred to as a pie dish or pie pan (even the ceramic and glass ones, not just the metal ones). They are sold as ovenware, to be used for baking your pie, and the item will be appropriately marked as oven safe.

When it comes to pie serving plates, if you are a pie fan, you could collect just the plates that have recipes on them and have a variety that would entertain you, look good on your kitchen wall, and even provide some new concoctions to test.

The Eagle Brand plate in the photo is ceramic, and has a pumpkin pie recipe. The Corning plate in the Cornflower Blue pattern is Corning Ware.

I’ve had a goal for a long time to become very good at pie. Can it be that much harder than pizza? Maybe not. But it’s been a challenge to find a really easy and consistent crust recipe. I think the fillings won’t be much of a problem, once I get the crust down.

Eventually I’ll try that recipe I’ve heard of, that uses vodka. It’s supposed to keep the crust from becoming tough, and they say the alcohol burns off in the baking.

When it comes to baking, I find cakes easier but when it comes to eating, I’ll generally choose pie.

My collection of pie serving plates could use a work out.

I like to use my vintage Corelle, and the right time is anytime. Bringing home my first McRib sandwich. Enjoy sandwich and dinnerware at the same time.

I’ve written about using my vintage Corelle plate in the Meadow pattern before. Today, it was for a cult classic, the McDonald’s McRib sandwich. I’d never had one before.

There’s a lot of buzz right now about this barbeque pork sandwich. McDonald’s locations don’t have it available all the time (except in Germany). Yet it has lots of fans. Enough that there’s even a website devoted to finding it, when the various franchisees choose to make it, at McRib Locator.

My Corelle plate is in a handy spot in the cupboard, ready for use. Easy enough to serve a fast food snack, instead of trying to eat it from a wrapper.

And this sandwich is a bit messy, as you would expect from anything that has a good amount of sauce on it.

Would I have another one? Yes. I’ve been an Arby-Q fan, which has a tangier sauce. But I like barbeque, even in the fast food world. I would not have thought to put onions and pickle on a sandwich like this, which gives the McRib some extra zing.

Once in a while, fast food is handy when you’re out and about.

Vintage Corelle is durable and pretty, and that makes it continually popular, too, like the McRib. Only Corelle is always available. Especially your vintage collection, ready to use, right in your kitchen cupboard.

White china soup bowls are versatile to use when serving chili, casseroles and other foods, too.

Many cooks and chefs like white because they show off the food to good advantage. And as they say, we eat with our eyes.

In the September 2011 issue of Everyday Food, I saw a recipe for Pasta and Bacon with Smoky Tomato Sauce. I knew I was so making this.

I had most of the ingredients, and what really sold me — besides that it was an easy recipe — was that it includes cavatappi as the pasta.  This shape is curly and has ridges on the outside. I use it quite a bit for another simple recipe that I make, and have lots on hand. Cavatappi is my favorite for any kind of chili-style or tomato sauce dish that calls for a chunky pasta.

Next time, I’ll let the bacon get crispier, and let the sauce get a little thicker. I was very satisfied with my modified version, on a first attempt.

Comfort food goes well in bowls.  Simple food, served simply.

The bowl in the photos is by Cuisinart, and is similar in weight and size to what you would find in a line of restaurant ware.

It’s a nice weight and size for a generous serving. Never found a pattern name, but that doesn’t stop me enjoying my favorite pasta.

White china soup bowls double just fine for pasta.