The Seasonal Table

Setting the table with Abigail Smallwood of Myrth Ceramics and Alyssa DiPasquale of The Koji Club. Join us in store at 28 Lincoln Street in Newton Highlands on Saturday November 22 from 10AM to 5PM. Shop Myrth ceramics for your seasonal table and enjoy sips from The Koji Club. 

Table inspiration, menu planning, and dressing as host from Abigail + Alyssa below!

To start, what’s on your menu? 

Abby: Oh, I'm keeping it pretty simple but delicious! I'm thinking a beautiful whipped ricotta with honey and crushed pistachios to start—everyone can just dig in with some good bread, you know? For the main, I want to do something really local since we're right here in Providence—the seafood in Rhode Island is incredible, so maybe striped bass or scup from one of our fishermen at the farmers market. I'll roast it whole with lots of lemon and fresh herbs. Then tons of vegetables—I'm loving puntarelle right now, a big fall salad with pomegranate, maybe some miso Brussels sprouts. Everything colorful and abundant so it looks gorgeous on our new glazes!

Alyssa: I just moved into a new home about a month ago that is ideal for hosting. My first dinner party was a little lopsided where my oven was misbehaving and we served dessert before the main course but isn’t that exactly how things should happen? 

Since moving, I have been collecting recipes and writing menus for dinner parties. Dinner should never be one course. All of my family holidays were hours-long, multi-course affairs. 

Last weekend’s menu for friends was: cheeses, charcuterie and unique apples from Formaggio (which is a dangerous 12 minute WALK from my new home… yikes!), a bright green crunchy salad with really good olive oil and aged balsamic vinegar, spaghetti and meatballs! I give my guests a choice of what pasta shape they would like to eat when they arrive… the meatballs are my dad's adaptation of a recipe from the On Top of Spaghetti cookbook by Johanne Killeen and George Germon of Al Forno in Providence. And finally - last but not least - mini cannolis from Mike’s Pastry. There is one in Harvard Square which makes things easy. I send everyone home with extra to eat for breakfast the next morning. In college, I would sleepover at my cousin’s apartment in Beacon Hill and we would eat cannoli for breakfast. Traditions are important!

What are we drinking?

Abby: Sake of course! My friend Alyssa from The Koji Club is actually going to be at the trunk show with us on the 22nd, so we have to! I love how clean and elegant it is with seafood—it just makes sense. We'll probably have a nice crisp junmai that everyone can sip on throughout dinner, and maybe a slightly richer nama sake for dessert. It's such a fun thing to introduce people to if they haven't tried it before.

Alyssa: We are drinking sake! Duh! but I always have a little champagne chilled in the fridge... hure freres l'invitation is the house pour. But if you are in my home, I am always going to ask you to try sake! To pair with the spaghetti and meatballs, we drank a straight-from-Japan bottle of Shichi Hon Yari that I brought home from my brewery visit last January.

How do you start dressing the table—do you consider a color scheme first or perhaps center around a statement piece like a vase?

Abby: I always start with the plates. Especially now with our brand new glazes—I just want to see how these rich colors play together first. The tableware really sets the whole mood. Then I build around it with whatever feels natural—the heirloom chrysanthemums I just started growing in my garden this season, maybe fragrant quince in a bowl, textured linens, good quality silverware. Perhaps a Myrth Moon Vase or Pilar Vase to create a statement moment on the table. I'm not super precious about having a "theme" or anything. I just want it to feel effortless yet lux. Myrth has a magical way of marrying these two things on the table.

Alyssa: Well, as a long-time collector of Myrth goodies, I have a multi-generational set of plates in the blue color family but in all different tones, shapes and sizes. I am a big fan of seconds too, I love their character. I complement these plates and cool tones (Glacier, Tempest, Night Sky, etc) with amber candle votives and tea lights to warm everything up. I am a fan of dressing the table minimally, using table runners vs. tablecloths. And I have a collection of oversized soft linen napkins in compatible but varying colors and patterns. As Ina Garten says “adding linen napkins to your tablescape brings a touch of elegance to everyday meals” - most of my napkins are Fog Linen. I feel like this gives each place setting its own personality like the person who will soon be sitting there.

PS - All of Ina's Back to Basics is streamable and is a great cooking companion

If you had to choose 1-2 words to describe your table, what would they be?

Abby: Effortless elegance.

Alyssa: Cozy and Quirky

Besides friends and family, who would you love to see sit at your table?

Abby: The queen of entertaining, Martha Stewart, hands down! I actually had the unbelievable luck to meet her recently and share Myrth with her. She's such an inspiration and icon to me as a female homewares company founder—I have so many questions for her. And Hetty McKinnon! I love her vegetable-forward cooking from her cookbooks. She has a new one coming out soon called "Linger" that I'm excited to get my hands on. I love having people at the table who are really passionate about what they do, especially around food and hospitality. 

Alyssa: I love lots of women in the restaurant industry who live all over the country. Especially Claire Wadsworth and Nikki Hill who own La Copine in Joshua Tree. I wish I could beam them in for a night at my table and then teleport them home without the fuss of travel. They have a cookbook coming out next year! I can’t wait to cook from their book when I miss them.

Lastly, because we're Covet + Lou, what are you wearing as host?

Abby: I want to feel comfortable but pulled together and looking good for dinner, you know? I'm thinking, a Lauren Manoogian Loft Crewneck—it's the perfect fall piece that feels cozy but elevated—paired with something that has a bit of shine on the bottom, like Maria McManus or Cordera wide-leg pants, and the Martiniano metallic flats I've been coveting. It's that perfect balance of relaxed and special. I can move around the kitchen (or eat a little too much!) without worrying, but I still feel like myself and ready to sit down at a beautiful table!

Alyssa: Black Crane! Comfortable and so chic with my favorite Tilit all black “contra” apron. AND SLIPPERS! 

Join Abby + Alyssa at Covet + Lou Saturday November 22 from 10AM to 5PM.