Happy New Year!

My partner and I spent a quiet New Year's Eve at home with duck a l'orange and farro, and dessert in front of the fireplace from a pastry shop nearby.  We're sort of home-bodies, but one of my New Year's resolutions is: more dinner parties!  ...at least one a month seems reasonable - and then we'll get to use our dinnerware more often. :)

About the pictures:  It was sort of a Danish/Finnish night.  We used our Nissen Rune dishes and Dansk Fjord silverware, both designed by Jens Quistgaard.  The glassware is Iittala - Ultima Thule for the water, Aarne champagne flutes, and Essence cordial glasses for a dessert wine (I found out recently that we can no longer get the cordial size in the Essence pattern, although they are still on the Iittala website (where they are called "Sweet Wine")).  Dessert is on a Dansk teak tray (also Quistgaard).

The little red espresso cups were a Christmas present from my parents by Heath Ceramics.  I love how Heath fits in so nicely with Scandinavian design.

More from Mother's Day

More from our Mother's Day dinner with my parents - we broke out a bunch of the Scando dishes...our new Rune dishes by Nissen (designed by Jens Harald Quistgaard), the Fjord silverware by Dansk (JHQ), and Iittala glassware (Ultima Thule (Taipo Wirkkala) and Essence (Alfredo Häberli)). The centerpiece has Relief candleholders by Kronjyden and Dansk glass vases (both JHQ).

We served roasted cauliflower with capers golden raisins (a Lucinda Scala Quinn recipe) in the fun mod Upsala Ekeby dish.

Just a few snacks before dinner.  The cheeseboard is Dansk (JHQ), the glass-handled knife is by Lindshammar, and the little dish with the crackers is the Mons og Mille pattern by Figgjo Flint (Turi Gramstad Oliver).

Rune Pattern by Nissen

This is an eBay purchase that arrived today.  We didn't necessarily need another set of dishes, but 40 pieces of Nissen dinnerware in the Rune pattern for only $30 was too good to pass up!  I didn't really know what to expect when we bought them, and the pictures made the pieces look a little dull, but in person the glazes and shapes are really nice!  Jens Quistgaard designed other patterns for Nissen/Kronjyden/Bing and Grondahl (like the Relief pattern), but I'm not sure if he also designed this.