Spring Fever

Image House Beautiful Entertaining/Home of antiques dealer Michael Trapp

Image Real Life Entertaining by Donata Mggipinto/A beautiful DIY bar

Winters in Scotland are quite different than those I knew growing up in Texas. I can remember many Christmases picking out a Christmas tree in shorts or begging my mom to turn on the air conditioning just so that we could light a fire—it rarely worked!

After three years of living abroad I find the cold rainy weather really does not bother me, as I love four seasons and cool weather. However, it’s about this time each year I begin to understand what is meant by the term spring fever. The mornings are getting lighter and the Spring crocuses and snowdrops are pushing their way through the autumn leaves. It’s also about this time each year that I am ready to gather friends and entertain! It seems as though everyone retreats after the holidays and seldom makes an appearance before March. I am just as guilty. When it gets dark at four o’clock in the afternoon all you want to do is withdraw inside your home with a good book and a cup of tea.

With entertaining on my mind I have spent the past few days dreaming up a cocktail party and pulling out all of my old standbys for reading. Two books I return to over and over again are Real Life Entertaining by Donata Maggipinto and House Beautiful Entertaining. Both books were published over 10 years ago, but the classics never do go out of style. I find both books to be just as beautiful, charming and captivating as the day I bought them. And, you can get them for a steal on Amazon!

Images House Beautiful Entertaining/The dining room of the late Geoffrey Beene


House Beautiful Entertaining includes Bill Blass’ meatloaf and James Beard’s onion sandwiches. The story goes that the late great James Beard was bored by crudités, but loved these delicate sandwiches, which he invented in the 1930s when he was a caterer.

Onion Sandwiches

8 tablespoons of unsalted butter, softened
16 slices good quality white sandwich bread
1 large Vidalia onion, peeled and thinly sliced
Salt, preferably sea salt
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
Bunch parsley, finely chopped

1. Butter bread slices on one side, then put a thin layer of onions over butter on eight of the slices. Lightly season onions with salt, and then assemble sandwiches with remaining bread slices. Using a 1-inch round cookie cutter cut out two small rounds from each sandwich, making 16 small sandwiches in all. (Discard trimmings.)

2. Spread some of the mayonnaise around the outside rim of each sandwich. Roll the rim of each sandwich in parsley to coat completely. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate for a few hours.

Serves 2 to 4