Dinner with E.E. Cummings

Inviting people to dinner to enjoy a nice meal and conversation is something I have enjoyed for many years. The original owners of the house, the Harcourts, surely entertained well. Alfred Harcourt, brother of Stanley Harcourt, who built and lived in my home, was a leading publisher in his day. He published, Robert Frost, Sinclair Lewis, Carl Sandburg, George Orwell, Virginia Woolf, T.S. Eliot and E.E. Cummings. I like to imagine one of these literary greats as a guest in the Harcourt home. Friends, Apostolos and Alex, came up from New York City over the weekend, so it was a wonderful opportunity to again have a dinner party, after the many months of COVID-19 lockdown.

Over the years, I have met many amazing people. Amy Stavis and Kathleen Orozco are two very special people. Amy is the publisher of the magazine Tableware Today, a trade publication for manufacturers of all things for the table top. It is a beautiful publication. Kathleen Orozco built her reputation as an appraiser and organizer of amazing estate sales. Because they live in different states it is unlikely I will be able to host them together. While they do not know each other, these awesome women have things in common. Both have an appreciation for entertaining, a well appointed table and good food. In gratitude for their friendship I put this blog entry together.

Entertaining, in my opinion, is all about the detail. I want guests to appreciate the care and thought that have gone into the preparation of the evening. I select china, silver, crystal and accessories to reflect the occasion. We had placemats as it was a summer dinner. The silver is 18th Century by Reed and Barton – it is simple and elegantly modern in a way. The simple china is unadorned – Eternal by Lenox. We did not use service plates since it was a summer dinner.

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Place card holders are a personal touch I usually use with most table settings. I have a collection of different types, suitable for events throughout the year. I purchased these place card holders at an antique show in Denver many years ago. I have a set of 18. They are simple discs of sterling silver, with a small coil to hold the name. They are all stamped Serling, Cartier. Each of them has it’s own little protective pouch. I have the original box from Cartier, however it was defaced before I acquired it.

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We served 3 simple courses. The first course was a Caprese salad of mozzarella, tomato and basil with a balsamic reduction. The main course was risotto with sun dried tomatoes and mushrooms (with lots of parmesan cheese on top). Dessert was a two layer panna cotta, with the bottom layer of vanilla and the top layer of raspberry. As I am vegetarian, Andrew made this delicious dessert using Agar Agar instead of gelatin. A California white wine was served with the dinner. After dinner we sat and talked around a fire at the fire pit.

Our guests stayed overnight. For breakfast we set a table of German porcelain, Heinrich from Selb, Germany. The silver is Della Robbia by Alvin, a sterling pattern from the 1930’s. Dining on the porch in the summer is a treat – the birds sing, a soft breeze comes through the screens and the view to the pool is lovely.

We served vanilla french toast with strawberries and blueberries. It was a delicious way to start the day.

While I don’t know that any famous writers were entertained in my home, it doesn’t matter. Each of my guests is treated to what I believe even a famous writer might appreciate. To highlight one of Alfred Harcourt’s writers, E.E. Cummings penned one of my favorite poems. In recognition of my deep appreciation for Amy, Kathleen and all the wonderful people I know, here is the poem (punctuated in the manner as written):

i carry your heart

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear;and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)
                                                      i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)