"I'm serving the crumbliest bread . . ." she thought

And what kind of dastardly plan is a host or hostess hatching when bread is selected based on its crumbliness? A not-so-subtle plan to use this lovely crumber!

When sterling flatware was at its height, there were specialized pieces for every imaginable purpose. The crumber is an excellent example, a large item with a singular role - removing crumbs from the table. It would be used between courses to gather the crumbs and leave the table clean for the next course.

This crumber was made in 1910 and is English. Many American silver patterns of this time included crumbers and you can easily find them online and in antique shops. Many have lovely monograms like the 'M. D.' seen above.

This one has an ivory handle and is about 12" - the hallmarks on the reverse tell us when and where it was created. It was an eBay purchase and rather inexpensive because there is a small crack in the handle; it doesn't affect the use of the crumber, however, so I don't mind.

To see other crumber examples, check out the Antique Cupboard. You might find one you can't live without - and then you'll be hoping for messy diners, too!

Pastry Forks! Do You Need Them?

With me, the answer to 'do you need it' is always yes - if the item in question is silver and I don't have it. That's not to say I always buy whatever it is . . . but, I still think I need it! I love collecting silver because it's beautiful and a joy to use. And, unlike a cashmere sweater or expensive shoes, sterling items improve with each use. Try wearing that new sweater every day for two months and see how it holds up!

The pastry fork is a basic place-setting piece. You may know it as the salad fork or dessert fork - so already we can see how useful it is, three things in one (even better than the plastic spork which is only two things and is easily snapped in half if used for ice cream . . . but, that's another post). There's another great thing about the pastry fork - it's often the prettiest piece in the regular place setting. The fork shown above is a great example. It's a pattern by Frank Whiting called 'Marquis'. The pattern was designed in 1889 - isn't that amazing? See the shape of the lower tine? It's wider to facilitate cutting. Most American silver patterns use the same fork for salad and pastry and consequently the 'cutting' tine may not be as wide as this one.

In the pattern above, which is Reed & Barton's Marlborough, both outside tines have the same shape. Isn't it lovely? The nice thing about collecting pastry forks is that they're inexpensive - you can often find sterling ones for less than $10. While silverplated pieces are even cheaper, I feel it's worth spending a bit more for sterling as it will last forever whereas the silver often wears off the tines of a plated fork and then it leaves an unpleasant metallic taste - after all, we're buying these to use! (Needless to say, eBay is a great source - the pieces above were purchased there and later resold there. If you look in the 'unknown' category under Antiques/Sterling, you'll find great deals - your best bet may be to simply search for 'fork'.)

And if you plan to create a special dessert for Valentine's Day, check out the yummy ideas from Martha Stewart. Of course - your pastry forks will be perfect with any of these!

Happy Friday!

Do You Zig-Zag When You Eat?

If you're American, the answer is likely 'yes'. Zig-zag refers to the American style of dining - when you shift the fork to your left hand while cutting with the knife in the right hand. Of course, then you place the knife back on the plate and shift the fork back to the right hand. This is the correct way in the US. The other often-seen method is called Continental, as in the Continent (Europe). There are slight differences in Continental dining in various countries, but, these nuances aside, the basic way is to hold the fork in the left hand and the knife in the right. And when I say 'hold', I mean through the whole meal - none of the American-style hands in the lap between bites.

I'm often asked which way is correct and the answer is either way. Today I want to talk just a bit about the American/Zig-Zag style, as that's how most of us eat. What do we need to know when using this style? Based on the dining questions I'm asked most often, here are some guidelines:

• Don't butter a whole piece of bread and bite it. Break one bite at a time and butter it - put the butter knife down and eat it. Repeat. I think biscuits are the exception, especially when they're hot. However, you are not likely to encounter biscuits in a formal dining situation.


• Put your knife down when not cutting - it's not a pointer or (gasp!) a fork. Place it across the top of your plate when not in use - if you never use it, leave it on the table.


• Once a piece of flatware is used, do not put it on the table. (Remember this when dining at someone's home - the person who launders the tablecloth will thank you. If dining in a casual restaurant you may have to break this rule - don't you hate it when the wait person says, "keep your fork"?)


• It's correct to drink from a soup bowl. However, if you're on an interview and you think the recruiter doesn't know this rule - stick to the spoon!


• If you need to leave the table simply say "please excuse me" and put your napkin in your chair. In many nice restaurants, the wait staff will refold your napkin and place it on the back of your chair. (People often ask what they should do if there is a big blob of food in their napkin - in this case you have a bigger problem . . . watch for future posts about inedible items.)


• Do not talk while eating (your Mother was right!). Try eating in front of a mirror and you'll see how unappealing this is. As a side note: 'talking with your mouth full' is often at the top of the list of reasons not to have a second date/turn-offs on first dates on dating surveys.


• It's okay to put your elbows on the table between courses (your Mother was wrong!?) While actively eating, however, it's still not a good idea.


• Cut one bite of meat at a time. Only toddlers whose mommies are cutting their food should have a plateful of bite-sized meat.

Stay tuned for more dining etiquette discussions.

To close, now that our kitchen garden is totally surrounded by plastic poultry mesh (formerly not plastic and known as chicken wire), the peppers are taking off, last night we had them on pizza and in salads - yum! They taste great, but are all slightly wonky - perhaps from the early summer deer trauma? Hope your garden is thriving . . .