It is so wonderful to share and celebrate family and new beginnings. On this night we celebrated my cousin Olga’s daughter-in-law, Taelor, as she started a new chapter in her life – veterinarian school! Olga is an exceptional host and chef. While I was only a guest, I wanted to share with you this stunning tablescape and simple yet delicious menu. I hope you find inspiration in this post.
Her table perfectly showcases how to mix and match old with new and how to pull together a cohesive look when you don’t have matching sets of things. Here she mixed antique linens with various silver napkin ring holders, crystal stemware and fiesta ware plates to create a most beautiful and inviting table. The tall antique vases display a simple homemade arrangement of Taelor’s favorite flowers. The height makes the arrangement grand and it did not prevent guests from engaging with each other.
I love the animal napkin ring holder – especially the Hans Turnwald turtle! So appropriate for a future veterinarian!
We were greeted with champagne and a beautiful display of charcuterie trays and her homemade empanadas – her son’s favorite.
A self-serve bar was contained in this beautiful brass serving tray. 
Love the stack of mismatched antique dishes.
In addition to this beautiful spread we enjoyed over drinks, she made oven roasted salmon, grilled churrasco steak with chimichurri sauce, baby roasted potatoes, Caesar salad, a peach pie and brownies (not pictured).
oven baked salmon 
baby roasted potatoes
Churrasco steaks – simply seasoned with salt and pepper and grilled over high heat to desired doneness.
Note: Churrasco is a skirt steak – made popular in Argentinean cuisine. If you can’t find skirt steak, grill your favorite cut of beef and add the sauce.
Salmon – seasoned with salt, pepper, lemon juice and butter. Baked at 350°F for 20 minutes. She tented for 10 minutes to let the salmon rest before cutting the fillet into portions. This salmon was so tender! The key is not to over cook it.
Potatoes – seasoned with salt, pepper and baked with bacon for that unmistakable pork fat flavor. She roasted them between 350° – 375°F, but I don’t know how long. Since the are small potatoes, they cook rather quickly.
Empanadas before pan frying. 
Salt & Pepper and grill for desired doneness. 
Peach pie.
I hope you enjoyed this post as much as I did sharing it. Don’t be afraid to mix that special antique find with new or mismatched items.
