Stories Collected While Living in France

French la Vie

18th Century Dinner Plate

18th century dinner plate

An 18th century dinner plate? Can you believe something as fragile as a dish, that was used often could survive over two hundred years?

A simple dinner plate found at the flea market last Sunday, what makes it extraordinary is as
fragile as it is, it has survived these last 200 years without a
chip or crack. Moving from cupboard to table, hand to hand, table to
sink, sink to cupboard and possible a few moves in between, to different homes, and
sold and bought a few times over.

Two hundred years of meal times. Two hundred years of feast and famine. Two hundred years of stories around a table.
The conversations it has heard in being present and still.

details on a 18th century plate

The details on the 18th century plate. Note, the cut marks from the use of a knife and fork. This plate has fed many souls. 

I
think what stories could an antique piece tell if it had a voice? Where
has it come from, and who has owed it? What history could it give from
the passing from hand to hand, until my picking it up and asking, “How
much for the plate?

plate details French faience 

Now if it could talk, what would you ask it?
-What was your favorite meal?
-Did you ever have a close call to breaking?
-Who was the last person who used you?
-Who made you?

cut marks on a plate 

Last Sunday this 18th century plate was at the flea market. A flea
market, amongst plastic toys, used clothing, a computer with a
keyboard, and some car magazines.

I picked it up and noticed the cut marks, like the lovingly wrinkles on an old face, like stories carved deeply from living without
counting the cost, nor trying to cover up the fact that one has lived.

back side of an antique plate

Note the back side of an antique plate is flat, and has the markings of where it was held when fired.

18th century French plate

It needed a home, I asked the dealer how much and he said,"50 cents."
The shame. The insult. The joy!
I bought it.
Would you like it?
Tell me a story, about a favorite meal, or a recipe. Tell me what it was like a child at dinner time at your home? Or what you ate last night for supper. Or just leave your name in the comment section. I will pick someone tomorrow and send this plate onward to a new home.

Comments

110 responses to “18th Century Dinner Plate”

  1. Jeanne

    Thank you for the food for thought.
    After all we ate with loved ones at my husbands birthday party on the weekend
    it was rice and veggies and beef last night.
    Love you
    Love your plate.
    Love all you share.
    Love Jeanne ^j^

    Reply
  2. Gina Baynham

    When we were kids growing up in Ireland I loved a tradition our Mum did on our birthdays. We got to choose what the family ate for tea that night. Not a big or fancy treat by todays standards but we felt like we were in charge of the whole family that evening!
    Now my three kids choose what goes in the supermarket trolley and argue about what they want for dinner. When I was growing up we were never asked, we just sat and ate what was served. It was less complicated and oh, the fun of being allowed to choose that meal once a year! We also had to say grace
    “Bless us Oh God as we sit together.
    Bless the food we eat today.
    Bless the hands that made the food.
    Bless us Oh God Amen”
    The memories of childhood meals and a simpler life lies deep inside my head. Hardly ever thought about. And then I read your blog! You always get me thinking of happy times. I wonder what ever happened to the old plates we ate off as kids, white with red poppies!
    Thank you for making me walk down memory lane Corey!

    Reply
  3. pauline

    If a plate could speak
    or a fork or a cup
    they’d tell us tales
    of who came to sup
    or feast at noon
    on bread and meat
    or break the fast
    from a night of sleep
    think of the stories
    these objects keep!

    Reply
  4. Jojo

    Corey,
    The plate is absolutely beautiful. I have always loved dishes and while in high school I worked in a china shop (perfect job). While there I fell in love with 2 different patterns and when I got married, I registered one of the two patterns. The other had been discontinued! Now as an adult, I am forever picking up a piece or two on eBay. For whatever reason, I am addicted to dishes.

    Reply
  5. Linda Collins

    Its evening here in Australia, and l have just shared a lovely meal with my best girlfriend.
    Potatoes dug fresh from the garden, then baked in the oven, topped with a spoon full of eggplant, garlic, onions, tomatoes and peppers, all picked fresh from the vege patch just a half hour before, diced and drizzled with good olive oil and a dash of oregano, and baked alongside the potatoes.
    The conversation? Planning our trip to America in October, a quilt history and Civil war tour of the east coast, topped off with a visit to the Houston Quilt
    Festival.
    Where was my husband? On an overnight ferry back home to me after a week riding his motorbike around the Island of Tasmania with a bunch of like minded fellows.
    Lucky we had the garlic tonight!!!!
    l would love to own that plate and share in its history
    Linda.

    Reply
  6. Evelyn Jackson

    How lovely that something as mundane as a dinner plate holds such mystery! My favorite memories of meals together in my family (because we always ate dinner together at the dining room table) are the stories my Mom would tell as we lingered over dessert. She was born and raised in Georgia and had the most shiver-y stories of alligators and swamps and dead bodies laid out in the parlor and nights that the Ku Klux Klan rode all robed in white. Oh how I wish I’d thought to have her re-tell them when I was old enough to write them down! Because, of course, neither my brothers nor I remember the scary details!! Note to all your readers: if you have family stories…write them down!!

    Reply
  7. cheeky.cicak

    I adore this post, looking at an object imbued with so much history, the mind really gets to wander. Thank you for posting it. (Please don’t put me down for the lucky draw though, shipping to Malaysia has to be a bear)

    Reply
  8. Tamisha

    Oh, what a delightful post. I adore your blog and your photos are wonderful. I am a sucker for dishes and plates of all sorts. Like you, I wonder at the history but I also love to plan future meals designed for that dish alone.
    One of my favorite meal memories also has to do with a flea market find. I found a beat up, old, Morocan hammered brass low table at a flea market for a few dollars several summers ago. I took it home and cleaned it up. I spent the rest of the afternoon turning our breezeway into a sultan’s tent, researching, shopping, and then cooking a six course traditional Moroccan meal for me and my dearest. We lolled around eating, talking, drinking wine in the glow of flickering candles. It took hours, and we never got beyond the third course, I made so much food. It was so wonderful, we continued it through to the next night and the next.
    Since then, I have used the table often and have hosted many a Moroccan night for friends and family. I love that we have added to the memories imbued in that table.

    Reply
  9. Marina

    What a nice plate! yes, I love to talk with the plate!
    awesome post…like always!
    Visit me anytime… I hope you in Argentina.
    hugs.
    Marina

    Reply
  10. julia

    Thank you again and again, Corey. I absolutely love your blog. Your love of family, friends, old things, beauty, history, etc. share.
    Julia

    Reply
  11. Dana

    I am sure that wonderful plate would love to come to the “new world” to be loved and cherished and used by a warm and caring family in Virginia. We promise to be good stewards!

    Reply
  12. michellleb.

    Hmmm…there are so many memorable meals, but the one my kids think is funny is: I was about 10 or 11y.o. My mom worked the night shift and my dad always had dinner duty. The rule at the table was you had to clean your plate regardless of how long it took you to do it.Our veggies always came out of a can, luckily it was almost always green beans, carrots or corn. One evening he found a can of aparagus in the cupboard. Yeah, canned asparagus:< blech! Needless to say, I couldn't bring myself to eat them while they were warm, which left me to eat them while they were cold/soggy/mushy, oh about 2 hours after they had been served and everyone else had left the table. I tried. I gagged. I decided to put it in my mouth, make grand gestures of eating it and spit it in my napkin under the table where I later threw it away at a neighbors house when my plate was clean. Much later I found out that my dad knew I was struggling, but rules are rules. He also found my act amusing. I now tell my kids that I wish my dad were alive so I could make him all the fresh, steamed, & roasted veggies we eat everyday. Thanks for the opportunity to share a fond memory. michelleb.

    Reply
  13. Jill Flory

    Hi Corey,
    My dinner last night and my favorite meal as a child co-insided! As a child I loved the evenings that the dinner table held what we call Tator Tot casserole. My Mom made it the best too. Home grown veggies, not the store-bought frozen mix the recipe calls for. Corn, peas, baby limas, carrots, hamburger, cream of mushroom and chicken soup, a jar of cheez whiz, a little milk, mixed all together and topped with Tator Tots. Baked till hot and crunchy on top. The best.
    We had this last night for dinner. We just got home from vacation in the wee hours of the morning yesterday and my dear Mother had left the casserole and milk in the frige, cookies and muffins on the table, and lots of love shown in it all! Then she and my Dad came over to see us all last night and we talked them into eating with us. Wonderful evening. Wonderful Memories.
    Blessins,
    Jill

    Reply
  14. Joy Meadows

    It is absolutely amazing that there isn’t even a chip on the plate – and for 50 cents, too!! You really find the treasures, Corey!
    I would love to own this piece – thanks for the opportunity to win it!

    Reply
  15. linda

    When I was a little girl my mother worked as a waitress. On Sunday mornings when she was at work dad would sit the six of us down at the table and make us pancakes and sausage for breakfast. We sat there until all of them were cooked, and he would stand at the head of the table, tossing the pancakes on our plates. He never missed!

    Reply
  16. Floss

    What a generous person you are, to give away such a wonderful find!
    Mealtimes when I was a child:
    We lived in a big Victorian house which we couldn’t quite afford to keep up. My grandparents lived with us and my grandma would cook a Sunday roast in the Aga during church each week. She cooked red meat until it was grey – I honestly had no idea that I like red meat until I met my husband’s family, who are sheep and beef farmers! But this is not to say that the meals were bad – we adored the roast potatoes, the wonderful gravy and the vegetables. A roast chicken would also save us from grey meat, every now and then!
    Then came the puddings, my grandma’s highpoint. There were so many rituals in my family about the puddings. My sister and I competed for the skin off the custard each week. My father (when he was home from sea) would be offered seconds and would always say: ‘I’d love to, but my wife won’t let me…’ winking at my mum. The final delight was to share the spoon and the bowl with my sister. Scraping the bowl was always the best bit, but licking the spoon was quite good compensation if it wasn’t your turn.
    As I got older I asked my grandma to teach me her pudding recipes. When my mum was in hospital last summer I went back to making crumbles by hand, partly for my own comfort, and partly to cheer up my dad. I still have my grandma’s handwritten Christmas Pudding recipe, on which she noted, perhaps 40 years ago: ‘This recipe is over 100 years old’. Each year I use it to make as many Christmas puddings as the family needs, and share them out.

    Reply
  17. Cheryl in California

    Corey, My favorite dinners growing up were when my mom would fix breakfast for dinner. Scrambled eggs, bacon, hash browns and biscuits with her home made boisenberry jam. Yummmmmm!

    Reply
  18. Ava in WH

    what a lovely post! thanks for sharing your find.

    Reply
  19. Erin

    i loved the “family” time that the dinner table provided while growing up in california; i also loved that we said grace before each meal. it was special.
    thank you for sharing so many wonderful thoughts and words upon the blog pages.
    take care

    Reply
  20. Sheala

    Good Morning Corey,
    My favorite meal was last Saturday, it was Amee’s 28th birthday and her birthday dinner was here at my house. For the first time ever… 4 gererations of our family ate in our dinning room! Mom, Dave and I, most of my children and Baby Nate!!! Okay so he didn’t really eat, but he was with us. Dave redid a never used family room into a dinning room for us last October. It’s my favorite room in the house. I really wanted crown molding etc. Dave said “whatever you want!” Our house is no longer square and the molding ended up being torture to install. I felt so awful…but it looks amazing. Soooo… I have some plates hanging on one wall. All different ages, sizes, conditions and patterns. The common thread is that they all have a shade of pink. From pale pink to deep cranberry. A “Corey Plate” hanging along side them would be a blessing.
    Enjoy your day! XOXOXOXO~ Shea

    Reply
  21. Di Overton

    When I was a child and got poorly my treat would be Pig’s Trotters. No kidding I loved them.

    Reply
  22. Becky F

    Corey,
    The dinners I remember are from my childhood. They were on Sunday afternoon with the entire family (aunts, uncles and cousins) crowded around the formica table at my Granny’s. The menu was always the same. She made the most delicious fried chicken, milk gravy and homemade noodles. Dessert was either homemade pie or chocolate cake. There was always a tiny piece of cake or pie missing when she presented the dessert. She had to make sure it was worth serving!! She has been in heaven now for almost 13 years and how I miss her. Dinners were so much more than the food. They were a warm embrace of her love for her family. I have yet to see her in my dreams and long for the day when I do. Becky

    Reply
  23. marlis

    Firstly, it’s a beautiful plate. Oh to be the lucky person to receive this treasure. I would surely hang it in my dining area, the colors are perfect.
    A meal to remember, there are plenty from which to choose. But one that really stands out in my memory is one I took my mother while she was in the hospital before she passed away. It wasn’t fancy, it wasn’t much, but I hadn’t seen her smile like that in years. And she ate it with such relish that it warmed my heart and soul.
    I have always told my children that they would remember the moments spent with good food and good friends. Cherish.
    thousand thanks…

    Reply
  24. Sarah N

    My favorite childhood memory about food is holiday meals at my maternal grandmother’s house. My mom has two brothers and a sister, plus several step-siblings – so there was always a house full of people. Grandma was a great cook. There were always several types of meat and tons of vegetables. But the highlight of the meal was always the home-made yeast rolls she would make. When each new batch would come out of the oven, she would walk around the table and ask “Do you want a hot ‘un?” and then toss one on your plate. Now I have made myself hungry!

    Reply
  25. Cath

    My favourite meal, easy! When I was 19, my boyfriend took me to Australia. We stayed in the Bloomfields resort deep in the heart of the Daintree Rainforest. Day 3 came, my favourite day in history, we took a sailing boat out to the Hope Islands on the Great Barrier Reef. The day was gorgeous, we saw dolphins on the way to the islands, sea-turtles, drank wine. We got to the island, we took the walk around the island, it took us three minutes to walk all the way round. We kissed, we laughed, then we sat, on the sand, eating fruit and freshly caught prawns.
    It’s never the food that makes a meal perfect, it’s always the company. A perfect plate of food eaten with an enemy will never taste as sweet as a strawberry eaten with your love.
    We would have got engaged on that day, if my mouth hadn’t run away with itself, but thats a story for another comment!
    Loved your post yesterday, it was beautiful, which is never a surprise!

    Reply
  26. patty

    My brother and I were uncivilized demons as children. No table manners what so ever. One Sunday meal, my brother was teasing me. (I am certain it was all his fault, I really was an angel) To get back at him, I loaded up a spoon with mashed potatoes and flung it at him. Only grandma happen to be right in the flight zone of the potatoes. The potatoes hit smack in the middle of her forehead and not to her amusement.
    That was the breaking point. For the next month, my punishment would be that I could only eat with chopsticks. No western cutlery for me for one month until I learned proper table manners.
    This is the most unforgettable dinner experience one that I can remember and recall fondly. Little did my grandmother know she was preparing me for later in life when I would be living in Japan for 12 years.
    祖母ありがとう (thank you grandmother)

    Reply
  27. Penny

    There is a slice of time, like the last sliver of pie, wedged between sitting down to eat after the flurry of activity getting the last laden bowl on the table and when second helpings are passed that that tells me the meal is perfect and it makes me purr with pleasure. It lasts less than a minute and, if I don’t pay attention, it slips past and is lost. It is especially enjoyed when the family is gathered or friends have come or, sometimes, it is just my husband and me, but, it is THE dining moment – that morsel of time after grace has been given and plates are filled and first and second bites have been taken and then, suddenly, a hush fills the air, almost imperceptible, and all that is heard is the sound of pleasure in eating. It is fleeting. It lasts merely moments, but, it is there, palpable, a gift for the cook. It is the moment in time when I know that the meal is perfect and my diners are sated. Soon, very soon, conversation resumes, compliments are passed, discussion of the days events or lively conversation ensues, but, I have felt it – that moment when I “hear” the meal being enjoyed.
    Listen for it the next time you serve a well prepared meal for special guests or a favorite family breakfast. You will be the only one who hears it and it will fill your heart with joy.

    Reply
  28. Gracie

    Only 50 cents? OMG this was surely a bargain!

    Reply
  29. suesue

    first i would ask the plate “tell me about your family”. then i would listen and learn about the meals and the love of good food that goes with family. i would exchange stories of my childhood about my nine siblings, my mom and dad, and other various family and friends who came to visit and were always welcomed. we didn’t have expensive foods (my dad was a teacher and mom a homemaker with ten kids) but we always had plenty. we never realized that we had anything less than others because we always had each other and still hang on tight to those still here. our best celebrations are around holiday meals or simply on a random weekend get together. my husband fondly complains that we have a party for any reason and he’s right. life should be a party whenever you’re with one person you love, or a countless number. thanks for all the sharing you do too, corey. i feel as if i’ve known your family forever through your clever words and pictures.

    Reply
  30. Karin

    We think alike, you and I, wondering about the past of an object, giving it feelings and memories of those who held it before us. I have a few thinsg that belonged to my grandmother Kimball. One of them is a glass cake stand that she would use for parties. Usually it was one of her sand cakes, as we called them. You see, Grammy would bake cakes from Jiffy cake mixes and wrap them in foil and place them in the aqua-paited deep freezer in the kitchen. There they would stay until company came. Then out from the depths of Arctic coldness one would come, thawed and frosted with homemade icing. Now, why did she made her icing but used boxed cake mix? We will never know! Onto the cake plate for perfect presentation and out to the unwitting guests seated at the pool table cum dining room table. One bite was usually all it took to realize that said cake had been in glacial status for a bit too long and that no matter how much homemade icing coated it, it was the texture of coarse sand and tasted about the same, with chocolate on it. I always wondered why Grammy had to serve so much coffee at her dinners and we children drank lots of milk! It was the cakes.
    Now the cake stand sits at the ready on my shelf. It no longer bears sand cakes, but instead, homemade sour cream pound cake, gateau au chocolate or tiny jam tartlets.
    I wonder if it misses Grammy’s cakes.

    Reply
  31. Ellen

    Yesterday was my oldest daughter’s 20th birthday. We always make the birthday person whatever they want for dinner, but as of yesterday Sarah still hadn’t decided what she wanted! Her sister Abigail texted her and finally got her to make a decision while we were out running errands – trying to get ingredients for her dinner, ordering flowers for her from her daddy who is away – he called the other night and asked if I’d have flowers sent to her at work from him – along with several other little errands we had on our list. Sarah decided on comfort food – sausages and apples and creamed potatoes, “the nice, spicy Italian sausages, mom, not the wimpy kind”, and for her birthday “cake” she asked for elephant ears (palmiers). Our family has a few people who don’t like traditional birthday cake. Sounded pretty simple, and it was, except for the elephant ears! While we were driving around running the errands, Abigail was on the phone to brother Joshua at home asking for phone numbers to the bakeries in town after we went to 2 places that usually have elephant ears but didn’t yesterday. She made so many phone calls, several times explaining what an elephant ear actually is, but there were no elephant ears in the whole of Fayetteville, so we decided to do them ourselves, got the puff pastry and went online for a recipe. Abigail, our resident chef, made a most excellent batch of palmiers and now that we know how easy they are, we will probably be making lots more! It was pretty cute to have the birthday candle in a palmier, but it worked! (we’ve had candles in everything from trifles to ice cream pies) The birthday meal turned out wonderfully, the flowers from daddy were beautiful, and the lovely birthday girl was blessed. How on earth can she already be 20 years old…

    Reply
  32. JulieKP

    Meals in my childhood were wonderful and mundane all at once. My parents made a VERY big deal out of us sitting down every night for dinner. No exceptions unless we were invited to someone else’s for dinner or went somewhere to eat together. My mother said you found out more about your children’s lives around the dinner table than anywhere else. We laughed. We argued. We talked. I used to think it was no big deal until I was in my early twenties and living at home. I have a friend who would show up “by accident” at dinner time. He loved being accepted as part of the family. Everyone was always welcome at my parents house. Later on he told me his family never ate together and never asked about his day. He felt like he mattered at my parents house. The dinner table will always be special to my family whether we are eating cereal or prime rib. Everyone is welcome. There is always room for one more.

    Reply
  33. SJP

    I would like to use the plate for lovely parties and gatherings (tea parties, book/poem club meetings, wine tastings, sangria fun, and many others). It would be a centerpiece and would tell a story and bring conversation.
    What a beautiful plate and with so much life still left to live.
    Thank you for your wonderful blog. Last weekend I had a Saturday Tea Party with great friends and I served your strawberry shortcake. Everyone loved it and I shared your blog.

    Reply
  34. Cindy

    Dinner time as my childhood home, you ask? Well it was a time for family, conversation, arguments, conflict and love. Often there was game or some other inexpensive meat on the table. We always ate together and there was no TV, phones or anything else allowed to spoil the meal. I’ve tried to continue on the same family meal traditions with my own children. My boys tell me that most of their friend’s families don’t eat together, but take a plate in front of the TV. They think I’m wierd but I know they will remember and treasure it when they are older.

    Reply
  35. Sue McG

    My favourite meal is any meal with family and friends around the table. Laughter, stories, some old faces and some young, a walk down memory lane, an adventure retold, a little wine, a lot of fun, that makes a great meal for me. Any meal is memorable when it’s taken in good company.
    Congrats on such a fun find at the market!

    Reply
  36. Shelu

    I would like to use the plate for lovely parties and gatherings (tea parties, book/poem club meetings, wine tastings, sangria fun, and many others). It would be a centerpiece and would tell a story and bring conversation.
    What a beautiful plate and with so much life still left to live.
    Thank you for your wonderful blog. Last weekend I had a Saturday Tea Party with great friends and I served your strawberry shortcake. Everyone loved it and I shared your blog.

    Reply
  37. andrea

    My Mom always joked that as soon as she yelled ‘dinner’ my Dad would ‘hide’.Maybe he didn’t like her cooking?

    Reply
  38. martina

    My maternal grandmother collected green optic Depression glass plates..during the depression. Special summer meals and ALWAYS birthday cakes were served with these plates. Mom inherited them. Her sister-in-law found 8 more plates at the Salvation Army and recognized the pattern. Gave them to Mom. Mom served special summer meals and ALWAYS birthday cakes on the plates. Salads look especially nice on them. Mom gave me all of the plates a few years ago and I also use them for special meals and birthday cakes for friends and family. A friend was going to sell a pretty dish with poppys on it at her garage sale. I loved it. She then smiled and got teary and gave it to me. It had been her beloved Grandma’s dish-used for serving mashed potatoes and noodle dishes at family dinners. It had great sentimental value but my friend was trying to declutter. I now have that dish on a cast iron display rack, with a wooden lefse pin and large wooden spoon-both were made by my Grandpa. Your plate would go with these items.

    Reply
  39. AmandaMay

    My family always ate together, and I never realized how special it was until I moved away and discovered packaged foods and moms (and dads) who don’t cook! My mom is a fantastic cook, nothing glamorous but something different every night and always healthy. She grew many of her own vegetables, we had cows/pigs/chickens that provided meat and eggs, and she bought organic everything else though it was for sure a stretch on a teacher’s budget. I have definitely grown up to appreciate the value of good food, after all, what’s more important to our health and well-being than what we are putting into our bodies!
    We always lingered over meals, discussing our days or just anything. I always liked when my parents old friends were over and the stories would go on for hours. I hope I can continue those traditions, they create such strong family bonds and such warm memories.

    Reply
  40. Bucks County, Pa

    What a beautiful plate.

    Reply
  41. Isabel ~ Maison Douce

    Lovely plate! When my husband’s sister was little, she secretly took a little bite out of each of the 12 dinner rolls awaiting on the table… When their dad found out, he offered her the plate of dinner rolls and told her that was her dinner… And she had to finish what was on her plate!!
    Isabel

    Reply
  42. Carolyn

    My Daddy always came home about seven in the evening, so Mama had us bathe and put on clean clothes or PJ’s before dinner. We always ate the evening meal together, with one exception. When we got television (this was in the early fifties), we were allowed to eat one supper a week in front of the TV. We thought this was a real privilege, and I think Mama and Daddy enjoyed the opportunity for adult conversation.
    When I grew up, married and had five children, we always ate breakfast and supper together, adjusting the time to sports practice, dance classes and other activities. It may have been a very quick, simple meal, but we made the effort to sit down together. All of my children, now adults, have remarked on how grateful they were for this custom, not very common among their friends’ families.

    Reply
  43. beachy

    What a treasure you have found, Corey! Holiday meals were (and still are) a favorite pastime in our family. One thing we do each Easter (this is a Polish tradition), is to share one hardboiled Easter egg with everyone at the table… if 20 people are present, the egg is cut into 20 pieces (think loaves & fishes)! It symbolizes that there is enough food (LOVE) for everyone present at the table. I like to think of all my relatives over the years with whom I’ve shared the same egg on Easter, and future generations that hopefully will continue with our own generations old tradition.

    Reply
  44. elainey

    … i will tell you about my kitchen table…it sits in my kitchen now in the same place …but now as my desk…filled with pictures of my family…and behind it above the chair rail my older son has written for me…the prayer we always said as a family…heavenly father pardon our sins and accept our thanks for these and all our many blessings… as i look at all the sweet faces i can see those blessings as i go about my business…but the table itself is also one of my treasures…it is the picnic table that was in our back yard …that found its way inside as our family grew…across the top of the middle is carved the date of our marriage…june 30 1970 …and beneath it a date for each decade we have been married…but it is the the carving of my sons’ initials and those of mine and my husband’s that make me smile…we each carved our initials at the place where we sat…no new ones were allowd until my son married…his is now enclosed with a heart and our sweet new daughter’s initials with the date of their marrige… she did the carving herself as that was the rule…the best however is the precious name —not initials for grandbabies they get the whole name!—jack…i am blessed to have some very lovely antiques…but it is this table that would be saved first in case of fire…it holds memories of all our family meals through many many years and the promise of little people once again surrounding it…the food did not matter…the blessings around me did…

    Reply
  45. Erin

    Hi Corey-
    I just love that you think of sending nice things out to people. It’s very sweet and I think I will steal your idea (once I have a bit more of an audience on my blog!) and send out little treasures occasionally too.
    I am from Boston, but right now I am spending four months in Buenos Aires (searching through great flea markets…and oh yeah, visiting my boyfriend).
    Last night for dinner I made sushi-vegetarian, as I am one like you! It’s his favorite meal that I make. Especially the avocado roll. For dessert I made a pear pie, but we were too full to eat it, so we’ll have it for lunch!
    Ciao Corey!
    Erin

    Reply
  46. Lorrie

    When my husband’s grandmother married in the mid-1920s, her parents gave her an oak dining room table and chairs. As her family grew, so did the table, with its numerous leaves.
    Tragedy struck when her four children were still young – her husband had a mental breakdown and was confined to an institution. Destitute, Grandma moved with her family 500 miles away to care for the young children of a man whose wife had died of tuberculosis. The oak dining table came along.
    As the children grew the table was the focus of many hearty meals – feeding the harvesting crew, the loggers who came by, and the family whose appetites grew in proportion to their height.
    The table began to sag under the weight of countless meals and leaning elbows. Soon a new table was purchased and this old one found itself in the chicken coop, dirty and neglected.
    My mother-in-law discovered the table on a visit to the farm. In the 1950s it was fashionable to cut down a dining table to coffee table height. Her husband did that for her. The oak extension leaves were discarded, the seam sealed, and the table pedestal cut down. It served as their coffee table for many years, but like other things, also went out of style and was relegated to the storage room.
    When I married my husband in 1977, his parents were heading off to live in another country and offered us the table. Tim looked at it and thought it would make a nice dining room table for us.
    He built a new pedestal for it, cut open the center seam, made new extension rails and leaves and the table served us well for several years. I remember kneading bread on it and thinking of its history.
    We ourselves moved to another country for several years and gave the table to my sister-in-law who now uses it in her home, feeding her family and guests.
    When I visit, I run my hand along the oak and think of the many stories this table has heard, of the laughter and tears it witnessed, of the steaming plates of food it held and of the people who sat around it.
    Lorrie

    Reply
  47. megan

    my favorite food is spaghetti on toast because my dad taught me how to keep the spaghetti from falling out of the bottom when i was little and it’s been “our thing” ever since then.

    Reply
  48. Rosemary

    Corey, What a fabulous find!
    I come from a family of 9 children so dinner time was usually pretty hectic! Mom made simple dinners that could be ‘stretched’ to feed all. But we had a special plate that came from my great grandma’s china that was used only when someone had a birthday! Now I’m wondering whatever happened to that plate!! It sure made you feel special to have the opportunity to use it!

    Reply
  49. Alina

    I am not competing as I just won something and that would be greedy! Although eventually it would be nice to have a complete place setting from France. Just kiddding. 😀
    My favorite meal has yet to take place, but I think I know where it will be and with whom. 😉

    Reply
  50. karen cole

    Those cuts in the plate are spectacular.
    My husbands ravioli. Of the 5 siblings he has inherited the gift of wanting to make his great grandmothers recipe from Liguria. Homemade. The filling…cheeses, meats, spinach. The dough. Now there’s the best part. Smooth, soft….melts in your mouth

    Reply
  51. Paula

    My fond memories of meals from childhood are many and varied. I suppose my most favorite is that of my grandmother telling me that a bit of burned toast would make my cheeks rosy……..that stinker, she tricked me into eating that toast.
    Oh and she would point to each mini marshmallow in my hot chocolate and tell me what state that was on the US map….ha !!! I thought she was soooo smart !
    Corey, I got my rusty tins yesterday. They are lovely and now one of my treasure trove. Thank you so much.
    That plate would sure rock my world !!

    Reply
  52. julie holvik

    Dear Corey, I could see my portuguese sweet bread on that plate for Easter. Julie

    Reply
  53. Mary Kate

    We have some old early 20th-century diner plates and soup bowls from my grandmother. I am always looking on ebay to find more like them but I never do see anything similar. Apparently my uncle, who was a San Francisco Fireman, salvaged them from a restaurant fire.
    I wonder if this plate was ever saved from a fire? If only it could tell….

    Reply
  54. Wylie

    Corey, the plate is beautiful. So much history in a lovely piece of china!
    I am part of a group in my church called the Sonshine Ministries. We bring a lovingly cooked dinner to those who are ill or bereaved, or somehow in need. Tonight I am carrying a light supper over to a friend whose husband is seriously ill in the hospital, and we will sit and pray with her for a few minutes, for healing, for strength and courage.
    I have so many wonderful memories of family meals, and sharing food has always been such a loving, nourishing gesture to me. Taking a simple meal to someone who is overwhelmed is a small thing, but means a great deal.

    Reply
  55. Jamie V

    Oh, I do love this plate. I love thinking about the history of it. When I was a child I was fortunate that my parents knew how important it was for us all – even with four kids – to have meals together as often as possible. I did that with my own four kids! So important. I liked the fact that my dad cooked as well as my mom – and this past weekend when I was visiting at their home I was looking through their cupboards at the dishes and cookware, etc. and it reminded me of pieces of our own family history! Jamie V in MT
    amzanioli@yahoo.com
    http://rem-nants.blogspot.com

    Reply
  56. Deanna Davis

    Thank you so much for your wonderful start to every day Corey! Last night’s dinner was very hectic, filled with many phone calls from members of my quilt guild responding to my request for quilts to comfort the children of the four police officers slain on duty last weekend in Oakland, Ca. I ended up in tears as the list of needs was filled right up. I would love your dish to remember this evening of love and caring.

    Reply
  57. Ariane

    She asked him to bring her something from his travels. He asked what she would like. I don’t know, she replied, a handkerchief, some cloth for a dress. When he returned, he brought her a plate painted with beautiful flowers. He said, I know you don’t like it when I am away from home so much. So I brought you a plate painted with a beautiful bouquet of flowers, so you can use it everyday and think of me when you sit down to eat. The blue in the flowers remind me of your eyes – how they sparkle whenever you see me again. And the pink reminds me of the blush upon your cheeks and the color of your lips when we tenderly kiss upon my return. To which to blushed and threw her arms around around him and told him she would lovingly cherish this plate forever.

    Reply
  58. marilyn

    I remember the times over the dinner table when my mom and I would share what had happened throughout the day with laughter and tears. Sometimes we would talk for an hour after the food had been consumed. Many memories surround the dinner table. It really didn’t matter what was served or what dinnerware was placed to hold the food, it was the sharing that was creating the memories.

    Reply
  59. Karen Tunnicliffe

    My favourite meal from as far back as I remember, and remains to this day, spaghetti and meatballs. Always served with coleslaw because that’s how my Mum did it and I’m not messing with tradition.
    I adore that plate, what a remarkable purchase. Thank you for sharing it with us, it’s a pleasure just to see it.

    Reply
  60. Bev

    I don’t know if this is my favorite meal but certainly was one of my most memorable. When my husband and I worked with street kids in Sao Paulo Brazil we befriended an entire family that lived on the streets: step-father, mother, and four children ages 3 to 12.
    Soon after they became squatters at an abandoned house on the periphery of the city. They invited us to a churrasco or barbecue at their house (of course no running water, electricity, etc.). They wanted to provide the meat which turned out to be the scraps that butchers gave to the dogs. We provided everything else. It was quite an evening. The meat was extremely chewy and we laughed a lot. They took care holding our daughter who was 13 months at the time. We brought home two mementos–a couple of fleas that tried to hide out in our bed for a couple of days.
    Bev

    Reply
  61. Catalina

    Have so many wonderful food memories!
    My father used to cook on Sundays: wonderful paellas or grilled shrimp, barbecues. As children we were full of expectation and delight. As teenagers and adults we proudly invited friends.
    Nowadays my husband Thomas prepares wonderful dishes for me 🙂
    One of my favorites is “foigras et coquilles Saint Jacques” (foigras and scallops)
    His recipe
    Ingredients:
    1 raw foigras sliced (big slices)
    scallops cleaned and taken out of the shells.
    peaches cut in segments.
    some butter and sugar
    Preparation:
    – Use a saucepan to cook the peaches + sugar + butter gently. Keep them warm.
    – cook the scallops in a little of oil and “flambé” them with Armagnac. Take them out and keep them warm.
    – Add the foigras slices to the scallops pan. Cook only few seconds each side at a very high temperature. Take immediately out. Put a slice in a dish + scallops on the top.
    – Add the peaches to the foigras pan and cook again a minute. Put them aside the foigras and scallops.
    (this is less expensive than you may think, a raw foigras is expensive but you may use one for 8 people. Scallops in season are not.)
    enjoy!
    (if not I love tomatoes crushed on the top of a bread toasted slice -baguette is better- and olive oil and salt. This is from my childhood in Mallorca)
    Last night I had lasagna! (I made it)
    XOXO
    Your father post is SO beautiful Corey!
    Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  62. poppy fields

    Once a year, the night when the Wizard of Oz was on TV, my parents would get together with the nighbors to play bridge. That night, my mom and her friend would always make spaghetti with homemade sauce for all of the kids to eat while watching the movie…while the grown-ups all played cards….35 years ago.

    Reply
  63. Libby

    What a lovely idea to send your find onto a new home. I very much enjoyed looking at your site, so fantastic!
    Let’s see dinner last night was barbecued shrimp on smoked gouda grits – that’s a Southern recipe for you, served with roasted brussel sprouts. I love to cook and have lots of favorite recipes on my site, http://www.twirlandtaste.com
    Have a wonderful day!
    Libby

    Reply
  64. Rosemary

    Hi Corey,
    First of all, how amazing that the plate has been around for so long, without a mishap. Also that you happened to find it and for only .50.
    Being from a big Italian family, we always had huge Sunday dinners, but they were especially large on holidays. Sometimes my mom would invite so many people, relatives, friends, and whoever just happened to need a place to go, that they would bring in our giant ping pong table for the dinner table. It was huge and heavy, not like the ones today. I remember being small and sitting at that ping pong table with 30 other people, and the food, well that is another story.
    Have a wonderful day!!
    Rosemary

    Reply
  65. PattyG

    Corey, What tales this plate could tell. Did some eat from it while planning the resistance in WWII?… My mother fed us like it was Sunday for other people everyday 🙂 and I never knew until a friend was over to eat on a week night and asked if it was a special occasion? I asked why and she commented on the food on the table being fancy. I had taken for granted what we ate on a regular basis; Meat, potatoes, vegetables, salad and a glass of milk. No TV dinners or hamburger helper in our house. Mom continues to like everything homemade, to this day in her late 70’s she still menu plans for the week and stocks her kitchen like her 6 children may walk thru the door any minute. I guess you sometimes don’t realize what’s special until you have the perspective of time. I can still smell her pot roast cooking if I close my eyes. Your posts and insights inspire and ground me but mostly give me food for thought. Thank you!

    Reply
  66. Mamta Mamta

    wow Corey,I am mighty impressed with the number of people who have posted comments…and I read some wonderful stories about dining tables & meals & families & presents…thanks :)The plate with its vase & flowers & leaves have received lots of attention…thanks to you…who ever baked it,obviously didn’t know 200 years later,his/her plate is going to be a topic of discussion on a blog 🙂
    Love & Regards…from India

    Reply
  67. leilani

    It was my first attempt at pie making. I chose apple pie because it was my Dad’s second favorite, (after Lemon Meringue which I was NOT about to attempt.)
    It came out looking beautiful, just like the cook book picture I thought. One bite, which I quickly spit out. . . I had forgotten to add sugar! My brother and I lifted the “lid” and added sugar, my Mother wouldn’t eat it, but Dad ate it just as it was and pronounced it very, very good. A little tart but he preferred that to too sweet.

    Reply
  68. Kristy Cramer

    “One Man”
    One man
    Opened her delicate heart
    As if it were a robins egg dropped to the ground
    Slightly cracked and waiting
    One man
    Showed her beauty beyond her wildest dreams
    What could be
    But looking through a window with no way to open it
    She could only stare out
    The pane being her heart, chipped
    The glass cloudy
    The sun shining on the other side
    He picked up the delicate egg
    And a little bird lay inside
    He gently chipped away at the broken shell
    Until the little bird could find its way out
    Then finally the little bird, in His hand
    Sat in His palm, safe
    Warm
    Free
    Greetings Corey! This poem I wrote reminds me of finding a lovely old dish (with all it’s signs of aging) and so I’m adding it to your comments. The things I gravitate toward are usually worn, scratched, chipped, or angels with one wing broken off. I hope to someday “win” one of your giveaways! You are such an inspiration and joy!
    Sincerely,
    Kristy in Oregon USA

    Reply
  69. Christy

    Corey,
    My favorite recipe is one that was passed on to me by my mother-in-law, and I’m not sure how she acquired it. I could eat this salad everyday:
    -1 LG head of Romaine lettuce
    -approximately 1/2c Swiss cheese (although I sometimes use what’s on hand…gruyere works nicely, too)
    – 1 cup cashews
    – 1 apple peeled and cubed
    – 1 pear peeled and cubed
    – 1/2 cup dried cherries
    For the dressing:
    1/2 cup sugar
    1/3 freshly squeezed lemon juice
    2 TBS finely chopped onions
    1 TBS dijon mustard
    1/2 TSP salt
    2/3 cup vegetable oil
    1 TBS poppy seeds
    Process all dressing ingredients ensuring that it emulsifies. Toss salad ingredients. Dress before serving.
    It’s yummy!

    Reply
  70. Lily

    I love things telling a story.
    I just ate my bagel from a handmade plate.
    Each of the plates we got is different – unique in his colours.

    Reply
  71. Janet

    Corey..how beautiful this plate is and now it has been ‘rescued’ and off to who knows where in the world !
    I can imagine the computer saying to the other junk ‘Who does he think he is? I should’ve rolled over and smashed him to pieces,the ugly old faience!’ [big souffle noise].

    Reply
  72. Beverly

    I just made dinner…lasagna…and will store it in the fridge until after David’s baseball game tonight.
    Isn’t it funny how important it is to me to have a good and hearty dinner made?
    We have dinners at my mom’s house every Sunday. It’s a long standing tradition, and one of my favorites! My mom tries to quit making dinners, but we won’t let her. (But we have decided on some ways to make this tradition easier on my mom.) Our whole family, with the exception of my sister who lives far away, comes over.
    I hope that my kids come back with their families every Sunday night for dinner.
    I really do!

    Reply
  73. kay

    Hi Corey,
    I’m a cook so food is a big part of my life however its not my food I remember.. its other peoples…so many great times….Lobster in Bar Harbor..after watching whales….family b-b-qs in a Sussex orchard that lasted all weekend….birthday pic-nics at the beach in Dorset…as kids being allowed on Saturday evenings to have our tea on our laps in front of the TV..we always had to sit at the table…I have a saying on my message board just above me here and now..’we don’t remeber the days, we remember the moments’…little slivers of food full of memories…
    Kay xx

    Reply
  74. Tina Wright

    oh my..what a wonderful plate you found! Being a kid in a German/American family, cooking was a big thing..no bad cooks in my mom’s family, and the kitchen holds the best childhood memories for me. Traveling from lap to lap of all the aunts,Great Aunts and any of the other women who visited with my mother as she cooked for the meal. Then being able to help one of these ladies as they helped my mother as I got older, then cooking for them as I grew up..it’s a long line of memories, smells and good food, that I hope my children will share when they are old too.

    Reply
  75. Elaine

    My most cherished dinner memories are very simplistic. They are of my parents, brother, and myself sharing our dinner times. Dinner was ALWAYS on the table within a half hour of my father arriving home from work. My dad got up before the sun would rise, so my mother always made sure dinner was on time, since he would be hungry when he arrived home. Dinner time was the time that we reunited as a family at the end of the day. We shared conversation about how our day had progressed. My father always loved to hear about what our school day had been like.
    My brother was killed in an accident at the youthful age of 24, so these simple dinner memories are very dear.
    ~elaine~

    Reply
  76. sabrina

    when i was a small child my maternal grandmother lived with us,and she would make fresh flour tortillas several times a week. granna would give me a small piece of masa and i would roll it out over and over again and granna would cook it when she finished all the rest of the tortillas. i would proudly present that tortilla to my daddy and he would eat and say every single time,that it was the best he had ever eaten.
    as an adult,i now realise how much my dad loved me. he ate that grubby,tough,little tortilla every time,and each time declared it a wonderful thing.

    Reply
  77. Shelley Noble

    “…like the lovingly wrinkles on an old face, like stories carved deeply from living without counting the cost, nor trying to cover up the fact that one has lived.”
    This is why I love you so much, Corey. In your heart even a dish becomes about the journey of a soul.

    Reply
  78. Rozl

    Years ago I was in Arlington, VA. and stopped in a antique store that specialized in French items. I found a beautiful old plate that had a lovely winter scene on it. Brought it home and displayed it on the wall, but it really needed 2 more to complete the vignette. The next year, I
    went to France with friends, hoping to maybe find 2 more to place on the wall. We left Paris and went straight east to Strasburg. After that we went south thru the wine area and found a town called Odessa. I remembered that was the name on the back of the plate. This was the Town were the plate was made, and I found tons of them in every store. So I bought 12. What were the chances that I would find the town they were made in?
    I have three hanging on the wall and the rest we use almost everyday.
    I know that this isn’t a recipe or favorite
    meal, but I was really excited with my discovery and wanted to share.
    Thank you for all your sharing.

    Reply
  79. sadie527

    I was blessed to have Cleaver-esqe parents … and it wasn’t an act! Family meant everything. Dad did know best… (with a little tempering from Mom), and even work-a-day meals were served with love. A vase of posies from the garden would grace the table, condiments would be set out in pretty dishes, napkins would be folded nicely etc. We had lots of casseroles, but they were always tasty! How generous of you to offer up this sweet and well-used dish! – Amy Bauer

    Reply
  80. Elizabeth Parsons

    Last night for dinner I made a wonderful lemon/garlic chicken. I used thighs with the skiin on. First a little lemon oil, then the thighs- just a bit of salt and pepper. Then lots of fresh lemon juice, freshly squeezed all over. Then lots of fresh chopped garlic, sprinkled all over. Then a tiny bit of crushed rosemary for an extra layer of flavor…bake at 375 for an hour or so…so good, so simple, so full of flavors.
    eBeth

    Reply
  81. molly

    my grandsons love to help set the table..pick out what dishes ..napkins ..etc…we always try & make it a very fun dinner when they visit….the best is having a 4yr. old tell you..mimi you make the best macaroni in the world!!

    Reply
  82. Laura

    Hi Corey,
    The plate is lovely, the idea of all the possible history behind it is intriguing!
    Here’s my story:
    Younger brother kicks sisters under the kitchen table. Father sends brother to bottom step of basement to finish his dinner. Repeat story 365 times for about 7 years!
    Here’s my question:
    How do you tell that a plate is 200 years old? (please forgive my ignorance!)

    Reply
  83. Barbara Sydney Australia

    My parents had a fish and chip shop here in Sydney many years ago. I remember coming home from school and Dad giving me a potato scallop (deep fried battered slices of potato) topped with fresh prawns (shrimp). I would sit on the back step eating it & watching the customers come & go. Just yummy but I realise now why I have a constant weight problem!!!!LOL Just loved everyones stories thank you all.

    Reply
  84. Denise Moulun-Pasek

    Corey,
    I would ask the plate what most horrifying thing it has ever heard while in service. I have a flair for the dramatic and I think the stories it witnessed, more than the meals it has held, would be interesting to know.
    I’m having an early dress rehearsal for choir tonight and it looks like I’ll be eating at Oodle Noodles…
    Denise

    Reply
  85. Shirley M.

    Growing up I spent a lot of time with my grand parents. My grandmother was always cooking things from scratch. In her day that is what mothers and grandmothers did. I loved being in her kitchen and think maybe today that is why I love kitchens. A few years back I found a couple of every day plates at at an antique shop that were in the pattern she had. They are not fine china, just every day, but I love them. They remind me of family gathered around her table many years ago when we were all together. She has been gone a long time and her dishes are long gone. Where they went, I dcn’t know. The ones I have remind me of her and I wonder if they were made at the same time in the factory where hers were made.

    Reply
  86. Bonnie Buckingham

    I loved that poem Kristy did. She deserves to win! But on to the task at hand, I am one of eight children and we were made to EAT everything on our plates. One night I sat and sat until the sun went down and the dishes were cleared with a pile of lima beans on my plate. Didn’t my mother know I didn’t like them?
    Bonnie

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  87. Sue Tinker

    You are living my dream. I would cherish the plate. st

    Reply
  88. Elaine

    Corey, your story reminds me of making butter with my grandmother. She had an old glass churn with wooden paddles that had a handle on the outside that you turned much like old hand beaters. I loved to sit and turn the paddles and watch the cream grow thicker and thicker. When it was just perfect, she would place it in molds. I have one of her oldest molds that came with her and my great-grandmother from Missouri in a wagon. It is a one pound print mold that the corners are dove-tailed. The joy of making fresh cream butter. It is one of my most prized possessions. I learned so much from her and that butter mold heard years and years of her wisdom. I hope your plate finds a worthy home.

    Reply
  89. Mahala

    My Grandma would make some macaroni, cut up some tomatoes, mix ’em together with a little sugar.
    There was nothing better on a hot San Joaquin County summer day than eating with Grandma on the farm.

    Reply
  90. Mrs. B.

    Would love to own that wonderful piece of history.

    Reply
  91. Cheryl Mohr

    Would you believe one of the most interesting things I’ve eaten was a peanut butter and onion sandwich with my Great, Great Aunt Grace. She had a garden outside her duplex, along a train track. It seemed she wouldn’t be able to grow a thing in that black rocky soil but oh man! It was a sight. Sometimes when I have memories of her, I can only picture her bum in a pair of cotton pedal pushers since she was forever bent over. One day we decided to pull green onions and pair them with peanut butter. I don’t know if it was the delight of something so ridiculous or simply the company but it was tasty. It was also the only one I ever ate.

    Reply
  92. rochambeau

    Lucky plate to find you Corey ~ The link to a new life!
    We always did and still do eat together.
    I feel fortunate to have had so many fine & memorable meals in my life, that my mother took the time to teach me to cook.
    I remember learning table manners and how to set the table.
    I remember at age 9 baking a pink cake around Valentine’s day. I slammed the oven and it never rose properly, still my grandmother pretended she liked it. The next day my mom put the whole thing in the blender, added some eggs chocolate and sugar and made the most excellent batch of brownies. We had company that night and I remember the guests wanting to have the recipe. 😉
    Hope all is well!!
    xox
    Constance

    Reply
  93. Cre8Tiva

    what a sweet plate my friend…meals were quiet often solitary times for me as the housekeeper fed me before my parents came home… but i would give a lot for one more cup of her chocolate pudding…or even the recipe..way lost in memories here…blessings rebecca
    ps…if you have an extra prayer you could send my way i would appreciate it…

    Reply
  94. Dixie

    Corey… the cost is of no consequence… sometimes things come to us becasue they are ment to be with us… Alas… I know… this treasure is not ment to be with me… but I did tell my firend Debbie in Georgia to come a take ap peek… it may belong to her…
    I posted photos of my beautiful baking tins today. I hope you’ll stop by and take a peek when you have time.
    blessings. Dixie

    Reply
  95. fitty

    Wow Corey.. that is one antique plate and still look beautiful!.. looks like some plates my mom keeps in her stash and hardly used.. her plates came from my late great grandmother..
    talking about dinner, last nite we had pasta.. my kids all time fave.. with lots of sauces and meatballs.. and dinner with kids is something that I lookforward everyday coz that is when we chat and story telling about things we do in a day.. normally funny & happy incidents..
    anyway.. I wish the plate talks back.. hehehehe
    have a nice day!
    fitty

    Reply
  96. Judy

    I have a lovely memory of my Swiss Grandmother making omelets (crepes?) with sugar on them~simple, but divine! Judy

    Reply
  97. prof en retraite

    Oh Corey! My dear friend Dixie has sent me to see this wonderful old plate…but seeing is not enough! I am reaching out to touch it …to run my fingers over every line and knife mark and imagine the countless simple country meals that must have been served on it. I am hopelessly addicted to plates…especially antique French plates, having lived in France myself for a while. There I had a wonderful set of white Limoges plates rimmed with tiny little grapes…nothing fancy…that I had bought at the quinquillerie. There was nothing I loved more than washing them by hand at night after supper. I know that sounds silly, but it gave me such pleasure to handle those plates and I was saddened to have to leave them behind! I think my addiction was born in this period in my life…living among my French friends and lingering for hours over amazing meals served on beautiful plates which disappeared from the table with each course and were replaced by more plates…even more beautiful! I stood at the window of the little shop that sold faïence so often that the lady looked for me and even gave me a little Lunéville plate! And finally, I realized a dream of mine and went to the Musée Départemental Breton and spent hours among the antique Quimper plates! I am so happy that you have rescued that wonderful old plate and I would be honored if it came to live with me. I can promise you that I would love it and touch it every day. I would hang it proudly beside my little pieces of antique Quimper ware and dream of having a chance to go back to France, to the brocante to find it a brother!!
    I must also say that I am so happy that Dixie has sent me to you so that I could discover your blog and enjoy a little vicarious visit to France until I can get back there! A la prochaine…Debbie

    Reply
  98. Vanessa

    We only saw my Grandma two or three times a year, but I remember she always made biscuits for every meal, and the extras were left on the table, covered with a towel, for snacking on throughout the day. Grandpa loved to sit and drink coffee in the afternoon with a biscuit and molasses. I still miss her and she’s been gone over 25 years.

    Reply
  99. Kelly

    What a treasure. How ever can you part with it? Do people choose objects or is it the other way around?

    Reply
  100. Vickie H.

    Oh my! So beautiful in its simplicity. Too late tonight for me to share my story about dining…I must go to bed, but I am leaving my name, just the same. I can’t believe you are parting with this plate…you got such a DEAL on it!
    Vickie

    Reply
  101. Cama

    Two childhood memories come to mind…. In the 1960’s Friday nights were spent at a fish fry (Lake Perch was and still is a big thing in Northwest Indiana-South Chicago). My family rarely missed one. It was usually held at a local tavern or church. Saturday nights were spent at my Grandparents house with the extended family. Home made pizzas was on the menu every Saturday. I remember my grandmother and my Aunts pulling pizzas out of the oven upstairs and downstairs (my grandmother had a small kitchen in her basement as well as in the “regular” kitchen upstairs). I can remember 30 to 40 people and children in the house almost very Saturday evening. It was all about family back then. Times have changed. You rarely hear of extended family get togethers any more.

    Reply
  102. Vicki

    I just lost my grandma on February 13of this year. She was 95 years old. I was given two familiar characters from her kitchen… very worn ironstone plates. She had only two of them, and as a child she used to place in front of me and my sister at dinnertime. One time I asked if I could have one of her pretty pink flowered ones… She informed me that I had the best plates in the house… they were all she had of her mother’s plates. When I was young, I thought they were terribly dull, but now they are mine. They are tinged brown in the middle from they years of hot foods being placed on them… and now I think they are the most beautiful plates in the world. I plan to pass them to my Sophia.

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  103. Ruthie

    Last evening, our dinner was served by a loving lady of probably well over 70 and her two young male assistants from a Salvation Army Emergency Response vehicle. They traveled down our block, offering bottles of water and juice and cups of coffee along with ham sandwiches and slices of warm pizza to hungry sandbaggers. High school and college kids who showed up at our home as well as the other homes on our street shortly after one PM and had spent the next six hours tossing sandbag from person to person until it reached and was placed on the growing dike behind our homes. Despite a constant drizzle that at one point was a pouring rain, they braved the north dakota gumbo that caked on their shoes and turned our yards to slippery muddy messes. Long after muscles ached and clothes and faces were streaked with dirt they carried on. The sandwiches might not have been the most original..slices of ham and american cheese inside buttered hamburger buns…but, I promise you a seven course meal served on White House china never tasted better. After their sandwiches and bottles of water..they went back to the lines and toiled until well after dark..and left the “table” knowing one more link in the chain of dikes that ring Fargo will be ready when the Red crests.

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  104. jeanne

    200 years???? I can’t keep dishes from falling apart within 2 years!!!

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  105. Lina

    I love old dishware! I, too, love to think about the stories they could tell 🙂 Who has used them? What conversations have they heard? What sort of rooms have they seen? I have some that I use (like my Victorian sherry glasses) and some that are for decoration (like the Victorian cake plates on our kitchen wall).
    Last night I made French Onion Soup for dinner. I’ve tried many many recipies in the past and I think I’ve now finally found the one that works! Of course, it’s been a while since I’ve eaten French Onion Soup in France, so it might not taste like the authentic one 🙂 We used earthenware bowls that haven been in my family for a while. Nowhere near 200 years, though!

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  106. cheryl

    My favorite meal memories harken back to my first love, as a young teen. I loved an Italian Boy whose mother was the best cook.
    His father enjoyed food more than anyone I’ve ever known. She would cook the most spectacular meals and he would sit at the table with a jug of wine at both ends and when he ate he would compliment her the whole time. “Rosie, this is delicious!” He would take his time and enjoy every bite. He loved to have people at the table and he just made every dinner an occasion. I hope that sometimes, when I entertain, my guests leave my home feeling as though they have shared that kind of joy! I think of him more often than I think of his son(who broke my heart)because he was the best example of love of life I’ve ever seen. This little post made me wish I had a plate from their table (of a wine glass)!

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  107. Nancy

    Hi Corey,
    I remember walking home from school at noon, and Mom would have pork chops, mashed potatoes and gravy (never a meal without gravy) and a vegetable. I would put lots of gravy on my potatoes, then cut the meat into little pieces, and put on top of the gravy. Yum! Nancy

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  108. Britt-Arnhild

    I am visiting your blog from a borrowed computer. I am out travelling with my new bishop for three days and we are invited to the local dean for dinner. I have met this dean many times during my work and always the two of us discuss fodd and recipes, always in the slow food, local food way. Being invited here for dinner is an old dream coming alive.
    The menue is still a secret, but fragrances have started to flow from the kitchen, filling the several hundred years old farmhouse where the dean live with his wife and four kids.
    Your plate would fit in perfectly 🙂

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  109. Travelingmama

    Hi Corey! I haven’t stopped by in SO long… I haven’t been getting “out” much since our littlest guy arrived! One of the stories that is often retold in our family is of the time my Mom insisted that we eat our zucchini. No one was leaving the table until their plates were cleaned! Oh, dear! What were we to do?? Well, the obvious answer was to throw each of those little zucchinis in Mom’s silk plant on the table. They blended right in! We didn’t tell Mom about those zucchinis for over a year, but every time we sat down to eat dinner there were plenty of secret snickers passed between us as we patted ourselves on the back for our mutiny!
    _________________
    I love it!!
    C

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  110. Dana

    Hello, I found your blog today and love it, I wanted to just keep scrolling along reading all the posts.
    You know my family always made it a point to sit at the table together when I was a child and now that I have a family of my own we still do. My favorite memory of food as a child was my grandfather’s fried chicken, it was the best fried chicken I have ever had. Unfortunately he got dementia before we could learn how he made it, we have come close but it still isn’t his. I would give anything to have another piece of that fried chicken.

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