Setting the Table | No. 7 Weeknight Elevated
Wednesday deserves the good tablecloth. This is the argument at the center of the Setting the Table series and the weeknight elevated table is where it is made most clearly.
A roasted chicken. A potato gratin. Homemade sourdough. Ina Garten's brownies. The Virginia Green Stripe tablecloth and the Mildred Cream napkins and the lamps on before anyone sits down. None of this is too much for a Wednesday. All of it is exactly right.
This is week seven of Setting the Table. Here is everything on the weeknight elevated table.
The Table
The Virginia Green Stripe tablecloth (available in round or rectangle) is the first thing that goes down and it changes the whole room. A stripe in a beautiful green is warm and unexpected and completely right for a weeknight table that is trying to say something. The Mildred Cream napkins alongside it, the cream tone pulling back from the green so the tablecloth can do its work.
• Blue and white dinner plates
• Blue Floral Short Enamelware Tumblers and Pitcher
The Menu
Everything here can be timed so you are sitting down when the chicken comes out of the oven. The gratin goes in first. The broccolini last. The brownies were made the day before or this morning.
The main
Roasted chicken with herbs and lemon. Spatchcocked or classic, your preference. Herbs tucked under the skin, lemon inside the cavity, a hot oven and patience. The house will smell incredible for the last forty-five minutes of cooking. That is part of the point.
• Roasted Broccolini with Lemon and Parmesan
• Baguette with butter
• Ina’s Outrageous Brownies and Vanilla Ice Cream
The Outfit
First option: a matching top and skirt set. The kind of outfit that looks pulled together on a weeknight without any effort. Add the brown and white striped sweater thrown over the shoulders as the evening cools.
Second option: a pointelle shirt, jeans, and flats. The weeknight elevated uniform — relaxed but intentional. The same brown and white striped sweater works here too, over the shoulders or on when the temperature drops.”
Everything from this post is linked in my ShopMy collection.
More at the Table
Every week this year I am setting a new table and sharing the full guide here on the blog. Follow along on Instagram at @shoptrudie and on my Substack, At the Table with Megan.