Winter Entertaining Series | Picture Imperfect

Julie Jurden

We hope you have enjoyed our fall and winter entertaining series. We know it’s a busy time for everyone and making it easier to entertain and spend time with friends and family is our goal.

italy at christmas time

 

Keeping it simple with quality, seasonal foods and floral elements layered with inviting and complementary dinnerware selections is our secret to success. 

As we head into this hectic time, I would like to share a segment from one of my favorite inspirational speakers, John O’Leary, speaking about what he learned during an attempt to get a multigenerational family photo:

“Love is a Verb.” As one parent ran to get a favorite toy for an upset child, another helped with a crying baby. As one cleaned up spit up, another brushed the hair of a child whose roughhousing disheveled it.

In love, there is no passivity, no sitting back, no waiting for others to jump in. Real love demands action. Love is the great motivator and compels continual forgiveness, persistent compassion and striving toward something even bigger than itself.

(“Love is a verb” is one of my favorite quotes from my recent Live Inspired podcast interview with Edie Varley. Edie shares her beautiful story of growing up one of 14 children – “life was a celebration!” She’s my personal coach, dear friend and you won’t want to miss her wisdom and energy)

2. Life requires adaptability. As more little ones came around their grandparents, everyone had to shuffle to make room and make sure everyone could be seen.

Most of us are creatures of habit and like things as they were. “The good ole days” isn’t just the beginning of a story our grandparents shared, but one now repeated by most of us! It’s critical to remember and celebrate that life is constantly in flux, otherwise we’re at risk to be driven toward protectionism and longing for a past that will never exist again.

3. Perfection is unattainable. The majority of Facebook posts and holiday cards are Photo-shopped or at least only THE BEST photo of hundreds taken before it. It also turns out when someone responds that everything is ‘just perfect’ in their work, finances, family and life: They likely aren’t telling the entire story.

  • Life isn’t perfect. It can be messy, sad, unfair and undignified. And yet, seasons of adversity are often followed by joy, with overlap between the two. Instead of pretending all is perfect, be okay with the mess life can occasionally be; instead of being disappointed at what you did not perfectly capture, be grateful for all that you did.

    For you see, in looking back, the best pictures, experiences and memories often aren’t the ones we envisioned, but the unexpected ones we were lucky enough to experience. 
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    From all of us at Modigliani, we wish you and your family a joyful holiday season, and we look forward to sharing and engaging more with you in the New Year.

     

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    Fall Entertaining Series | Cocktail Hour

    Julie Jurden

    For the fourth and final entry to our fall lifestyle series, let’s end with the cocktail hour.

    Having guests over on a crisp fall evening can be the perfect festive occasion. And you don’t always have to entertain by preparing a large meal. Sometimes inviting friends for a cocktail is the best way to do some stress-free entertaining during a busy holiday season.

    To set the scene, a bouquet of colorful fall tulips in our Zucca pitcher and a decanter from our Selezione collection full of our famous Rosemarino cocktail are just the ambience needed for a pre-dinner happy hour. Pair them with a cheese or charcuterie appetizer served on our Legna olive wood servers, turn on some music, and you have the ideal atmosphere for entertaining your holiday guests.

    cocktail on countertop with ceramic pitcher full of flowers

     Rosemarino Cocktail

    • Make rosemary simple syrup by combining 1 cup of sugar, 1 cup of water, and some sprigs of rosemary in a saucepan and place on a low simmer until well combined.
    • Place 2 ounces of bourbon, 2 dashes of orange bitters, and 2 teaspoons of simple syrup in a shaker and blend well.
    • Pour the mixture into your Selezione decanter and serve over ice with a sprig of rosemary for decoration.

     

    We hope you’ve enjoyed our Fall Entertaining Series and that you’ve been inspired to try some of these ideas yourself. Remember, keep it simple, mix and match, and let the natural beauty of the dinnerware and delicious food be the perfect backdrop for what really matters most; precious time with family and friends.

     

     

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    Fall Entertaining Series | Appetizing Serving Displays

    Julie Jurden

    As we continue our series, let’s turn to our attention to creating an elegant serving display.

    First, we are very excited about the inclusion of our new olive wood collection called Legna. These rich and elegant pieces are durable, come in a variety of sizes, and bring more of that natural element to any table.

    All of our products function quite well for prepping, but they’re also attractive enough to go straight to the table for serving appetizers or incorporating into a buffet. And the Legna collection is no exception – they are perfect for serving your guests. Below, we’ve layered them with crisp linens on our natural wood table to serve parmagiano reggiano and mozzarella cheeses, hand picked apples, and pane carasau – thin, crispy, twice baked crackers. The addition of the rosemary sprig provides just enough texture and a whimsical accent of greenery. Again, you have a neutral backdrop that’s warm and elegant contrasting with the color and texture of your food resulting in a beautiful and inviting display.

    wooden cheese board with a variety of cheeses

    Our ceramic centerpieces also work well for many purposes, including as a serving bowl for salads as we’ve used ours below. You can also use them as a place to put a hardy mum surrounded by gourds or greenery, to hold your favorite seasonal fruits, or you can partner them with the olive wood boards to serve breads and crackers. The possibilities are endless. The beauty of the piece with its swooping handles, unique shape, and artisan hand painting requires only simple solutions for its contents.

     

    To round out your serving needs, the dual-section of our antipasto dish is used here for additions to the salad, but we’ve also used ours for olives and pits, nuts, candies, and condiments. Its versatility makes for a wonderful gift that will be used again and again.

    salad set with ceramic bowl, olives, wooden cutting board and olive oil

    Bringing these pieces together and layering them with beautiful linens and textures from nature places the attention on the food while still providing a festive backdrop for your holiday entertaining.

    Our next in the series - Cocktail Hour

     

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    Fall Entertaining Series | Place Settings

    Julie Jurden

    In the second entry of our lifestyle series, we worked with a few ideas on place settings. We took the idea of incorporating nature and textures and mixed it with flatware adding some fun to the place card concept.

    We loved the idea of weaving herbs and floral into the tablescape as a whole. As you can see from the first photo, we took a single sprig of rosemary and the simple yet beautiful Michelangelo flatware and tied them together with a rich velvet ribbon, setting them on top of a crisp, off-white linen napkin.

    It’s easy and elegant and also provides your dinner guests with a wonderful scent of rosemary.

    Place setting on wooden table with green ribbon

     As shown above and for the purposes of our photo shoot, we chose to keep the beauty of the wood table as the base instead of displaying a Biancheria ivory placemat in full. But as you build your own tablescape, the placemat provides an elegant backdrop to your favorite dinner pieces.

    As you build out the rest of your place setting, use natural elements mixed with different pieces to layer your table. As you can see below, the table setting we chose includes a dahlia and some eucalyptus in a small glass votive. We then used the napkins from our Biancheria Green collection and layered them in a gentle roll mimicking the curved stems on our Villa d’Este amber glassware.

    leaf plate with pumpkin and amber colored glassware

    Again, the focus is on elegant yet simple beauty through the mixing and layering of natural textures and patterns.

    Next - Appetizer Serving Displays

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    Inspired by Fall | Truffle Hunting in Abruzzo

    Julie Jurden

    As fall quickly approaches, I’m reminded of the incredible gifts my favorite season brings. The crisp air, the changing leaves, the smell of bonfires, and of course, the food.

    Fall serves up hearty meals that awaken the senses and warm the soul – it’s a visceral experience for me.

    As I sit here browsing the Lungotevere collection with its beautiful color palette and thoughtful details, my mind returns to the autumn I traveled to the Abruzzo region for an unforgettable gastronomic adventure. 

    One of my most prominent memories is an early morning truffle hunt we experienced as we were learning about the seasonal ingredients of the region.

    Joined by an eclectic mix of solo travelers who loved food, wine, and adventure as much as I do, we dragged ourselves out of warm beds and into the hotel lobby just before dawn. Skipping our morning cappuccino ritual, yet incredibly excited for the new experience, we climbed into our awaiting van and struck out into the countryside of the Majella National Park.

    Led by Primiano our trufiano, or truffle guide, and his furry doggy sniffers, Ruby and Miss, we had absolutely no idea where we were going or what we were doing. We did, however, quickly learn that dogs are now the preferred truffle hunting choice, as pigs tend to eat what they find – who knew?

    As we drove for miles in the dark and the sun began to peak through the mountains, we finally reached our destination. Donned with our warmest jackets, mittens, and matching wellies, we stood at immediate attention in the cold as Ruby and Miss darted off sniffing every tree, ravine, and moss covered patch. We ran after them thinking it would take a bit of time before anything actually happened, but just like that, eureka!

    The more seasoned of the two dogs, Ruby, began scratching the surface and digging like mad while Primiano pulled her back so she couldn’t damage the delicate skin. Armed with a small spade and his bare hands, he dug the rest of the way himself and was rewarded for his efforts. First spot out of the gate and we found two perfect black truffles. Amazing!

    It almost felt too easy, but we continued following the dogs as they scratched a few more dirt patches. This time, no luck as they just smelled previous digs where someone had already removed the black beauties. Again and again, someone had beaten us to the treasure. 

    Just as we were about to give up and call it a day, Ruby gifted us with one more trophy. After Primiano shoveled even deeper into the soil, we couldn’t believe our neophyte eyes – a glorious pile of the most aromatic black truffles we’d ever seen. This made the caffeine free, early morning trek all the more worth it. Needless to say, we were incredibly grateful that the last group of hunters missed them completely so we could experience a fruitful hunt our first time out.

    Later that day as we made our way back to the Hotel Villa Danillo for our next cooking lesson, we too were rewarded for our hard work as we sliced and grated our glorious treasures onto homemade pizzas and handmade pastas. Pungent and pleasing, a meal infused with this Italian delicacy discovered just hours before was a most memorable gastronomical moment for my new travel companions and me.

    I can still smell that aromatic fungi as we speak, hoping some day soon to return to one of my favorite fall travel adventures.

    Mangiamo!

     

     

    RECIPE AND WINE PAIRING

    We couldn’t talk about truffles and not give a recipe and wine pairing, but this recipe is really quite simple – you just have to get your hands on a black truffle.

    There are many recipes for pasta with black truffles out there, and it is rather easy to adjust to your liking should you feel creative, but keep in mind the strong flavors when you do.

    In this recipe, I use spaghetti, but you can use fettuccini or you can toss it with your favorite ravioli or even gnocchi.

     

    RECIPE:

    Spaghetti with Black Truffles

    Ingredients:

    • 1 lb. spaghetti
    • 2 Tbs. kosher salt 
    • 2 Tbs. unsalted butter
    • 4 Tbs. unsalted butter, melted 
    • 1 to 2 black truffles
    • ¼ to ½ cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (optional)

     

    Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil, add the salt, and cook the pasta per the instructions. You’ll want the pasta al dente; so reduce the cooking time by 1 minute to reach that consistency.

    While your pasta is cooking, melt the 2 tablespoons of butter in a frying pan. Once it’s melted, grate one of the truffles into the melted butter and lightly sauté – 2-3 minutes should be enough.

    Once the pasta is finished, and before you drain it, reserve about 2-3 ladles of the cooking water in a bowl for later, then drain the rest of the water from the pasta in a colander.

    Transfer the drained pasta to a warmed serving bowl. Add the sautéed truffle, the remaining melted butter, and the optional cheese if you like. Toss it well to combine, and add some of the reserved cooking water for consistency as needed – not all at once, just add, as you need. You don’t want the dish to be too sticky or dry. The salted cooking water not only adds moisture to the dish, but also a nice flavor as well.

    Using a truffle shaver if you have one, or a vegetable peeler will do, thinly shave the second truffle over the top. Give it another light toss and serve immediately.

    Serves 4 to 6. 

    Note: If you’re new to truffles and think the taste might be too much for your liking, you can skip sautéing the grated portion and simply slice the truffle over the top at the end.

     

     

    WINE PAIRING

    Truffles are very earthy and aromatic so you’ll want a more mature wine to match the flavors. For Italian reds, look for something like a good Barolo, Brunello, or Nebbiolo. If you want to go French, look for a good burgundy. And with American wines, a nice pinot noir could be a good match.  You want a wine that is a bit more delicate so the flavors aren’t competing with one another.

    If you’re already spending good money on a beautiful black truffle, I recommend you splurge on the wine as well.  You won’t regret it if you do. Here are a couple of Italian Barolos to choose from, slightly different in price.

    On the lower end, but still around $36 a bottle is the 2011 Reversanti Barolo from Piedmont, Italy.  It has a nice ruby red color and you’re going to get flavors of licorice, berry fruits, roses, and hints of vanilla and tobacco. That complexity makes it a nice companion to the black truffles.

    If you want to spend a bit more, and maybe prefer a California wine, try the 2013 Gloria Ferrer Gravel Knob Vineyard Pinot Noir, Los Carneros for around $50. This wine can go with a variety of foods to be honest. It has a nice blackberry spice, dried strawberry, and earthy quality. If you love pinot noir as much as I do, this is a nice splurge.

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    Is It Spring Break Yet?

    Julie Jurden


    In dullness and dreariness of February, I find that my mind starts to turn toward escape.

    WIth the holidays well behind us and spring still weeks and weeks away, getting away from the chill of the end of winter starts to sound more and more appealing. The smell of the lemon groves, the sound of the sea, and the sights of the vibrant Italian marketplace begin to have an appeal that is almost...

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    Marsala: Timeless, Trendy and Italian

    Julie Jurden

    If you follow color and design trends, we have big news.

    Pantone has announced the color of the year for 2015! And we are happy to see that their choice was very Italian!

     

    The Pantone color for 2015 is a major departure from last year’s ethereal and playful Radiant Orchid. Marsala is an exquisite deep maroon shade that manages to be very grounded and earthy while also exuding an air of opulence and...

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    High-Contrast Tablescapes: Black and White Gets Bold

    Julie Jurden

    In an increasingly busy world, a minimalist color palate can speak volumes.

    Black and white with a splash of color is having a moment, especially in tablescapes. The trend is one of the oldest color combinations in design history, but also one of the most modern looking and the most striking. Season after season, this high-contrast design trend manages to keep tablescapes looking both fresh and...

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    Embrace L’Amore

    Julie Jurden

    Anyone can make a reservation at a restaurant. It’s convenient. A dinner date at a restaurant requires minimal planning and not much effort. Finding parking might be the biggest challenge you’ll face all night.

    And while we are all for convenience, isn’t there something much more romantic about making an effort?

    Why You Don’t Need a Reservation This Valentine’s Day

     

    Isn’t it the telltale sign of...

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    Old World Craftsmanship Meets Sleek Modern Design

    Julie Jurden

    Ready for something totally unexpected?

    The trademark of Modigliani is a respect for the past, an appreciation for the romanticism of the simplicity of Italian life. Most of our designs look to the past for inspiration.

    This one is really special because it looks to the future.

    The pieces in our line La Forma del Sogno-Rossoare graphic black and white with a pop of red. With sharp lines and...

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