What about a tablecloth under all of them? Sounds easier than cutting all those liners!

maybe just put them on top of a tablecloth?

ML

Remove the liners after the first glass of wine.

What are you seeing that makes you think they need a liner?

Won't they mostly be covered by your china and silver and glassware?

Is this because the table color shines through?

This is what I found:
"Therefore fabric placemats are not insulated with underpads, unless
they are made of sheer fabrics, such as organdy or handkerchief linen."

HA! Brushworks, you're cracking me up! I'm hopeful Mom will loan me her antique goblets, etched crystal with a twisted green stem. If she does and one breaks, I'm dog meat! Maybe your idea has more merit than I initially gave it.

I thought about a tablecloth, but I cannot find a nice round white linen table cloth. I can find white hemstitched but not in a round. The round cloths I have are not what I want to use, I have a provencal cloth in our team colors for football season; a provencal cloth in fall colors; a cream damask, and a W-S botantical print. Rectangular cloths I have plenty of. But I haven't built up my supply of round cloths since I bought the round table.

Yes, the color of the table (walnut) shows through the placemat, not terribly but just enough to annoy me. If I were at someone else's home, I'd probably never notice. The placemats are not organdy, but they may be handkerchief linen. They are a finely textured linen, but the lemon in the corner keeps them from being formal.

The placemat on the right is just one layer thick. The one on the left is 3 layers to mimic a liner. Both are upside down thanks to my iPad flipping them!

Oh, I see. The center is a bit sheer, making you feel like you need a slip. I would honestly not worry about it. If you simply must, try something simple and thin, like a paper placemat (or even parchment paper) cut to fit :)

What about a yellow tablecloth to tie in with the lemons on the placemats....perfect for Spring.

If you don't want to use a tablecloth how about fusing a piece of white fabric to the backs? You could even use an old white sheet. Just be sure to wash both the fabric and the placemats before using the iron on fusable web,

They look fine without a liner. I never use a liner and I think placemats on top of a tablecloth look odd.

jp, a yellow tablecloth would certainly be springish, but I've got my heart set on a centerpiece of lemons and yellow cattleya orchids. I fear the centerpiece would fade into the tablecloth.

Errant, parchment paper may be just the ticket. I could keep it in place with some 2 sided gift tape I have!

I'm still looking at white felt. I not only want the white to be purer, but I also like something between the linens and the table with a deadening quality.

The one on the right looks fine to me. As mentioned most of it will be covered. If you can't let it go then I would iron on fusible interfacing. I did that once to a table cloth I made.

Do you need to protect the walnut table? The place mats are lovely, but it is enough?

I would go with felt. You can buy it by the yard and cut it in the shape you need. Your placemats are sweet. Sounds like a lovely luncheon. What are you serving?

I posted a response to nhb, and it didn't show up! This is driving me nuts!

I found a solution! While in the Big City, I went to Michael's to buy felt not knowing they don't carry yard goods. A nice young man showed me the aisle with the pre-cut pieces of felt. Alas, they only had 2 pieces of the size I needed in white, but right across the aisle were pieces of thin craft foam in white! They are slightly smaller than the place mats and will work perfectly, I think.

nhb, the luncheon is a recipe club gathering. The hostess picks the entree and then the others bring complementary dishes in the category they are assigned to for that month. I'm making Braised Lamb Shanks with Spring Vegetables. Our soup will be a corn and crawfish chowder; then a green salad. The side dish is a bacon and onion gratin. Dessert will be bread pudding with fruit. The others will bring an appetizer, a cocktail, bread and wine. Because there are so many courses, we serve small amounts.

Bacon and onion gratin? Will you share the recipe after the luncheon (assuming it's provided)? Just the thought is enticing...

JC, I'd be happy to share the recipe, but if I forget, please nudge me. The next 3 weeks are chaotic for me. I'm just hoping I remember to put forks on the table for my guests!

That sounds like such fun! How often do you meet? I think I'm going to have to find one of these recipe clubs to join!

We meet once a month. One of our very organized members has everything on a spreadsheet so we all rotate through the various courses, and also rotate as hostess. The group is small so that we can all fit at one table. We take off 4 months a year (summer and December) so that no one has to be hostess more than once a year. Hope you can find a fun group to join in your area!

Oh, I need to find (or found) a luncheon recipe club. At least you appreciate each other's cooking rather than shoveling food into your moth --- like DH when he's hungry at the end of the day :)

What a wonderful idea for a club! We moved into a 55+ neighborhood last May and the ladies go out to lunch once a month. Unfortunately, it's during the week and I still work, so I haven't been able to participate. When I do retire, I'm certainly going to suggest this!

Javachick, the Onion and Bacon Gratin was out of this world. Here is the recipe:

4 Tablespoons butter, divided

3 large yellow onions, thinly sliced (but not shaved)

2 ounces bacon cut into 1 inch pieces

6 green onions, cut into short sections including green tops

Salt and pepper

1 clove garlic

2 Tablespoons, Parmesan cheese, or even better, Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated

2 Tablespoons Gruyere, grated

1/2 cup fresh coarse bread crumbs

1/2 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In skillet, heat 1 Tblsp butter (or more if needed) over medium heat. Saute the onions and bacon until the onions are very soft. Drain well.

Place green onions in skillet with salt and pepper to taste with 1 Tblsp butter and 2 Tblsp water. Simmer until most of the water has evaporated.

Cut the garlic in half and rub the sides of a 10 inch ceramic pie plate, gratin dish, or other appropriately sized dish. Evenly distribute the onions and bacon in the dish. Top with green onions. Evenly distribute cheeses as next layer. Then top with bread crumbs. Pour cream around the outside edges of the dish. If desired, top with extra bits of butter.

Bake for about 25 minutes, until the top is golden and the cream absorbed.

Because everyone prepares her dish at home and then brings it, it was warmer than room temperature but not piping hot out of the oven (it had been held in an insulated casserole carrier for about an hour before we got to that course) and it was fantastic. I would have happily licked the bowl!

I am so going to make that!

Oh, and your discovery of the foam made me think-why are table pads always brown? I have a sheet I put under white tablecloths, but having white pads would do away with that need. I am also going to look for the foam! Thanks bbstx!

This is the table. I think the foam sheets as placemat liners worked well. Plus, they were sufficiently thin, that if a glass were set on the edge, it didn't topple or even wobble. The flowers were in 3 groups of 3 vases each, white tulips, yellow roses, and green mini-hydrangeas. The flowers look left-side-heavy in this picture but they wasn't. The angle of the photo put two groupings close to each other. I still regret that I was unable to find nice yellow linen napkins.

This was the arrangement I originally did for the table, but it was too tall. I felt shortening it wouldn't look as good so I moved it to the foyer chest and went with the grouped vases.

I was going to order a centerpiece (remember I said I wanted yellow lemons and yellow orchids), but a friend talked me into attempting it myself. I think they looked good, but next time, I'll probably order something. That was hard work for which I have no natural aptitude.

cyn, last week, I noticed packaging tape hanging out from underneath my table! I'm sure it was leftover from where I had put a sheet or maybe a blanket over the table and taped the long ends up underneath before putting a light colored cloth on it.

For those of you wanting to start your own recipe group, here are my suggestions:

If you are the organizer, make sure you invite others who are relatively good cooks who can and will follow recipes. They also need to be willing to "stretch" themselves culinarily. They need to be able to devote 3 - 4 hours for lunch on the appointed day. That is in addition to however much time it takes to prepare the dish.

Decide if you want 6 or 8. More and you exceed the number most of our dining rooms can comfortably seat. The number of courses served each time is guided by the number of members. There are 8 of us, so we have 8 courses: cocktails, appetizer, soup, salad, entree, side, dessert, bread and wine. The hostess chooses and prepares the entree. There is a spreadsheet listing which person is responsible for which category/course and they try to choose something complementary to the main course. To give the prior month's hostess a break, she brings the wine and bread (bakery bought bread is totally acceptable).

If you wanted to go with 6, I think you could easily dispense with the cocktail category, and perhaps the appetizer category or give the option of soup or salad, not soup and salad. Six food courses along with cocktails and wine is a LOT of food, and for me, at least, a lot to drink.

We meet 8 months a year, so each person is hostess only once a year. We do not meet in the summer or December. If you had six, you could meet every other month, or pick which 6 months a year you want to meet or meet each month and hostess twice a year.

We chose a cookbook from the remaindered table at the bookstore. Everyone bought the same book. The book you choose needs to cover the categories you are cooking. For example, since bread is generally purchased, there is no need to buy a book with loads of bread recipes, or breakfast recipes. I just looked through one of my Barefoot Contessa books, and it looked like a good fit. Likewise with Dorie Greenspan's Around My French Table, except you'd have to forego the cocktails.

At our organizational meeting, it was asked if anyone had food allergies or serious aversions so we would know what to avoid.

Each person prepares her dish at home and brings it to the hostess' house ready to serve. If you have anything that needs something special or if you have something that needs last minute cooking or heating, it has to be cleared with the hostess so that 4 people don't all show up with things that demand an oven at the last minute. I've noticed lots of folks seem to have insulated casserole carriers. Crock pots are also handy for keeping all sorts of things warm.

Generally, the hostess provides all the china, glasses, and flatware. All food is plated in the kitchen so there are no serving pieces to worry about. (Although not a formalized procedure with our group, it seems to work best to have the preparer and one other person, plating and serving a course. About 2 others will be clearing the table as needed, and the rest will remain at table. It keeps down confusion and it seems that everyone takes a turn) At the end of the meal, everyone takes home dirty whatever they brought (casserole dish, soup ladle, crockpot, etc.) and the hostess is left to deal with cleaning her kitchen and dining room. Other groups might pitch in to clean the hostess' kitchen and dishes, but everyone in our group prefers to do that themselves.

Our "rules" are simple:

1. No substitutions unless the recipe gives you a choice (example: this cheese or that cheese, etc). The recipe must be followed as written. After lunch, we all critique the recipes, usually beginning with the preparer noting obstacles encountered along the way and changes they would have made (more pepper, less salt, cooking times were incorrect, etc). Others then chime in with questions or opinions, but it is done in a collegial spirit and no one gets their feelings hurt (and there is lots of praise along the way too).

2. If you can't make it to the luncheon, you have to either send your dish by someone else, or get someone else to prepare it for you. You can't just bail out.

Without a doubt, this is a big undertaking, but it is great fun. You will learn things you never knew before, especially if you pick a dish that is outside your comfort range.

If anyone wants to start a similar group and you have questions, let me know. I"ll be happy to answer if I can - if I can't, I'll make up an answer and say it with authority! :-).

Bon appetit

BBSTX< I love the chest that the yellow rose arrangement is on. May I ask the name of the manufacturer please? I am looking for something similar for my bedroom hallway.

This group sounds like such fun! I wouldn't want to organize one from scratch, but I'd love to join one that's already existing.

It would be hard sometimes to follow the recipe exactly as written, e.g., I love Ina Garten but she uses waaay too much salt. What if a cooking time is clearly not working out, maybe due to one's particular oven? Like when a cake is done sooner or later than the range of times given?

I was thinking that too Linelle. When you clearly see something is not going to work but you have to follow it anyway?

Holly-Kay, thank you for your kind words. The chest is Hickory Chair from their James River Plantations Collection. We've had it about 14 years. I don't know if you can still find it or not. I hope you can. It is a wonderfully versatile piece.

I don't think making adjustments for oven times, etc, would be covered in "following the recipe as written", but the salt probably would be. And then during the critique phase after lunch, we would all make notes in our recipe books to cut back on the salt. I know at an earlier luncheon one woman had had to take her dessert out of the oven short of the cooking time because it was beginning to over-brown. This time, one had to cook something longer than the stated time to reach the results described in the recipe, "cook until soft."

What we are trying to avoid is someone looking at a recipe and saying, I don't have Parm, but I have Cheddar; I think maple syrup would taste better than honey; etc. In other words, making substitutions that would change the whole character of the dish.

Last month, I made a dish that I thought it was horribly bland. If I had been making it at home to serve to my family or my guests, I would have added something - Tabasco? cayenne? lemon juice? - something to give it some zing. However, I prepared it as written and then in the critique phase, made my suggestion for a little something more.

It is great fun and a great group. We are mostly accomplished home cooks, some more accomplished than others. I'm on the low end of the scale. But every month, when I have to Google how to do A, or ask on the Cooking Forum how to do B, or see if there is a You Tube video demonstrating C, I'm stretching myself and having a great time doing it.

Thanks for the recipe (I think; oh my, the calories!). Your table is so pretty.

I belong to a progressive dinner club. It is much more free form, which I think encourages participation. But we always end up with enough to eat - and drink!

I think it would be hard for me to add an ingredient I don't like. For instance, a lot of savory casseroles contain nutmeg, which I think ruins the entire dish. I will sprinkle it on eggnog and nowhere else. I just couldn't knowingly add too much salt to a dish. Maybe this is why I haven't been invited to join any recipe groups.

HA! Linelle, you get to choose which dish you want to make in your category. In your case, you would simply need to avoid any dish containing nutmeg. I agree with you. I do not care for nutmeg in savory dishes. I avoid any savory dish with what I call "pie spices," cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, etc. If someone else were to make a dish with a strong "pie spice" flavor, I would taste it to challenge my palate, but then I would probably push it around for a while.

I don't know what I would do about over-salting. So far, all of the dishes I've prepared have been "salt and pepper to taste." I know one of the issues with Ina Garten is she uses kosher salt which doesn't measure like regular salt. In fact, within kosher salts, different brands measure differently.
Food Lab on Serious Eats:

Here are the relative densities of a few common types of salt you'll find:

Table Salt: small-grained cubes. 10 ounces/280 grams per cup.

Morton's Kosher Salt: small flakes. 8 ounces/225 grams per cup.

Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt: wide flakes. 5 ounces/140 grams per cup.

Maldon Sea Salt: Large, flaky pyramids. 4 ounces/115 grams per cup.

Fleur de Sel: Large crystals. 8 ounces/225 grams per cup

Thus if a recipe calls for Diamond Crystal Kosher (as most of our recipes do) and all you've got is table salt on hand, you'll have to halve the amount by volume to get similar end results.

Love your flower arrangements and the placemats with their spring embroidery are beautiful. I realize the event is over and you found a satisfying solution, but did want to weigh in on the liner issue. Placemats for formal dining on fine tables and woods are usually very thin---the typical material is a fine hemstitched linen. They are meant only to protect the table from possible scratches from the plates, and usually one can see the wood of the table underneath. If you have multiple glasses at a meal any other than the water glass would be on a coaster on the table. Also, those placemats are thin and unlined so they can be ironed very crisply, an impossible task when something is lined. A thicker a placemat is more casual, partly because the dishes for that kind of meal tend to be heavier ceramic and a table would need more protection and because the fabrics used are intrinsically more casual.

That's how it was all explained to me as a young lady :-) I frequently use a table cloth because there are so many glasses at our dinners that we have an overabundance of coasters and I think that looks crowded and a little weird-Edwardian. I have several sets of monogrammed hemstitched linen placemats and your pictures have inspired me to bring them out for Easter. Thanks for sharing your pictures, your liners are a very practical solution to a less formal occasion!

bbstx, thanks for the salt comparisons! I know Ina uses kosher salt a lot, but didn't realize she uses it for everything. She always reaches into a big crock for salt and usually laughingly acknowledges that, yes, it's a lot of salt, but it's needed. I'm actually not averse to salty things (bacon!!!) but automatically cut her salt amounts by half and then taste.

Finally, someone who gets the nutmeg thing. I think my empanada recipe has a touch of cinnamon, but I know what you mean.

Thanks for the info bbstx. I love everything about the chest, it is just lovely!

kwsl, as it turned out, there were lots of wine glasses on the table, but that happened after the photo was taken. The prior month's hostess not only brought a red wine for the entree, she also brought a white for the soup and salad courses, and a late harvest Riesling for the dessert. At the prior luncheons, we've only had wine with the entree, which was what I was prepared for. Suddenly I was in a flurry getting out appropriate glasses. My "casual elegant mixed pieces" setting using a stemmed goblet and a stemless wineglass went out the window.

I have been to formal dinners using coasters with placemats. While no doubt proper, I don't like it for a very stupid (on my part) reason. I'm a klutz. I'm always afraid I'm going to get engrossed in conversation, half-miss the coaster as I set my glass down, and make a mess. :-(

Linelle, I had a Middle Eastern roommate for one semester in college who treated me to homemade cabbage rolls. I looked forward to the meal all day. It was my first foray into Middle Eastern food, so imagine my surprise when I took the first bite and tasted cinnamon in the meat. She had worked hard to make a lovely meal. I told her it was wonderful, but it really wasn't my cup of tea.

I have never been able to find Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt, so I use David's Kosher Salt. With the subject of salt having been brought up, I thought I'd compare the two. According to the Diamond Crystal website, 1/4 teaspoon of their salt contains 280 mg of sodium. According to the box of David's, 1/4 teaspoon of David's contains 590 mg of sodium - twice as much at Diamond Crystal! I had no idea. If Food Lab is correct and most recipes are written for Diamond Crystal, I need to start halving the amount of David's I'm using! When I run out of David's, I think I'll order some Diamond Crystal from Amazon!

Stemmed glasses normally do not require coasters at all. I have never seen a formal or informal setting that used them if the glasses/crystal were stemmed.

I wouldn't do a liner, if there is such a thing. I'd opt for a complimentary tablecloth.

Many wineglasses today are stemless, and then there is also the cocktail that is often brought half finished to the dinner table. I've had four beverages at a time and at that point you just need a tablecloth.

Placemats are not usually put on top of tablecloths....an embarrassment of riches.

It is a wonderful idea to do the recipes as written, then critique. Even as accomplished cooks, you sharpen your observations and how fun to compare with others. As you said, it's a recipe club, not a chance to simply entertain your friends. So the point is to make it as written, and suggest what to change and what to keep. That's the fun part! My son told me the other day that he appreciated that DH and I talk about the food at dinner and it helps him in his own cooking.

The flowers, on the table and especially in the entry, are lovely! (I'm with you, I have no talent for flower-arranging, and appreciate the work of those who do.)

bp, food or whatever the topic, I think it is wonderful that you are teaching your son to converse at the table. When DD was small, we ate dinner at the table almost every night and practiced "polite dinner table conversation." It was practice that has served her well now that she is an adult.