For Your Table: Creative Table Decor and Homemade Food Recipes Karen Swanson Author

For Your Table is both a craft and cook book combined into one. Good homemade food and creative table settings is what this book is about. Projects for creating place mats by various methods and related items for table settings are described with step-by-step instructions to complete them. Each project is followed by an appetizing color image of plated food accompanying that project. This is then followed by the recipe for that particular dish. Additional recipes for everything from breakfast ideas to desserts are at the very back pages of this book. The author’s background and career focuses on textile design. Therefore the reader finds projects in quilting, woven paper, reed basketry and weaving on a loom among others. Included are instructions for constructing a simple frame loom for those interested in trying that project. A section on creating centerpieces for the table includes some floral design basics that are necessary for any successfully designed floral piece. The table settings presented are just the beginning of what the reader can accomplish on their own. Using some of these design ideas allows most anyone looking at the book to go beyond what they see and come up with additional ideas to explore. It’s all about the food that goes onto the table. Presentation, the way the table is decorated, can somehow make the food taste better, making it look appealing both to the eye and to the taste buds.