Table Talk

Join me to talk entertaining, gardening, Southern recipes and timeless decorating. And meet the makers behind our collection of handcrafted beauty.

Articles Tagged with Julia reed

Autumn Sunday Lunch at Brookside

Of the many gifts Julia gave me during our long friendship, one of the very best was an introduction to Libby and Ben, two of the most talented people I've ever known. Like so many of the folks Julia brought into our lives, Libby and Ben have become the dearest of friends to Jon and me. That doesn't mean we aren't a little bit in awe of their prodigious talents. They can both do anything. Capable doesn't begin to describe it.

Julia & Keith on Father's Day Gift Giving

Father's Day is coming up, and there's still time to shop our uncommon collection of handcrafted gifts. Here are a few that we love for the Daddies in our lives.

Honoring Graduates Without a Graduation Ceremony

Here, Julia and I share a few recommendations for those resilient graduates in your life who are making the most of this rite of passage, even if they’re collecting their diplomas in a drive-by ceremony.

Julia's Cocktail Concoctions

During these past several weeks, we've had Zoom cocktails, solo cocktails, socially distant cocktails. Below, Julia has concocted some of her favorites -- for now and later -- in our handsome Reed Smythe & Company glasses.

Julia & Keith Share Their Mother's Day Gift Ideas

Below, Julia and Keith choose gifts to honor their own mothers. We hope they'll inspire you to do the same.

Julia's Seafood Gumbo

I've been making this gumbo ever since I was in college and found a similar version in a Junior League cookbook, the name of which now escapes me. When I lived in New York in the 1980s and '90s, I served it along with a bucket of Popeye's fried chicken to my Yankee friends, who found both things wildly exotic. The okra added in the beginning gives the soup body, while the okra at the end provides texture. The all-important addition of andouille lends a deep flavor to the broth. If you can't find andouille, Polish sausage will do.

Julia's Milk Punch

I adore a properly made Bloody Mary and I would not turn down a refreshing screwdriver, but there is no better hangover cure on earth than a milk punch. Addictively tasty and immediately restorative, it is a staple in bars and restaurants that understand such things (Galatoire's offers up an especially good one, as does Commander's Palace), and de rigueur at daytime Mardi Gras gatherings.

The Crabmeat Caucus: A Brief History

I can see it even now, all these years (and, in those days, a good bit of Jack Daniel’s) distant: a seemingly bottomless silver bowl, sitting on Julia Reed’s dining table at the far end of her spectacular double-height-ceilinged apartment on East 78th Street in New York. Bill Clinton had just been re-elected; Osama bin Laden was a familiar name in only the most elite policy circles; there was no email, and to “cc” someone still meant trying to find a sticky piece of carbon paper.

Summer Squash Casserole

My friend Nancy Peterkin’s squash casserole has made the rounds! Nancy, a justifiably renowned Houston hostess and a cook of uncommon talents, gave my mother the recipe years ago and since then, I’ve published it in the food column I used to write for the New York Times Magazine and two cookbooks, including Julia Reed’s South. I’ve also tinkered with it over the years and served it at more parties than I can count. The shindig I’m hosting this coming Labor Day Weekend is no exception.

Julia's Hostess Tips

I threw my first “grown-up” party when I was nine, for my father’s birthday. It featured surprise balls and Quiche Lorraine from Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Though my party throwing skills have evolved a bit since then, that basic formula—good fun and good food—remains the basis of any successful shindig, and I still love a surprise ball. Here’s the formula: Delicious food and a lot of it; more booze and wine than you think you need; good music (even if it’s just a playlist and a speaker); a great mix of people and a festive host or hostess.