Bringing Tuscany to Mom’s Table This Mother’s Day

Hi friends,

Mother's Day is coming and this year I already know exactly what I want to do.

I am hosting. And I am making it Tuscan.

Here is where that came from.

My mother has never been to Italy. But you would never know it walking into her kitchen. There is always a bottle of good olive oil on the counter, the kind she drizzles on everything, bread included. She has a wooden board she has used for as long as I can remember that comes out any time there is company. She puts out olives and cheese and whatever else she has without making a fuss about it, and somehow it always looks like she planned it for days.

Growing up, Sunday afternoons at her table felt long in the best way. Nobody was in a rush. Somebody was always refilling glasses. The conversation went wherever it wanted to go. There was always bread. There was always more food than we needed.

I did not have a word for that feeling until I got older and started seeing it everywhere, on cooking accounts, on travel blogs, in every photo of a long wooden table set under string lights with candles burning low and wine and wildflowers.

That is just Tuscany. And my mother has been living that way her whole life without ever leaving Maine.

So this year I am bringing it to my table. For her.

A long afternoon. Good food passed around family style. Rosemary on the table and candles lit even though it is the middle of the day. And at the end of it, her lemon cake, the one she has been making since before I was born, baked this time by me, for her.
It felt like the most honest way I could say thank you.

If you have never hosted a Tuscan themed gathering, here is the thing that makes it work: it is not about perfection. It is about abundance and warmth and the feeling that time has slowed down just enough for everyone to enjoy being in the room.

That is something any of us can create. Here is how I am thinking about it:

The table is everything.

In Tuscany, the table is where life happens. Long meals, good conversation, people passing dishes back and forth without asking. The table should feel generous and layered, like it has been lived in a little even before the food arrives.

I start with a tablecloth in a warm tone. Terracotta, deep gold, ivory, or soft olive. Something that feels like afternoon sun. Then I build from there.

Fresh herbs as a centerpiece do more than you would expect. A bundle of rosemary, a few sprigs of thyme, lemons tucked in between. It smells like a garden and costs almost nothing.

Earthtrends Tuscan Design Paper Plates Combo Set

The right plate anchors a Tuscan table immediately. I look for something with weight and warmth. These are the ones I have been reaching for this season.

3-Ply Scalloped Napkins – China Blue

Folded simply at each place setting, a beautiful napkin tells guests the table was dressed with care. I always fold mine into a loose rectangle and tuck a small sprig of rosemary underneath. It takes thirty seconds and it looks like something my mother would do.

Silver Cutlery Caddy Combo

All that bright yellow on the table and warm metallics would compete rather than complement. Silver steps back and lets the lemons do their thing. I lay these out the night before so the morning of the party I can focus on everything else.

For drinks, keep it effortless.

A Tuscan table is generous with drinks. Sparkling water, a good lemonade, wine for those who want it. I always set out a simple drink station so guests can help themselves from the moment they arrive.

Reusable Clear Champagne Flutes

When the guest list grows, the last thing I want to think about is glassware. These are the ones I keep on hand because they look beautiful on the table and I never have to worry about one slipping and someone getting hurt, especially with kids running around.

The food does not need to be complicated. It just needs to feel like there was love behind it.

Antipasto. Good bread with olive oil. A simple pasta. Roasted vegetables with lemon and herbs. Nothing complicated. The goal is a table that looks full and smells incredible and asks very little of your guests except to sit down and enjoy it.

And then, at the end of it all — the cake.

My mother's lemon cake.

She has been making it for as long as I can remember. It is bright and simple and tastes like something you would eat on a terrace somewhere warm with a cup of coffee and nowhere to be.

This year I am making it for her.

— Emma

And here is the recipe: