HOW TO HOST A SEASIDE DINING PARTY 

Setting Up guide by Pottery Barn

The right decor can put guests in a maritime mood, even if you live in the heart of the city. Chose a runner woven of fishing net to give a seaside spin to a rustic dining table. Turquoise-hued dishes salad plates with elaborate mosaic tile motifs, make the primary color statement. Light-catching accents like shimmery fish plates, glinting napkin rings and faux-stained-glass bottle stoppers make the table sparkle. For a special finishing touch, download the free "SALT" name cards and tuck them into the turtle salt cellars to personalize each place setting.

In Tammy Tan's recipes, salt goes from humble condiment to the focal point of the meal. To reinforce the theme, include spice jars and cellars filled with specialty salts for tasting purposes as you educate and delight your guests.

The real star of the dinner party though is sure to be the beautifully marbled pink salt block, which functions as a centerpiece but serves a practical purpose too: here, it's used to sear scallops. Think of the weighty slab as the latest culinary tool—with an ancient and romantic heritage. It's typically hand cut by masons into blocks, rounds, and platters from a quarried boulder of pure Himalayan salt. You can heat it for cooking, chill it for serving, or for decorative purposes, illuminate it with votive candles to cast blushing, translucent glow.

Here are a few pointers to help prepare your salt block prior to cooking. To avoid fissures, place the block in oven, raising temperature slowly, until it reaches the sauté temperature of about 500 degrees. Use oven mitts to place the hot block on a heat-resistant trivet or stovetop for cooking. It will stay hot for a long time, and food cooked on it will develop a subtle saltiness. To clean it, wash it with warm water and a soft brush, wipe it with a paper towel, and set it on a drying rack. Be sure to store it in a dry place to avoid sweating. With proper care, it will last for years.

by Pottery Barn