The holiday season is here and we hope you agree that this is the most wonderful time of the year.
Cathy Pennington has been busy designing her table and menus for the holidays in her Buckhead home. She reminds us to get organized, sooner rather than later. “Have a vision and start planning well in advance,” says Cathy, who brings a deep love of family to everything she touches.
Cathy has a long and dedicated history in the food and beverage industry and she is currently a regional marketing manager for Christie Cookie Co. Cathy is also a proud member of the Les Dames d’Escoffier International – Atlanta Chapter. “I strongly believe in the power of women in the food and beverage industry,” says Cathy. “I know first-hand the impact that these women all make on each other, both personally and professionally.”
At home, whimsical and yet fancy, Cathy’s bohemian chic style is a unique blend of generations of family silver, her wedding china, as well as magnolia leaves and other treasured garden finds. “Pops of color, various textures and heights are all important when setting a table,” remarked Cathy, “keep it simple, add lots of candles, and remember that the main focus should always be the guests.”
“My mother inspired my passion for food and entertaining. Everyone in the family loved gathering and sharing their favorite holiday dish,” says Cathy. “I turned my love for gathering family and friends into a career. I have always loved the process of putting an event together and seeing all the guests enjoying themselves.” Cathy’s holiday entertaining favorites include everything from her grandmother’s housekeeper’s fried chicken, to her mother’s bourbon balls. Cathy freely admits that as children, she and her siblings always thought that it was “so cool to be eating something with bourbon in it.” Cathy began to create her own family favorites for the holidays: warm crab dip, grilled pork tenderloins with brandy horseradish mayonnaise, and the now famous croquembouche always gracing the family table.
Cathy has an incredible collection of her family’s history in the large dining room cabinet, and a few choice pieces will grace the holiday table. The antique silver wine goblets are a perfect blend with half from her paternal grandmother and half from her husband’s paternal grandmother. “Two family’s treasures, one set of goblets,” says Cathy. “Just perfect!”
The bread and butter plates belonged to her grandmother and the silverware is from a great aunt. The Tiffany candle sticks were a wedding gift and the silver wine coasters are from Mobile, Alabama. The original D.H. Macy pattern “Queensberry” was the china from her wedding registry and the stag head votive holder was purchased in a Larchmont Village antique store from when the couple lived in LA.
