5280 Home: Easy Summer Supper

Miller Lane Mercantile owner Calli Swofford in her beloved Berkeley shop

ENTERTAINING

EASY SUMMER SUPPER

What happens when the owner of one of Denver’s most stylish home-goods shops teams up with Brooklyn-based Sunday Suppers to throw a summertime dinner party? We get an up-close look at all the ingredients for a gathering that’s cool, casual, and right in tune with the season.

by CHRISTINE DEORIO

When it came to hosting a picture-perfect summer soirée, Calli Swofford, owner of Berkeley lifestyle boutique Miller Lane Mercantile, had an ace up her sleeve: Sunday Suppers, the Brooklyn-based food and design company that collaborates with creatives around the world to host memorable meals inspired by their surroundings—and the seasons.

“One of the things I loved about the Sunday Suppers team [which provides hosts with a menu, recipes, and a timeline, and general design direction for each dinner] is that they didn’t want anything too lavish or formal,” Swofford says. “It was just supposed to be this very organic, cozy, kind of thrown-together party; more about the company than the formality.”

That ethos played out in every detail of the gathering, which Swofford hosted right in her shop, on a long, antique workman’s table that, during business hours, displays handmade and smallbatch homewares. Here, she shares how she used items from the store and her own home (along with a few finds from friends) to style the affair—plus tips to help you achieve a similar flavor at your own summertime supper. millerlanemercantile.com

CREATE CUSTOM DETAILS

Adding a menu to each place setting is an easy way to get guests excited for what’s coming, says Swofford, who loves the templates offered

by Artifact Uprising (search the company’s website under “day-of wedding detail cards”). And a small parting gift—like the sketches of the Miller Lane Mercantile storefront that Swofford had local artist Kristen Fogarty draw for each guest—can be a great reminder of the fun. “I always keep that sort of thing up on our fridge,” Swofford says.

PLAY UP THE SEASON

Swofford set a summery tone with amber-colored glassware, then stuck to a neutral palette for dishes and linens, which incorporate threads of yellow and gold. “If you limit it to one pop of something fun or out of the ordinary—in this case, the glasses—designing the table feels less intimidating,” she says.

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| 5280 HOME | AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2020

photography by MIMI MCCORMICK

ENTERTAINING, CONTINUED

BREAK THE RULES

“I love to serve guests champagne as they arrive,” Swofford says, “but what used to trip me up was adding another type of glassware into the mix.” Now she knows better: “Don’t feel like you need the right glass for each drink. You can’t go wrong with stemless wine glasses, which you can use for cocktails, wine, and champagne—and then throw in the dishwasher.”

KEEP IT SMALL

“If you can seat all of your guests together at one long table, it creates this really intimate setting—anywhere from six to 15 people feels like a good range,” says Swofford, who gathered 14 assorted chairs around her shop’s antique table. “Any larger than that and you might need some extra hands to help with cooking.”

THE MENU Appetizer Whipped eggplant purée with seeded crackers and crudités First Course Summer salad of mozzarella, cantaloupe, basil, and prosciutto Second Course Spaghetti and clams with wine, garlic, and parsley

TRY DRIED FLORALS

“I’m such a fan of dried florals, because you can use them for months after the party,” says Swofford, who worked with Denverbased Buckley House of Flowers to fill speckled ceramic vases with simple bouquets of grasses and golden wildflowers, including yarrow and ball-shaped craspedia.

“The look I try to achieve is as if I had foraged it myself,” Swofford says, “and sometimes I really do. We [Coloradans] live in a great place where we can go on a little hike and put together something beautiful.”

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On The Table Lemon bread Dessert Crème caramel

PARTY ON Swofford has two tried-and-true tricks for encouraging guests to linger: “After the meal is over, I like to

play Pandora’s French Café or New Orleans Jazz music stations. It really adds to the ambiance and makes guests want to hang around for another glass of wine.” Chocolate works, too: “I keep a few nice chocolate bars on hand, which I’ll loosely chop up, put in a little dish, and bring to the table,” Swofford says. “It’s these small gestures that say, stay and enjoy.”

ONLINE EXCLUSIVE: For the summer salad recipe featured at Swofford’s soirée, find this story at 5280Home.com.

| 5280 HOME | AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2020