The Fall Harvest Dinner was the second installment of a seasonal dinner series Ashley from Back to Basil and I started this year (our first one was our Summer Solstice Supper).
We wanted to celebrate Fall by creating a cozy moody setting for a comforting meal, an interactive activity, and great conversations. Similar to the first one, we wanted to create an environment and menu that would make our guests feel nourished, open, and inspired.
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Creative Styling & Flower Arrangement
Ashley styled the dinner from the bountiful decor, fall colored florals, to the handwritten calligraphy menu. Inspired by the fall season, she created a tablescape that included gourds, persimmons, quince, chestnuts and more. Ashley used leaves that were hand picked herself as place cards. One of my favorite parts were the dripping black candles creating a moody vibe that went perfectly with our fall theme.
Ashley also led a floral activity where each guest made a small arrangement that they took home. She demonstrated how to reflex rose petals, a trick that give each stem a beautiful unique look.
Photos taken by Courtney Zapor
Full Course Fall Meal
As for the menu, I created a full course meal taking inspiration from the seasonal produce from the farmers market.
First, I made dinner rolls from America's Test Kitchen's recipe to go with a grass fed Maple Herb Compound Butter. Sage reminds me of Thanksgiving and I wanted the guests to feel that as well to start the meal.
Next, we had an assortment of dips. This one was a chicken liver mousse with pickled radishes.
To celebrate beets, I served my Whipped Goat Cheese with Roasted Beet Dip, and a Miso Beet Hummus (recipe to follow!)
For the next course, I prepared my Butternut Squash Bisque Soup topped with microgreens and chives. I wanted to elevate the cozy butternut squash soup by making it into with shrimp stock and adding small pieces of shrimp in the soup.
Next, was a Grape Ginger Granita. The dishes were all on the heavier side so it made sense to have granita to refresh the palate. This one was made out of concord grapes and topped with mint and lime zest (recipe will be up soon!).
For the main course, I served my Apple Cider Braised Short Ribs with Rosemary Gremolata recipe with a potato and sunchoke puree, and my Charred Cabbage with Anchovy Brown Butter (not pictured).
For dessert, I served a Miso Maple Pear Tart with Cinnamon Whipped Cream.
We ended the dinner with a Tochucha Ginger Tea from Nippon Cha.
Table Discussion and Connection
What made this evening so special was our guests. Everyone was open to share their stories. We had an activity where each person read a quote and answered a reflective question, which opened up the table discussion further. This eventually led to people sharing an "ask and offer", something they're asking from the group (i.e. neighborhood recommendations, referrals) and something they're offering (i.e. tennis dates, spiritual readings).
It's truly the people that make our events special. Most come alone and leave the dinner with new connections.
Interested in coming to the next one? Let us know in the comments below📝 or subscribe to the newsletter below to know when we'll have the next one!
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