Happy Monday!!! We are officially in October! (Which means Oktoberfest, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.) This weekend was really special, because we had our largest group to date. We had a party of 12 that included family and friends (from Norway!) and the group included children. (That made our desserts a little difficult, I'll be honest. How often have we done a dessert that did not include alcohol?) Anyways... it was a fantastic time! The afternoon was spent at a local farm playing in corn mazes and apple picking, and the evening was spent cooking up a feast. Once again, we did it kind of smorgasbord style, but we had plenty of amazing dishes sure to impress any taste palate.
Cocktail - Apple Cidercar
Apple cider, brandy, cointreau, lemon juice. Two weeks without vodka. That must be a first. Great cocktail, but goes down real easy, so be careful.
Appetizer - Vegetarian Empanadas
So good! You'd never know there were so many vegetables! Great appetizer, great flavors, great use of frozen empanada shells!
Appetizer - Butternut Squash Chowder with Pears and Ginger
We did this more of a bisque-style instead of a chowder for ease purposes. We bought most of the ingredients pre-chopped (don't judge... sometimes you just have to take the easy route!) and therefore they weren't very bite-sized. So instead of spending an hour finely chopping everything, we just blended it up, and it was equally delicious! Personally, I think it could have used more ginger, but that's a personal preference.
Entree - Pork Chops Stuffed with Smoked Gouda and Bacon
Ooey-gooey, melty, smoky goodness! Cooked exactly as written and these were amazing! The only thing we did was create an apple cider-sauce to put over them for those that needed a little moisture, but not necessary. However, one chop was way too much for one person. Next time, perhaps butterfly a pork tenderloin or roast, stuff that, and then roll it up and grill it? This way you can cut smaller medallion size portions. On the flip side, its having the bone that helps keep it moist. You be the judge.
Entree - Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie
We had vegetarians in the crowd, and we didn't want to disappoint them! This was a great dish, even considering that we excluded the seitan. (Seriously... I think only one person at the table even knew what that was.) My only recommendation would be to use less stock. This was really "soup-y" no matter how much it reduced, and perhaps the seitan would have absorbed the leftover liquids, so use your judgement. Delicious way to eat your vegetables.
Side Dish - Pumpkin Garlic Knots
I'm a garlic knot fanatic. Pumpkin, not so much. So when Jennifer found this recipe, I was a little hesitant. They were awesome! The pumpkin flavor was very mild, and the knots were the perfect texture. (Honestly, if you hadn't told me the recipe, I would never have assumed pumpkin was in there.) The only changes we made was to just toss them in a bowl of garlic oil and then top with nutmeg and parmesan.
Side Dish - Wild Rice Stuffing with Pearl Onions, Dried Cherries, and Apricots
Super! Easy to follow, easy to make, and delicious. Definitely a Thanksgiving-quality side dish!
Side Dish - Kale Salad with Pine Nuts, Currants, and Parmesan
Simple and perfect. Raw kale was a surprising twist for me, personally. (After all, I didn't even know what kale was before we started this little blog.) And therefore, I think this would be equally good with baby spinach. However, the kale lovers in the group insisted that the bitterness of the greens with the dressing and currants was perfection.
Final Plate
Dessert - Chocolate Mousse with Fresh Berries
Confession time. This wasn't the original dessert we had planned. We were originally going to make a lemon mousse. However, the homemade lemon curd didn't really "look right" and we made the judgement call not to give the group salmonella so had to pull a last minute hail mary. So... we melted a bag of chocolate chips into some cream, and then folded it into whipped cream to make lovely chocolate mousse. We then topped with tons of fresh berries and a chocolate covered banana piece! It's chocolate - its always good!
Wine - House Wines
Sorry, folks. We stuck with whatever was lying around the house this week. Way too many people, too many dishes, and too much chaos to make it over to Harry's. (We will be back next week... it's a promise!)
Overall, another superb meal! We were so happy to have a great group of friends and family join us. (And special shout out to Nick, who was an incredible sous chef this weekend.) However, I'm really looking forward to next week. We're going back to my German roots and celebrating Oktoberfest in style! (Side note - did you know that Germany is #3 on the list of where most of our readers come from... after the good old US of A, and then Russia???)
Next Week - Oktoberfest
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