Harvest Dinner

Tonight I had my annual Harvest Dinner.  It was a great evening.  Dinner for 8 which posed a small  problem. Believe it on not I don't have 8 of anything.  I only had 6 of my favorite dinner plates so I had to use ones I didn't really like.  I hid them with a pretty plate on top.

I got the pretty plates and the green glasses from a shop called Brissonte.  These items were from owner Colleen's own collection.  When I bought the plates she told me had some nice green glasses to go with them. She brought them in and when I saw them I knew they would come home with me.

I set up my counter as a fruit and cheese station. I envisioned using my collection of scales to hold

plates for appetizers or assorted cheeses.  I liked the result. I served a delicious pumpkin cream cheese from Trader Joe's with wheat crackers and a monterey jack cheese with sesame crackers.

Here's another view of the tablescape. The table runner was a pumpkin color and it had little

LED lights running down the center of it. It gave the table a warm glow and the green glasses looked beautiful against it. I lit two simple white candles to give a bit more light to the table.

Every year I pull out my cranberry glass turkey dish to house the cranberry sauce. It was from the Martha Stewart Collection. I guess I should mention what was served for dinner.  We had a Vermont Goat Cheese salad with greens, goat cheese, roasted red peppers and pecans, turkey, gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce, cream cheese mashed potatoes, butternut squash, hot spiced cider, coffee and tea.

Here's another view of the scale. I was lucky to find it at a flea market recently.

 

After the entree, we rested a bit and then we put out the desserts.  Apple pie baked by Mary.

Ellie brought a chocolate ganache cake.  So decadent and delicious.

I bought the shortbread cookies from Lakota's Bakery in Arlington.  They made one of Obama's birthday cakes.  And the macarons were from Macaron Sweeterie in Lexington.  They were to die for as usual.

Debbi made pumpkin cookies, so yummy!

Mary's apple pie is always chock full of apples.

Yes it was definitely the pre-Thanksgiving pig out. The weather was perfect too. The day had been sunny and cool, exactly the kind of Fall day I enjoy the most.

I am always so thankful for my friends and family who join me each year for the Harvest Dinner.

Harvest Dinner

Saturday night I held my annual Harvest Dinner. There were only 4 of us this year but it was still fun. Actually my dad came too but he was early and left before all the goodies arrived.



I was pleased with the tablescape this year. I wanted an elegant look so I used a pashmina I bought at a craft fair as the table runner. Of course, the cranberry glass turkey added color and held center stage.




The sunflowers from a local market were actually orange. I used an old milk bottle as a vase and tied burgundy raffia around the neck for more color. The creamer and sugar were bought at an antique fair last year.




The crystal glasses are from Poland and were actually made especially for me by a Polish friend who apprenticed at the Julia Crystal Factory.




The gravy boat is an antique and bought from my friend Beth of Studio B in Concord.



Wait, did you want to know about the food? Well we had turkey and scalloped potatoes.



And gravy and butternut squash.




The cranberry and apple stuffing was delicious. Well everything was delicious! Mary made the turkey, gravy, stuffing and pie. Sheila made the butternut squash and I provided the scalloped potatoes, salad, rolls, cider, tea, and cake.



Dessert? Apple pie and chocolate mousse cake. We had hot spiced apple cider and orange cranberry tea.

It was a relaxing and enjoyable evening. Great food, great music and great friends. I alway enjoy hosting the Harvest Dinner. It's a tradition and the unofficial start to the holiday season.