Vineyard Summer Dinner Party

With delicious food and a beautiful setting, what more do you need? Just some amazing design elements and your closest friends or family and this dinner party is an affair to remember! Kim Fisher Designs brought natural beauty onto a table scape in the middle of a vineyard with vines and grapes creating an amazing table runner and Southern food from Nancy Kaiser making our mouths water (the recipes are below!!). The gorgeous layout is perfect for a warm Summers night spent entertaining by candle light and riding around on that red tractor! Via Theo Milo Photography we are transported into our dream eve, Ah! does nothing sound better?!

From Kim Fisher Designs…

October weather can be moderate in these parts which can make for a perfect al fresco supper.We took it a step further and landed in Faxton Ray’s beautiful muscadine grape vineyard, Iron Hill, a borough of Tabor City N.C. about 60 miles southwest of Wilmington.

This time of year dictates seasonal and regional fare from the kitchens of all southern cooks that includes dishes like MaMa C’s Perloo, Miller Farm’s spicy sweet potato bread,and in the words of chef James Beard “oysters,one of the supreme delights bestowed on man”.

Nancy Bostian put together a gorgeous and  hearty onion and swiss chard gratin and tapping into the season a custom cocktail we’re calling Wham Bam, Thank you Jam, the key ingredient being spiced apple preserves.

 

This DIY begins with foraged palmetto tree bark followed by simple layers of berries, grasses and foliage to dress the table center.We demonstrate that you don’t need a vase or expensive flowers to have a lovely seasonal display.

Start with any kind of branches, I used  palmetto branches that I collected while I was vacationing on Edisto Island S.C. I love their split forms and slight hairy edges. Place your branches in the center of your table – this is your base.Layer interesting grasses and pods and berries continuing until you feel you’ve got a substantial design. I finished this with beautiful blueberry vibernum- I love how the deep blue of the berries compliments the amber tones of the amaranthus .This is so easy and what a great way to enjoy the fall flora that this time of year offers.

 

Chicken Perloo

Depending on were you’re from Perloo can be many different things-around Iron Hill, NC its a one pot, stick to your bones tradition . Perloo is the southern term for pilaf or pilau, a dish of seasoned rice and meat. Mama Cartrette knows that at the first tinge of cool weather there’ll soon follow a big pot of hearty perloo on the stove.

Ingredients, serves 6:

6 cups water

8 chicken thighs skin on, bone in

1/2 lb. bacon diced

1 large onion chopped

1 package beef Litl’ Smokies

1 tablespoon salt

Pepper to taste

41/2 cups chicken broth ( broth will come from the cooked chicken)

2 cups long grain rice

 

Directions:

Place water, salt, chicken in a large pot. Bring to a boil, cook until tender about 1 hour- transfer everything to a bowl and set aside. When chicken is cool to touch remove skin, bones and chop remaining meat into bite sized pieces.

In the same pot fry bacon. Remove with a slotted spoon, set aside. Add litl smokies to bacon fat and fry, remove and set aside. Add the onion and cook til translucent, remove and set aside. Add de-boned chicken to the pot along with rice, bacon, sausage and onions. Skim the fat off of the chicken broth/liquid and add 4 1/2 cups to your pot . Bring to a slight boil reduce heat and cook for 30 minutes, keeping pan covered. If mixture is too watery let it cook over medium low uncovered until it reaches the desired consistency. Avoid the urge to stir too often as the rice may become mushy.Season with salt and pepper to taste.

 

Sherry poached pears with puff pastry and salted caramel sauce

Pears the forgotten fruit but not in this dessert – the bosc takes center stage here. When the weather turns cool I love to poach fruit – the boiling pot of fragrant spices fills the house and wrapping the pears in puff pastry makes for a beautiful presentation

Ingredients:

4 medium pears

2 sheets puff pastry thawed (store bought)

3 cups water

1 cup sherry

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup sugar

half cup honey

teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cinnamon sticks

6 whole cloves

salted caramel sauce (Trader Joes)

 

Directions:

Peal pears and core from the bottom, slice off some of the bottom so pears sit straight. Set aside.

In medium saucepan combine water, both sugars, sherry, honey, bring to a simmer. Once sugars have dissolved add pears vanilla, cinnamon and cloves. Simmer until fork tender – up to 45 minutes depending on ripeness.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees, remove pears from pot- cool and remove cinnamon sticks and cloves and reserve half cup poaching liquid. Cut puff pastry to half inch strips and starting at the bottom of the pear begin wrapping  the strip

pinching slightly as the ends meet- continue all the way up to the stem. Place wrapped pears on greased cookie sheet and bake til golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes.

Sauce- mix salted caramel sauce with a little reserved poaching liquid to a consistency of your liking- spoon onto a plate and place your pear

 

Creamed Onion and Swiss Chard Gratin

Sweet roasted onions paired  beautifully with earthy swiss chard, a béchamel and nutty Gruyere cheese. This rich and comforting casserole bakes up beautifully in a cast iron skillet for the real southern flare.

Ingredients (serves 6):

8 medium onions cored and quartered

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

2 bunches s

Swiss chard chopped

4 tablespoon unsalted butter

4 tablespoon flour

2 cups heavy cream

half cup white wine

pinch ground nutmeg

half cup grated parmesan

1 cup shredded Gruyere

1/4 teaspoon paprika

 

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Toss onions with oil in a 9 by 11 baking dish, season with salt and pepper, bake stirring occasionally. Set aside. Turn heat on to broil. In a large saute pan heat a tablespoon of olive oil, add the swiss chard and cook until wilted. Add garlic and cook slightly. Heat butter in a 2 quart saucepan over medium high heat, add flour and cook stirring constanntly about a minute. Add cream and wine, stirring until thick, about 5 min. Season with salt, pepper, nutmeg. Transfer onions to an iron skillet, cover with Swiss chard, and pour the sauce evenly over the top. Sprinkle with parmesan and Gruyere. Dust with a little paprika and broil until cheese is melted and golden brown on top.

 

Signature custom cocktail “Wham Bam, Thank you Jam!”

Our cocktail begins with bourbon, the quintessential southern spirit, and ends with a seasonal jam, preserve or jelly. Feel free to go with the seasons and change up your flavor – get out a few jars of jam and let your guests create their favorite.

Ingredients:

2 ounces of bourbon

2 ounces of ginger ale

1/2 ounce simple syrup (make ahead and chill)

juice of half a lemon

spiced apple preserve

 

Directions:

In a cocktail shaker add ice, jam, bourbon, ginger ale, lemon juice, simple syrup. Shake briskly and strain into a glass. Serve with a spoon full of jam resting a top the glass. Guests can gradually stir in.

 

Vendors:

Photographer: Theo Milo Photography
Chef: Nancy Kaiser
Styling and Florals: Kim Fisher Designs and Nancy Kaiser