It's (Always) the Season for Entertaining!

Fall Entertaining in a Few Easy Steps

The first of our recipe series: A simple all season table and a delicious meal to match 

Last month we sat together with photographer and cookbook author Gintare Marcel and put together various recipe and table setting themes.

The aim: to give you a one-stop solution to entertaining at home. Gintare took care of the recipes, we brought our hand-embroidered linens and hand woven table-wear and together we set the perfect table for each meal.

Today we’re sharing the first of the three themes: A Fall themed table with oven roasted pumpkin, roasted cauliflower and a carrot cake topped with poached pears as dessert.

 

Setting the table with a few key Artha Collections pieces

Each of the recipes can be prepped in advance and need some time in the oven, which gives you the perfect amount of time to take care of setting the table.

For this Fall themed meal we chose our set of the beige linen Maki Placemats as the base, mixing in cream colored Maki Napkins and some textured woven pieces. The placemats and napkins are hand embroidered with circular motifs in a small Indian village. The woven pieces are hand crocheted with banana fiber rope by artisans inan area a bit farther north.

The mix of different textures already create such a beautiful setting that all you need to add are some seasonal greens and flowers. You may even be able to find these in the woods or fields in your neighbourhood. Consider too using small potted herb plants as simple centrepieces. Simple tableware is best to give the food and handcrafted pieces center stage!

 

 

Preparing the Recipes

During the Fall and Winter months, there is nothing better than spending hours around a dinner table with your friends and family. As the days shorten we long for a cozy atmosphere and sometimes the best way to create an easy going, effortless meal that flows is with a few simple dishes, served all at once, family style.

 

 

Gintare put together a delicious combination of Fall inspired vegetables, that not only smell wonderful while roasting and taste delicious but also look beautiful when set out on a table. Pumpkin and cauliflower are available all winter long too! Add a cheese board and some fresh bread and enjoy as all of the different flavors come together. Your guests will be truly impressed!

To finish everything off, she is even sharing one of her favorite carrot cake recipes!

 

The Recipes 

Roast Pumpkin with fried sage

Serves: 4, Preparation time: 50 mins

Ingredients Roast Pumpkin 1 large pumpkin, sliced 30 g butter 3 garlic cloves, chopped 2 tbsp chopped parsley salt and pepper bunch of fresh sage leaves 100g butter 1 -2 tbsp balsamic vinegar handful of pine nuts, toasted Soft goat cheese, optional

Instructions Preheat the oven to 180C. Melt the butter and mix with garlic and parsley. Brush all over pumpkin slices, season and roast for about 30 - 40 mins till it is tender and caramelised around the edges. Heat half of the butter in a pan and quickly fry sage leaves, transfering them to paper towel once done. Add the remaining butter and swirl around till it starts to turn brown, then transfer to a bowl. Season with salt, pepper and vinegar. Serve roast pumpkin with fried sage leaves, pine nuts, cheese if using, dressing on the side and a bowl of quinoa for a fuller meal.

 

Roasted cauliflower salad with pomegranates

Serves: 4, Preparation time: 50 mins

 

Ingredients Roasted cauliflower 2 large cauliflower heads, broken into florets 4 tbsp olive oil 1/2 pomegranate deseeded a handful of almonds, toasted bunch of fresh parsley, chopped bunch of fresh thyme salt and pepper 100g feta cheese, optional Dressing 2 tbsp pomegranate molasses 1 tbsp maple syrup 2 tbsp lemon juice 5 tbsp olive oil salt and pepper

Instructions Preheat the oven to 220C. Coat cauliflower with oil, season with salt and pepper and roast for about 30-40 mins till they are nice and crispy. For the dressing, whisk all the ingredients together, season to taste. Toss the cauliflower with nuts, pomegranate seeds, parsley and feta if using. Drizzle the dressing on top and serve.

 

Carrot cake with poached pears

Serves: 4-6, Preparation time: 1 hour

Ingredients 6 medium carrots (about 350 grams) 160 ml sunflower oil 3 eggs 1 orange zest 110 g brown sugar 1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped out 1 tablespoon cinnamon 120g flour 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp soda Cream cheese frosting 250g cream cheese 1/2 orange juice 1 tsp powder sugar Orange zest to decorate (optional) Poached pears 4 medium pears 1/2 white wine 1/3 cup white sugar 1 vanilla pod, sliced and seeds scraped 1 cinnamon stick

Instructions Preheat the oven to 175C. Grate the carrots very finely, then stir in the oil. Lightly beat the eggs and stir into the carrots, followed by the zest, cinnamon, sugar and vanilla seeds. Sift the flour, baking powder and soda together and slowly add them to the batter, stirring all the time. Bake the carrot cake for 50 - 60 minutes. To check whether it is done, pierce it with a wooden skewer, it will be ready when it comes out clean. Let the cake cool down for 15-20 minutes, before removing from the tin, and leave it to cool completely.

 

For the poached pears, peel the pears leaving the stem intact. Place them into saucepan with all the ingredients and poach for about an hour till the pears are tender. Remove from the poaching liquid and set aside to cool.

Mix the cream cheese with orange juice and sugar and top the cake finishing with poached pears.

Recipes and all images by Gintare Marcel