One of my favorite things to do is host friends and family in our home. Our current apartment isn’t very big (hi, NYC real estate!), but we luckily have a small kitchen table where we can host one or two people at a time for cozy intimate gatherings. So last night, we invited our dear friend and neighbor, Franses, to come over. I wanted to make something relatively easy, but I also wanted it to feel special and slightly elevated for a weeknight dinner. I also wanted to make something seasonal but not too heavy because despite it being mid October, it’s still pretty warm out. I landed on the following menu. (Scroll to the bottom for recipes.)
Appetizer
Don’t be like me and forget an appetizer! I was going for a full plant based menu, so for an appetizer, I decided on red and yellow bell peppers sliced and served with a hummus dip. I thought this would be a nice alternative to cheese and crackers but in reality, I was too focused on the main meal that I put the peppers out too late and completely forgot about the hummus. Oops.
Main Course
Silky smooth cauliflower soup. This was perfectly light and silky smooth thanks to my immersion blender and the flavors were subtle yet super tasty. I kept it simple this time, but I am already thinking about ways to make this more flavorful next time.
Fall Salad with delicata squash, honeycrisp apples, and pomegranate seeds with a smoky and sweet lemon tahini dressing. Could these ingredients get any more fall vibes to you? This was my favorite part of the meal and my only regret is not making more!
Side of roasted brussels sprouts. This is a classic fall side dish and it definitely did not disappoint! Next time, I plan on going a little more adventurous with how I make these, but overall since I am just easing into fall cooking mood, I kept the overall style of these recipes fairly traditional.
Dessert
Berry n’ice cream. I am someone who always appreciates a good dessert. Earlier in the day, I had seen a recipe on Instagram for a berry n’ice cream, which looked so good. I made minor tweaks to it, but you can see The.Funktional.Nutritionist on Instagram for the original version.
Drinks
We all happen to be in a season of not drinking/rarely drinking at the moment, so Franses brought over Figlia, a really delicious non-alcoholic beverage for us to enjoy. The funny thing is, I unofficially stopped drinking about three years ago, but I never felt the need to switch to an alternative drink. I tend to be boring in this regard and usually just opt for water or seltzer, so when I tried these drinks last night, I remembered how fun the art of cocktails can be! Mixing this up felt like being on vacation and now I’m inspired to try more fun non-alcoholic drinks, especially since they’re really having a moment.
Now I have recipes for you!
Silky Smooth Cauliflower Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 inch of peeled ginger, minced.
- 1 large cauliflower chopped into 1-inch pieces
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 2 tablespoons of ghee
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Add the avocado oil and onion to a large pot over medium heat and saute for about 5 minutes until the onion softens and becomes translucent.
Add in the minced garlic and ginger.
Increase the heat and add in the chopped cauliflower, sauteeing for about five minutes until the cauliflower begins to soften.
Pour in the broth and ghee and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and let simmer for about 10 minutes.
Add in salt and pepper to taste.
Remove the pot from the heat and use an immersion blender to blend (or a blender that can handle the heat). Puree the soup until it becomes silky smooth.
Adjust salt and pepper to your liking.
Colorful Fall Salad
Ingredients
- Dark leafy greens
- One medium delicata squash
- One honeycrisp apple, thinly sliced (I used a mandolin for this)
- Seeds from one pomegranate
Smoky and Sweet Lemon Tahini Dressing
- 1/4 cup organic extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup tahini
- Juice from one small lemon
- 2 tablespoons raw honey
- Salt to taste (I added a little more than 1 tsp)
Directions
Preheat oven to 400F.
Slice the squash lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Slice the quash into moons. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for about 20 minutes or until the edges start to brown and caramelize.
Meanwhile, wash your dark leafy lettuce greens and lay out on your serving platter and make your salad dressing.
Dressing: Mix all ingredients together! I usually do this directly in my Pyrex measuring cup so it’s easy to pour over the salad.
Once the squash is roasted, let them cool for a bit so they don’t wilt the lettuce. Once cool, arrange them over the lettuce bed.
Layer the apple slices and pomegranates over the greens and squash.
Drizzle the dressing over the salad and toss well to make sure it’s all evenly coated.
Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Ingredients
- 1 pound of brussels sprouts, cut in half with the ends cut off
- 2 tablespoons of avocado oil
- Salt and pepper to your taste
Directions
Preheat oven to 425F. The high temperature will help them get nice and crispy.
Roast in the oven for about 15 to 20 minutes until the edges are nicely brown and crispy.
Berry N’ice Cream
Ingredients
- 2 cups frozen berries
- 1/2 cup full fat coconut milk
- 1/4 cup cashews
- 2 tablespoons of cacao powder (the original recipe calls for dark chocolate)
Directions
Add everything to a food processor and blend.
Note: This would make for really delicious popsicles!
This sweet treat was the perfect ending to a cozy fall dinner.
Hope you get some inspiration from this menu and let me know if you try anything out!
Disclaimer: The very top photo is not the soup I made, it’s a photo by Cala on Unsplash. Working on good food photography is one of my next goals!
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