A Spring Dinner at My Farm, Part 2
Spring is such a lovely season for entertaining at home - especially with so much to see and enjoy in the gardens.
Preparing for any party takes a lot of effort, a lot of time, and a lot of advanced planning, but it's all worth the effort for a wonderful gathering of friends. Yesterday, I shared some prep images from a dinner I hosted for 11 friends earlier this week. Chef Pierre Schaedelin, from PS Tailored Events, and I, planned all the delicious dishes using lots of fresh vegetables and herbs grown right here at the farm. The menu included risotto with black Conica Morel mushrooms, Selle D'Agneau with house-grown herbs, asparagus, turnips, baby carrots, and Pommes Anna, and poached rhubarb Pavlova with whipped cream for dessert.
Here are some photos from our most delicious dinner, enjoy - many were taken by our own Kevin Sharkey.
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- Here I am next to a most gorgeous spring dining table – filled with all sorts of flowers from my gardens – lilacs, tree peonies, Solomon’s Seal, Dicentra, azaleas, daffodils, and more.
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- Every place is set with a personal menu and place card. When setting a table, also be sure there is nothing obstructing guests’ views. For this dinner I chose Drabware plates atop fun cabbage placemats, and tan napkins. If using cloth napkins or tablecloths, be sure to iron them in advance.
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- The menus are typed on white paper and inserted into a card stock booklet.
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- At the opposite end of the long table are taller vases filled with lilacs and Solomon’s Seal. Solomon’s seal, Polygonatum, is a genus of elegant woodland plants that are native to North America. In spring, the arching stems are lined with small, bell-shape, white blooms.
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- And for the centerpiece, smaller glasses are used to hold peonies and lilacs mixed with various other flowers from the gardens.
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- Here is a bold dark burgundy tree peony.
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- Here – lighter pink peonies with lilacs in the center. And any glass will do for a bud vase. The table looks so cheerful and inviting.
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- Mixed with these lilacs – Dicentra or Bleeding Hearts on the right. Dicentra is an elegant, easy care for perennial for shady gardens. It is named for its heart-shaped blossoms that dangle from slender, arching stems.
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- We even cut some azalea blossoms to add to this arrangement I did myself. This one is displayed on a table in my Sitting Room.
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- On the servery counter, more fragrant lilacs. Lilacs come in seven colors: violet, blue, lilac, pink, red, purple and white. The purple lilacs have the strongest scent compared to other colors.
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- The day was perfect for entertaining – sunny with temperatures in the 60s. Here is the old corn crib, with the afternoon sun casting shadows of the antique fence down the footpath between my paddocks.
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- The long pergola will soon be filled with blooming alliums, Spanish Bluebells, and camassia – everything is coming up so beautifully this season.
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- Guests arrived at 6:30pm. Because the weather was so pleasant, I decided to serve cocktails and hors d’oeuvres outside on the terrace parterre. Here is a platter of gougeres – those delicious baked savory choux pastry made of choux dough and mixed with cheese. Next to the gougeres, small ceramic cups of sorrel soup I made. Sorrel is a leafy green plant, used alternately as an herb and as a vegetable, with a distinctive sour, lemony flavor. It is so delicious in soups.
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- All the glasses for our spring cocktails were ready in the servery.
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- The tops were rimmed with lemon and sugar. If a cocktail calls for it, sugaring the glass rims is something one can do ahead of time.
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- Here is a view of my Winter House kitchen – notice anything different? I changed all the pots and pans from copper to stainless steel. I am using all the copper in my newly renovated studio kitchen and decided the stainless steel would look so pretty here. When I first moved to this Bedford farm, my kitchen was decorated with stainless steel – I really like the clean look.
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- The Selle D’Agneau is fresh out of the oven and ready to slice. This dish is made using lamb saddle with delicious herbs. Lamb has a delicate meat that marries well with herbs.
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- Guests were seated to our candlelight dinner. It is so beautiful.
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- A simple green salad with vinaigrette was served first, followed by the risotto with black Conica Morel mushrooms. Unfortunately, the risotto was so delicious, it was all eaten before anyone remembered to take a photo.
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- Then, we had the lamb with roasted vegetables and Pomme Anna. Everyone loved dinner and everything was devoured – no leftovers at all.
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- And our delectable dessert of poached rhubarb on a nest of meringue in this Pavlova topped with fresh whipped cream was amazing. Rhubarb grows so well here at the farm – it is tart yet sweet and delicious in all kinds of desserts as well as savory dishes. It was a great dinner had by all. Please look at my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48 for additional photos. I hope this post inspires you to do some spring entertaining this weekend.
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