An Autumn Dinner at Home
Fall is such a wonderful season for entertaining.
Last week, I hosted a special Moroccan-style dinner party for my friends, Robbie Antonio and his lovely wife, Daniella, who are visiting New York from the Philippines. While they were in the area, I thought it would be nice to invite more friends to join us for a delicious autumn meal. All 15 of my guests arrived right on time. Our evening began with cocktails in my kitchen, and then a sit-down dinner in my Brown Room. Every course was thoroughly enjoyed - the Bisteeya, the Couscous Royale and the homemade fruit sorbets and cookies for dessert.
Enjoy these photos.
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- Final preparations for my dinner party were underway by late afternoon. I always decorate my home with lots of pretty houseplants whenever I entertain. In my foyer, houseplants and pumpkins share this table with my giant falcon.
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- This gorgeous lush green fern sits on the coffee table of my green room with gourds grown here at the farm.
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- More plants and autumn fruits adorn this side of my servery.
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- And this painted asparagus fern, Asparagus aethiopicus, looks perfect in the large sewer tile urn. Made mostly in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, sewer tile art pieces like this one were valued for their color, their rarity, and their form. I have two in this room. I just love these industrial-looking vessels.
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- I wanted to use as many plants as possible – they are beautiful in groupings and add such nice color to any room. If you decorate with houseplants, use glass plates underneath instead of plant pot saucers for an extra special touch.
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- We placed money plants down the length of the dining table. Chinese money plants, Pilea peperomioides, are so handsome, and they always attract lots of attention.
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- The table settings are almost finished. This long table seats exactly 16 guests.
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- This stunning Christmas Cactus originally belonged to my mother, Big Martha. My late sister, Laura Plimpton found two small stem segments, called cladodes, in the back of a drawer several years after our mother died. We took a chance and planted them, and they thrived. This is the plant now. Laura would have loved it.
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- On the other side of the Christmas Cactus, we prepared the bar. I decided to make cider-bourbon cocktails, using cider made from my apples picked this season. https://www.marthastewart.com/863805/cider-bourbon-cocktail
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- I sugared all the glasses for the cocktails. I top the rim with a little lemon juice and then dip the glass in some brown sugar – it works perfectly for these drinks.
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- Here are the tagines, ready to be filled in my kitchen. The bases are wide and shallow – perfect for each full serving of couscous and all the mouthwatering meats and vegetables.
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- Here’s Andres juicing oranges for the cocktails.
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- Dessert glasses are placed on a tray ready to fill with sorbet. When hosting a party – get as much done beforehand as possible, so there is no rush during the party itself.
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- All the meats were cooked and ready to serve with the Couscous Royale.
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- Here’s a nice snapshot of Chef Pierre and Chef Alain.
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- Moments after the last photo was taken, they are busy preparing the hors d’oeuvres – fava bean hummus on handmade crackers and fresh radishes picked from my garden.
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- As guests enjoyed their cocktails, hors d’oeuvres were passed around on silver platters.
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- It was a very cold evening, so I started a fire in the Brown Room.
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- Here is the finished table with the menus and place cards added to each setting – everything looks great.
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- And here are the three Bisteeyas fresh from the oven and ready to be cut. The tops are sprinkled with confectioner’s sugar and cinnamon – it was everyone’s favorite dish.
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- The Bisteeya is served as the appetizer – it is a traditional Moroccan dish.
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- Each piece is thick and filled with the layers of chicken, egg and almond mixtures.
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- The sauces include Harissa – a North African hot chili pepper paste made with roasted peppers, spices, and herbs. We also served lemon with Biquinho red peppers I grew in my garden. These “little beak” peppers are small, pointed fruits that have a unique, slightly tart flavor with a tiny bit of heat – so delicious.
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- Back in the kitchen, Chef Pierre plates the Couscous Royale.
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- Each tagine is brought into the dining room with the steam from the food coming through the tops.
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- The Couscous Royale is plated with vegetables, and a piece each of lamb, chicken and then sausage, and placed into the base section of the tagines.
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- Dessert – delicious colors of the pomegranate sorbet and quince sorbet.
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- They look so gorgeous in these glasses topped with mint grown here at the farm.
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- Each serving plated with quince paste I made last week from the quince grown here, and my brown butter shortbread cookies. Everyone devoured dessert and even asked for more cookies to take home. It was a very delicious meal and a very enjoyable evening with friends.
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