There's nothing quite like the magic of fall, especially when you're gathered together at a dinner party with friends, sharing stories and making memories. Aside from the great company, the flavorful food accompanied by a fall dinner party will leave you craving colder weather all year long.To help you kick off the fall season, our Bob's Red Mill experts have come together to create the ultimate guide to throwing the perfect fall dinner party. Continue reading to get the full details and tons of advice to help you throw the perfect dinner party and avoid any pre-party anxiety.
Shop Seasonally
Instead of pre-planning your dinner party by searching for elaborate recipes to make, take a trip to your local grocery store and check out which produce is in abundance. Creating a menu around fresh, in-season produce will not only cost you less, but it will also help you create flavorful meals with ease. Using seasonal fruits and vegetables is a great way to connect with nature and the season's changes. Fall food is known for being savory. Root vegetables, rich squash, and deep greens are featured in countless classic fall recipes and are the perfect ingredients to warm up to on a chilly fall night.
This fall, skip traditional pasta and make butternut squash pasta instead. Using a butternut squash sauce as a topping for your favorite pasta is a great way to cut back on sugar-filled sauces. Not only does butternut squash make for some pretty healthy pasta sauce, but it also makes for a flavorful dish. This vegan and gluten free pasta recipe is the perfect warming dish to serve at your fall gathering. Silky, smooth, and loaded with nutrients, butternut squash is naturally high in vitamins and minerals like vitamin A, vitamin C and potassium. Butternut squash, tomato paste, nutritional yeast and vegetable broth and blended to create a creamy sauce everyone will enjoy. Topped with toasted pumpkin seeds and fried sage, it's the ultimate vegan and gluten free dinner!Conversely, sweets are also in this season. Dessert tables are filled with apple pie, pumpkin pies and even coffee cake. If there's a sweet to bake, it's sure to be at your next holiday dessert spread. Apples, pumpkin, pomegranates, and rhubarb are all in season and available fresh in grocery stores for the next few months. Take advantage of this fall produce and whip up a recipe that your guests are bound to enjoy.
Who doesn't love a freshly baked batch of muffins? Made with wholesome and healthy ingredients, these Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins are entirely vegan and make for the perfect seasonal dessert. Made with our Gluten Free All-Purpose Flour, this recipe takes the guesswork out of gluten free baking and makes it easy for you to create a vegan and gluten free meal that all your guests will love.
Make Sure Your Guests Are Comfortable
Depending on when and where you throw your party, it may be a bit chilly for your guests. To help keep your guests comfortable and warm, think ahead and prepare blankets, hot tea and even mittens in strategic areas around the house to ensure that they always have a warm item to reach for. This is especially important if your party will be held outdoors. Be sure to check the weather ahead of time, and set up any canopies/umbrellas needed to guarantee your fall entertaining continues without a hitch.
Highlight DIY Recipes
For a great way to satisfy picky eaters, set up a DIY food station. Pizza, grain bowls, tacos and even desserts can be set up in a "serve yourself" fashion, allowing guests to get creative and make their meals. Once you choose an easy DIY recipe, prepare the ingredients, and lay them out in a buffet-like style. Your guests will be able to pick up a plate and create a truly unique dish.
Use Slow Cookers to Your Advantage
When planning out the multiple dishes, you'd like to make for your upcoming fall gathering, use slow cookers to your advantage. An incredibly easy and hands-off method of cooking, everything from desserts to extravagant main course meals can be made in a slow cooker. And, because the cooking time is extensive, food can be prepared ahead of time and cooked to perfection the day of. Another great thing about slow cookers is that they offer a one-step prep method. This means that all of the ingredients are placed directly in the slow cooker when making a slow-cooked meal. Not only does this save loads of preparation time, but it also cuts down on cleanup.Perfect for any season, a slow cooked meal will undoubtedly fill your house with a welcoming aroma during the winter. Conversely, if the weather is a bit warmer, you won't have to worry about your home overheating, as a slow cooker will not heat the kitchen the way an oven might.The next time you're hoping to create a tender and flavorful dinner dish, unpack your slow cooker and let it do the work for you. To help you get started, here are a few of our favorite seasonal slow-cooked meals.
If you're starting on your slow cooking journey, then we have the perfect dish for you. This Slow Cooker White Chicken and Quinoa Chili makes whipping up a flavorful meal easy. The ideal blend of hearty and healthy ingredients, it is the perfect meal to make in large batches and serve at your next gathering. Warming and filling, this chili will surely warm you up on a brisk evening. Don't believe us, try it out yourself! We're confident you won't be disappointed.
If you've already chosen your main course meal and are left with trying to pick out the perfect fall dessert recipe, then we're here to help. A simple treat that is loved by both children and adults, brownies are a fail-proof dessert that is sure to win over any sweets table. The great thing about making brownies in a slow cooker is that there is virtually no mess! The ingredients are mixed and made in the same bowl. When the brownies are done, they can easily be removed from the slow cooker pot, leaving you with one dish to clean up. Additionally, because brownies are a versatile dessert, you can customize them based on your guest's taste buds. Cranberries, blueberries, nuts and even shredded coconut can be added to your brownie mix to put a unique spin on this timeless dessert. Serve the brownies as is or top them with a scoop of your favorite ice cream and enjoy!
Use Pumpkins to Your Advantage
It's no secret that pumpkins are the king of the fall season. Whether you're carving pumpkins or eating them, this prized produce is bound to find its way to your kitchen at one point or another this fall. Since pumpkins are in abundance and can be found virtually everywhere, it's time to start using them to your advantage. When planning out your fall gathering, choose a few creative ways that you can work pumpkins into the party's agenda. Choose to hollow out a few pumpkins and use them as a bowl for your homemade chips, dips, and sauces. Or, use the many pumpkins you have on hand to organize a pumpkin hunt. Organizing a pumpkin hunt and hiding your unique pumpkins in hard-to-find places is the perfect way to keep your little ones entertained.And there you have it. Five incredibly essential tips to follow to ensure your fall-inspired party is a success. From seasonal shopping to slow-cooked meals, throwing a festive and seasonal gathering doesn't have to be hard. Use these tips to guide you in all of your fall entertaining ventures. We can't wait to hear about it!Have a holiday hosting tip in mind that we didn't mention. Let us know how you throw the perfect seasonal party in the comments below. From everyone at Bob's Red Mill, happy holidays!