Fall Dinners - Get Inspired!

To start the evening, a charcuterie plate. A variety of dry cured meats, some pate, a grainy mustard, and a bowl of cornichons. In the background, two hard cheeses.

A bottle of red wine and a thinly sliced baguette accompanied our charcuterie plate.

Fall decorations on the table.

We decided on a pumpkin soup. We picked up an edible pumpkin (we believe this was Cheese Pumpkin) and sliced it open to prepare for roasting.

Cut up and cleaned out, the pumpkin went into the oven at 375 degrees in a shallow pan with a bit of water in the bottom. After about an hour or so, it was soft and ready to be used in soup.

In our big Le Creuset, we sauteed some small zucchini squash and onions. You might use some apples if you like more sweetness to your soup. Then the soft pumpkin was easily spooned away from the skin and added to the pot.

Immersion blender - activate.

Now smooth and naturally creamy as well as a bright, beautiful color.

A mushroom medley was also on the menu. A pile of shitake mushrooms here.

More mushrooms. Oyster mushrooms and button mushrooms are cut and prepped for cooking.

Kale was on the menu and began its cooking in a pot with a bit of olive oil and garlic.

The raw kale piled into our big pot.

After a few minutes, the color of the kale is vibrant and the volume has been reduced by more than half.

A creamy polenta on the stove with pieces of Parmigiano-Reggiano on top.

The table is set, ready for guests and food.

Our pumpkin soup, speckled with black pepper, topped with a quenelle of sour cream and chopped chives.

Mixed greens with a blue veined cheese (pick whichever you like for your salad!), lightly sugared and salted walnuts, and dried cherries. The mixed greens had been tossed with a very light vinaigrette made with apple cider vinegar, olive oil, grainy mustard, salt and pepper.

The peeled and cleaned shrimp were tossed in melted butter in which we\'d sauteed shallots and garlic. We placed them on a cookie sheet and broiled each side for roughly 2 minutes each. They were placed atop our creamy polenta and served next to our mushrooms and kale.

We greatly regret not getting pictures of our desserts - An unbelievable flourless chocolate cake made by one of our guests that, we admit, we were much more interested in tasting then photographing. It did not disappoint - perfectly rich and smooth and elegant. And our delicious pecan pie? That too was tasted rather than photographed! But we did happen to snap a picture of these unbelievable \<i\>macarons\<\/i\> we had, direct from Laduree in Paris. Mmmmm.