Welcome to another episode of Dinner Stories: The Triumphs and Travails of Hosting! This month’s dinner party is extra special because I am celebrating 10 YEARS OF WELL AND FULL!
That’s right, on May 5th, 2015, I published my very first recipe on wellandfull.com!! It’s so wild to think about how much my life has changed in the past 10 years. And while I won’t wax on and on about my journey in this post, I want to send a message to my past self, 10 years ago: Things will get hard, things will feel impossible, and you might feel like giving it all up. But you will survive. You are more resilient than you ever thought possible. You will find people who care about you; you will marry the best guy in the world, and you will heal. The bad times WILL end. Happy days are here again. <3
Okay, now that I’ve gotten all the sentiment out of the way, let’s talk about my 10 Year Anniversary Dinner Party! This was my favorite dinner party yet, for so many reasons. First, my best friend Alex came into town just for the party. She is a gem of a human being, and has been a pillar in my life since we met and became friends in 2007. Having her there at the party was so meaningful to me.
My friend Kevin, who also went to high school with me and Alex, came too! He’s been to every dinner party thus far and I honestly wouldn’t be able to do it without him. Half of the footage in my video is from him, and he helped take photos as well! He’s the absolute best.
Now on to the party!
THE THEME
This dinner party’s theme was Well and Full – so an aesthetic that is colorful and vibrant. I also wanted to incorporate some Mexican-inspired details into my decor, in honor of my blog anniversary falling on Cinco de Mayo. Plus, I wanted the entire menu to be vegan, in homage to how I started this blog.
THE TABLESCAPE
For the colorful theme, I found the perfect tablecloth from Urban Outfitters. It was colorful, cute, and had a pattern reminiscent of hacienda tiles. The candlesticks were from Anthropologie (unfortunately I don’t think they carry them anymore), and the tapers were these funky green bubble candles from Amazon.
The serveware was a hodgepodge of plates and bowls I’ve collected throughout the years, but a new purchase was these funky salad tongs from Amazon. When I saw them I knew they’d be the perfect colorful pop for my table! And they were actually surprisingly sturdy and high-quality (sometimes Amazon is hit or miss).
I thrifted the vase I used for my flower centerpiece. The flowers included St. John’s Wort, spray roses, white hydrageas, pink peonies, and Craspedia flowers (the yellow ball flowers), which are so fun and whimsical. Alex arranged them because I didn’t have time to, and she did an amazing job!
THE FOOD
When I started Well and Full in 2015, I was completely vegan. Even though I’m no longer vegan, plant-based eating is still the foundation of my diet. I wanted to pay homage to the roots of Well and Full by creating a completely vegan menu!
I haven’t cooked completely vegan in quite some time, so I was a little nervous about this challenge. Especially because my style has never been to create “replacement” foods. For example, I never created plant-based burgers that were meant to taste like real burgers. Instead, I created a black bean burger recipe that was meant to taste like flavorful black beans, not pretending to be otherwise. This is emblematic of my vegan food ethos – it should stand on its own merits. Alternatively put, I try to make delicious recipes that just happen to be vegan. And (if I do say so myself) I really knocked it out of the park with this dinner party! Everything was DELICIOUS, and my guests raved about the food. Here’s what I made:
APPETIZERS
- Strawberry Salsa – an older (but no less tasty) recipe of mine, made with fresh strawberries, jalapeños, red onion, salt, pepper, and lots of fresh lime.
- Mediterranean Guacamole – a mash-up (no pun intended) of two of my favorite cuisines. I made my standard guacamole base of avocados, jalapeños, red onions, cilantro, fresh lime, and salt, and added in fresh thyme and chopped sun-dried tomatoes. I topped it with a little olive oil, cilantro, and Piment d’Esplette to make it look pretty!
DINNER
- Ramp + Herb Pasta Salad – I made an herby sauce with in-season ramps, parsley, basil, chives, and thyme mixed with dijon mustard, fresh lemon juice, and salt and pepper. I tossed the sauce with butterfly pasta, black beans, chopped bell peppers, and extra chopped herbs.
- Southwest Caesar Salad – I made a homemade caesar dressing with chipotle peppers, vegan mayo, capers, dijon mustard, salt, pepper, and fresh lemon juice. It came out SO GOOD! The base of the salad was kale, and I added in blackened corn, roasted heirloom tomatoes, and homemade seasoned corn tortilla strips. For garnish, I added fresh basil and pansies from my garden.
- Melon Checkerboard Salad – I cut up honeydew, cantaloupe, and watermelon into cubes (with Jon’s help), then drizzled them with a spicy balsamic glaze and basil leaves for garnish. To make the glaze, I combined balsamic vinegar, maple syrup, salt, and Piment d’Esplette, then cooked it down into a syrup.
DESSERT
- Dragonfruit Mango Coconut Trifle – y’all, I really shocked myself on this one. I was inspired by the pistachio tiramisu from my Pistachio Dinner Party, but needed to veganify it. So here’s what I ended up layering in the trifle:
- Coconut whipped cream made using coconut cream and powdered sugar
- Mango purée (just fresh mango blended up in my Vitamix)
- Dragonfruit compote made by cooking down fresh dragonfruit with sugar and vanilla extract, then adding in a little of the mango purée for color
- Nilla wafers (the brand I purchased was vegan!)
This dessert was one of the most delicious, unique desserts I’ve ever had, and I will definitely be posting the recipe for it!!
THE DRINKS
Since my blogging anniversary falls on Cinco de Mayo, margaritas were the obvious choice. I made two different types:
- Cantaloupe Margaritas – made with fresh cantaloupe juice, lime, Cointreau, simple syrup, and silver tequila
- Spicy, Smoky Passionfruit Margaritas – made with passionfruit juice, lime, Cointreau, simple syrup, habanero tequila, and mezcal
In addition to the margaritas, I also served sparkling Topo Chico water with fresh lime slices, and a delicious Spanish Rioja wine. Then, at the end of the night, we broke out the champagne that my friend Alex brought!
THE STYLE
I knew I wanted to find something special to wear for this dinner party, so when I found this dress by AFRM, I knew it was PERFECT! It was an off-white mesh dress with pink polka dots, with a bodysuit on the inside and a sheer mesh skirt. With it, I wore pearl earrings that I thrifted, plus my Coach watch that my husband gave me and my Cape Cod bracelet that my dad gave me.
THE PREPARATION
I came up with the name and tagline of this series for a reason – because every dinner party comes with its own triumphs and travails! While this dinner party was one of my best, it was also my most chaotic to date. I thought I had planned ahead enough, but on the day of I realized how behind I really was.
TWO WEEKS BEFORE
- Plan out menu
- Look for inspiration on Pinterest
- Order/buy dinnerware of hosting items that I need
ONE WEEK BEFORE
- Test out recipes I haven’t made before
- Write down everything I need to do, including task list
- Start cleaning the house
TWO DAYS BEFORE
- Buy groceries
- Tablescape dress rehearsal (plan out where everything will go on the table)
ONE DAY BEFORE
- Prep any food items that can be made ahead of time – here I made the ramp sauce, the spicy balsamic glaze, and the Mexican Caesar. I also prepped veggies by chopping them and putting them into deli containers for storage. Oh, and I also made the corn tortilla croutons!
THE DAY OF
- Finish cooking
- Make cocktails
- Allocate time to get ready
- Any last minute cleaning
- Allocate time to take photos (this is an food blogger thing, but other folks might want to save time to take photos as well!)
- Arrange floral centerpiece (Alex did this)
- Fill water glasses at the table (I had to delegate this as well)
THE TRAVAILS
I had a LOT of travails for this dinner party! Here’s all the ways I made mistakes for this dinner party:
- I was too complacent. I did more food prep ahead of time than my last dinner party, but this menu was also more complex. So I didn’t wake up early enough or move quickly enough to get everything done in time.
- I forgot to arrange the flowers ahead of time!! I thought I would have time to do it before my guests arrived, but the cooking was too involved and I couldn’t delegate this task to Jon. Luckily, my best friend Alex made a GORGEOUS arrangement for me while I finished cooking.
- I forgot to put the silverware on the table!! I had my gorgeous table all set up, but totally blanked on the silverware. However, everyone at the table had a good laugh (including me) at my faux pas.
- I made the batch cocktails on the day of the party, when I should’ve made them ahead of time. Liquor keeps well in the fridge, so this should’ve been a no-brainer for me. Oh well, you live and you learn! :)
P.S.
For more plant-forward recipes, dinner parties, and New England lifestyle inspiration, be sure to follow along on Pinterest, Instagram, and TikTok! If you make a recipe, please tag me in the photo and use the hashtag #wellandfull so I can see! I love seeing your creations!
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