Welcome back to another episode of Dinner Stories: The Triumphs and Travails of hosting! In this month’s episode, join me for a Midsummer Night’s Dream Dinner Party. Let’s pretend to be fairies for a night, with glittering cocktails, candles in the forest, and a whimsical menu!
This is my fifth Dinner Stories post! I can’t believe it’s been 5 months since I started this series. Today’s Dinner Story is a little different for a few reasons. First, it only had two guests – me, and my husband. As I’m sure everyone can attest, summers are notoriously difficult to schedule. There are always cookouts, weddings, parties, and vacations going on, so nailing down a group of people for a dinner party can be difficult. In the end, it was just easier to have it be Jon and I.
Second, I had our little party outside this time! Since the theme was Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which largely takes place in a forest, it felt only right to have the party next to our backyard forest. So we lugged out our dining room table that Jon built, and set it up underneath our pine trees.
Other than that, though, this was a regular Well and Full dinner party with tasty food, drinks, and dessert! So, without further ado, let’s get into the details!
THE THEME
A friend from my ballet class suggested this idea to me a few months ago, and I immediately fell in love with it. I will admit that it’s been quite a while since I’ve read any Shakespeare. But even for those who aren’t up-to-date with their Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream conjures up images of fairies, glittering lights in the trees, and a feeling of magic.
This theme felt perfect for me because 1. I was one of those little girls who grew up pretending she was a fairy, and 2. The natural, forest-centered aesthetic is very much in line with my own cooking!
THE TABLESCAPE
For the tablescape, I wanted lots of little tea lights, fairy string lights, and shades of purple and green. I will say that this was my least favorite tablescape of my Dinner Stories series. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get the exact vibe I wanted. I thought a white tablecloth would work, but I think I would’ve done better with a pale lilac one. Well, I’ll let you be the judge!
In any case, here is where I got everything (contains affiliate links):
- Purple table runner – Amazon
- Green table runner – Amazon
- Tea lights- Amazon
- White tablecloth – Amazon
- Serving platter for melon salad – vintage, thrifted
- Pasta making attachment – Amazon (not Kitchenaid brand but it worked amazingly, I highly recommend)
- Pasta drying rack – Amazon
- Gold serving tongs – Marshall’s
THE FOOD
I wanted the food for this dinner party to be natural and whimsical, like something the king and queen of the fairies would eat. So this is what I made:
Summer Cherry Agrodolce on top of Cream Cheese with Pepitas: I cooked down black cherries and Rainier cherries with sugar and vinegar, creating a sweet and sour agrodolce. I spread cream cheese on a platter, then layered the agrodolce on top. For a garnish I added pepitas, and I served it with homemade crostini.
Canary Melon Salad with Honeyed Peanuts, Sesame, and Lime: I cut up a canary melon and drizzled it with some good EVOO, lime juice, a little soy sauce, with honey peanuts and toasted sesame seeds. Canary melons are a slightly more tangy version of honeydew, perfect for this flavor combination!
Hand-made Pappardelle with Garlic, Herbs, and Microgreens: I hand-made some pasta using an attachment on my Kitchenaid, then set it to try. Then, I quickly boiled the pasta then sautéed it with butter, garlic oil, black pepper, and dried herbs. After it was done cooking, I garnished it with chopped parsley and microgreens.
THE DRINKS
I wanted something sparkly and magical for this dinner party, so I asked my husband to make purple Forest Fairy Gimlets with gin, lime juice, simple syrup, and edible glitter. For the gin, we used Empress gin, which is naturally colored with butterfly pea blossoms (which also felt so on-theme and magical!).
THE DESSERT
For the dessert I made a pavlova with kiwi curd, edible flowers, and lots of berries. Here’s where I have to be careful because you could get me on a RANT about the different types of meringue – French, Swiss, and Italian. French meringue is the mostly commonly employed method for pavlova recipes in America. The meringue is made without cooking any of the ingredients, which are then baked in the oven. However, you need to use caster sugar for this method because regular granulated sugar is too thick to melt properly.
I didn’t have caster sugar, so I decided to make Italian meringue for my pavlova. This method works by making a sugar syrup, then adding it to egg whites as they’re being whipped in a mixer. However, I don’t think my sugar syrup and egg whites fully incorporated, because the pavlova became “weepy” as it cooked. Meaning, some of the sugar syrup leaked out.
That being said, it still tasted delicious, and I topped it with my kiwi curd and berries. I also added on a few pansies from my garden for garnish!
THE STYLE
A Midsummer Night’s Dream was written by William Shakespeare in the late 1500’s, so I wanted my dress to have a Renaissance flair. I found the perfect corset dress with a gorgeous ivory jacquard fabric from Lulu’s. I braided my hair into a crown, and added in sparkly butterfly and flower clips. It ended up being perfect – I felt like a Renaissance forest fairy!!
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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