Welcome to another episode of Dinner Stories: The Triumphs and Travails of Hosting! For August’s story, join me as I host a Seaside Garden Dinner Party! We have a menu filled with garden-inspired recipes, plus local New England seafood. And we can’t forget about the hand-decorated hydrangea cupcakes with homemade vanilla bean buttercream!

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Welcome back to Dinner Stories – where each month I host a themed dinner party! We’ve had a Pistachio-themed dinner party, French Bistro, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and more. Each one has been so fun, and every time I learn something new. I’ve been trying to challenge myself culinarily lately, so this Seaside Garden dinner party was a big deal to me. I’m very inexperienced when it comes to seafood, and I was definitely nervous for this one! But it ended up being delicious, and my guests left full and happy :) So without further ado, let’s get into it!

THE THEME

For this party, I was sponsored by a wine brand called Torresella. They grow their grapes in the Venice region of Italy, which is where the land meets the sea. So a Seaside Garden theme was an obvious choice! I wanted to meld the feeling of azure lagoons, coastal breezes, and sparkling ocean waves with the freshness, vibrancy, and greenery of a garden. This also felt like an apt theme for living in Connecticut, which is a coastal state! I’m about 50 minutes from the beach, and I love going as often as I can.

THE TABLESCAPE

I wanted to keep the tablescape natural, organic, and on theme. I paired a neutral plaid tablecloth white bowls and my classic glassware. White hydrangeas were the primary flower, with blue sea thistles and branches from this shrub from my front yard that was there when we moved! I don’t know what it’s called, but it added a beautiful pop of green.

Then, I adorned the table with iridescent ribbons and seashells I’d collected from Cape Cod and the Connecticut shoreline. I also bought sand dollars and wrote each guest’s name on them as a place setting!

THE FOOD

Like I said before, I don’t have a lot of experience cooking with seafood. In fact, I had never shucked oysters before! So I bought a few oysters to practice shucking the night before. My husband and I actually found it to be way easier than we thought.

The Oysters

Then, for the party, I broiled the oysters in the oven with mignonette butter, bread crumbs, and chives from my garden. These turned out to be a HUGE hit. I was especially proud of the mignonette butter, an original creation of mine. Mignonette is a classic accompaniment to oysters, and is made from vinegar and shallots. I started by pickling shallots in champagne vinegar, then drained them, then added them to salted butter. It was SO tasty.

The Steamed Mussels

For the main, I made steamed mussels in a white wine garlic broth. In classic “me” fashion, I didn’t use a recipe, I just kind of winged it with whatever I thought would taste good. First, I sautéed shallots and garlic in butter and olive oil (a trick I picked up from the Barefoot Contessa). Then I deglazed the pan with white wine, and added in the broth. Then I added my cleaned mussels, and covered the pan to let them steam. When they were done, I topped them with more chives.

The Rosemary Focaccia Toasts

I served the mussels with homemade rosemary focaccia toasts. First, I baked the focaccia, then cut them into slices and toasted them in the oven with a little olive oil. I would say these were the runaway hit of the party. My guests LOVED dipping them in the mussel broth. I must admit, I really outdid myself here!

The Salads

I made two salads as sides because, well, I’m me. First, I made a wax bean salad with vinaigrette and herbs. Then, I made a potato salad with honey mustard vinaigrette and more herbs. These were the perfect compliments to the seafood!

THE DESSERT

For dessert, I made hydrangea cupcakes! Don’t tell anyone, but I made the cupcakes from a box. Scandalous, I know!! But I LOVE boxed cupcakes and store-bought frosting. I have yet to make a cupcake in my own kitchen that compares. But while I used boxed cupcake mix, I did make my own buttercream. Even though I prefer the store-bought Betty Crocker stuff, I wanted to serve something a little more ~*classy*~. Plus, I knew I’d need large quantities in order to get the ombré colors for the hydrangeas.

So I made the buttercream, then separated them into a few different containers. I mixed them each to be slightly different in color, just like real hydrangeas. Then I carefully piped them onto the cupcakes, being sure to alternate colors. I was SO happy with how they came out!

THE DRINKS

Since this dinner was sponsored by a wine brand, we drank their Prosecco during the meal. The Prosecco was sublime (they’re not paying me to say this, by the way!! Only the IG reel was sponsored). It was light, floral, and a little bit citrus-y. It went perfectly with the menu!

I also made a Seafoam Fizz batch cocktail in my large carafe, by mixing a few different liqueurs with sprite to match the wine brand’s color scheme. It was a little bit boozy, but very tasty! ;)

THE STYLE

I wanted the aesthetic to be cohesive for this party since it was sponsored, so in blogzilla fashion, I asked my guests to wear white. It ended up giving a sophisticated, Hamptons-esque vibe! My dress was from Hill House, which is my favorite place to get comfy yet chic dresses.

THE PREPARATION

I’ve been continuing to follow my dinner party adage – do everything in advance that can be done in advance. So the night prior, I did a lot of meal prep, including making the mignonette butter, the buttercream, etc. I also made sure to get a good night’s rest and wake up as early as possible, which is usually a challenge for me. I’ve had insomnia since 2017 and sleeping is very difficult! But being rested for the big day was key, and I took measures to make sure I slept as much as possible.

I’m also very lucky to have such great friends who helped me during the day of. My friend Emilie was clutch with the floral arrangements! She told me that she actually arranged her own wedding party bouquets (they were stunning), so I knew the flowers were in good hands with her. Then, my friend Kevin helped Jon shuck oysters, and I set Emilie’s husband Dan to film it all. While I did have to keep yelling at him to film in portrait and not landscape (lol), the footage you see in my reel came out amazing! Kevin and Emilie also contributed to the filming as well. Jon, unfortunately, does not have an iPhone (I know, I know) so he didn’t film.

All in all, it was such a fun dinner party, with great food, great prosecco, and great friends. Cheers!

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!