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Indigo Harvest Party

October 14, 2015

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Last month, we threw a little get-together at work to congratulate two teammates who had achieved some major milestones.  The vibe was supposed to be casual and nothing too fussy, yet I wanted it to feel pulled together with some commonality. Since it was almost fall, but was still so incredibly hot, I decided to play around with a harvest theme that incorporated some cooler hues to keep the design from being too stuffy and hot on a scorching September afternoon (no reds or oranges here!).  Thanks to a recent trip to the Rose Bowl Flea, I had a ton of indigo fabric that I knew would make a great base.  I picked up some weathered indigo cloth napkins from World Market to keep the look cohesive and to create some contrast against our simple white plates.  Playing off of the harvest theme, each place setting had a little artichoke on the napkin and larger artichokes, bay leaf, and simple fall greens placed down the center of the table.  I evenly spaced a few white marble candlesticks and some simple votives to bring in a little warmth and glow.  Since we were super limited on time, I threw some extra greens in a pitcher for the buffet table and painted a really quick congratulatory sign with watercolor to hang above.  The food was also kept simple with a cheese and charcuterie board to pair with each of the wines we were going to be serving that night.  A few sprigs of green kept everything tied together and we were ready to go!  Take a look at some of my favorite shots from the party below.  Cheers!

{All images by Joel Maus of Studio EMP}

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Design, Dine, Events, Fall, Wine Tagged With: artichokes, cheese, cheese board, dinner, easy entertaining, entertaining, events, florals, greenery, indigo, wine, wine tasting

Chicken a la Vendemmia

October 1, 2015

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With pound of leftover figs from our Fig & Rosemary Sparkling Cocktail and Fig & Prosciutto Flatbread Pizza, I was on the hunt for a yummy fall harvest inspired recipe.  When I stumbled upon Michael Chiarello’s Chicken a la Vendemmia recipe, I was sold.  What better way to use up our figs than with ripe grapes that could be pulled off of our own vineyard?  Since I was making this in LA and not at the Napa house, I opted to use table grapes instead, but next year when I’m in Napa for harvest, I’m definitely making this with grapes from our vines.  I sought out to replicated the dish with a few little tweaks along the way and was delighted with how simple and delicious this turned out to be. I’ve never cooked a bone-in chicken breast, but it was so juicy and wonderful that I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to cook a boneless/skinless chicken breast again – so much better!  The skin and fennel added just the right amount of savory crunch and it’s hard to go wrong with figs.  The combination of the figs and grape made for a sweet sauce over the chicken that paired wonderfully with a well balanced, lightly oaked Chardonnay. YUM!

Find the original recipe here and make sure you check out Michael’s restaurant, Bottega in Yountville the next time you visit Napa – it’s one of our favorites. Cheers!

Time: 1 hour
Yield: 2 servings

I N G R E D I E N T S

2 lbs grapes (seeded or seedless table grapes)
2 large bone-in chicken breasts (skin on)
Sea salt
Pepper
2 teaspoons fennel
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup shallot, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons minced rosemary
1 cup fresh figs (halved)

D I R E C T I O N S

  1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Using a food processor, puree the grapes and then strain.  You want to extract as much of the juice as possible so you may need to press the solids up against a sieve to do so.  2 lbs. of grapes should yield about 2 cups of juice.
  3. Season your chicken breasts liberally with fennel.  Sprinkle each with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.
  4. Heat an ovenproof skillet over medium/high heat.  Once your skillet is hot, add the olive oil and chicken (skin side down) and cook for 4-5 minutes.  Flip the chicken breasts over and cook for another 2 minutes.  Transfer pan to oven and cook until chicken is done (10-15 minutes).
  5. Remove chicken from the skillet and discard all but 1-2 tablespoons of fat from the pan.  Add the shallot and cook until softened and slightly transparent.  Add rosemary for 10-15 seconds before incorporating your grape juice, stirring to evenly distribute the heat. Simmer for about 2 minutes (or until mixture starts to reduce) and add your figs.  Allow figs to warm throughout (about 1-2 more minutes before removing from heat).
  6. Plate your chicken and pour the sauce and figs overtop.  Garnish with fresh rosemary and serve with a glass of ONEHOPE Chardonnay.  Cheers!

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Dine, Fall, Wine Tagged With: chicken, dinner, fall, figs, yummy

Pear Salad

December 2, 2013

Following a weekend traditionally made up of non-stop eating, I figured we could all use a salad 😉 Exhibit A:

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Believe it or not, until a few months ago I “hated” pears. I’d tried them as a little girl, decided they were “gross” and then never tried them again for probably 15+ years.  I can not believe what I’ve been missing!!!  When searching around for cocktail ideas for work, I kept coming across pear recipes and decided to overcome my ridiculous fear of pears and surprise, surprise… I completely fell in love with them!  You guys, I’m SO happy about this… I think they might be my new favorite fruit and I crave them constantly.  When I had a few left over from shooting this, I decided to put them to work in a new salad and figured it would be a nice change of pace from my go-to greens.  I found this recipe for a Honey Dijon Balsamic Vinaigrette (yes, it’s even better than it sounds) and knew that the flavors would pair insanely well with pear.

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Prep time: 10 minutes
Serves: 2

Ingredients

5 oz. Mixed Greens (I used spring mix + arugula)
3 oz. Goat Cheese
1 Pear
1/2 cup Glazed Walnut Pieces (I used Fresh Gourmet brand – available in the salad or crouton aisle)

Ingredients for Dressing

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 clove garlic (minced)
1/2 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
3/4 cup olive oil
Salt
Fresh Ground Pepper

Directions

1.  Combine all ingredients for dressing until thoroughly mixed. I like to put everything in a mason jar and shake it up to get an even consistency. This also makes it easy to save leftovers 🙂

2.  Combine spring mix, walnuts and goat cheese. Drizzle with dressing and mix. Top with sliced pear and serve with a crisp chardonnay. This and this are both great options for Chard 🙂

Cheers!

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Dine, Wine Tagged With: arugula, dinner, goat cheese, healthy, healthy eating, healthy living, holiday, life, pear, salad, thanksgiving

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