Alfresco Dining: Fall Dinner Party

Nov 16, 2023
2 min read

Updated: Nov 28, 2023

A couple of weeks ago at the beginning of November, I had the joy of hosting some friends for an alfresco dinner as a sort of unofficial end of fall, pre-holidays get together. Ok- transparency time. I have a hard time holding back when planning events. Thankfully, I have understanding friends who go along with and humor me. And true to form, this dinner began to take on a life on it's own. We were able to gather outside because the weather in NorCal was still pretty fabulous (sorry, not sorry). I had a ton of fun gathering recipes and creating a fall tablescape that could be used either indoor or out with the idea of trying out things for my Thanksgiving table. So if you are in need of inspiration for any gatherings you might be having we have got plenty of ideas. Read on to find out more about what I used and what the menu was- or skip to the bottom to see a list of the items we used.

fall tablescape, simple fall table, neutral fall table, black and white fall table, white pumkins, gold flatware, simopoulos designs

I find a fall table pretty easy to do because of what's readily available during the season. Gathering varying sizes and colors of pumpkins and squash alone can make a great table. I took that part a couple of steps further and added some pomegranates., grapes, eucalyptus and an elevated marble tray in the center so I could place items at varying heights. Then of course no dinner gathering isn't complete without candlelight right?! I gathered some tapers and placed them strategically on the table with a favorite new find- glass hurricane sleeves. The hurricanes did double duty: protected the flames from extinguishing but also the surrounding light bounces off the glass beautifully.

Because there was all the fall colors going on at the center of the table, for the table settings I kept the colors very neutral. We used organically shaped black dinnerware and appetizer plates from Crate and Barrel and sandwiched a glass salad plate between them. I chose champagne colored flatware which tied in nicely with the brass antique candlesticks.

On the menu was charcuterie, deconstructed pear walnut salad, french onion soup, spicy honey chicken & sweet potato kebabs and another charcuterie for dessert. Most of the charcuterie board items were purchased at Trader Joe's- they have so many yummy and unique seasonal stuff to choose from. We had pear vanilla gin fizzes and spicy ginger pear punch for drinks with sugared cranberries garnish which were DElish. I believe the consensus was that we had more than enough food- but my Achilles heel is always wanting to make everything I find on Pinterest (again, I don't know when to say when). Truth be told I'm happy I did make all of it because we were able to graze off off it for the next week!

friends gathered, outdoor fall dining, alfresco, simopoulos designs

We have other items linked below that we used for our Alfresco Fall Friend Gathering. Hopefully we got your creative juices flowing - Let us know if you end up trying any of the recipes or using any of these items for your own gathering!