Autumn Dinner party

[a022700]

I (we are) am cooking a dinner party for 12 --was an item in an auction for my daughter's school. thinking we will do a fall-inspired dinner. (supposed to be 4 courses).

appetizers: thinking onion and grape leaf tarts, and maybe a mushroom wellington in phyllo cups?

soup--or salad? I have a nice recipe for a vegetable ragout served in miniature pumkins that looks good--from the CIA.

Main Course--pork--either herb/garlic roast or a crown roast? butternut or pumkin risotto (if we do the salad instead of the soup) or potato/sunchoke puree, and veggie (brussel sprouts or roasted cauliflower)

Dessert: small somethings....apple, chocolate, chestnut???

ideas?

thanks.

[wyogal]

I made some pumpkin gnocchi with garlic, sage, toasted hazelnuts, and parmesan shavings... delish! Had it with a pork loin.

How about individual pastry-wrapped baked apples for dessert? You can put a chestnut filling in the core.

[sillysully]

Wow - the wrapped apples sound amazing. May try for Thanksgiving if my group stays small!

[fifthglen]

for dessert, why not create apple infused parfaits? A great recipe can be found here http://family.go.com/food/recipe-6562... . A nice ending to a great meal. You could ligthtly put on some chocolate topping on if desired. Good luck and let us know how the meal goes.

[sillysully]

Assume you're cooking and serving... Then I would go with pork tenderloin! Easy to cook for a large group. This is my go to recipe but I use shallots as suggested and really don't spend a lot of time getting a crust on the loin http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/foo...
Serve with risotto for starter or butternut squash soup (easier) and roasted root veggies inc. red potatoes for the side. Apple tart or something light would be delish for dessert.