You feel the season changing—in the weather, in the produce at your favorite farmer’s market. Yellows, reds, and browns are beginning to appear all around you. You feel reflective. It’s in the nature of this season—the traditional time of harvest—it’s a time of gathering the good things this season provided before winter brings another year to an end. You don’t want to wait until the very end of autumn to share gratitude with your loved ones and friends. You decide to gather at Laurel. The space is filled with a warm and inviting ambiance, and the menu is especially fitted to the season.
~ Appetizer Course ~
St. Albans Cheese Fondue served with Wild Mushrooms and Herb Ciabatta Crostini, Pumpkin Spice Tartlet
Begin by breaking bread together. Dip a piece into the crock of cheese fondue. Add a forkful of fragrant wild mushrooms. Pass a pumpkin tartlet around the table, or casually keep one to yourself. You taste the hint of sage powder and how it highlights the silky labneh and the slight sweetness of the pumpkin.
~ Salad Course ~
Spinach Salad served with Goat Cheese, Cranberry, Walnuts, Butternut Squash, and a Spicy Honey Vinaigrette.
Cocktail pairing
Great Basin Sour
The spicy dressing may steal the show. Let it. Then turn your attention to the tangy cranberries and earthy goat cheese. The crunchy walnuts and croutons. And, finally, bites of warm butternut squash.
Raise a glass and present the table with a toast. Or simply salut. Sip from a cocktail alive with cold weather citrus, lemon and blood orange.
~ Main Course ~
Braised Bone-In Pork Chop with Candied Sweet Potato Yam
Wine pairing
Head High Pinot Noir, Sonoma County, CA
A centerpiece. Tender pork pairing perfectly with a glass of Sonoma Valley pinot noir. Settle into the smokiness of the wine as it counterbalances the bright pomegranate garnish and candied sweet potato yams.
~ Dessert Course ~
Bread Pudding with Warm Rum Sauce
There’s no reason to forgo dessert.
Before this season was called fall it was referred to as the “harvest”—a word derived from the same original root as “carpe,” meaning to gather up or to seize. So, gather. Seize this opportunity to spend time together. Order a night cap with your dessert and let the night linger.