A Fall Wine Party (& a video!)

Fall entertaining tips, appetizer recipes and a delicious pumpkin hummus recipe.

A few weeks ago I threw this simple, fun Friday night wine party. Here in Austin, it was the first day of fall (read: the first day that the temps dropped below 90 degrees)… I invited some of my closest friends, served up some fall-inspired appetizers and (to keep things easy!) opened up a few boxes of Bota Box wines.

Here was my menu:
– Roasted Butternut Squash Crostini w/ Sage
– Assorted Cheese Platter
– Pumpkin Hummus (recipe below)

I roasted cubes of butternut squash and topped them onto crostini with lemon ricotta and fried sage. This is my go-to fall appetizer. It’s also a wonderful starter before your Thanksgiving dinner.

I LOVE assembling pretty cheese boards. This time, I went with a combination of blue cheese, white cheddar slices, goat cheese, and a few others that looked great at the cheese counter that day. I filled the platter with grapes, rosemary crackers, and cranberry-hazelnut crackers. I also made pumpkin hummus, which is great because it can be made well in advance.

I decorated with a few pumpkins and had Jack string some lights from the tree.

If you come to my house often, then you know that I usually have a Bota Box in my fridge – their packaging makes it possible to store wine for a really long time, so I find it super convenient. For a party, it’s a great solution because you don’t have to mess around with tons of empty bottles, and it’s also very affordable.

Get the recipe for my Pumpkin Hummus below!

All in all, it was a fun evening with friends, although little anxious Annie didn’t know what to make of it all. She hung back by the door waiting for snacks to fall on the ground.

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A Fall Wine Party + Pumpkin Hummus

 

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Author: Jeanine Donofrio

Serves: about 2 cups

Ingredients

• ¾ cup pumpkin or sweet potato puree*
• 1½ cups cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon ground coriander
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 small garlic clove
• pinch of cayenne pepper
• juice of ½ lemon
• 2 to 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• ½ teaspoon sea salt, more to taste
• freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. In a food processor or blender, combine the pumpkin, chickpeas, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, garlic, pepper, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and several grinds of pepper. Pulse or blend until smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Notes

Freshly roasted puree is best, but unsweetened canned organic pumpkin is fine too!

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