Our Rainbow "Fall In Love" Feast By The Sea: Part 1

Gatherings

This month at The Venue Report it's all about “FALL-ing” in love and preparing to gather for the holidays with friends and family. We are kicking off the start of the season with a richly textured, rainbow FALL...

by The Venue Report

Gatherings | The Picnic Project

This time of year we usually find ourselves thinking the same warm, amber filled thoughts. Give us all of the pumpkins, cider, and apple picking moments we could possibly have! But this year is different. Why? How? It's called FASHION WEEK, my friends. This year was divergent. Colorful and vibrant, with bloggers and plus size models walking in some of the recent shows, this September was about all things new and we we’re into it. Taking a nod from the laces, velvets and jewel tones of the Gucci runway show, we’re feeling the rainbow vibes for the cooler weather right about now.

We simply couldn't wait till next Spring. We wanted the glittering jewel infused rainbows and patterns of Gucci to translate through our decor now! We swapped the simple muted fall tones for bright blast of patterned jewel tones. So there it is, our inspiration. Now if we could host a couples campfire gathering chit chat about the most epic places to travel this holiday season while noshing on a most impressive array of accoutrements, that would be gold! Oh wait... That's our team. Let's do this.

We snagged a few of our team members and their significant others and headed to the beach for the couples campfire FALL in love feast. The holidays and the season are all about sharing, so we crafted a family style charcuterie board as our centerpiece. Just as falling in love should be easy, so should having your friends and family over for dinner. Don't spend a gazillion hours in the kitchen cooking your turkey, your stuffing and all the sides. Instead layer a long board full of rustic breads, dips, olives, meats and cheeses.

Our table was 12' long, so we made our charcuterie board 12' long as well so that the food meandered past each guest and created a stunning centerpiece. Each guest was able to grab, munch and dip their way through the evening without the hostess having to get up and leave the table to check on the food or spend the evening cleaning dishes. Easy, peasy!

Want to see the details of the 12' Charcuterie Board How To?! Check it out below. Oh, and we also interviewed a few of The Venue Report couples who came to the sea side FALL in love feast - check out how they each fell in love and their fave travel spots. It's pretty cute.

HOW TO BUILD A CHARCUTERIE BOARD

Tip 1: Don't overthink it. The messier and more undone it looks, the better. Make sure to cluster your foods together at spaced out intervals down the table so each guest has easy access to all of the items. Other than that, just have FUN!

Tip 2: Buy a selection of delicious meats from your local grocery store, deli or butcher. We suggest a variety of salami, cured ham, smoked sausage, pâté and kielbasa. The typical rule of thumb is 1.5 oz - 3 oz of charcuterie per person. This is based on how much other food you are serving, of course!

Tip 3: Make sure to offer a variety of cheese styles - firm, soft and crumbly. Hard cheese should be cut ahead for the most part so that it's easier on guests (feel free to leave a few large chunks around for aesthetic purposes. Hello, holey swiss!). Also offer a mixture of cheeses - cow, goat, and sheep to satisfy everyone’s cheese eating wishes. Be careful not to go overboard on your board so that it doesn’t appear messy or overwhelming. 4-5 cheeses per section is sufficient!

Tip 4: Bread. We personally recommend bread over crackers. Get crusty and rustic dipping breads. French bread is delicious to layer with cheese slices and to dip in the oils, hummus’ and condiments. Get 2-3 different types of bread and arrange them on chunks throughout the table. These will be your anchoring points to layer your condiments and accoutrements around!

Tip 5: Think of the condiments as the accessories for your board. After putting your bread clusters down (as your anchor points), layer your cheese and meats around the bread. Now, you can fill in the gaps with the accompaniments: gourmet honey (maybe truffle flavored?), sweet jams, whole grain mustard, small bowls of olives, olive oils, french pickles, dried fruit, grapes, sliced apples and nuts. All of these are perfect ways to add color, texture and most importantly, FLAVOR to your table! Your guests will truly be able to taste the rainbow.

Tip 6: Sprinkle some jewel toned wildflowers throughout. Avoid the typical fall colors and instead choose richly colored flowers. Head to your local farm stand or grocery store and grab one bouquet of flowers for every 12' of your board. It's all you need! Also grab some fresh herbs and lettuce to layer for edible decor. Cluster these in sections throughout the table for fun, colorful pops.