As far as sangria recipes and recipes for a theme dinner party or Fall harvest party ideas go, this easy and quick get-together, as a autumn Fall harvest dinner party, works beautifully.
And this fast-to-put-together autumn Fall harvest sangria dinner party will definitely feed a crowd.
The molasses in the autumn Fall harvest sangria recipe draws out the deep flavors of the wine and fresh or dried fruit, which creates a warm welcome for your guests.
Serve this autumn Fall harvest sangria recipe at your Halloween or autumn Fall harvest sangria dinner party, along with an appetizer wheel of natural cheddar or blue cheese. Top the cheese off with colorful fresh and dried fruits - crusty, fresh baked breads - and surround an assortment of delicious crackers around the cheese wheels and fruit.
Use autumn leaves to complete your table with a festive Fall look.
You could stop right there... Serving only the autumn Fall harvest sangria and cheese, fruit, breads and crackers for a Fall season get-together.
If you want to make it a full-scale dinner party, add and serve:
Mini-servings of homemade soup - like, our Beer & Cheese soup. This soup recipe takes only 25 minutes to make. It's cost-efficient, too, because it's only $2. 71 per serving to make.
And add a super easy to make and hearty, pumpkin black bean bake (casserole-style dish that only takes 30 minutes to prep and 20 minutes to bake!) your autumn Fall harvest buffet table as your entree dish.
Trick it all out (dress up) with a sweet-cookie ending.
Serve cookies that literally take seconds to put together when you add frosting to purchased ginger, molasses and chocolate chip cookies. Touch them up with swirls, snips, and spirals from the candy section of your local grocery store to make them trick or treat-worthy.
Viola! You've put together a easy and quick autumn Fall harvest sangria dinner party that will impress all of your guests, young and old.
Autumn Fall Harvest Sangria
(Printable Recipe)
Makes 8 servings
2 to 3 fresh figs and/or 1 cup dried figs
2 to 3 fresh plums, pitted, and/or 1 cup dried plums (or prunes)
2 to 3 fresh apricots, pitted, and/or 1 cup dried apricots
1/4 cup molasses
1 750ml. bottle light red wine; Pinot Noir or Gamay
1 750ml. bottle sparkling apple cider or club soda, chilled
1 orange, peeled, if desired, and sliced
1.) Halve, quarter, or slice fruit. In a 3-qt. glass container combine fruits and molasses; stir until well-combined. Slowly pour in red wine. Cover and chill for 2 to 24 hours; the longer the better the flavor of sangria.
2.) To serve, add sparkling cider and orange. Stir gently with spoon. Fill glasses with ice and ladle in sangria.
Leave some of the sangria alcohol-free for young guests and adults who don't drink.
Beer & Cheese Soup
(Printable Recipe)
Makes 4 servings
1 bunch green onions
3 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 cup bottles roasted red sweet peppers, drained
3/4 cup pale lager (Miller or Budweiser; use Light for lesser calories) or non-alcoholic beer (Amstel or Amstel Light, for example)
2 cups refrigerated shredded hash brown potatoes
2 cups milk
8 oz. American cheese, shredded
1/4 tsp. paprika plus additional for sprinkling on top
1.) Slice green onions, separating white and green parts. In a Dutch oven over medium heat, cook white portion of green onions in 1 tbsp. hot oil until tender.
2.) In a blender, combine red peppers, cooked onion, beer, and 1 cup potatoes; process until smooth. return to pot. Bring to boiling. Reduce heat. Then simmer, uncovered for 5 minutes.
3.) Add milk and cheese to pan. Cook and stir over medium heat until cheese is melted and soup is hot (do not boil).
4.) In a skillet, cook remaining potatoes in remaining hot oil over medium-high heat, 8 minutes or until golden, stirring occasionally. Drain on paper towels; sprinkle with paprika.
5.) Garnish with potatoes, onion tops, and paprika.
Pumpkin Black Bean Bake
(Printable Recipe)
Makes 6 servings
1 lb. ground beef
2 cups 1/2-inch pieces peeled pie pumpkin or winter squash
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
1 - 15oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup frozen whole kernel corn
1 - 4oz. can diced green chilies
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup lower-sodium beef broth
1 - 3oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 - 8 and 1/2 pkg. corn muffins mix
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup pumpkin puree or canned pumpkin
Jalapeno-olive relish and small container of sour cream (optional)
1.) Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large skillet, cook ground beef, pumpkin, and onion over medium heat until meat is browned and onion tender, breaking up ground beef with spoon; drain fat. Stir in black beans, corn, chilies, and salt. Heat through. Stir in broth and cream cheese until blended. Transfer mixture to 2 and 1/2- quart baking dish.
2.) In medium bowl, stir together corn muffin mix, egg, and pumpkin puree until just combined. Spoon over beef mixture.
3.) Bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted into topper comes out clean. Serve with jalapeno-olive relish and a small dollop of sour cream.
Trick or Treat Frosted Cookies
(Printable Recipe)
Serve as many as you need; estimate 2 cookies per guest
Gingersnap, molasses, and chocolate chip cookies
Frosting
Black licorice nibs
Long, flexible black licorice rope
Green licorice nibs; slice ends to fray, to use as faux pumpkin stems
1.) Purchase gingersnap, molasses and chocolate chip cookies.
2.) Purchase ready-made frosting; white and orange, separately. Add orange paste food coloring (instead of the liquid kind) for vivid orange color.
3.) Add black licorice nibs and whirls, green and white M&M's, and green licorice stems for decoration to make cookies that look like little pumpkins.
Cater-Hater Tip: For the adults, serve the Trick or Treat Frosted cookies with the best autumn harvest keoke coffees. And during the party, have the children help with cookie decoration. There's a ton of Fall harvest activities they can do, but this one will be helpful to you and fun for them to do!
Have fun with this. Enjoy yourself. Tell me all about your autumn Fall harvest get-together!
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