Bring the outside in!
Make use of your autumnal walks by collecting foliage such as autumnal leaves, acorns and conkers which you can use to decorate your table with.
BBQ season may be over but as tempting as it may be to go into hibernation mode, we’re embracing the darker evenings and cooler weather by inviting our favourite people into our homes to share good food and good company.
To celebrate the autumn harvest season and the abundance of delicious, fresh autumnal produce, we’re helping you plan an autumnal dinner party for you and your loved ones. And what better accompaniment to your autumnal dinner party than our new Red Door Gin with Autumn Botanicals. Our autumn gin is rich and rounded with the sweetness of wild Scottish blackberries (along with its leaves) and fresh mists of fragrant pine needles.
Discover how you can impress your guests with our special autumnal dinner party menu, plus our favourite Autumn cocktails!
The atmosphere
Here are a few ideas for how you can create a cosy, ambient atmosphere for your autumnal dinner party…
The drinks
A meal wouldn’t be complete without a drinks menu! And Red Door Gin with Autumnal Botanicals is a deliciously smooth base for your favourite cocktails.
Make your guests feel extra special by treating them to a welcome cocktail. Our Red Door take on the classic Kir Royale delicious drink to get your dinner party started.
Red Door Autumn Royale
The mellow, fruity notes of wild Scottish blackberries in Red Door Gin with Autumnal Botanicals along with fresh blackberries create a delicious rich, fruity cocktail base for our Autumn Royale. Topped with champagne and garnished with a blackberry and a lemon twist, it not only tastes great, it looks elegant too!
Alongside your meal we recommend a crisp, dry, refreshing drink, which doesn’t overwhelm or clash with the flavours of your dishes. Our Red Door Autumn G&T is the perfect palate-cleanser to savour between courses.
Red Door Autumn G&T
Our classic G&T, garnished with fresh slices of green apple to accentuate the notes of blackberry and citrus in our autumn-edition of Red Door Gin.
And finally, for an after-dinner treat, impress your guests with our Red Door Bramble…
Red Door Bramble
Velvety smooth with rich berry flavours, our Red Door Bramble is a delicious accompaniment to your after-dinner cheeseboard. It’s deceptively simple to make and the drizzle of Crème de Mure to finish makes this a beautiful cocktail to serve your guests at the end of your meal!
Fancy trying your hand at making these cocktails? Click here to find out more about Red Door Gin with Autumnal Botanicals.
The menu
We’ve collaborated with a recipe creator to create an autumnal dinner party menu inspired by some of the botanicals in our autumn-edition of Red Door Gin and showcasing locally sourced, seasonal ingredients.
Our starters and puddings are designed to complement your favourite main course creations so you can impress your guests with some Red Door inspiration. Fen from @myhomestylelife had been by inspired by the notes of Scottish blackberries and coriander seeds in Red Door Gin with Autumn botanicals to create this delicious blackberry and beetroot cured salmon with coriander seed crackers.
Here are the recipes
Starter
Blackberry & beetroot cured salmon with coriander seed crackers with pickles and dill.
Ingredients
- 800g side of salmon pin-boned and scaled
For the cure:
- 100g lightbrown sugar
- 125g sea salt
- 80g blackberries
- 2 small raw beetroots peeled and chopped
- 2 tbsp Red door autumn botanicals gin
Recipe
- To make the cure add all ingredients to a food processor and blitz until a paste.
- Prepare a large shallow sided baking tray with a piece of cling film long enough to wrap the salmon. Spoon a few tablespoons of cure on to the prepared baking sheet. Place the salmon onto and spoon the rest of the cure over the salmon until coated. Wrap the salmon and cure tightly with the cling film. place a second baking tray over and weigh it down with some tins or jars in your fridge. Leave for 48 hours, turning the side of salmon over once a day.
- On the 3rd day unwrap the salmon and scrape off the excess marinade, before rinsing it with cold running water. Dry the salmon side with kitchen towel and wrap again. This will be ready to slice and serve for dinner.
Starter
Coriander seed crackers
Ingredients
- 250g plain flour
- 1 tablespoon of toasted and crushed coriander seeds
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder
- 115ml of water
- 25ml of olive oil
- Teaspoon of salt
Recipe
- Mix all ingredients to form a firm dough, until no dry bits of flour remain.
- Wrap in cling film and leave in the fridge for 1 hour.
- Cut the dough into pieces, roughly the size of a walnut. Dust your work surface with flour and Using a small rolling pin, roll out the crackers as thin as you can in a rough long oval shape. Some will vary in shape but it doesn’t matter. Place on a prepared baking sheet lined with baking paper, and brush the tops of the crackers with olive oil. Bake at 200°c for 10 minutes or until dry and golden brown, bake for a further couple of minutes if still very pale.
- Serve the salmon sliced garnished with dill and pickled cucumber with the crackers on the side.
For all of you with a sweet tooth, Fen has also created this decedent blackberry and citrus mousse tart, decorated with autumnal fruits that are guaranteed to impress your dinner party guests.
Dessert
Autumn Blackberry Mousse Tart
Ingredients
For the dark chocolate biscuit base:
- 50g of dark chocolate
- 50g of butter
- 2 tablespoons of coco powder
- 180g of digestive biscuits.
For the blackberry mousse:
- 400g of Blackberries
- Juice of half a lemon
- 1 sachet of gelatine powder
- 175g of caster sugar
- 2 egg whites
- 150ml of double cream.
Recipe
- Melt the chocolate, butter and cocoa powder on a very low heat,
- Using a food processor blitz the biscuits until coarse crumbs. Add the chocolate mixture and blitz until all mixed together.
- Line a springform or tart tin with baking parchment. Tip the chocolate biscuit mixture into the tin and using a cup, evenly distribute to cover the bottom and sides.
- Chill in the fridge while you prepare the mousse filling.
- Simmer the Blackberrys with 75g of the sugar and the lemon juice, for about 5-10 mins until they have released their juice and are soft. Pass through a sieve and add the gelatine sachet to the hot blackberry liquid. Stirring until dissolved.
- Whip the cream until very soft peaks form.
- In a separate bowl whisk the egg whites until firm peaks, adding the remaining sugar as you go.
- Add the cream a few tablespoons at a time to the blackberry mixture, then add the egg whites and gently stir until all combined. Pour into the tart case and chill in the fridge for at least 6 hours or overnight. If there is any mixture left. You can pour into cups to create individual mousses for another day.
- Garnish with autumn fruits and Blackberries and serve with cream.
The music
For every moment, there is a perfect playlist. Which is why we’ve accompanied each of our Red Door Moments with a Spotify playlist to make your moments extra special.
The focus of your dinner party should be on enjoying the delicious food, great drinks and inspiring conversation with friends. However, some relaxing background music will create a comfortable mood for your guests.
We’ve compiled a playlist of relaxing music to create an ambient dinner party atmosphere.
Don’t forget to tag us in your autumn dinner party photos on social media using the hashtag #RedDoorMoments.
Open, serve and share the good times
Please Drink Responsibly. www.drinkaware.co.uk
Please Drink Responsibly. www.drinkaware.co.uk
