We went to New Hope to visit our friends. R had planned the first annual Oyster Roast so he could use the fire pit-yep, the same pit he  used for the summer Paella. Well, Let me say, that fire pit is a good excuse for a great meal.

C had plans for a market visit to the Stockton Market  and the Wine shop on Saturday,  then we organized all of the ingredients for  the courses. Actually we had cafe latte and morning snack first before walking around New Hope and Lamberton,  looking at art  in the various galleries.
R made Pam Anderson's  Clam Chowder from her Blog: Three Many Cooks. It was a hit  later that night on such a cool night.

The night prior, C had made Valencia Olive Oil cake and on Sat. she combined the layers with an orange zest-butter cream filling and  glazed it with the BEST glaze with lots of orange zest. WOW terrific!

I did the zest- it is my favorite tool- this little zester!

My job was to make the  caesar dressing for the salad. I combined a recipe for "light caesar" with the Saveur recipe I learned in New York at Miette Culinary. This recipe had Greek yoghurt in it. I  added some red wine vinegar  which added some zing as did the hot sauce I tapped in . I made it early , shook it like crazy in a Mason jar and chilled it. C had the romaine ready to go and I shaved  fresh parmesan for use when we assembled it . We made garlic croutons with day old baguette from Stockton Market.

We spent a lot of time prepping and the boys worked the fire getting those coals hotter than ever for the beautiful Blue Point Oysters.

We were to be 12 for dinner so C had spent time setting up the buffet, getting all the  dishes for the courses ready with plates, mugs, flat wear,  saucers, and cute little napkins for us to use while we shucked our oysters. That table was the prettiest vignette. Divine!

Prepped with mugs, trays and various implements for the courses to be carried outside...

THEN we worked on the apps. We had  lovely cheese platter with pomegranate and grapes, figs, cheese. BUT the piece de resistance was the baked Pumpkin Fondue  with toast points.  It was over the top. See below. I mean slap your mother good. ( this is a southern saying so it is Ok and does not hurt her).

Here was the menu and I think it is worth reviewing:

Cheese plate figs pomegranate
Baked Pumpkin fondue with toast points ( Packed with  gruyere and emantaler and bread crumbs-YES)
Champagne and white wine
( R brought a GrGigh Hills Fume Banc from San Francisco and that was perfect) It had a hint  of jalepeno! Who knew?
http://www.grgich.com/

Roasted Oysters with  3 sauces:
Mignonette, Lemon butter shallot  and spicy Red Cocktail sauce-'your call

Decoy 2010 Pinot Noir or  Champagne - Veuve

http://www.decoywines.com/

Clam chowder
http://threemanycooks.com/recipes/meaty-mains/quick-clam-chowder/
Sancerre or Fume Blanc

Caesar Salad with garlic croutons and ciabatta

Orange glazed Olive Oil cake
coffee
hot mulled wine ( remember we were outside in new Hope Pa with coldest night of the fall so far- 45 degrees)
http://www.thekitchn.com/orangescented-olive-oil-cake-r-115593

And then when  everyone thought we were really ALL done... toasted marshmallows over the fire pit for those with a sweet tooth! Yep- I had one all puffed and charred as that is how I love them!

It was a magical evening and I am so happy to report R says it is now an annual event . I only hope we get invite back for the 2nd annual.

The Oysters arrive-beautiful Blue Points

Then ready the fire...

Then come the appetizers:

First the pumpkins are stuffed with cheese and bread crumbs ( we opted to forgo the bread pieces in the pumpkin but elected to use bread crumbs and use toast points for dipping ...

The pumpkins are oiled and ready to bake:

the pumpkins are fondue ready

Aren't they beautiful?

Here's Pam's recipe:
http://threemanycooks.com/recipes/strictly-vegetarian/roasted-sugar-pumpkins-with-cheese-fondue/

Oysters on the fire:

Hot, briny, tasty and perfectly cooked...

Then the Chowder from Three Many Cooks blog:

http://threemanycooks.com/recipes/meaty-mains/quick-clam-chowder/

After a break resting our stomachs:
The Caesar

The salad was a nice transition after the heavy chowder. I liked the sharp dressing. It was a nice change and light.

Finally we could cut that cake. The citrus flavor was an amazing choice by C. She was smart to put this citrus but sweet cake here after all of the strong flavors. It was light but sweet and so yummy. Perfect!

one of the two layers- Oh so hard to resist...

the orange zest butter cream for the middle layer filling

The zest was important for full flavor.

The glaze was wonderful.

How much fun this whole evening was. Everyone had a great time, good conversations nice friends, crisp fall weather, and the food was amazing!
As you can see, we were having a terrific time!

Ta!

Goodness. I have been so busy traveling I have not posted in weeks. Well,  there is a lot to tell.
First Frankie had the last of the San Marzanos Tomatoes  at the market so I bought a bag full and roasted them. They were delicious. I also froze some for a cold winter night's soup or pasta dish. It was easy and made enough for more than one dish.

SO here's what I do: Slice them in half. Put face up on a cookie sheet with olive oil and fresh thyme. I added garlic cloves so I could use the garlic later. It just slides out of the skins and can be smashed with some olive oil and spread on bread with roasted tomatoes for a starter  bruschetta.

Bake slowly to roast and caramelize. Maybe 2-3 hours on low temp. The flavors get intense. Later I used these to make a chicken and pasta dish with fresh basil and fresh Mozzarella from Butter Boy at the City Market. Delicious.

When they come out very tender, a sprinkle of red pepper flakes and sea salt make then perfect.

The next evening, I sauted them with fresh chicken and garlic.
I added fresh Basil and  tossed with Mozzarella and pasta. Easy but satisfying,

Chicken tenders sauteed  until brown, and then I added the tomatoes and heated well.

Happy Fall! Get those tomatoes before they are gone. This winter we will all be longing for that rich tomato flavor!

With my friend R we canned 42 quarts of Romas and San Marzanos It was worth the day it took. This winter we will be in heaven when we can open one and prepare a delicious tomato dish.

enjoy!