Gather Round | March Supper Club Highlights

We are only four days away from the official first day of spring (cue warmer weather, please!!) and to kick off the spring season we hosted our first Supper Club for 2018 this past Saturday. It was the perfect night of great food, wine and company!

What is the Supper Club? Glad you asked! When we started Fork & Function, Sarah and I discussed our passion for creating an atmosphere for an event where we would love to host our friends, serving them delicious family style food around a beautifully styled table, allowing for our guests to share great food, drink, and conversation.  We developed our idea for a Supper Club series from this passion, and dreamed up our pop-up dinners to focus on community and fellowship.

Typically, the dinners are hosted in the comfort of someone’s home and the guest list is open to anyone who has an interest but usually limited to the number of seats a home may provide. What is amazing about our Supper Club is our host doesn’t have to lift a finger! We prepare the meal, set the table and clean up afterwards (every host’s dream, right?) And what is even better, the host receives two free seats for graciously opening their home to us for the evening, so yes, you can host a dinner party without having to plan, prepare or pay!

It can also be hosted outside of someone’s home, which is what we did for Saturday’s Supper Club. Sarah and I hosted at a quaint double located in the heart of Broad Ripple (adjacent to Flatwater Restaurant). We focused on a spring inspired theme, featuring two tablescapes, and served four courses each paired with wine curated by Vine Society.

Our larger table showcased a vintage bohemian tablescape, dressed with a beautiful macramé table runner crafted locally by 317Knot Studio. Fiber Artist, Sara Frizzell, is so talented and I am so happy she created this custom piece for us! You have to check her work out! The dinnerware is a mix of vintage inspired appetizer and salad plates from CB2 along with our own vintage Johann Haviland dinner plates. The moodier tones may not scream spring but when accented with pretty spring blooms, it felt perfect for this seasonal transition of winter to spring.

The smaller table featured a cheery and modern tablescape, perfect for an Easter or Mother’s day gathering! Both Sarah and I are in love with our appetizer plates from Suite One Studio. They are handmade, inspired by watercolor paintings, and adorned with gold accents. I’m sure I’ll find a way to incorporate them into so many spring table settings this season!! The salad and dinner plates are a staple in our curated collection of dinnerware and are the organic edge plates from West Elm. Table runner and linen napkins are a spring favorite from Anthropologie. And if you didn’t know, all of the featured place settings are available for rental!

We partnered with Vine Society to pair four wines with our courses for the evening… and it was a smashing success!  Upon arrival, we served our guests a little bubbly, Quenard Cremant de Savoie from Savoie, France, to be specific.

For this dinner, Sarah was inspired by the coziness of the location and the anticipation of spring.  We started with an an amuse bouche of sweet corn purée, chive sour cream, roasted red peppers, balsamic reduction, and of course… bacon! One of our guests referred to this dish as “Indiana in a shot glass,” and that is exactly what we were going for!

For the first course, we served a grilled cheese with buttery Foxglove cheese from Tulip Tree Creamery, layered with Swiss chard and melted leeks, served on a bed of vinaigrette dressed arugula to cut through the richness.  This paired beautifully with the Mer Soleil Reserve Chardonnay from Monterey, CA.

The second course was salmon braised with fennel and sweet onions, served with a bright tarragon pesto and some pickled radish, carrot, and cucumber.  We paired this dish with Roco “Gravel Road” Pinot Noir from Willamette Valley, OR (Sarah’s personal favorite from the evening.)

Next was an herb stuffed leg of lamb, served with a celeriac and cauliflower purée, and smoked carrots.  A perfect dish to pair with the Scarpetta Barbera from Friuli, Italy. Fun fact: we sourced our lamb from Russell Sheep Company in Eaton, IN,  and the owner is about to join Sarah’s family in a week by marrying her cousin! How’s that for community?? (P.s: Sarah’s little girls will be flower girls in the wedding, so watch out for some cuteness overload!!)

After all that rich and delicious food, we finished off with a lemon ricotta bar, served with a raspberry sauce and candied pistachios – a nice, light, and refreshing end to the evening!

Shout out to Vine Society for some awesome wine pairings! Check them out to purchase any of the wines we mentioned, or to join their wine club, with wines delivered to you each month, hand picked by a sommelier!

Here are a few photo highlights from our evening! Giant thank you to our guests for the evening, we had so much fun putting this together and are looking forward to next month!!

And be sure to like our Facebook page and follow us on Instagram to keep up-to-date on our monthly Supper Club announcements and other Fork & Function events! We will be posting details soon for April’s Supper Club (but you can go ahead mark your calendars for April 21st)!

XO – Nakia