To start, we made sure that the entire meal isn’t fully comprised of sweets. After all, brinner is a combination of breakfast and dinner. Keeping with seasonal food trends, we made a fig and goat cheese salad. Figs are a great fall fruit that is mild and pairs well with any soft cheese and balsamic vinegar. The medium bistro bowl works perfectly for salad, not too big and not too small to enjoy a good-sized salad.
The next course of chicken and waffles with maple infused bacon was a delicious combination of sweet and savory, making it a great comfort food combination. Fall is all about comfort and this dish really brings that to the table. We made the waffles with a mix and added sea salt and rosemary to make them a savory addition to our menu. Then we poured them into a waffle maker.
To make brinner even easier, we picked up some fried chicken from our local grocer. The only added touch that we did was infusing the bacon with an espresso and maple syrup glaze, which was a fun indulgence to give that tasty sweet and savory flavor. Our maple espresso bacon was based off our friend Sweet Paul’s recipe, Espresso Maple Lacquered Bacon. So delectable. Once the bacon was complete, we were ready to eat!
One of the best things about fall this year is the opportunity to incorporate one of the new colors — Sage — into our fall entertaining collection. Once we paired it with some Ivory and Paprika pieces, we weren’t sure how we lived without this color before. It’s a perfect addition for fall entertaining.
We couldn’t leave out a tasty beverage; after all, the world LOVES pumpkin spice, so we thought we’d do a decaf pumpkin spice latte for dinner. This has a dual purpose; it’s both a beverage and dessert! For little kiddos you could do chocolate milk with whipped cream on top, or even hot cocoa with pumpkin spice creamer. The new tapered mug is a perfect match for drinks that call for whipped cream thanks to the larger, tapered rim.
What are other fall food traditions that you make for your family and friends? Share them with us in the comments below.
- ½ cup packed brown sugar
- 1½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅔ cup white sugar
- ½ cup butter, softened
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ cup milk
- 1 large honey crisp apple, peeled and finely chopped
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Grease your Fiesta loaf pan.
- Mix brown sugar and cinnamon together in a small Fiesta Baking Bowl and set aside.
- In a stand mixer, combine white sugar and butter until smooth.
- Add eggs and vanilla and continue to beat on medium speed until combined.
- Add flour and baking powder, then milk, and beat again until combined.
- Pour half the batter into the prepared pan.
- Cover with half of the apples.
- Pat apples into batter with the back of a spoon.
- Sprinkle with half of sugar and cinnamon mixture.
- Pour the remaining batter over apple layer; top with remaining apples and add more brown sugar/cinnamon mixture.
- Pat topping into the batter with the back of a large spoon.
- Bake for 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the middle of the loaf comes out clean.
- Cool in pan 10 minutes.
