Come time for the end of December and the dawn of a new decade, we were so excited to welcome Serena Wolf to Texas to debut her second cookbook, The Dude Diet Dinnertime.
Last year's Carte Blanche contributor Natalie Steen alongside her longtime friend and fellow creative talent Bebe (of Orderves--more on her soon!) helped us host Serena at Lyndsey's home for an intimate girl's dinner.
With Serena's effortless approach to cooking simple meals that are still nourishing and delicious, we wanted to emulate that easy going vibe on the table.
With the dinner falling on the eve of her local book signing, it only made sense to draw inspiration from her second installment of The Dude Diet.
We played up primary colors and leaned into winter citrus, and this is what came of it! It had all the cheerful vibes we were aiming to achieve to rid our guests of any January gloom.
VISIT OUR POST DEDICATED TO THE DUDE DIET TABLE HERE.
SHOP THE SCENE
- placemat :: mixed shadow lines and herringbone in mineral blue
- flatware :: bamboo flatware
- napkin :: canvas mimi napkin, marine blue
- napkin ring :: utensils brass napkin ring
- glassware :: perle cocktail coupe + perle tumbler, amber
- candle holder :: candlestick holder, midnight blue
- candles :: taper candle, multi
It was so fun spoiling our chef in the midst of her traveling book tour with a table inspired by her latest labor of love.
Get to know Serena like our guests did with our quick Q&A sesh.
But! What may have been the best part of the entire evening was the apps, all miniature versions of Serena's new recipes, made by Bebe, the mastermind and darling behind Orderves.
We've never met a mini food item we didn't like, and Bebe's creations were no exception...
Shop this tray for only $50 here.
The spread included spinach-artichoke grilled cheese bites, Nashville hot chicken meatballs, spiced lamb and jalapeño white bean pita nachos, and caprese quinoa baked aranchini. Which all sound like all-star super bowl snacks to us, so we highly recommend ordering Serena's book STAT for Sunday.
And that was the start to a Bebe and Serena foodie friendship forevermore.
For the main event, Serena served up her signature greens and grains alongside her seared ahi tuna with citrus soy sauce and sweet potatoes with creamy-spicy sauce.
We had a dozen creative entrepreneurs and/or local Serena fans come wine and dine in this intimate setting to talk all things business and intentions for the new year.
It was the best start to 2020, and we can't wait to cook through Serena's entire book for years to come.
Don't forget to check out the entire post dedicated to this tablescape here.
Plus, the entire photo below is shoppable, too.
