In 2021, my husband, Sterling, and I hosted our first home outdoor dinner experience for our friends in our Denver backyard. Overall, it was everything we had hoped it would be! Throughout the years, he and I often discussed the idea of hosting more formal dinner experiences at our home. Although I love to cook and entertain, I often don’t make time for it. But here I’ll share with you how we started these and why we’ll continue them!
How Our Outdoor Dinner Experience Idea Began
In 2020, when restaurants shut down due to the pandemic, the months of not being able to dine out forced me to get creative at home. Subsequently, this meant getting creative not only in what I cooked, but also in setting up outdoor dinner experiences that made us feel like we were dining “out”. During this odd time, feeling like you were sitting somewhere special for dinner was a welcomed experience to everyone.
Because I needed to amp up how these meals felt to guests, I bought some extra dish ware that I didn’t already have to enhance the experience. Some of these included extra white salad plates, porcelain ramekins and tiny spoons for serving desserts. These were just little restaurant-like touches that made a dinner at someone’s home feel unique. Eventually, I updated my water glasses, and purchased wine glasses that I loved more. I set up dining in areas of my backyard where I had never tried placing an outdoor table. Since I was trying to create new ambiances for our small “pandemic pod” of friends, it forced me to think outside of the box in where we sat together.
Therefore, what resulted with these small efforts were very intimate dining and food experiences that felt connected. These connections were what everyone had been missing during this time. So we quickly knew we wanted to create more experiences like this.
The fondest memories are made when gathered around the table.
Deciding to Host Our First Outdoor Dinner
Subsequently in 2021, Sterling and I finally pulled together the plan to organize a more formal dinner experience. While we enjoyed bottle of wine under the maple tree of our Denver backyard, we discussed ideas for creating a larger, more formal dining outdoor dinner experience. We talked about how we would structure the meal, what food we would pair with the wine, and all of the ambiance details.
We’ve had the pleasure of attending other delightful food experiences that others had created, and knew the feel we wanted this to have. For example, Storm Cellar Winery in Hotchkiss, Colorado, created a memorable dinner experience for us. Why couldn’t we bring an experience like this right to our backyard?
So in the spirit of my upcoming birthday, we decided to go all in, inviting seven of our closest friends and creating a food and outdoor dinner experience in our backyard. We created everything from the menu to the ambiance of the outdoor dinner table under market lights.
Setting the Outdoor Dinner Table
One of the most fun parts about setting the table was creating an outdoor farm table look where I could bring the beautiful outdoors into the dining experience. We positioned our table under the maple tree in a grassy area of our backyard. The place settings included a place card adorned by a maple leaf from our backyard tree. The mix of nature and modern-day styling created a unique ambiance that I knew our guests would love.
Since our dinner would begin early evening and go into the darker nighttime hours, it was essential to create lighting near the table that would transition with guests from dusk until dark. I was able to find some discounted black lanterns for the tables from Michaels. I also found some fantastic real wax candles on Amazon. These lights are great because they operate on batteries but flicker very much like natural candlelight. But don’t make the mistake I did…these will melt if left in the sun! Yes, they are absolutely real candle wax!
I also bought a set of neutral striped cotton linen napkins from Amazon. I ended up using these even for normal times we have guests over for dinner. What I love about them is that they hardly wrinkle. For a formal dinner party, I may still opt to iron these, but they stay generally wrinkle-free and look great.
The Menu and Its Planning
Rather than cooking every dish while our guests were present, we opted for a strategic approach. Some menu items were fully prepped in advance and ready to serve, while others required precise timing and coordination, being cooked just before serving. Although orchestrating this plan required some effort, we had completed all chopping and prep work earlier in the day, ensuring a smooth meal execution.
In addition to early preparation, the meal was carefully planned to include both pre-prepped and freshly cooked dishes, staggered to maintain an optimal flow. This resulted in a sequence where cold dishes were served before hot ones, enhancing the overall dining experience for everyone.
Our Menu
First Course
Seared Scallops with Three Cheese Ravioli Bite & Sauteed Garden Zucchini and Yellow Squash
Second Course
Melon Caprese Salad with Burrata & Prosciutto
Main Course
Mushroom Truffle Sauce with Chicken and Cheesy Polenta
Dessert
Lemon Sorbet with Mint
Chocolate Cheese Cake
The Dinner Experience Begins
When our guests arrived, we served everyone a welcome drink and chatted with our guests for awhile. After everyone was seated, we headed to the kitchen to get to work.
We cooked the courses and served each dish on prepared plates one by one. Every course was paired with a wine to enjoy. Sterling gave a short explanation of the wine we were about to pour before we brought the next course to the table. We decided to eat with our guests after serving each course so we could enjoy the experience with them. It allowed for a leisurely dinner at a casual pace. After taking a moment to eat and chat, Sterling and I would clear the plates and bring out the next course while our guests sat and enjoyed our restaurant experience in our quaint backyard. And we couldn’t have had more fun doing it! Seeing our friends eye’s light up with each part of the meal served was great feedback!
Our blog name, Beneath the Maple, was inspired by this dinner party. With our table situated directly beneath the lush canopy of our backyard maple tree, we felt compelled to name our blog after this charming setting. And so, Beneath the Maple was born.
This dinner inspired us to host more outdoor dining experiences in our Denver backyard. We discovered that we could not only replicate a formal sit-down experience like this one but also create similarly memorable evenings on a smaller scale— with fewer guests, simpler food courses, and minimal decorations. Whether it’s just the two of us on a regular weeknight or a special occasion, we’ve learned to find whimsical ways to dine and cook outdoors. Regardless of how you choose to create your own special dinner experience outside, remember to enjoy the process!
