WELL FED: A dinner party series by elizabeth law and jenna peffley

Table setting by Elizabeth Law, Photo by Jenna Ohnemus Peffley

I met Law (Elizabeth Law for long, but she goes by Law) back in 2018 when Lonny came to me and asked me to shoot her super cute bungalow in West Hollywood, and we’ve been friends and worked together ever since. Over the years we’ve learned we share a lot of the same passions and interests and connections - historic homes, all things New Mexico, growing up in the south (me in Florida, Law in South Carolina), a deep love for gathering and feeding people, a passion for cooking and locally sourced seasonal food (and farmer’s markets) and of course design and collecting and sharing beautiful things. We also realized that we both have incredible networks of amazing humans both here and in New Mexico, and strangely, while our outer network circles were close to the same orbit, our inner circles never seemed to overlap. A few months ago, after we finished shooting her house (stay tuned for that being published soon!!!) Law came to me and asked if I wanted to start doing a collaborative dinner party series with her. She had designed her patio with a beautiful wood dining table that seats 12 and had a collection of pieces just waiting to be used for feasts.

Being our first one, we decided to cook everything ourselves (a fully Gluten Free and mostly Grain Free meal, all locally sourced from farmers markets and seasonally appropriate produce, nutrient dense, and most important - TASTY), and invited a collection of friends and acquaintences within our local design and art community who (hopefully) didn’t already know each other. We dressed the table and set the mood and then let the magic happen!

We had so much fun surprising each other with what we were making, and had a blast in the kitchen together preparing a feast!

Law and I both love to cook and feed people and entertain, and keeping a small group helped make the night a success. We also both love to source seasonal food from local farmer’s markets, and without properly planning or telling each other what we were each making, everything went together so perfectly, we couldn’t have un-planned it better!

The loveliest collaborative salad with herb roasted delicata squash and watermelon radishes, pansies (not just pretty but edible too), pears, and local greens from Kenter Canyon Farms, and a homemade dressing with New Mexico Pinon apple cider vinegar, Ojai pixie olive oil, maple syrup, honey, various herbs and sea salt.

Law made the most delicious balsamic roasted Brussels sprouts and finished them off with a flake sea salt.

One of my famous AIP / Paleo friendly butternut persimmon puree soups made with a homemade bone broth base, celeriac, butternut squash, persimmons, shallots, garlic, fresh squeezed orange, and lots of fresh herbs - and of course my favorite Erewhon black garlic sea salt and lemon sea salt, topped with fresh thyme and pomegranate seeds.

One of the hardest parts was photographing the whole adventure while also cooking and serving and hanging out, so I may have missed a few detail shots of food, but Law made the most magical cauliflower rice with a romanesco sauce that I’m sad I didn’t properly shoot, and heavenly locally raised chicken that was perfectly cooked and so juicy.

I did, however, manage to snap a few photos of our charcuterie station, complete with decorative (and tasty) grapefruits from Law’s backyard. Law’s home is so special and absolutely a perfect place to entertain.

Plus she’s a good hand model when needed. ;)

We had so much fun making this table up together with all of Law’s favorite things that were just waiting for the perfect party.

Getting ready for guests to arrive, featuring Law’s dining room.

My homemade paleo pumpkin donuts were a last minute dessert throw together and were a big hit! I need to properly write a recipe for these, because I was asked about them multiple times, so stay tuned for that.

One more paleo pumpkin donut hero shot because they were that awesome. Now that I’m looking at the photos, I really want to make them again! Dedicated post coming soon?

As the guests started to arrive, we lit the candles and set the mood. Isn’t this table so fun?

Law put the finishing touches and began to serve, while I ran around taking photos

And everyone feasted and laughed and talked long into the night. But the best part? They all stuck around and helped us clean up! Next time we’re going to hire someone for that part! Want us to host a Well Fed party at your home? Send me a note!