Fall back into cozy rituals with good company, a glass of JaM Cellars Wine, and a mini autumn cheeseboard. 

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Fall is hands down my favorite season. Sure, I love the warmth and hope spring brings. And I love all the bounties of summer. But fall is where my heart belongs. I crave cozy sweater and boots with scarves to match. Brightly colored trees as they prepare themselves for winter. Quiet laughter and happy moments with friends and family over a glass of JaM Cellars wine and a small autumn cheeseboard. Oh, and my kid goes back to school. Yes, fall is my season.

Like anything, anticipation is such a big part of the start of fall. I love the cusp moments we are in now. The days are still longer, but there is a definite coolness in the air that promises that fall is soon to come. It’s when we can take advantage of both seasons at once and I absolutely adore it. It’s during this cusp when my bestie and I love to get together and relax with a glass of JaM Cellars wine (JaM Cabernet for me and Butter Chardonnay for her) and cheese and talk about how much we love food and the upcoming fall season and all the things we will bake together.

We love to try different wines, but lately we’ve been loving on our JaM Cellars. They make three wines under $20 that you can find in stores: Butter Chardonnay, JaM Cabernet and Toast Sparkling. She particularly loves the creamy butter-like quality of the Butter Chardonnay which is cold fermented in a unique blend of oak barrels. It has notes of stone fruit and a sweet vanilla finish. The flavor basically melts in your mouth.

I am in love with the JaM Cab. I am all about them berries and my JaM Cab is all about them too. Perfectly fruity with notes of blackberries, currants, plums and more. Plus it also has a nice vanilla finish. Absolutely perfect, especially with some cheese and homemade spicy pumpkin hummus.

For us nothing goes better with enjoying the beginning signs of fall than our long summer evenings together over some cheese and Butter and JaM. Because wine is life and cheese is everything. This autumn cheeseboard is one of my favorites to make for us. It boasts my almost famous pumpkin hummus and a trio of our favorite Spanish cheeses (but any hard cheeses will work), herb goat cheese, and a nice hunk of cheddar. I love the fallish pears and cheese stuffed olives. Plus what’s a cheeseboard without figs and concord grapes, ammiright?

Yield: 1 2/3 cups

Pumpkin Hummus

Print

A creamy and flavorful pumpkin hummus

Prep Time 15 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 15oz can chickpeas
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/4 cup tahini
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 lemon
• 1 1/2 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon chili pepper
• salt, to taste
• pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Drain the liquid from the chickpeas, reserve the liquid.
2. Remove the skins from the chickpeas. This is optional, but highly recommended.
3. Add the chickpeas, pumpkin, tahini, oil, lemon juice, garlic, cumin, cayenne, chili pepper, salt, and papper to a food processor.
4. Process until smooth and creamy, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. If the hummus isn't as creamy as you would like, run the processor and slowly drizzle a few tablespoons of the chickpea liquid into the processor.

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of CLEVER and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.