We just rolled out the line-up for Serenbe’s 2016 culinary experiences and I am amazed at how much Matt Adolfi, our chef-in-residence (and Garnie’s boyfriend), has brought to the table. He’ll do a seasonal cooking class called Right Off the Farm starting in January and Cooking with CSA, an April-October class focused on making the most of your farm share.

But that’s just the half of it. In addition to his behind-the-scenes work at Serenbe concepts and restaurants, Matt has teamed up with Michael Taylor, Garnie’s best friend from Cornell and Serenbe resident, to bring pop-up dinners to our community.

Shortly after they had the idea, they approached me and asked, “Mama Marie, how do we make it pretty?” I immediately reached out to Serenbe resident David Widmer, who was the vice president of visual merchandising for Macy’s for two decades. David’s the kind of person who can turn a few votives and a stack of popsicle sticks into a gorgeous tabletop.

Matt and Michael wanted to host the dinner out in the woods. I said, really boys? Where are the bathrooms? How will you set up to cook? This ain’t Mama Marie’s first rodeo, so let’s be practical and have it at my house.

What started as a fun fall dinner turned into a seated meal for 50 people in my backyard—the biggest seated dinner party I’ve ever hosted. David’s décor was wonderfully haunting. It’s amazing what you can do with a few cobwebs, candlesticks and owls.

Matt and Michael put out four courses, starting with foie gras and ending with madeleines and Mason jars full of chocolate fondue. It was a riff off the shell-shaped cakes served at the end of every meal at Bacchanalia, his former employer. And this recipe comes straight from Anne Quatrano’s Summerland, Bacchanalia chef/owner’s gorgeous cookbook.

Madeleines

• Makes 12 little cakes
• ½ cup (1 stick) butter
• 2 large eggs
• ¾ cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
• ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan and hold it warm over very low heat. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, granulated sugar, orange and lemon zests, vanilla and salt. Add the flour and baking powder and whisk together. Gradually stir in the melted butter until incorporated. Scoop the batter into a pastry piping bag fitted with a ½-inch round tip or a large plastic storage bag with one corner snipped. (The batter can be refrigerated in the piping bag for plastic bag for up to 2 days.)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Coat 12 molds of a madeleine pan with nonstick cooking spray—we use it even with nonstick pans as the madeleines tend to stick.

Pipe the batter into the prepared molds, filling each about halfway. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes; they should be golden brown and a toothpick inserted will come out clean. They should release from the pans easily.

In a perfect world, these would come out of the oven and be served directly to your guests. (We make them all night to ensure they are hot and crisp). But you may bake them in advance and store the cooled cakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. Then reheat in a 325 degrees F oven for a couple of minutes. Just before serving, dust with confectioners’ sugar.