Taking Advantage of the Magic Hour Outdoors

Alpenglow takes the party outside, with expert tips and recipes to inspire fresh-air gatherings all year round

From sumptuous alfresco feasts to cozy winter craft activities, Hillary Munro’s book offers wise advice and creative ideas for entertaining family and friends with high country hospitality. | Photo: Lisa Flood

Hillary Munro may be an entertaining expert, but she doesn’t let the occasional failure get in her way. “There are recipes that don’t work out, or more guests arrive than you plan on,” she admits, before offering some wise advice: “Roll with it. Don’t seek perfection. And I think that keeps the plan more flexible, and more fun, at the end of the day.”

Munro brings that same fun, flexible and fearless approach to creating her career. She built upon the traditional cooking, sewing and crafting skills she learned from generations of her family to develop a lifestyle brand, Graze Living, and nowadays she also shares her creative talents through her Jackson, Wyoming, store, Graze Garden and Home.

When Munro felt inspired to write a book on outdoor entertaining, she didn’t let a lack of writing experience hold her back. “It seemed like a good idea,” Munro says, “and I had never written anything in my life.” Undaunted, she met with Lisa Flood, who was just launching her career as a photographer, and together they embarked on a publication journey. The result is a book as lovely as its name: Alpenglow. “It’s something that happens here in the mountains most evenings, when the sun sets and the sky turns pink—it’s beautiful; the magic hour,” says Munro.

Munro loves to forage for natural materials—even in winter—to add an unexpected grace note to her gatherings. | Photo: Lisa Flood

Organized by season, the book intermingles Flood’s gorgeous photos with Munro’s tasty recipes and imaginative outdoor tables set for festive gatherings. Munro’s stories celebrate beloved mountain rituals that embrace nature’s changes throughout the year. “It’s not so much a how-to book as an inspiration,” she says. “I hope that I inspire people to create a little magic—set a table in a unique spot, try some recipes that they normally wouldn’t, and make memories.”

The winter section is devoted to the frosty pleasures of foraging, wreath making in the cabin, ice fishing, and hunting for a Christmas tree, with simple yet sumptuous recipes for dishes including Chestnut Soup, Ranch Beans, Fire-Grilled Oysters and Classic Swiss Fondue. “Winter foraging is my favorite, because it’s quiet,” Munro says “I love to go out when it’s snowing—it’s just peaceful and calm, and you get exercise, and you’re delighted when you find some interesting things.”

Recipes include Pear and Bourbon Skillet Cake. | Photo: Lisa Flood

She follows her senses to harvest natural materials for cooking, decorating a table, or adding charm to a seasonal project. For example, “Shriveled up, dead berry branches are really fun to put in wreaths, or in a vase with fresher flowers,” she says. “A wreath is an easy way to bring the outside in, and you can make them year-round.”

Since Munro always offers a favor at the end of her parties, it’s only natural that the book’s closing chapter highlights handcrafted gifts—from citrus cooking salts, sage bundles and mulling spices to natural fire starters and fragrant bath salts: “Something that they can take home and remember the event,” Munro says. Like the sweet evanescence of alpenglow, a gathering with friends and family is a magic that deserves to be savored.

The book suggests ideas for handcrafted gift items, including floral tea made from dried blooms and fragrant herbs. | Photo: Lisa Flood

Creative bouquets and party décor take a natural twist with foraged elements to surprise the senses. | Photo: Lisa Flood

Munro passes down traditional skills she learned from generations of her family, including canning and making jam. “I guess I could be considered old-fashioned,” she says. “But maybe on purpose.” | Photo: Lisa Flood

ALPENGLOW By Hillary Munro with photography by Lisa Flood, $35; Gibbs Smith

Categories: Books