Fall always feels like the right time to start something new. The back-to-school mindset is forever baked into our psyches, I guess. That brings us to Outpost’s newest segment: Sound + Setting. First and foremost, it’s a regular column giving you a playlist and description of the vibe it should cultivate, how to listen, where to listen, maybe a deep dive on some of the artists. When I feel like it, I’ll add whatever else is on the table: a recipe, a gift guide, a restaurant playlist review, a concert review, the inspiration to throw a proper party - you’ll have to tune in to find out.
This first installation is inspired by the sweet transition from summer to fall that seems to be lingering extra long this year (perfect). This summer I found a newer, deeper appreciation for dance music. Good dance music – disco, house, techno, funk, and best of all, whatever happens when they blend together. I know you have no reason to trust me yet but this is what we’re going for:
Though October has given us some glorious summer-adjacent days, the pumpkins are officially out, the leaves are turning, and it’s time for the slow transition from big sweaty parties to something more quaint and closer to home. At my house, we are still dancing! Just more often around a candlelit apartment with friends rather than under club lights and fog machines in a warehouse full of strangers.
This week’s playlist is for that shift, that in-between period before you go full holiday mode or hunker down for the winter. Put it on after a Friday dinner at your place, or when dinner out turns into stumbling to a friend’s apartment down the block, not wanting to go out but not wanting to go home. Or maybe when you’re dancing alone in the kitchen. It’s disco-y, funk-y, pop-y, sultry, the perfect amount of groove to get people moving.
Some names you’ll know, hopefully some you won’t, some recognizable classics. Press play, pour yourself another drink, invite your friends over and enjoy your goodbye summer/hello fall soiree.
AND If you’re the one hosting, keep reading for some inspiration…
I made this roast chicken (adapted from @lucavallsci) over the weekend, and it was more than good enough to share alongside this playlist. Invite your friends over, pour some wine, and don’t be surprised if more people show up once things get going.
The Menu
Roast chicken with Café de Paris butter, roasted leeks, and a frisée salad
My changes to the original: I added leeks to the roasting pan and made a little frisée salad to go with it.
1. Café de Paris Butter
Mash everything together in a bowl until combined. Set aside about 2 tbsp for the sauce.
200 g unsalted butter, softened (about 1¾ sticks)
1 shallot, very finely chopped
1 garlic clove, grated
1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1 tsp chives, finely chopped
1 tsp fresh tarragon, chopped
Zest of ½ lemon + 1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
A pinch each of paprika, curry powder, and Espelette pepper (or chili powder)
Salt and black pepper
2. The Chicken
Heat the oven to 425°F. Slather a spatchcocked chicken in the butter, over the skin and under it. Halve a few leeks lengthwise and lay them in the pan around the bird. Roast for 45 minutes to an hour, pulling it out every 20 minutes to baste with the pan juices, until the skin is deep golden and crisp. Start the sauce in the last 20 minutes.
4. The Fries
Cut the potatoes into sticks about ⅓ inch thick. Soak them in cold water for 30 minutes to rinse off the starch, then dry them very well. Toss with oil and salt and spread them in a single layer on a sheet pan, with no crowding. Put them in when the chicken has about 30 minutes left. Flip them halfway, then let them finish while the chicken rests, 35 to 45 minutes total, until they’re golden and crisp. Toss with a spoonful of the Café de Paris butter right out of the oven, and serve the sauce on the side for dipping.
2 lb russet or Yukon Gold potatoes
3 tbsp neutral oil
Flaky salt
1 spoonful Café de Paris butter, to finish
3. The Sauce
Soften the shallot in a pan with a little salt and pepper. Add the wine and let it cook down by about half. Stir in the cream and the chicken juices, simmer until it coats a spoon, then whisk in the butter you saved. Finish with a squeeze of lemon.
1 shallot, finely chopped
100 ml white wine (a little under ½ cup)
100 ml heavy cream
Cooking juices from the chicken
2 tbsp Café de Paris butter
A squeeze of lemon juice
Salt and pepper
4. Frisée Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette
Whisk together everything except the oil, then slowly drizzle in the oil while whisking until it comes together. Toss with a head of frisée right before serving.
2–3 tbsp fresh lemon juice + a pinch of zest
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
½–1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 small shallot, finely minced
1 tsp honey or maple syrup (optional, to balance the acid)
Kosher salt and black pepper
5. The Most important Part: The Wine
I can’t get enough of coastal Italian island whites right now (I’m not quite ready to let summer go) - this is a favorite, this one if you are willing to splurge a bit. If you’re further into fall mode than I am, this gamay is a good call or ever tried a red sancerre?, both directions work with this masterpiece of a meal. Or better yet go to your local natural wine shop and ask them
Now go cook dinner for your friends, and then dance, goddamn it.
