Cookbook author Dan Clapson explains harvest dinners on The Social CTV

Channeling seasonal, farm-fresh energy from his best-selling cookbook Prairie, Canadian cookbook author Dan Clapson recently joined Andrea Bain and Cynthia Loyst on The Social CTV to chat about harvest dinners.

While many restaurants and chefs may put on 'harvest dinner' events across the country (and beyond), the food writer explains that a true harvest dinner is rooted in farming culture. Long, long hours of harvesting call for a hearty, healthy meal that families can enjoy together—quite often in the middle of a field—before getting back to work.

On The Social, Clapson showed off a mix of classic comfort foods with subtle, tasty twists.

His harvest dinner spread includes a bison, sage and caramelized onion shepherd’s pie, a wild blueberry and pear crumble (where he cooks the fruit down with plenty of autumn spices. To sip, there’s a tart-meets-refreshing rhubarb apple lemonade that feels both bright and fall-y and then last, but not least, the co-hosts seemed especially wowed by Dan Clapson's whipped cottage cheese and roasted vegetable dip.