Summer events like special events all year long include special menus. Today as I shop and prepare for a host of summer get togethers, picnics, and parties, I'm thinking about the menus and other related special items.
Brunch
Brunches are nice on summer Sundays because you can meet up before it gets too hot and hopefully you can enjoy the food outdoors on a deck or patio. For brunches, I like a menu of quiches, fruit salad, green salad, a potato dish, sweet breads/scones and/or bagels, and something sweet for dessert.
Picnics
Packing a picnic lunch for a day at the beach, a mountain hike, boat ride or other summer adventure is always a good idea. Sandwiches and/or salads, cookies, cold drinks, and fruit make for a hardy, delicious picnic.
Barbecue
The barbecue is a summer staple. Charcoaling veggies, meats, or fish and serving with side salads, ice cream, and others sweets make for a tasty barbecue. Chips, guacamole, salsa, cut-up veggies, dips, and fruits make good appetizers too.
Pot-Luck
When my large family and friend groups get together, we usually rely on pot-luck lunches or dinners. This year's mountain family reunion finds us having a Tex-Mex potluck one night and an Italian Night the next. These themes are favorable to most people and easily accommodate both vegetarians and meat eaters.
There's several foods that you can easily make ahead to accommodate summer menus including these:
- pie crusts for quiches and pies
- meatballs - they freeze well and can easily be defrosted in a slow cooker on the day you are serving
- cookie dough - make the dough, freeze in a cylinder and when ready, defrost a bit, cut, cook, and serve (I actually think that chocolate chip cookies taste better after freezing a bit)
- cut-up veggies - if you cut them up a day or two ahead, they're easily accessible for snacks
- casseroles - lasagnas and tex-mex casseroles can be made ahead of time and then cooked on the day of the party
