FANDANGO Catering Offers Summer Entertaining Ideas for the Guest-Challenged

At FANDANGO Catering we hear over and over, "I'd love to entertain but I don't know how and it's too much work." Here are 4 of our easiest summer entertaining ideas for the guest-challenged.

Dessert-only gatherings: Buy a dessert from an excellent pastry shop or restaurant where you've had the desserts and serve with a trio of best-quality ice creams or gelatos and maybe some gourmet cookies on the side.

European-style cold cuts spread--Buy imported cold cuts and cheeses to make a European-style cold board and pair it with wines (ask your wine store for recommendations). Prosciutto or Jamón serrano, speck, mortadella, capicola, sorpessata, salami; and a Swiss-type cheese, a good Cheddar, a Munster or other soft buttery cheese, and a goat cheese if you like goat cheese--and you're set.

Cold grilled steak and salad--Grill flank steak a day ahead (use an indoor grill if you don't want to grill outside in the heat) that you've marinated in Italian dressing, along with grilled artichokes and mushrooms, also marinated in Italian dressing. Slice the steak thinly against the grain and serve it with the cold vegetables, also sliced. Add a Tomato-Watermelon salad (you can add chunks of feta or Cheddar if you like) with your favorite vinaigrette dressing and, if your guests are really hungry, buy some gourmet brownies that you can serve with ice cream.

Use Terraware compostable "disposables" (available at Whole Foods) to make cleanup easier--After the event is over, put the compostables in a compostables recycling garbage bag, tied to close, in the garage for recycling day or give the bag to a neighbor who composts. Have a kid or a friend spray down your kitchen counters and under the food table with a non-toxic spray, and your after-party cleaning is taken care of (you don't need to sweep if you use the spray, since the spray will get all the crumbs and dirt). This doesn't work for carpet, so it's better to put any food tables on non-carpet surfaces.

Enjoy the company of others this summer!

Kristina

Kristina Ríos de Lumbreras, Ph.D.
Partner, Director of Sales & Operations
FANDANGO Catering
(281) 796-9841