Fandango Catering Offers More Easy Summer Food Ideas for Entertaining

In our continuing blog series, "Summer Entertaining," today we offer more easy food ideas for summer entertaining.

Our focus today is salad meals which, when done well, are perfect for casual summer get-togethers and can be pulled off even by those who don't have a lot of cooking experience--or you can even buy part of the food. 

The key to these main-dish salad meals, or salades composées as the French call them, is to serve that and a dessert or two, perhaps some bought nice cheeses and artisan breads.  You really don't need more unless you're feeding VERY hungry types. 

Such refreshing meals are especially good in the hot summer months, more so if your gathering will be outdoors or partly outdoors.

Beef, Mushroom, and Tomato Salad
Serves 4--mulitply accordingly

12 oz. cooked beef or pork tenderloin, sliced (it's best not to buy cooked roast beef at a deli as it tends to be dry)--you can cook or have cooked for you the tenderloin ahead of time
8 oz. (2 1/2 cups) mushrooms, sliced
French and Italian dressings, whisked together until blended (to equal about 3/4 cup)
3 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
2 tbsp. chopped fresh mixed herbs

Put beef and mushrooms in large shallow dish; add dressings, toss to coat.  Cover and let stand one hour or refrigerate up to 24 hours.  Add tomatoes, toss again.  Mound salad on serving platter and sprinkle with fresh mixed herbs.  Serve any leftover dressing separately.

Shrimp-Potato Salad
Make a potato salad with a creamy dressing (like a sour cream dressing), or buy one from a good food emporium.  Add fresh chopped tarragon and chives, peeled shrimp that's been cooked in shrimp boil mix, and a squirt of lemon juice.  This is just a blueprint, so add these mix-ins in the proportions you like.

Corn, Ham, Cheddar, and Potato Salad
Again, make or buy a potato salad with a creamy dressing.  Add fresh-cooked corn off the cob, sliced scallions, chopped baked ham, chopped Cheddar, and chopped cilantro with a squirt of lime juice, also in the proportions you like.

If you fear your guests won't be full with a salad meal, add, besides your dessert and cheeses and bread, a cold soup you either make, pick up at a food emporium, or buy from a caterer--such as any of the gazpachos (red, green, white, fruit), vichyssoise, avocado soup...Serve in attractive little glasses or cups, garnished with a tiny bit of chopped fresh herbs, and you're set.  And do have plenty of the main-dish salad on hand, of course!


Warmly,

Kristina

Fandango Catering and Events
(713) 522-0077
www.fandango-catering.com