As the weather gets warmer we all change the way we entertain our family and friends. Standing in a hot kitchen for hours is no longer our cup of tea and yet, July is a month that lends itself to having guests. July 4th may start the entertaining, but entire month is vacation and entertaining time.
Set the table with casual china and silverware. We like to use the bright colors of the season for the placemats, tablecloths and glasses. It's even fine to use plastic ware or heavy paper plates. The food will shine and clean-up will be easy. If you live someplace where July is not oppressive, eat outside and add torches, fresh herbs and flowers in pots and colorful umbrellas to cover your tables. In our climates, we tend to try not to be outside for too long in the summer; 95°+ weather is not good for anyone even if you set the table by a pool. What we do try to do is to perhaps serve cold after dinner drinks outside when the sun sets if our guests want to enjoy the gardens and flowers. Once again, we decorate with torches and bug coils to keep the bugs away. If you have outdoor ceiling fans, make sure they are on, and bring your potted flowers near by. Easy!
Inside, we continue with the brightly colored flower theme. We make sure that we have flavored waters with slices of lemon or lime as well as iced tea, and wine spritzers for those who want a light alcoholic drink. Our menu is also colorful. In the heat of the summer it will make your taste buds sing. Our first course is a cold soup served in mugs so that it is easy to sip. This recipe comes from our newest book - The Joslin Healthy Carbohydrate Cookbook. A sneak peek so that you can taste the excellence of our newly released cookbook available on this web site and at your local bookstores. We serve the soup with a platter of pita bread triangles topped with mozzarella cheese, basil and grape tomatoes. Our main course is a one dish meal of couscous salad with grilled vegetables and chicken breasts. You can make the ingredients for this salad earlier in the day and bring them to room temperature before serving, or serve right out of the fridge.. Dessert is a fresh melon platter that will be a refreshing finale to this meal. We sprinkle the melon slices with fresh lime juice and chopped mint. You can't lose with this dessert. Enjoy!
(for the recipes, click on The Recipes or click on the individual recipe above)
BSP
