As soon as the evenings are still warm and sun shines later into the day, I set the table in the garden for a casual meal with good friends. Colorful placemats are the order of the day, along with votive candles and a small plant for each guest to take home as a remembrance of the evening-in this instance, a small African violet since I'd just recently potted several rootings from a larger violet that lives in my kitchen window.
Dinner is light, but filling, making use of the best produce of the season. First course (and the only one served piping hot) is a rich tasting, but quite lean in calories, corn chowder made from the first of the summer corn now appearing in my market. The recipe makes 6 servings so you'll have some left over for lunch the next day. The main course is made earlier in the day and chilling in the fridge until serving time-generous portions of cold poached salmon topped with a melange of diced red, yellow, and orange tomatoes. With this, there's two sauces, a zippy vinaigrette made with serrano chile peppers and a creamy sauce that tastes of fresh herbs from the pots growing on my patio. With this, I'll serve purchased French rolls which I've reheated for a few minutes in a slow oven.
Dessert is a favorite at our house, strawberries marinated in a bit of sugar and balsamic vinegar. If you haven't tried balsamic vinegar as a sweet accent to fruit, you'll become addicted with the flavor and soon will be experimenting with balsamic and other fruits. If you wish, serve purchase Amaretto cookies along with the strawberries, but be sure anyone with diabetes counts their carbos. Our beverage of choice for this casual meal is tall glasses of iced tea with a sprig of fresh mint, but you might wish to offer glasses of a chilled Pinot Grigio for those who wish to imbibe.
(for the recipes, click on The Recipes or click on the individual recipe above)
