It's Monday and I'm already counting down to the 3 day weekend ahead! My cousins from Ohio are coming to stay with us this weekend so I'm planning up some yummy, easy recipes for poolside dinners!
I rarely entertain without a cheeseboard. Here is my go-to simple cheeseboard. For a smaller crowd, I think three cheese options and two types of charcuterie is the perfect. I've read that a good rule of thumb in terms of variety is a hard, a soft and a stinky aka {gorgonzola, roquefort, stilton, etc}. But I'm not really into rules (ha!) so just choose what catches my eye in the cheese aisle. I buy all of my meats and cheeses at Trader Joes because they are the most reasonable priced.
Here's a quick grocery list for a great cheeseboard: 3 cheeses, 2 meats, nuts {pecans + marcona almonds}, fruit {raspberries add such pretty color, grapes are also great!}, honey drizzled on the cheeseboard and if you really want to get wild you can add fig jam and a fancy mustard.
I want to spend as little time in the kitchen as possible, so this orzo pasta salad from Giada will be perfect to go alongside whatever we're throwing on the grill! I just recently learned how to cook redfish on the grill so thinking I'll go that route. This pasta salad is so light and fresh and can be made a day ahead, before guests arrive!
And last but certainly not least, an easy refreshing cocktail! Aperol spritz' have been all the rage this summer and my prediction for the next IT cocktail is the Negroni! I love that it's not overly sweet. It's actually a little bitter but the citrus in the oranges is such a great counterbalance! You can mix up a pitcher of these bad boys in advance so you're not measuring out individual pours come party time!
How pretty is this cocktail menu board created by Meg Grant?!
Ingredients: 1 oz Gin 1 oz Campari 1 oz Sweet Vermouth Garnish with an Orange Peel! tablescape sources | cheeseboard {vintage} similar here | Tina Frey water pitcher {container for breadsticks} | Tina Frey bowl | Tina Frey salad servers | linen napkins | dinner plates | salad plates | placemats
