Summer get-togethers usually come
with a familiar crowd: sun, grilling, shorts, flip flops, and so forth. If there’s a backyard bash theme to be had,
we’ve probably done it before. If you’d
like to add some fresh perspective to your hostess repertoire, here are some
newer twists on serving up those summery classics.
Tossed and layered salads
make the rounds this time of year, right along with the massive bowl of potato
salad. With a little more pre-prep, you
can serve single side salads in your buffet line, no serving tongs required. Use 8 ounce canning jars for individual
layered salads. Stack your greens, chopped
veggies, and drizzle of dressing in these short, see-through cylinders and group
them on a serving tray the way you would drink glasses. To use the lid or not use the lid – that’s up
to you. They can be made ahead of time, stacked
and stored in the fridge, and brought out when your main course is piping hot
and ready. Need more serving table
space? Do use the lids, and nest them over
ice down in a large tub or ice chest on the ground level of your serving line. The same concept would work for a grocery
list of cold side dish alternatives like that potato salad, or a number of
other salad varieties like macaroni, tuna, chicken, bean, fruit, or
coleslaw.
You have a great drink
station set up, but those pesky flies are not what you want landing on your icy
concoctions. Whether you’re using mason
jars, stemless wine glasses, or high ball glasses to give your lemonade, tea,
or punch variety a classy look on that serving tray, top them off with colorful
printed paper cupcake liners turned upside down. With those resting on your filled glasses, push
a pretty paper straw through a small “x” shape you cut in the center of the
cupcake liner, just like to-go cup lids, which will also help keep your topper in
place. Now your guests can sip in style
with this twist on a drink umbrella, and no bugs will be found floating on
ice.
We know the fashionable trick
of freezing small fruit pieces or mint leaves in ice cubes to jazz up your
juice glasses. But you can also look
online for ice cube trays that come in a variety of fun shapes for an extra
spin on fancy ice. For larger punch
bowls or drink dispensers, make your own ice mold by freezing bowls (cereal
bowl size) of water. Make sure the bowl is
freezer safe and the finished size will fit through the top opening in your
drink dispenser. To make it pop, freeze
those fruit pieces or mint inside, giving your ice block a Jell-o mold look. To keep from watering down your thirst
quencher, freeze a mold of the drink you will be serving to use as its own ice.
For the simplest dessert and “goodnight”
to a party, pour ice cold milk into mini vintage milk bottles, rest two
shortbread cookies with holes in their centers on top, and stick a striped
paper straw in the middle. Pass these on
a tray, or set out on a bed of ice. It
will be a sweet finish to the evening.
Have fun, get crafty, and
take a few tips from others’ examples of how to rev up your party planning and
serve up a creative summer spread.
DesignInMind column; appeared in the Valley Morning Star June 29th.
