Summer Potluck: Casual and Easy Parties When Guests Pitch In

My summer motto is: Entertain more, stress less. Summer dinner parties are less about matching china and more about the backyard. Forget starched white napkins, printed invitations and planning every last detail. Instead, pick up the phone, call a few friends, and let everyone bring something.

Weekly Low-Key And Stress-Free Parties

One of the most casual and fun summer parties is the rotating happy hour organized by the Wilmette block at 4th and Maple.

potluck2Every Friday in the summer, one family on the block hosts a happy hour. They provide some beverages and food, but everyone brings snacks and drinks, according to Lisa Grill, who held the neighborhood fête with her neighbor Gail Montenegro last week. The block has a flag that the host hangs outside to signal that the party is open. Grown-ups chat on driveways and porches while kids play at Maple Park across the street.

It’s hugely popular with the whole block because you don’t have to clean up your house or hire a babysitter. Just sweep the front porch, set up a few tables and chairs, put out a cooler and hang the flag. The perfect summer pitch-in party.

Organizing A Potluck Meal

If you’re hosting at your house or organizing a group to meet at the beach or Ravinia, you should provide the main course and beverages. When guests ask, “What can I bring?” have a plan so you don’t end up with five bowls of guacamole and no dessert. You can send out an e-mail or just keep a checklist by the phone as you call friends.

Large picnics, family reunions or a baseball team end-of-the-season picnic are best organized with an e-mail invite like My Punchbowl or Evite. My Punchbowl lets you include a detailed list of what’s needed so guests can see that someone’s already bringing cherry pie, but no one has signed up for a green salad yet.

What To Bring If You’re An Invitee

The requested course. If you’re asked for a side dish, bring a pasta salad or this fabulous Sesame Asparagus Salad. Your host will be annoyed if you show up with a rack of ribs (even if they’re delicious) because they’ll compete with her main course.

A dish that’s ready to serve. The one exception is tossing a green salad. That’s fine to do just before serving, but skip bringing eggs, butter and lemon to make a last-minute Hollandaise sauce.

Utensils. This allows you to serve the dish without improvising or borrowing.

Bring a showstopper. Try this Shrimp and Sugar Snap Peas with Lemon Basil Vinaigrette. It looks fabulous and tastes like summer on the shore. Plus, it’s easily transportable.

  Who We Are       NFP Support       Magazine       Programs       Donate    

X