We’ve gathered more than a dozen recipes for summer entertaining from some of our favorite hosts. They serve up the season’s bounty of ingredients in summery salads, soups, entrées, and dessert, plus the perfect chocolate sauce for your homemade ice cream! Add them to your summer party and potluck rotation.
Summer Party Recipes
Photo courtesy of Frances Schultz
Grilled Chicken and Shrimp Kabobs
The tangy Lemon Yogurt Vinaigrette that Frances Schultz pairs with these savory skewers also makes a delightful topping for salads, grains, and vegetables, as well as other chicken and fish dishes.
Mary Hanos’ Tomato Pie Recipe
Kick off tomato season with this easy, cheesy, fresh summer tomato pie recipe. It makes a great main dish—or side—for family lunch or brunch with friends.
La Zaca Steak Sauce
Serve steaks—or grilled chicken—with Sauce La Zaca, a New Orleans-style barbecue sauce with Frances Schultz’s California-Southern spin. A thinly sliced serrano chile gives it extra zing.
Photo by Becky Luigart-Stayner
Summer Peach, Fig, and Prosciutto Salad
A simple but mouthwatering platter of local ingredients includes figs, prosciutto, Chilton County peaches, and goat cheese from nearby Stone Hollow Farmstead.
Photo courtesy of Frances Schultz
Summer Squash Salad
Accented with crunchy pistachios, sweet apricots, and tangy goat cheese, this summer squash salad from Frances Schultz delivers big flavor with little fuss.
Crawfish Cardinale
“Crawfish Cardinale, a creamy, Cognac-tinged concoction, is a staple at Antoine’s (Restaurant in New Orleans),” said the late Julia Reed in her book Julia Reed’s New Orleans. Reed spooned her version into tiny store-bought pastry shells, just right for a pass-around appetizer tray.
Photo by Paul Costello from Julia Reed’s South: Spirited Entertaining and High-Style Fun All Year Long by Julia Reed (Rizzoli New York)
Okra Fritters with Sriracha Mayonnaise
Julia Reed adapted this recipe from a treasured cookbook, The Gift of Southern Cooking by Edna Lewis and Scott Peacock. This dish of crispy, bite-size okra fritters works well as hors d’oeuvres or a summer side.
Acre Restaurant’s Fried Green Tomatoes
Chef David Bancroft, a four-time James Beard Best Chef: South semifinalist, shares his recipe for Southern fried green tomatoes with pimiento cheese, rémoulade, and marinated fresh Gulf crab
Photo courtesy of James Farmer from from Dinner on the Grounds: Southern Suppers and Soirées (Gibbs Smith, 2014).
Basil Blackberry Salad
This simple, summer salad from James T. Farmer packs in some of summer’s boldest flavors with fresh herbs and microgreens, blackberries, basil, and goat cheese.
Photo by Paul Costello from Julia Reed’s South: Spirited Entertaining and High-Style Fun All Year Long by Julia Reed (Rizzoli New York). Copyright © 2016
Grilled Devilled Crab and Cheese Sandwiches
Julia Reed first tasted a version of this luscious, highly seasoned crabmeat as a filling for pastry turnovers. But she decided the buttery, toasty bread provides a far more simpatico delivery system and makes the ultimate grilled cheese sandwich.
Photo by Becky Luigart-Stayner
Ratatouille Quiche with Arugula and Olives
Frank Stitt of Birmingham’s Highlands Bar & Grill made this summer quiche using eggs from chickens and summer vegetables harvested at his Alabama farm.
Photo courtesy of James Farmer from from Dinner on the Grounds: Southern Suppers and Soirées (Gibbs Smith, 2014).
Cashiers Farmers Market Pasta
James T. Farmer gathers North Carolina tomatoes, squash, and corn for this filling pasta casserole. “The first thing I do when I get to Cashiers is stop by the farmers market and gather goodies for this… I love to prepare this dish for a crowd or to feast on it myself for days!”
Gazpacho with Tomato Sherbet
Give Tomato Sherbet a chance. The late Julia Reed created this recipe shaped by the Belle Meade Country Club, Nora Ephron, and Charlotte Moss, so you know it’s going to have a great story. And that it will be delicious.
Photo by Michael Mundy
White Gazpacho
Cornelia Guest takes a classic white gazpacho made with bread, almonds, and cucumber, and bumps up the creaminess with cauliflower. The result is a cool, mild take on the Spanish dish.
Photo by Becky Luigart-Stayner
Cantaloupe Sorbet
Frosty sorbet served in silver coupes found at New Orleans’ Lucullus Antiques rounds out a summer menu at Pardis and Frank Stitt’s Alabama farm.
Photo courtesy of Frances Schultz from her book: California Cooking and Southern Style: 100 Great Recipes, Inspired Menus, and Gorgeous Table Settings by Frances Schultz (Skyhorse, 2019)
Butterscotch Banana Pudding
Frances Schultz shares a sweet, American classic dessert recipe, claiming “Nothing says ‘Southern’ like banana budding, and not to brag, but this rich butterscotch pudding makes this the best one ever, period.”
Photo by Deborah Whitlaw-Llewelyn
Connie’s Chocolate Sauce
Alex Hitz shares the recipe for Hollywood hostess Connie Wald’s chocolate sauce, the easiest and most delicious topping you’ve ever spooned over a bowl of ice cream (or anything else).
Photo by Fortyforks | Shutterstock
Greet your guests with summer drinks! We’ve gathered recipes for spirited concoctions and alcohol-free sippers.
