Firing up the grill for the first time this weekend? Hosting or attending a neighborhood gathering to kick off the summer? Celebrating a graduation? Whatever the reason, most of us will be joining family or friends to soak up the warm sun and celebrate the end of school and the start of some much needed warm-weather fun. Here are a few yummy, simple recipe ideas perfect for hosting a gathering or taking along as a guest to another home.
1. Melissa Clark’s Corn Salad with Lime Cilantro Dressing: Posted just a couple of weeks ago, I’ve already heard from a couple readers that this corn salad is a hit. Easy to assemble ahead of time and will work with fresh corn or high quality frozen.
2. BBQ Baby Back Ribs: Meat lover? This rib recipe is not the easiest on this list but our method requires little hands on time and reduces the grill time by oven-baking first.
3. Strawberry Spinach Salad: Berry lover? Try this strawberry spinach salad with balsamic dressing. Perfect side dish and so pretty in the bowl!
4. Fresh Fruit Crisps: Carry the berry theme into dessert by making a crisp – works with any berries or stone fruit you find at the market. And you can double or triple the crisp topping and freeze it for a couple more uses!
5. Hearts of Palm, Avocado, and Cherry Tomato Salad:
Here’s a quick new side salad recipe:
Hearts of Palm, Avocado, and Cherry Tomato Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cans hearts of palm sliced in 1-inch pieces
- 2-4 avocados chopped
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add hearts of palm, avocados and cherry tomatoes to a large bowl.
- Mix lemon juice and olive oil and pour over the salad, tossing gently to combine.
- You can also toss in fresh chopped chives or basil or even flat leaf parsley for color and flavor. Be creative - small Persian cucumbers would be a nice addition as would edamame beans.
Recipe Notes
You can scale this recipe however you like, but I recommend keeping the lemon juice and olive oil in a 1:3 ratio.
Hope this gives you a little inspiration for the fun weekend ahead!
Beth, I made the corn and edamame salad for a going away party—it went really fast! I love the lime vinaigrette! I’m going to use it for other salads. I didn’t have any ripe avocados, so I left those out. My cherry tomatoes were really big, so I cut them up into pieces—I am thinking of adding green beans next time!
Always glad to hear of successes and new ideas. I’m still getting positive feedback from the teacher’s appreciation lunch and will be bringing it to a bbq this weekend. Slightly crunchy green beans could be delicious as would those English Peas you see at the Farmer’s Market this time of year! Thanks for the feedback Paula!
Hi Beth, great ideas. Hope you and yours have a great weekend ahead!
You too Carol! Hope you and the Bug bake up something special with that extra day off!