One of my favorite things about food blogging is the fantastic array of recipes and food ideas I find as I connect with other bloggers. While I do enjoy a good magazine or cookbook, I’ve found that blogger recipes are often much more practical to make at home and quickly become favorites of my family and friends. As I read blogs in my feed reader, I star those recipes that I particularly want to try again. For a recent dinner party to kick-off the al fresco summer dining season, I sourced almost every recipe for the menu from blogs. The dinner was easy to put together and well received by my guests.

Main Course

Grilled Rib-eye Steak with Ginger Lime Butter (from Stacy Snacks)

Mango Cucumber Quinoa (inspired by Fun With Your Food)

Roasted Asparagus (inspired by Simply Recipes)

Dessert

Madeleines with Chocolate Dipping Sauce (from White On Rice Couple)

Fresh strawberries

To Drink

Peachy Canyon Petite Sirah, Paso Robles, CA, 2006

Being the tinkerer I am, I typically can’t leave well alone with any recipe, but I was fairly limited in my modification to these bloggers’ most excellent recipes. The two (count them two) total changes I made to the recipes in this menu were:

• I used quinoa instead of pasta for Fun with Your Food’s mango cucumber salad. This is really a personal preference and reflects my attempt to eat fewer refined carbs and to experiment with different grains. I specifically used red quinoa cooked according to package directions but otherwise followed the recipe. I agree that this salad is much better when made early and left to let the flavors meld together.
• I tossed a little balsamic vinegar in with the olive oil when I made the asparagus because, well, why not.

The Plan

This menu is perfect for entertaining because you can do much of the work ahead of time so you aren’t racing about just before your guests arrive trying to finish the meal. The day of my dinner went something like this*:

*We typically have kids at our dinner parties so we eat a bit earlier, but for an all adult dinner you might not start until 7 or even 8pm, in which case, adjust the schedule accordingly.

And that’s really it. This dinner goes together so beautifully and is perfect for a warm summer evening. It combines healthy grains, fruits, and veggies with the summer tradition of grilling for a dinner that’s special but not complicated. Enjoy!