Patio Days & Picnic Dishes
6 dishes to serve at a summer soiree!
It’s hard to believe the end of summer is nearly here. School is back in session and we’ve already had a slew of cooler days in Blacksburg! I’m hoping the warmth will hold out, if only so we can maintain the beautiful produce filling our local farmer’s market. There’s nothing more inspiring than a table full of freshly picked fruits and vegetables, the full spectrum of colors and flavors ripe for use.
The temperate evenings are ideal for lazing away on our patio, enjoying our dinner in our back garden. It has me daydreaming of potluck dinners and garden parties, a table full of dishes and the seats full of friends. So I present for you today, my dream summer soiree—or at least, some of my favorite dishes to serve and to eat. These recipes repurpose several of the same ingredients for easy scaling, allowing for a variety of dishes and flavors with fewer shopping ingredients and prep steps!
To start, here’s one of my most popular from scratch recipes that makes everything more delicious and is featured in a few of these recipes. Burrata is a ball of fresh mozzarella cheese that is stuffed with Stracciatella—a combination of hand-shredded mozzarella, heavy cream, and mascarpone that makes a tender and utterly satisfying inside when you break through the mozzarella shell. Stracciatella can be served on its own as well, as you’ll see in my Bruschetta & Stracciatella recipe. In that PDF I’ve included the instructions for Easy Stracciatella, which uses storebought fresh mozzarella for a quick and easy recipe.
I’ll let you in on a little secret. This recipe was actually written for my cookbook. Cutting it from the recipe list was like taking a little piece out of my heart, so I am so excited to share it with you now. It is the perfect blend of flavors. Crisp crostini, ripe summer tomatoes bursting with flavor and tossed in the dazzling blend of sweet and savory that balsamic vinegar lends to the dressing. Then, there’s the Stracciatella crostini that takes this dish from scrumptious to mouthwatering, topped with a sprinkle of crushed pistachios. Trust me, it’ll be the star of the show at every gathering you throw.
Tomatoes and peaches are one of those match-made in heaven combinations that we only get to experience for a few weeks out of the year. If you haven’t tried them together before, now is your chance! This salad recipes keeps it simple, serving the fresh produce with bread croutons to soak up the mouthwatering vinaigrette and burrata to lend an important richness to the dish.
Ali Nazik is an eggplant yogurt sauce served with tender, marinated and grilled beef pieces and warm pita. Originating from my home country of Türkiye, this recipe utilizes a grill for both the eggplant and the beef, adding that delicious smokiness mandatory for your summer event. This dish is one of the best parts of the season, a favorite of my family that always makes it onto our menu as soon as eggplants become available.
While my favorite method of eating, especially in the heat, involves snacking on a variety of dishes, sometimes you need something a little more substantial. This dish involves roasting a whole “steak” of seasoned eggplant and using it as a nourishing base for delightful toppings. I’ve provided two different options. First is a bruschetta-like tomato topping, of course made better by a torn ball of burrata cheese to soak up all of that flavorful juice from the tomatoes and eggplant. The second option is a Turkish salad, tahini piyaz, made with white beans, tomatoes, onions, and herbs in a tahini sauce for an extra boost of savory protein. This recipe uses one eggplant but can easily be scaled up for however many guests you need.
It wouldn’t be a party without some dessert. This dish is one of my go-tos, a simple combination of roasted apricots, a mascarpone and cream cheese cream, and ladyfingers. The ladyfingers are the ideal, lightly sweet and toothsome vehicle for the rich cream and caramelized apricots. It is so much greater than the sum of its parts, almost like a freestanding summery tiramisu!
Lastly, my huge crowd pleaser, peach cobbler. There’s no peeling of peaches, an uncomplicated crumble top, and a no-churn ice cream to make this even easier and more delicious than you can imagine! I highly recommend you send summer of in style with this dish before peach season comes to an end.
Thank you so much, Betül! You are amazing and so talented! All your recipes were so delicious, my family and I loved them.
Thank's for share those amazing recepies...... fabulastic