Dinner Outdoors

*Accessible table settings included flowers from Rory’s party and the garden, tablecloths from last season, white* *linen napkins, unironed!*

*Blueberry and Strawberry lattice top pies*

*Black bikini and corn on the cob are perennial favorites*

*How cute are these littles? Rory always has a golf club nearby.*

*Gabrielle brought beautiful hors d’ouevres*

*Caroline, Sarah, and Williams prepped vegetables and made drinks.*

*Beautiful and handsome kitchen help. 🙂*

*Across the yard with all th*e glassware.

I think there’s nothing better than dining al fresco during the summer months surrounded by those you love. Last weekend we tucked into some delicious marinated grilled flank steak, grilled salmon, traditional mac & cheese, sauteed seasonal vegetables, and a simple salad of homegrown lettuces. You can visit Simply Recipes for my go-to super-easy flank steak recipe. It never fails. Sometimes I leave a steak or two stewing in this marinade for a few days, and it just gets better.

*Chilling on the covered porch. I love Monnie’s red dress!*

*Father and son on the grill with the prepped protein.*

For 18 guests, I served 7.5 pounds of flank steak and 2 pounds of salmon. We were heavy on protein and had plenty for steak sandwiches the next day. I always love having good leftovers.

*I served dinner buffet style, which usually makes things easier.*

*I grew the nasturtiums to garnish my plates. I only like to use edible garnishes.*

I was going to pass on serving mac & cheese this time, yet I didn’t. I winged the recipe, used more cheddar than gruyere, didn’t use any nutmeg as there was none on hand, and the entire dish was scraped clean.