POV: You Throw A Summer Backyard Dinner Party
This is a guide and a recap of sorts of the dinner party I threw at my house for Memorial Day Weekend. It was to celebrate my parents coming to visit me in town (which unfortunately is a rare occasion because of the distance) as well as a celebration of me getting 15k followers! A feat I definitely never thought would happen as quickly as it did and I am so incredibly grateful for.
On the menu, we served
Beverages: Aperol Spritz and White Wine
Appetizer: Baguette with Red Pepper Spread from Trader Joes (a staple in my fridge!)
Main: Rosemary Mustard Grilled Chicken Thighs
Side: Corn on the Cob
Side: Summer Veggie Orzo Salad (recipe below)
Dessert: Strawberry Cake (which was a surprise from my husband from a bakery down the road from my house)
I love hosting an outdoor dinner when the weather gets nice. We usually bring out our outdoor fan and I’ll get flowers for the occasion. For this party, I used chamomile flowers in my favorite blue and white vases. I used a mix of my blue and straw placemats and got battery powered lights to further set the scene.
Here are links to al my favorite products I love using for entertaining. Most are from amazon, but a couple of the serving pieces are from West Elm, and they’re perfect because they go with just about any theme.
I loved this Blue & White theme. It felt very Capri, especially with serving Aperol Spritz that helped with the tablescape even more. I kept the table very light and natural while also keeping the menu very simple and summery. The grilled chicken and corn are easy to make and require little ingredients to taste amazing, but the Summer Veggie Orzo was probably the biggest hit. It was sweet from the slow roasted veggies and still had a punch from the feta. The fresh herbs in it kept this side dish nice and bright. I’ve added the recipe below!
Summer Veggie Orzo
ingredients:
1/2 lb orzo
1 red bell pepper
1 cup asparagus, chopped into quarters
1 red onion, sliced medium thickness
1 large zucchini
1 large yellow squash
1/2 cup crumbled feta
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp butter
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/4 cup basil
directions:
Add your sliced veggies onto a greased baking sheet and toss in the olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Roast at 350 F for 30-35 minutes, mixing the veggies every 10 minutes. Veggies should be soft when done.
Cook orzo according to package directions in salted water. Drain and add orzo and cooked veggies into a large serving bowl.
Mix in the 2 tbsp butter, crumbled feta, parsley, and basil. Serve and enjoy! You can store this dish and eat it cold as well.
For the last course, my husband went out and got me my favorite type of cake, Strawberry. This isn’t Strawberry shortcake, but actual Strawberry flavored. The cake itself is pink and infused with strawberries. It was topped with a vanilla buttercream icing, and of course had the ATOB logo on the top.
It was a double layer cake and so massive, I still have half of it frozen in my freezer! It was definitely the cherry on top of this perfect Summer Backyard Dinner Party.
