Alfresco - More than Just  Outdoor Dining! I love eating alfresco! It means the chill of Spring is gone, the days are long and everything moves or not to a slower clock.  And it means so much more.  Turn your summer party into a memorable event.  (info)

Summer vegetables!

'In the cool', 'out of doors', 'outside' - alfresco. A word that creates an inner smile, of t-i-m-e stretched out or suspended, when all the world stops because now it is time to eat, to share, to enjoy, to visit and to laugh - all under the trees, in a pavilion, on the grass, on a blanket or old wooden table discovered where least expected on a visit to an old village in Italy. Chianti wine (the good sort, not the harsh kind exported to points beyond European borders) uncorked, the bread broken and shared, the cheese passed around (and likewise shared with a stray cat) and then the fruit. Alfresco memories.
 

A different country, a different reason to celebrate - this time old friends being in the same place at the same time. A long table with benches set up in the garden under oak trees, laden with bowls and platters of food and this time plenty of German wine to go around. More alfresco memories.
 
And here in Spain, up the low mountain at the foot of our castle built by a past Arab ruler, now a preserved ruin - bread, cheese, fruit and Spanish wine shared and drunk out of glasses tucked into the wicker shopping basket we brought. More girlfriend memories alfresco.
 
I love eating alfresco! It means the chill of Spring is gone, the days are long and everything moves or not to a slower clock. It means it is time for my annual Summer Buffet with good friends and neighbours and guests who are just as surprised as I that 5 hours or more have 'already' passed.

Here in my part of Spain, we can take all our meals outside from May to December. Well, in December perhaps a late breakfast and the lunch for as soon as the sun begins to set, it is too 'fresco'.
 
How to turn your summer party into a memorable event?
 
Planning
First of all, think leisure, plan ahead and make those dishes that survive freezing well in advance. Salads such as tabooli, rice or pasta dishes can be made the evening before the event, however, excepting tabooli, add tomato or cucumber a few hours before serving. Gazpacho also is delicious made a few days in advance - just remember to reduce the garlic by a half to a third as it will 'ripen' with each day.
 
Pampering your guests - Extra Plates
Be sure to have double the amount of plates than guests and encourage them to enjoy the salads as an appetizer and to use a clean plate for the rest of the buffet. If space allows, have one table for the cold appetizers and organize your time so that the second table begins to fill up (or the food is kept warm) with the rest of your spread.
 
Not so much room?

Then use one table. Fill it first with your cold dishes. Have a friend help to clear it away and refill with your warm dishes. Keep in mind that depending on your warm dishes or meats, the potato salad or baked beans you planned on will most likely be better suited offered with this second round! 
 
Plastic - oh please (don't)!
Plastic spoils a fine ambiance. If you are like me, you don't own plastic plates, cups or other table plastic. I also do not care what my guests do when they entertain. But at my home, I treat my guests like a special family, and I never place anything plastic on the table.  Nor paper napkins - only cloth ones. Why should I treat guests any less than myself or my family? There is always someone left to help clear up and I have machines that wash the dishes and the laundry.
 
Why make this extra effort?
Most importantly, it creates a relaxed ambiance, a sense of 'the good life' where there is no rush. Guests can take their time with visiting, digesting and enjoying. Another big plus that I as a guest appreciate, is that my plate is not filled with everything and the vinaigrette is seeping its way into the chicken and the other sauces and flavours are not competing with each other. I also appreciate not having to use the same plate, now unappetising with the residue of other foods for the next courses. Requesting a clean plate is putting the host/hostess under unnecessary extra stress if she did not think to provide extra.
 
No Time to Rush
Northern Americans tend to eat everything altogether and at once. Here in Europe, we like to lead up to the next (culinary) event. This allows us to savour and pay attention to what we are eating. Gives us time – which we need to enjoy good food, good friends and a little bit of the 'good life'. A fresh plate is used for each course, and each course is a mini event of its own. Often between the appetizer and the main dish (which may be garnished with a starch such as potato) a vegetable dish will be presented, or if in Italy the pasta or risotto will be
served followed by the vegetable such as baked spinach or aubergine.
 
Create a Little More Atmosphere
A garden party that extends into nightfall can be magical. Just as the sun is setting, light garden torches or fairy lights (strung, tiny white lights). Be sure to have anti-mosquito equipment handy and working and don't forget the candles - which you have prepared. Remember to protect the candles in a small lantern or glass chimney. You didn't forget to have appropriate CD music for your garden party did you?

For an extra surprise, hire a musician to arrive around sunset to play acoustic guitar, flute or violin - just a little live entertainment not intended to overshadow your party, but to add a special touch. No electronic equipment and loud speakers, please.
 
For your alfresco buffet, with a little planning, early food preparation and pacing, you can create a three or four course ambiance easily. Just serve your cold buffet first, then your main dish buffet, perhaps followed by a cheese platter with assorted breads and lastly, your dessert(s). Make certain that the cheese is not cold. In summer serve it still slightly cool. By the time it is shaved or cut, it will be just right and release its full flavours.
 
After such a sumptuous spread, you will find that a heavy dessert such as tiramisu etc. is too much. What finishes off your buffet perfectly?
 
The Understatement - Grand in its Simplicity
Fresh fruit salad either mixed or concentrating on one or two fruits such as summer berries, or consider a sorbet drink. In summer, I do appreciate a lemon sorbet, half frozen and mixed with a little champagne and served with a straw. Light and refreshing to the palate and appreciated at the end of a leisurely summer buffet. Use fresh mint leaves or basil as a garnish. Especially lovely is to use the flowering tops of summer herbs such as mint, lemon verbena, basil, 'Dark Opal' variety of basil, or oregano. Add a wafer or 'ladies fingers' biscuits and there you have a tempting, light finale to your summer feast.
 
You will find the hours have passed leisurely, the food event you worked so hard on savoured, enjoyed and unrushed. Suddenly the party that started at 6, has the last guests leaving at midnight. You have created a memorable culinary event.
 
Alfresco - when the time taken to enjoy it is equal to the food!

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