Festive Friday: Summer Salads for Entertaining

Summer foods should be fresh and easy, right? My favorite part of summer cooking is that I can make Chad grill the meat, and all that’s left for me to do is throw together a vegetable, a salad, and maybe some bread or noodles for the kids. This works even when you’re entertaining-we’re going to a friends’ house tonight for a little get together and they’re grilling the meat and everyone else is bringing a side or a salad. Summer fun at its simple best. I’m in charge of the green salad, so I spent some time looking up fun recipes to try because I wanted something a little exciting but not too tricky. There were so many good ones to choose from, that I thought I would share them for our Festive Fridays this week. - Eloise

Tomato, Avocado and Cucumber Salad from Camille Styles

A light and fresh salad that has a ton of flavor and optional jalapeno for some spice. I made this last night and didn’t have feta, but it was still good without it and I was less worried about having it sit out while we waited for the rest of dinner to be ready. It has so many flavors and you can easily add or omit things-I added arugula to bulk it up and make it more of a green salad, which was delicious.

Greek Chopped Salad with Lemon Tahini Vinaigrette from Half Baked Harvest

This salad dressing is one of my favorites-the tahini and lemon give it some flair and make it good enough for company, but it’s simple enough that my kids still like it. You could omit the chicken and the breadcrumbs to make it lighter, or leave them in if you want a full meal in one bowl. I love the Half Baked Harvest chicken marinades because they’re fast and flavorful, so a lot of times, I’ll use their marinade on full chicken breasts and then serve it on the side so that people can personalize how much they want. I would also likely skip the breadcrumbs and serve it with some Trader Joe’s naan on the side because the girls are obsessed with it.

Caesar Salad from Love and Lemons

Who doesn’t love Caesar Salad? This one has roasted chickpeas and the dressing uses a greek yogurt base instead of raw eggs. You could also cut the romaine lettuce heads in half and sear them quickly on the grill, if you wanted to serve an even fancier version for a dinner party. The homemade croutons are key for this recipe-they add so much flavor, crunch and generally yumminess.

Fresh Corn Salad from Barefoot Contessa

A perennial family favorite, I always make a double batch of this because it keeps really well. Then we have leftovers to add to salads or eat for the lunch for the next few days. It’s super light and fresh and the flavors get even better over time.