Are you planning a cookout this summer but not looking forward to working at the grill while your guests are mingling and having fun? Who says outdoor summer parties have to revolve around the grill? I have a fabulous recipe for a pasta dish that would be wonderful served with some soft Italian bread and perhaps a Caprese Salad. A Caprese Salad is simply a salad of sliced tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and basil. You top it with a drizzle of olive oil and I like to add balsamic vinegar.

You can make the pasta salad and the Caprese Salad ahead of time as they are both delicious chilled. Serve with a nice white wine and you have the makings of an elegant summer dinner party.

Mediterranean Chicken Pasta Salad

1 rotisserie chicken (precooked)
1 pound fettuccine cooked according to package directions
4 oz. feta, crumbled
2 roasted bell peppers, julienne
4 Tablespoons fresh oregano leaves, divided
1 pound fresh baby spinach
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 Tablespoons white wine vinegar
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

In a large bowl, combine warm fettuccine, feta, red bell pepper, 3 tablespoons oregano, and baby spinach. In a small bowl, combine the lemon juice and white wine vinegar and while constantly whisking, slowly add the olive oil to make a dressing.

Finely chop the remaining tablespoon oregano and add to dressing. Pour dressing over salad. remove chicken parts from the whole bird. Slice or shred the chicken and add to pasta salad. Toss to mix.

The last step in preparing your meal is making sure that you serve it in an elegant and memorable way. I would suggest using some pieces from the Emerson Creek Pottery Dragonfly design. I would slice up the Italian bread and stack it up on the Dragonfly Frilly Round Tray. The pasta dish would go in the Dragonfly Ceramic Pasta Bowl. I would serve the Caprese Salad on the Dragonfly Large Frilly Tray. Lastly, I would keep some Extra Virgin Olive Oil in the Dragonfly Drizzle Bottle to serve along side all of these dishes.

Entertaining can be simple if you have a couple of tasty recipes on hand and attractive serving pieces. Let Emerson Creek Pottery help you plan your next dinner party. If you have any questions for me about what you should serve for a particular event, shoot me an e-mail and I’ll give you some ideas!

One thing we all probably do more of in the winter months than we do in the summer months is bake. And for good reason, who wants to heat up a kitchen in an already too hot house? Plus, everyone seems to be a lot busier doing outdoor activities in the summer. I found a recipe for no bake cookie bars on www.allrecipes.com that won’t heat up your kitchen OR take a lot of time. See if you enjoy them as much as I do.

No Bake Chocolate Oat Bars

1 cup butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups quick cooking oats
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter

Grease a 9×9 inch square pan.

Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in brown sugar and vanilla. Mix in the oats. Cook over low heat 2 to 3 minutes, or until ingredients are well blended. Press half of the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Reserve the other half for topping.

Meanwhile, melt chocolate chips and peanut butter in a small heavy saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently until smooth. Pour the chocolate mixture over the crust in the pan and spread evenly with a knife.

Crumble the remaining oat mixture over the chocolate layer, pressing in gently. Cover and refrigerate 2-3 hours or overnight. Bring to room temperature before cutting into bars.

Place sliced cookie bars in an Emerson Creek Pottery cookie jar and watch them disappear!

Dip Keepers or Dip Coolers are essential serving pieces to have on hand in the summer! Here is how they work…the “Dip Cooler” consists of two pieces, the actual bowl that the dip goes in and a surrounding container that “hugs” the dip bowl. Between these two bowls, you can add ice cubes or refreshable ice cubes (the reuseable type) and this will keep your dip cool for hours. Many dips call for mayonaise or other perishable ingredients so ensuring the dip is cool is a good idea for food safety.

But, why stop at just serving cold dips when you can use the same Dip Keeper or Dip Cooler for serving warm dips? Our “Dip Coolers” are made out of oven proof ceramic so you can actually bake your dip right in the bowl. Imagine a yummy hot spinach and artichoke dip or a con queso dip…and when the dip has finished baking, you can fill the outer bowl with hot water to keep your dip warm longer. The possibilities are endless when it comes to dips.

Here at Emerson Creek Pottery, we sell a variety of dips from Linda’s Garden located in Virginia. You can purchase them as gift sets with our “Dip Coolers” directly from our website. You can choose from Garlic Blend, Italian Blend, Spicy Veggie Blend, or Tarragon Blend dip mix. Sometimes I like to add canned tuna or chicken to the Tarragon Blend dip and serve it with crackers. These are wonderful to have on hand for last-minute guests or pot-luck dinners.

If you want to round out your presentation, try serving your crackers in one of our Emerson Creek Pottery Cracker Baskets. It is a nice way to have crackers or chips nearby in a coordinating serving dish.

Are you ready to freshen up your kitchen with a new look for summer? Many people change dishes for Christmas so why not change your dishes for summer? I think Emerson Creek Pottery’s Buttercup Servingware is perfect for summer. The soft yellows, oranges, greens and muted reds will bring a new look to your kitchen this season. I can just picture a delicious salad of cherry tomatoes, yellow and orange bell peppers and mixed greens served on one of our “Frilly Platters”.

Summer is the perfect time to brighten up your kitchen with sunny hues. In addition to changing your servingware, why not consider new dish towels, potholders and even add some fun stemware to your mix. With the Emerson Creek Pottery’s Buttercup design, I think yellow or orange accents would really make a kitchen pop with style. An easy and edible centerpiece would be to fill one of our “Frilly Fruit Bowls” with oranges, lemons and limes.

One thing that I always seem to buy in the summer is the fragrance “Summer Sorbet” by Aromatique. It is available at major department stores and I have seen it at our local Hallmark store. I like to buy the potpourri and display it somewhere near the door my family uses most often when we come into our house. It just reminds me of summer. The colors in this potpourri are a perfect match for our Buttercup design. It would look beautiful spread out on one of our “Small Buttercup Trays”.

I hope you have found these ideas helpful. How do you freshen up your home for summer? I’d love to hear from you.