In The Kitchen With Farmgirl Susan: Party Tricks--Culinary Survival Tactics For The Joyous Month Of June

June is traditionally a month of outdoor gatherings--weddings, graduations, county fairs, open-air theater performances, concerts in the park. This is probably because no matter where in America you live, the weather in June is usually pretty nice. Life is good, and people are happy. It’s time to party.

Food often plays a central role in open-air celebrations. For what would a beach party be without the barbecue? A concert without the pre-performance tailgate feast? Or a garden wedding reception without chilled champagne and a flower-adorned cake? A distressing experience if, like me, you happen to be a dance-phobic cake fiend.

Even if you’re an anti-social curmudgeon who rarely ventures out, let alone entertains, June’s profusion of revelry will put your reclusive tendencies to the test; social merriment is downright unavoidable. So just remember that the key to getting the most enjoyment out of any occasion is to keep things simple, particularly when it comes to the menu. When the sun is shining and the festivities are in full swing, everyone will be too busy having fun to notice that you’re exhausted and bleary-eyed because you spent all night in the kitchen stuffing 200 grape tomatoes with five kinds of caviar, or cutting the crusts off twelve dozen toast points.

What you want to do, whether you’re hosting an elegant bridal shower or simply attending a potluck picnic, is produce maximum gastronomical effect with minimal effort, and I don’t mean by simply calling in the caterer, though of course this is always an option. All you need is a solid foundation of suppliers, a few brilliant, never-fail recipes that are amazingly easy yet incredibly delicious, and a tight-lipped mouth.

Rather than tackle an entire menu, or even an entire dish, yourself, concentrate on preparing only one part, then augment it with the fruits of others’ labors. Top quality ingredients demand little work from the cook, and really flavorful foods don’t need to be fussed with. A big bowl of berries, just-picked corn on the cob, grass-fed Angus steaks--why hide perfection beneath rich sauces or complicated cooking techniques?

A good artisan bread bakery is indispensible and getting much easier to find. If there isn’t one in your neighborhood yet, consider rolling up your sleeves and baking a few loaves of your own. No idea where to start? Join me and fellow Gather Food Correspondents Kevin and Beth (aka kitchenMage) over at A Year In Bread, where this month you’re invited to bake summer/picnic breads with us. You can read more about A Year In Bread here. Bread freezes beautifully, so always buy or bake an extra loaf and stash it away for entertaining emergencies.

In many places, farmers’ markets have turned into one-stop shopping paradises for the time-pressed host or hostess, offering such items as fresh flowers and herbs, top-notch baked goods, interesting olives and specialty cheeses, handcrafted pestos and preserves, and even fine meats, alongside the season’s freshest, most interesting, and often organically grown fruits and vegetables.

An unusual item or ingredient can effortlessly add a refreshing, crowd-pleasing twist to any dish. Wild huckleberries, lemon cucumbers, golden raspberries, purple bush beans, shallots--I was introduced to all of these at farmers’ markets. And by shopping at farmers’ markets, you’re also supporting small farmers and agricultural diversity & sustainability, as well as your local economy.

 A backyard garden, or a friend who has one, is another secret weapon in the social cook’s arsenal, even if it contains nothing more than flowers or some pots of culinary herbs (chives, parsley, rosemary, sage, thyme, basil, and oregano are all very easy to grow) or a few heirloom tomato plants. A handful of chopped fresh herbs will give even deviled eggs, that ubiquitous outdoor celebration standby, an instant stylish flair.

The best recipes are versatile as well as easily thrown together. These are the ones you cherish forever, and that no one cares if they’re served over and over because they taste so wonderful.

The following cream cheese spread is just such a recipe, and once you make it, you’ll probably want to always have some around because you can serve it anywhere and with almost anything. Spread it on thin baguette slices and pop them under the broiler for a colorful, elegant appetizer. Or thin it out with a little bit of milk and serve it as a dip with fresh veggies. You can even put it on sandwiches. And of course it’s great on crackers.

The best thing about this spread is that people go crazy for it, and no one suspects is contains so few ingredients. This is where the tight-lipped part comes in. When someone takes a bite and exclaims, "This is delicious! You must have been in the kitchen for hours!" you can simply smile and say, "You have no idea," and then happily wander off, knowing you have plenty of time and energy left for the most important parts of the party--like making sure you get the biggest piece of cake.

June may be quickly coming to close, but summer celebrations are stretched out before us. What do you do or serve in order to keep a shindig stress-free?

Susan’s Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto Spread

This is actually two different spreads, tomato and pesto, that taste great separately or together. The colors look pretty when you place them side-by-side in a special serving dish or spread a small amount of each on crackers or baguette slices. Or you can layer one on top of the other in a small bowl lined with plastic wrap, then turn it out onto a plate like a torta. Both flavors taste even better if you make them a day or two ahead.

Feeding a crowd? Just double or quadruple the recipe.

1 8-ounce package cream cheese or Neufchatel cheese, softened & divided

2/3 cup finely grated hard cheese (pecorino romano, parmesan, asiago, etc.), divided

2 Tablespoons snipped sun-dried tomatoes, soaked in boiling water 15 minutes & drained

2 Tablespoons basil pesto (click here for my favorite recipe)

1/4 teaspoon salt, divided

Using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, thoroughly combine 4 ounces cream cheese, 1/3 cup grated cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a small bowl. In a separate bowl, combine remaining cream cheese, grated cheese, pesto and salt. Transfer to a serving dish and chill. Will keep for several days in the refrigerator.

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Related Articles on Gather you might enjoy:

--The Vegetable Gardener's Bible by Ed Smith has been my favorite gardening book for the past 7 years, and I highly recommend it for kitchen gardeners of all levels, especially beginners. It includes specific growing information for all kinds of edibles, including basil. Click here to read my review of it.

--In The Kitchen With Farmgirl Susan: Pesto On My Mind (Too Bad My Brain Forgot The Basil)

--In The Kitchen Garden With Farmgirl Susan: Don't Cut Your Basil Season Short

--In The Kitchen With Farmgirl Susan: Three Cheers For Chives! And How To Make Herbed Yogurt Cheese

--Season's Eatings is a column by Gather Food Correspondent Norah P. that celebrates the bounty at farmers' markets

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Farmgirl Susan, Food Correspondent:

Susan’s column, "In The Kitchen With Farmgirl Susan," is featured on Gather Essentials:Food and takes a Less Fuss, More Flavor approach to comfort food, seasonal eating, & organic kitchen gardening. Susan was a cultured California chick who happily turned manure mucking farmgirl. She now lives on a 240-acre remote Missouri farm with sheep, chickens, two dogs, five cats, an adorable donkey named Dan, & one very well fed farmguy. She shares stories and photos of her crazy country life with over 50,000 visitors a month at her award-winning blog, FarmgirlFare.com.

Click here to find all of Susan’s "In The Kitchen With Farmgirl Susan" articles, and click here to join her Gather network or subscribe to her Gather postings. You’ll find Susan and other Food Correspondents plus celebrity chef content and plenty of other foodies at Food.gather.com.

Contents © copyright 2007 FarmgirlFare.com.