August's easy summer entertaining tips and a look at my La Fondita Family Party

August we have the last bit

of summer entertaining.  

Let's celebrate with an easy summer dinner al fresco 

but with a little punch...

It's no secret I love to entertain and you've most likely read my easy entertaining posts in the past.  Remember my Beach Picnic post, or my Easter Sunday brunch, or my 2010's Fourth of July menu inspired by our California trip, or even one of my Culinary Club's Pot Luck Dinner -- here's last spring's Greek Night made easy. 

Let me confess that although I love to host for my friends and family, there are simply times I don't want the fuss.  Who has time to make every single item from scratch when hosting a large party especially when we can pepper our meals with good, delicious food.  While I love to cook and entertain, quite frankly life can get quite busy. This does not stop me from bringing my friends into my home and sharing great times.  Sometimes I make meals from scratch, but other times I pull it all together with a little help from the amazing resources in my community.  This particular week, I ordered some Mexican food from LA FONDITA. It is a fabulous little Mexican take out shop that our family loves in Amagansett and it feels very authentic.  You order from the window and carry your food on a tray to picnic tables in the backyard.  The food is delicious and the closest to my Mexican born sister-in-law Lucia's cooking that I have found in the area.   

LaFondita offers some of their items to go, so when planning this family party, I pulled out my best frozen Mango Margarita recipe (salt and all), made some homemade quesadilla (this is so easy) and steamed up some fresh from the farm stand artichokes with melted herb lemon butter as appetizers.  The rest was ordered and I picked it up and after full instructions from the very helpful manager, I went home armed with chicken, beef and fish tacos, beans, rice, Mexican corn on a stick, guacamole and homemade salsa and chips.  The only work was assembling everything just before serving- we even waited to encrust the roasted corn with the chili mayonnaise until the last few minutes before serving.  The key is, I was not frazzled and enjoyed my delicious homemade mango margarita with a parasol umbrella.  Voila!

For this party my summer Nikko blue and purple hydrangeas were in full bloom so I simply plucked them off the vine and put them in pretty white metal pails. I bought this pinata for $10 and stuffed it with the kid's favorite candy.  

I filled the lanterns with shells, strew starfish garland, added pink and white polka dotted napkins and a punch of color with these hot pink striped table linens...remember to bring your accessories and other quality items from inside the home for outdoor entertaining to carry your design style outside and indulge your guests.

I added parasol umbrellas in bright colors to the drinks, and a fun blue tray to serve cocktails with.  Guacamole and Salsa in my Japanese bowls, homemade chips from LaFondita (still warm when we picked them up), of course my antique cement mermaid kept watch over the ladies. A beautiful afternoon, a perfect day for a dip in the pool and not a tornado in sight (do you remember last year's party I had a tornado with two trees down in my front yard as the guests arrived!)

If you'd like to make this corn check out Rocco DiSpirito's recipe for a similar version.  

The secret is in the sauce- La Fondita sells their tomatillo as well as various red sauces and served with fresh limes.  



I served traditional Baja fish tacos with cole slaw and a creamy dressing, fried fish and delicious corn tortillas -- assembled moments before serving.  I first had the most delicious fish tacos when visiting San Diego, California.  They are amazing and if served correctly the fish is fried with a light batter, flaky and moist.  The shredded cabbage adds crunch and the spicy remoulade sauce makes it perfect.  Don't forget to use two small corn tacos to hold it all in.  Here's a very good recipe I recommend for fish tacos by AllRecipes.com

 not a pretty salad but it was the hit of the evening: jicama, corn, avocado, tomato and chopped lettuce salad with crispy tortillas on top and tossed with a tangy, lime dressing -- everyone went back for seconds.  This salad is quite unique and the crunchy tortillas added in with the vegetables made for a great contrast in textures. For a similar salad try this recipe by Epicurious.com  I made it this weekend and it was close in flavors. Next, for my homemade simple quesadilla:

Use a non-stick pan, two flour tortillas and put shredded monterey jack cheese in between.  I brown on each side of the pan, cut into wedges with a pizza cutter and serve with salsa and sour cream - kids love this and I leave it simple, but you can add tangier cheeses, cilantro, chicken and other vegetables.  When making authentic beef and chicken tacos use small tortillas, double them and add chopped onion and cilantro on top of the meat.

I like long narrow tables for entertaining

in small spaces because it can feel more expansive

 steamed artichokes with herb butter and lemons

photograph courtesy of Novel Eats

try Novel Eats Steamed Artichoke recipe, however, I like to take the tops and bottoms off before steaming (tops so they are easy to eat and bottoms so they sit flatly on a plate).  Use lemon when steaming so they retain their green color.

check out this easy to make Frozen Mango Margarita recipe from Taste.com  I love the mango flavor because the sweetness balances the salty rim.

Feel free to follow my ideas. 
Find your very own local LaFondita but don't forget to add some interesting colors and touches and at least a couple of your own homemade items.

 Happy Nesting,

Tamara