Cooking for a Crowd - Simple Summer Salads

With a focus on Southern foodways, it seemed fitting to host our first Loulies party as a lunch event. Set outdoors, we had to devise a menu for 50 that could be transported from our kitchens and then served at room temperature. “Who’s cooking?”, asked a friend. "We are".

Quiches were baked at 7 a.m., a starter of sautéed dandelion greens was cooked over camp burners in the barn, and sheets of Georgia pecan brownies - cut into bite-size pieces - were the perfect sweet to serve alongside freshly-brewed coffee. The two beautiful side salads, one a beet and carrot with walnut oil and the other a black-eyed pea with corn, tomato and basil, were among our favorites and were very easy to prepare: we chopped and diced a day ahead and then assembled and dressed the day of. At the end of our meal, someone asked: “Weren’t you nervous to cook for this many people?” Let's just say it was a success.

THANKS to all who helped and joined us for a wonderful meal.

Simple Summer Salads:

Beet and Carrot Salad with Walnut Lemon Vinaigrette
Black-Eyed Pea Salad with Corn, Tomato and Basil

For MORE SUMMER SALADS go to Loulies.com.