Fondue, stews, boeuf bourguignon: it’s time to throw out the casserole dishes and the heavy tablecloths. While winter dinner parties make for cozy time with friends, with warmer days comes an even greater desire to entertain, and easier ways to do so. Fire up the grill, chill a few bottles, and you are ready to host as many friends as your living room, terrace, or backyard will contain.

For those days when you feel like doing just a little more, though, here are a few strategies to entertain without stress and with much enjoyment. Nothing is worse than feeling like you are stuck in the kitchen while everyone is busy mingling. Let’s make sure that you don’t.

The key to successful entertaining is planning ahead. Don’t leave anything to the last minute. That’s a common advice, of course, but it is not followed nearly as often as it should be. If you want to entertain at the last minute, make a big salad with all the vegetables you can get your hands on, and buy a nice dessert at your favorite pastry shop. Otherwise, plan your menu as soon as you decide to have a party, and figure out what you can make ahead. Make sure that you pick an assortment of items that don’t all need to be prepared at the last minute, or each need time in the oven. Creating a timeline is the best way to ensure that you don’t forget to do anything. Your very first timeline will take a bit of time to create, and will require adjustments along the way, but your subsequent parties will only be better because of it.

In the summer, food shopping is simplified by the bounty of vegetables and fruits available at the market, which should guide your menu. Visit the market a few days before you actually need to buy your ingredients, so you can see what is available, and look for recipes featuring these ingredients. Look for a few vegetables that you can grill, some that will be great in salads, and a few more that will make perfect condiments. Zucchini and eggplants can be sliced lengthwise with a vegetable peeler ahead of time, tossed with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and grilled for three to four minutes on each side. Arrange them on a platter, squeeze a bit of lemon juice over them, and you have a wonderful dish that can be eaten hot or come to room temperature on a buffet table. Make fresh salsas with tomatoes and peppers, to which you can even add peaches. Gazpacho, the cold Spanish tomato soup, can be made a day ahead and kept refrigerated until it is time to serve it, with just a drizzle of olive oil. A pitcher of cold melon or cucumber soup is another great, easy dish. Make a chef’s salad with lettuce, an assortment of vegetables, cheddar or Gruyere cut into cubes, and chopped ham. Radishes are great to snack on, so leave them out on a bowl with salt nearby. Watermelon is not just for dessert; it makes for a great salad with mint or basil and ricotta salata or feta.

Clafouti is an easy dessert to feature the best summer fruits you’ll find at the market when doing your party shopping, and can be served at room temperature. Make it in the early afternoon, and keep it covered on the counter. Serve it with ice cream or whipped cream (add a splash of liqueur in the cream, such as Kirsch for a cherry clafouti) if you want to go the extra mile, but it will be fine on its own. With more of your favorite fruits, make a large bowl of fruit salad in the morning. Keep it refrigerated until 30 minutes before serving, so that the fruits have time to come to room temperature and express their full flavor. If you run out of time, simply serve the fruits on a platter, without even cutting them up. Picking the ripest, tastiest fruits ensures that all your guests will appreciate even this simplest of desserts.

Last, don’t forget the bar. Having a signature cocktail gives a special tone to your party from the get-go. It also means that you don’t need to keep a full bar. Pick your favorite classic cocktail or a variation to try. If it is not a drink that can be made ahead in a pitcher (think sangria and punches), arrange the necessary ingredients on the bar with the recipe printed on a notecard, so that guests can mix their own and not have to depend on you. Make a simple drink by pureeing fruits like blueberries, peaches, or strawberries, pouring an ounce of the puree in a glass, and topping with Prosecco or Cava. Houseware stores sell tin buckets throughout summer; stock up on a couple, and use them to chill beers (lagers, weizens, and pale ales are perfect for summer) and white and rosé wines. Even in an apartment, these will give your party an instant feeling of taking place on a beach or at a park, which will thrill your guests. Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, and Gewürztraminer are all great whites to serve in the summer. Have a couple of bottles of red wines on hand for your guests who might not drink anything else.

Remember that your guests will most enjoy your party if they see that you are having fun too. So if you run out of time to make the complete menu you had planned, or something doesn’t turn out quite right, don’t stress over that. You can always run to a gourmet store nearby and pick up a couple of prepared dishes if you really must, or add more burgers to the grill.

---Anne E. McBride