8 hours ago, Thanks for the Crepes said:A similar outdoor casual and fun summer dinner is the Carolina Low Country Boil.
Which makes me think of one of my favorite wintertime dinner party meals - New England Boiled Dinner.
Everything is in that pot - corned beef, vegetables, etc. I have an assortment of sauces ready - horseradish, assorted mustards - and some really good breads. That's it, and you're off to the table.
Here's Emeril's recipe, which is basically exactly how everybody makes it, although there's not really much to it, if you buy one of the already-corned beef products.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/new-england-boiled-dinner-recipe.html
If you corn your own beef, that's done way ahead of time, so nothing last-minute to take you away from your guests.
For more casual winter dinner parties, you can't go wrong with a big pot of chili, and some cornbread.
My best advice for hot weather entertaining is to divide and conquer. You say you're part of a couple. Can't one of you be outside with the cooker/grill/smoker while the other is finishing up the salad, bread, sides, inside?
Also, when we're entertaining in the summer, we often come up with sides that can also be grilled outdoors - veggie k-bobs with squash, peppers, onions. And, at Thanksgiving, when turkeys are a loss-leader, I always bought a couple extra and asked the butcher to cut them in half. Entertaining in the summer was a breeze with one of those turkey halves smoked out on the grill. And I served it with some of those veggie skewers and a congealed cranberry and apple salad.
Fish on the grill is quick and easy.
In addition to veggie skewers cooked at the same time as the main, think in terms of veggie/side casseroles. Wonderful squash casseroles, and rice and broccoli, and other dishes that can be baked ahead of time.
For salads, I usually put the dressing into the big salad bowl first, then onions and sliced fresh mushrooms, or anything else that I want to marinate for a while. Stick that whole bowl into your fridge, with everything else - lettuce, etc. - waiting all prepped and ready to go in plastic bags. Last minute - pull out bowl with dressing and onions and mushrooms, add greens, toss.
I've lived in several really warm climates and really hated being stuck in a hot kitchen, so I know what you're going through. Not only is it unpleasant, but a hot oven can heat up the rest of your house. I often would bake a large ham the day before, then just heat up the individual slices to serve - either on grill outside, or in frypan, or under broiler.
In keeping with summertime dinner party cook-it-in-the-backyard advice, I remember my number-one, very favorite "fancy" dinner party dish. Butterflied leg of lamb.
