This Is Your Sign to Host a Dinner Party This Summer
A low-stress menu, simple setup, and the mindset shift that makes it actually fun.
The other day, I was going through a closet and found a box tucked on a high shelf that I hadn't seen in years. I pulled it down and opened it to find all the press clippings from my late twenties. Event planner turned blogger, Austin's answer to Martha Stewart, the woman who throws the perfect party. I remember being proud of those quotes, but now I kinda want to run them all through a paper shredder (kidding! I'll just keep them in the box.)
I actually loved my years as an event planner. Getting paid to spend clients' money on extravagant parties? It was honestly so fun. But event planning has a way of turning something you love into something you manage, and after years of working weekends and supervising trash load outs at 2am for clients who needed it all to be perfect... I developed some opinions about what a "fun party" actually looks like.
Here's what I know now that my 25-year-old self didn't understand yet: nobody remembers the tablescape. People don't go home analyzing the five-course menu or the floor so clean you could eat off it. What they remember is whether they laughed. Whether the conversation was real and the music was good. Everything else is just details.
Since I still love to bring people together more than almost anything, I've learned a few things over the years about actually enjoying the parties I throw—not just surviving them. A backyard dinner, a birthday gathering, drinks that turn into a late night. Whatever it is, I want to actually enjoy it. Which means that if you’re going to host something this summer (and I definitely think you should!) we need to talk about the menu, the table, and the biggest mindset shift that changed everything for me as a host.
So, let's make it a dinner party summer, shall we?
The Table
Casa Zuma’s biggest sale of the year launched just for Breathing Space readers today. Stock up everything I used to set this table at our Summer Sale here.
There’s a grove of persimmon trees in our backyard that hang over our long teak dining table. Eating outside under a big shady tree with people I love is my love language. It doesn’t ask for perfection, just good food and golden hour light streaming through the branches.
Here’s how I set the table for this particular summer gathering (a brunch I hosted for girl friends last month—but honestly, most of my tables look something like this):
A white linen tablecloth and napkins that look even more beautiful when you embrace a few of their natural wrinkles. I like to throw them on the low setting in the dryer, then take them out, give them a few big shakes, and be done.
Recycled wine glasses handmade in Guatemala are slightly irregular, filled with chilled rosé and sparkling water with sliced citrus. In my event planning days, I learned that keeping beverage options to a minimum really simplifies things and it also gives the menu more of a POV.
Our handmade CLAY dinnerware with speckles and variations make every table feel warmer. I usually do just a dinner plate if it’s a family-style meal, or just a salad plate if it’s more snacky. I’ll layer them together if we’re doing salads first, followed by dinner.
Sabre flatware with teak handles give the whole thing that French bistro feeling I’m always in love with.
And for flowers: peonies and spirea tumbling out of vintage terra cotta vessels. Nothing that feels “arranged”—I like a vibe that feels like I gathered these from a field and just dropped them into a vase.
All the food goes in the center of the table, served family style. Trust me when I say that meals are 10x more fun when guests are reaching, passing, and sharing. It gives a communal vibe that feels more like family. And to me, that’s what a summer dinner should feel like.
The Menu
This is what I call my “snacks for dinner” menu—rather than a main course + sides, there are a few gorgeous snacks made for sharing and, when served altogether, count as a meal. I built this one around the idea that, by the time guests arrive, the work should be essentially done. Almost nothing here requires day-of cooking — which means you’re already changed, relaxing, and pouring a glass when people walk through the door. Here’s what we’re serving for our summer menu:
Whipped Feta with Golden Beets, Honey, Pistachios. This is sunshine on a plate, and perfect for setting out so guests can dive in the moment they arrive.
Summer Fruit Caprese. Think: classic caprese but with plums, figs, and cherries instead of tomatoes. Assembled in ten minutes, this is peak summer eating and feels more main course-like when served with lots of grilled or toasted sourdough.
Simple Kale Salad. Love a salad that can actually be made a few hours ahead and actually gets better as it sits.
Sourdough + salted butter. I buy the best loaf I can find and serve it proudly on the table with some really good knife. People can tear off pieces and help themselves.
Blueberry Cornmeal Cake. Make it the morning before, and it’ll still be so gorgeous at dinner it may just steal the show.
All the recipes are at the end of this post, along with prep-ahead notes for each so you know when to make what so there’s not a stressful moment along the way.
How to Be Present At Your Own Party
The whole point of hosting is to actually be there and hang out with your guests—not running logistics in the background while everyone else has all the fun. Here’s what makes the biggest difference for me:
Before anyone arrives:
Setup your drinks station: bottles, glasses, ice, citrus, whatever’s going in the water. Then let people help themselves. You’re not playing bartender all night, which is the single best thing you can do to free yourself up.
Turn on music and light candles while you’re still setting up. It shifts your nervous system from task mode into party mode before the first person walks in the door.
Set a hard stop on kitchen prep. Whatever isn’t done 30 minutes before guests arrive isn’t happening, and it’s actually more important to give yourself time to get ready so you’re not rushing around when people show up at the door.
When guests arrive:
Greet people at the door with a drink in your hand. It communicates instantly that this is a relaxed evening, not a production.
Have something set out for people to snack on when they show up—for this menu, I’d do the bread and whipped feta. Grazing gives people something to do while they settle in, and it takes the pressure off a formal “dinner is served” moment.
Give the person who asks “what can I do?” an actual job. Slicing the bread, filling water glasses, cutting the cake later. Trust me, people love to be included—it makes them feel collaborative and more at home.
During dinner:
Serve everything family style, in the center of the table, which gives such a beautiful sense of seasonal abundance. It gets people talking, passing, reaching—and it means nobody’s waiting to be served. The table becomes a communal experience.
Sit down and actually eat, and don’t get back up unless something’s on fire. Anything that needs doing can wait, or someone else can get it. Your job is to be fully present at the table.
Have one question ready to throw out if the conversation needs a jump start. I love: “What’s something good that’s happened recently?” or "What’s everyone reading right now?” These conversation cards are also great. I love to place a few under guests’ plates and ask them to pull out and read during dinner—always sparks some good convo.
The mindset shift that changed everything for me: The host’s energy sets the vibe for the whole evening. When the host is relaxed, everyone relaxes. When the host is stressed, everyone subtly feels it even if they can’t name it. The most powerful hosting move isn’t a perfect menu, it’s deciding in advance that you’re going to have a great time.
The Dinner Party Recipes
Below—all the recipes for whipped feta, stone fruit caprese, and a blueberry cornmeal cake that looks like you tried much harder than you did. Plus the playlist we turned on while we set the table and everything else you need to pull this party off.
Whipped Feta with Golden Beets, Honey, Pistachios.
Why it works: Creamy, salty, a little tangy — it goes with everything on this menu and it’s genuinely one of the most crowd-pleasing things you can put on a table. Drizzle it with good olive oil and honey, put it next to the sourdough, and watch it disappear.
Prep ahead: Make up to two days in advance. Keep covered in the fridge and bring to room temp 30 minutes before serving. Add the olive oil and honey just before it goes out.
