Essential summer party planner

Step 2: Food & drink
There's a new trend towards easy, fresh, wholesome party food. Part of this can be credited to the recession (ostentation is out) and part to the eco-minded Eat Local movement.

If you base your menu around local food, you can save on ingredients and use less-fussy prep methods: after all, who needs to spice and cook locally sourced heirloom tomatoes when all they need to shine are boconccini, oil and vinegar and torn up basil from your garden?

Menu-planning tips:
• Think outside the box: you don’t need to serve only "party" food or tapas. An entrée or side dish becomes party-ready when you serve it differently. Cold soup—easily made the day before and refrigerated—can be ladled into shot glasses and served on trays, as Vichyssoise shots.
• Simple grilled foods keep the cook within the heart of the patio-party action. Chunky sweet potato fries, for instance, are a snap to BBQ (just toss them in olive oil first) and you can dump them into metal beach pails, toss some sea salt and chopped herbs overtop, and they're ready for passing around.
• Minimize beverage prep and serve time by using large ice-filled tubs to hold bottled drinks, as well as pitchers of sangria or other drinks you can make in batches.