the no-cook dinner party

Now is the time of year when our oven goes into hibernation. As much as I love homemade pizza for dinner, I don’t like cranking the entire apartment up to 500 degrees.

And nothing’s worse than going to someone’s house for a dinner party and finding a sweaty, harried cook rushing around a hot kitchen. Don’t be that person. Keep a cold drink close by, wear something breezy that’s made of cotton and use your stove as little as possible. (No roasted chicken unless you have an industrial strength air-conditioner.)

But what should I serve that doesn't require cooking, you ask? I’ve rounded up some heat-free recipes that are more assembled than cooked. All you have to do is mix and match these recipes to put together your own no-cook dinner party menu. These dishes are all on the lighter side, but isn’t that what you want when it’s sweltering outside?

Appetizers
Tuna-stuffed peppadew peppers
Mango with spicy, salty sugar
Pineapple salsa
Spiced yogurt dip
 
Salads
Butter lettuce with oranges, fennel, and olives
Kitchen sink salad
Simple tomato salad
Melon with cucumber, feta and basil

Main dishes
Martha’s chicken salad with herbs (with store-bought rotisserie chicken)
Chicken tacos (with store-bought rotisserie chicken)
Shrimp rolls (use pre-cooked shrimp)
Pan bagnat

Desserts
Mini frozen key lime pies
Framboise ice cream floats
A nice cheese plate
Fresh fruit, cookies and a broken-up chocolate bar
Ice cream!

the no-cook dinner party

Other than a pan of brownies that we absolutely could not go on living without, I have hardly turned on the oven all summer. It's been limiting, but also kind of nice not producing workout-levels of sweat while cooking. Instead, we've been eating a lot of salads, pastas, and the usual tacos. And then I invited some friends over for dinner on a typical 90 degree day and wondered what the heck I was going to do.

I thought about breaking my no-oven rule, but then I looked at it as a fun challenge. What could I make without heat that would be dinner party-worthy?

Readers, I did it. And it was good.