I would say no to a cheese plate on an 88-degree day. And also because it's not necessary, given the other items on the menu.

I would also suggest you could skip one of the 3 salads but I don't know which one! They each sound delicious--as a guest, I would try a bit of everything on this menu.

editing for errors...

Sounds great, but that's a lot of food for four. No cheese and crackers. I think you could also kill the soup and one of the proteins. But the leftovers will be great too.

Mtn, would you mind sharing the watermelon gazpacho recipe? I have half a large watermelon that my family stopped eating, and I need to do something with it.

LisaD, I am on tenterhooks waiting to hear from the friend who made it, because the recipes vary a lot and I loved hers. When I get it I will post.

Glad i can ditch the cheese and crackers and that is a good point about heat and cheese .... duh!

I am looking forward to making the soup. I can't recall if they like curry and not everyone likes tuna, but I want to serve those two because i can get gourmet premade versions. That's why I thought Id have that and lentils. Plus, yes, all of it will make a good leftover dinner!

Sounds great!

Ditto what Lisa said - and hurray for yummy leftovers! Sounds delish.

I think of curried chicken salad as an actual dish, not just a salad, so it doesn't seem redundant. If I were one of your guests, I would make a plate of greens and put the three other offerings on top (chicken, tuna, lentils), with some separation, of course.

Mtn... my idea of a "last minute lunch" is much lazier than yours! I would be making a big salad with some protein on the side for people to add themselves (like some grilled chicken and/or salmon) and maybe some bread from the bakery. Done.

Eh. Or maybe just fluffernutters. Fudgesicles for dessert.

I think it sounds awesome... I wouldn't change a thing. If you are pressed for time tonight, I'd ditch the lentil salad. At least my recipe is best with sufficient time to sit and meld flavors

I just walked in the door.. and this menu is making me drool !

Curious what came of the thread about unusual foods? What did you bring to that dinner?

Funky, I have laid out the buffet and set the table, made the lentil salad and tea and dessert. DH is picking up the curried chkn salad and fresh baked bread in the morning for me, and the cleaning lady comes tomorrow, too, so we are all good.

ETA -- I thought id posted this before but I forgot to submit. I just finished making the gazpacho.

Watermelon Gazpacho

Terricks - I made chicken and prunes (Chicken Marbella). I liked it; id make it again. It is sort of sweet and sour/briny/salty.

Linelle, me too! I love that kind of meal. I'm a grazer.

SueB, Yes that would been smart. But I wanted to make the lentil salad and the watermelon gazpacho anyway ,,. for me!

Tibb, Maybe for our next cooking club ... the theme is picnic! I cant imagine it on the plate with tuna and lentils anyway (but I actually think itd work with chicken curry!)

I love Chicken Marbella! Sweet, salty, herby. I used to belong to a widow/widowers group. One night one of the guys (quite elderly) brought Chicken Marbella (he pronounced it Mar-bell-ah) to our potluck dinner and it was so good everyone wanted to marry him.

Haha, Linelle! I bet...

Mtn, thank you for sharing the recipe you know "works." When I googled watermelon gazpacho, there was indeed many different concoctions. Enjoy your lunch today!

Thanks, Lisa.

FYI
I am going to serve the gazpacho with some accompaniments. I used to go to Barcelona for an annual conference, and the hotel that I stayed at served the best gazpacho. One of the things I liked is that they always had a series of little dishes on the side with garnishes. Iirc, it was finally diced cucumber , finally diced tomato , and tiny little homemade croutons. I'm going to be serving these as well as some crumbled feta that I happen to have.

Well everything was absolutely delicious. I don't know if anyone else made the gazpacho but I really really like it.

Now for more craziness. Tomorrow night at 7:30 we will have another couple over for dinner. I want to make it very nice because they're good friends of ours, they've never been here before, and also she used to be a professional chef. I know I know long story as to why it's last minute!

so now I'm thinking roasted lamb or grilled lamb, with tzatziiki and pesto and red onion jam on pita… With couscous of course

If I grill the lamb in adVance what's the best way to reheat it?

for an appetizer would you do ricotta on Cristini with honey? Or spring pea purée on Crostini.. .? I can't do both because Theyd cancel each other out, right?

So glad your lunch was a success.. the menu sounded so delicious!

I can't help with reheating the grilled lamb.. as I typically grill and rest meat just prior to serving... or serve cold.

I think the ricotta and honey always sounds delicious but with tzatziki, it might be too much dairy on a hot day? Pea puree sounds nice and fresh.. is there lemon in it?

Another thought for this or another evening.. I just saw this recipe tonight, I haven't been able to get a reservation at Zahav any time I have been in Phila, {darn it) but i have read rave reviews of his sublime hummus. It looks like somewhat of a production to make but every step makes good sense and the whipped, creamy hummus seems perfect for summer dining. I may take it to a dinner this weekend

Zahav's Hummus

The flavors you're working with will work. When I roast lamb it sits for 20-30 minutes. But lamb is one of those meats that can be served more toward room temp, if this works for your recipe, or perhaps an oven or microwave reheat would work.

I don't know anyone who doesn't love a good tzatziki. You can't go wrong.

If she's a professional chef, she's probably just pleased to have someone cooking for her. Make it fun and relaxed.

Thanks, Lisa. I think we will grill it ahead of time, on the rarer side, then let it rest and slice it. I will try reheating it by pouring some warm beef stock over it.... it has worked w roast beef for me.

Just made the sangria and set the table. Whew!

Funky, good point about double dairy and I do love that pea puree. It is so green! Here is the recipe:Spring Pea Puree with Mint and Parmesan

Plus, the organic store I go to does not always have fresh made ricotta, which is key!

Every time I make hummus Im disappointed, dont know why! But hummus would work so well with this menu. BTW we had great hummus and tzatziki etc etc at Estia in Phila. this past weekend. Have you been?

ETA -- DH had a great idea. We have just a bit of leftover watermelon gazpacho. We will serve shooters with the appetizer!

I havent been to estia.. but it looks lovely. The pea puree sounds great-- and so easy!

I am so impressed that you set the table the night before! Have a great evening!

I don't know if this is too late, but I frequently reheat grilled flank steak by putting it in the micro on 10% power. It takes quite a while to get warm, so I do it for 2 min then in 1 min increments; it will get warm but stay rare.

I vote for the pea puree.

I made that hummus recently, or a nearly identical recipe. With mine I was supposed to remove ALL the skins of the chickpeas and I lost the patience for that early in the process. I did become fascinated with chickpea skins--virtually all the beans you encounter will be wearing them--and I find them actually rather delectable. But I did process everything to a creamy luxurious consistency, not like the grainy stuff in the store.

Thanks Funky. Dinner was excellent, if I do say so myself. My fruit source had delicious cantaloupe (cut, so I could taste it). So I did cantaloupe and proscuitto. I also scored fresh made whole milk ricotta, so I did that instead of pea puree. When we were in Italy this one hotel buffet had fresh ricotta, italian bread, cantaloupe and salami on the buffet every morning and I loved the combo, so the Crostini with Ricotta and Honey with the wrapped melon was an homage to that. I also served my gazpacho shooters and I made a new Sangria with Rum ... yum!

I grilled a butterflied leg of Marinated Lamb and served it with pita pockets that I browned and warmed in a little butter first (kept extras in the warming drawer). I served it with homemade Tzatziki, feta, baby lettuces, and Red Onion Marmalade. I made couscous with oil and vinegar, cinnamon, turmeric, salt and pepper, with finely diced cuke and red pepper, raisins, toasted almonds and parsley. Then for dessert, once again i did the Lemon Pistachio Ice Cream Sandwiches. Was it CindyMac who first posted those? They are a big hit every time, and so easy! A BIG thank you to whoever posted them!

We had such a nice night and our guests had seconds on everything and really enjoyed it. DH and I spent the day cooking so it was fun. They brought a perfect hostess gifts, two books ... one of them a cookbook she authored.

Oly, It turned out that we took the risk of cooking it while they were here and we were having appetizers. I usually like everything done ahead of time but I wanted it to marinate more. But, I have leftovers so I will def try your method! We like our meat rare so reheating can be tricky. Thank you for that tip!

Linelle, oh my, removing the skins? Can you blanche them to make it easier. Sounds like a PITA, pun intended.

ps here was my DR table

Sounds wonderful! I'd have done the same thing with appetizers. I am not really a cantaloupe fan--except for that 1 or 2 weeks when they are scrumptious (which must be now!).

Love serving on a long board-- and totally love the green paper runner! I need to order a roll!

No pictures of that beautiful grilled lamb? I've never cooked lamb but I do like it.. the problem is, I have been spoiled by only ever having very fresh lamb (as in dining at a farm where the poor little dears were born!) so I've been hesitant to give it a try.

Here's a question for you-- what would you serve on lamb for those who can't eat yogurt? Is the onion marmalade enough acid? What about a lemon-mint-garlic light sauce?

Funky,

I hate cantaloupe and honeydew 90% of the time because it is fruit salad filler and usually hard as a rock, and flavorless But when it is good it is heavenly. I think it's early, I don't know where my produce store got them but I could smell them when I walked in!

The onions are sweet. Feta adds a little zing. SO did the marinade What I think you need if you cant use yogurt is something creamy. Hmm, maybe a hummus, an aoili, eggplant dip, even guacamole? Anything creamy? Pesto? Red pepper and almond puree?

I never liked lamb growing up. I felt it was too strong. I know a lot of foodies love lamb, so I gave it another try. I still dont like chops, even the lollipops. But I get lebg of lamb from a specialty butcher that I really like.

Yum. Now I have to cook lamb for dinner tonight.

yes, I was thinking a lemony aioli.. but eggplant dip is an interesting idea. I'll have to first find a good source for the lamb!

As for the hummus, Linelle, you don't peel the chickpeas in this recipe. In fact, he treats the chickpeas very differently than I've seen on other recipes. He soaks them with baking soda and then overcooks them. This recipe provides the steps without all the fluff in the link above (same recipe.. more simple presentation).

NYT Zahav's Hummus