Summer Supper Menu for the Ladies

A couple of weeks ago, my girls and I enjoyed a fun reason to get together with some moms and daughters and grandmothers in our home. A dear friend of mine is a Noonday ambassador, and so we hosted a trunk show with a light summer supper.

Since it was just us girls for the evening, I decided on a menu of what we like to call lady food! You know, the salads, crackers, veggies, dips, and fruits kind of meal?

I’ve learned to eliminate some fuss by making some of the foods and purchasing the rest premade. There were two supper recipes I really wanted to make—Tomato Pesto Tart and Pimiento Cheese—so I made those and purchased chicken salad and spinach artichoke dip from Costco. I also added a fresh veggie tray, and made a few desserts.

Tomato Pesto Tart 

I love this savory tart! The recipe calls for a refrigerated pie crust, which is as easy as a tart gets. It comes from a Southern Living magazine from about 10 or 12 years ago.

Tomato Pesto Tart

• 1/2 (15-oz) refrigerated piecrust 

• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided

• 5 plum tomatoes, sliced 

• 1/2 mayonnaise

• 1/4 cup Parmesan

•2 Tbsp. Basil pesto

• 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

• 3 Tbsp chopped fresh basil  

-Lay sliced tomatoes on paper towels to soak up extra liquid so they won’t be watery when the tart comes out of the oven. 

-Unfold piecrust on a lightly greased baking sheet. Roll into a 12-inch circle. Brush outer 1 inch of crust with water. Fold edges and crimp. Prick bottom of crust.

-Bake @ 425 degrees for 8 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with 1 cup mozzarella; let cool 15 minutes. Arrange tomato slices over mozzarella. 

-Stir together remaining 1 cup mozzarella, mayonnaise, and next 3 ingredients. Spread over tomato slices. 

-Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Remove from oven; sprinkle with basil.

*****

Southern Lady Pimiento Cheese 

THIS pimiento cheese is the BEST ever!! It is certainly a little pricier to make than other recipes since it calls for fontina and goat cheese (in addition to the traditional cheddar), but it’s so worth every penny. I make this for special occasions. It’s from Southern Lady magazine.

Southern Lady Pimiento Cheese 

• 1 (8-ounce) block white cheddar cheese, shredded

• 1 (8-ounce) block fontina cheese, shredded 

• 1 (4-ounce) container goat cheese crumbles 

• 3/4 cup chopped toasted walnuts 

• 1 1/4 cups mayonnaise 

• 1/2 tsp ground pepper 

• 1/2 tsp garlic powder (or less) 

• 1/4 tsp ground red pepper 

• 1 (7-ounce) jar diced pimientos, well drained

In a medium bowl, combine cheeses and walnuts. Stir in the mayonnaise, black pepper, garlic powder, and red pepper. Gently fold in pimientos. Cover and refrigerate. Serve with crackers or on sourdough bread sandwiches. 

*****

Now for the Lady Desserts!

We had an assortment of three fruity sweets.

First are the Peach-Blueberry Cobbler Bars that I posted about in “Just Peachy!” last week.

*****

Next, we have Lemonade Cookies from the Refresh Her blog. I get so many wonderful recipes from this blog, and these soft lemony cookies are perfect for summer!

*****

Lastly, we have Strawberries and Fruit Dip. This fruit dip is so quick and easy to throw together! But let me warn you that it’s a little hard to stop eating! It’s actually pinker in color than this photo shows.

Fruit Dip 

• 1 (7-ounce) jar marshmallow fluff 

• 1 (8-ounce) cream cheese, softened 

• 1 cup vanilla yogurt 

• splash of lemon juice 

• splash of maraschino cherry juice 

With a mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add marshmallow fluff and yogurt and beat again until smooth. Add splashes of lemon and cherry juice until blended. Chill until serving. 

I took one look at this plate and couldn’t believe that this was a ladies’ night and I didn’t have anything chocolate! But, I don’t guess we missed it for just this one time.

We enjoyed fun fellowship, stories, laughter, and lots of gorgeous jewelry—jewelry with a purpose, that is! I love wearing my beautiful Noonday accessories knowing it’s helping women around the world.

It was the perfect ladies’ night IN!