Summer Entertaining Tips from Stamford's Chef Weber

Chef Marc Weber of Stamford’s OntheMarc Events has launched a recipe of the month series that highlights easy dishes making use of summer’s bounty of fresh produce.  He also aims to share recipes and menu plans that allow hosts to relax with their guests rather than spend a party cooped up in the kitchen.

“People are more likely to try something that is low maintenance, interactive, and can be made in advance,” Weber said.

For Weber, the summer months provide the perfect time to experiment with fresh salads and make-ahead dishes that can be served cold or at room temperature.

“People aren't looking for hot dishes this time of year," Weber said. "Why go through the work of keeping something hot when it’s not really beneficial?”

Weber recommends subbing starchy standards like mashed potatoes for a fingerling potato said, quinoa salad, or wild rice salad that can be made ahead. Make-ahead dishes also prevent the dishes from piling up while your guests are in the house.

“It all comes down to menu planning, then you fire up the grill and you’re done,” Weber said. “The grill is the entertainer’s best friend. You can wait until friends arrive and it’s not like having a stew on the stove, you won’t be waiting three hours to eat. Grilling is part of the entertainment.”

This summer, Weber has enjoyed growing his own herbs and incorporating them into his meals at home — turning everything from chopped salads to scrambled eggs into something special.

“Another of the things that is fun now is the “have it your way” kind of entertaining,” Weber explained. “You could have a tartar bar, set out mangos, cucumbers, scallions and different dressings to go with your fish or your filet mignon.  We’ve done a chopped salad bar and a gazpacho bar.”

Weber’s July recipe of the month is a Grilled Vegetable Chopped Salad.

Ingredients

• 1 Zucchini
• 1 Yellow squash
• 1 Japanese eggplant
• 1 Red pepper
• 1 onion
• Lettuce and fresh herb of choice

Slice zucchini, yellow squash, Japanese eggplant and red pepper lengthwise.
Slice the onion into large 1 inch thick disks
Toss the vegetables with 3Ž4 cups of Shallot vinaigrette- Shallot Vinaigrette recipe is below.

Allow vegetables to marinate for 30 minutes

Turn Grill to high.

Grill vegetables about 75% through, so they are still slightly crunchy.

Allow cooling for 5 minutes then roughly chop and toss with a handful of your favorite lettuce and a few sprigs of your favorite herbs. Chef Marc likes to use Dill and Arugula.

Drizzle the salad with 2 Tablespoons of Shallot Vinaigrette and serve.

On The Marc's "Quick" Shallot Vinaigrette
Yield: 3 Cups

Ingredients

• 4 medium shallots
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 3/4 Cup Champagne vinegar
• 1 Tablespoon fresh cracked black pepper
• 2 teaspoons of kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons of Dijon mustard
• 4 ice cubes
• 2 cups of olive oil

Roughly chop shallots and garlic.

Add all ingredients to blender or cuisine art (leaving out olive oil).

Blend on high for 1 and half minutes.

While blender is still running, slowly add olive oil in steady stream.

Weber encourages home chefs to experiment and substitute ingredients they have at home rather than setting a recipe aside until a grocery trip.

“All of our recipes are flexible, if you don’t have champagne vinegar, use red wine vinegar, if you don’t have that, use sherry,” Weber said. “Cooking is an art, if you don’t have blue, use red.”