Summer Entertaining Salad Buffet

Just finished a big family gathering, I decided to break from the traditional BBQ fare of steaks, chicken, hot dogs for the kids, corn on the cob and all the usual items we would have at a summer gathering. This year we opted for a huge salad buffet, about 20 different toppings went into this event.

We did not do away with grill totally afterall it is summer and we usually cook out 3-5 times a week anyway. We had 3 meats as part of our buffet, beef, chicken and salmon, also grilling zucchini, squash and red peppers, the peppers went into a red pepper vinaigrette.

We had a full compliment of "fixings"

1. Grilled Flank Steak
2. Grilled Chicken
3. Grilled Salmon
4. Tomatoes
5. Cucumbers
6. Peas
7. Brocolli
8. Cauliflower
9. Peas
10. Onion
11. Hard boiled Eggs
12. Grilled Squash and Zucchini
    
13. Crushed Ramen Noodles
14. Homemade Croutons
15. Feta Cheese
16. Blue Cheese
17. Sunflower Seeds
18. Corn
19. Pine Nuts
20. Dried Cherries
21. Garbonzo Beans
    

The menu was rounded out by an assortment of dressings made from scratch, ranch, honey mustard, Italian and red pepper vinaigrette. Add an assortment of breads, rolls and breadsticks.

When planning this party I assigned everyone 2 items to bring, an inexensive item and a more costly one, for example, someone was assigned cucumbers, and feta cheese. It was super easy for everyone to contribute and not spend a fortune or do a lot of work.

Favorite part for me was seeing my massive array of eclectic pottery on display, it was truly a beautiful spread, best part is there was something for everyone to enjoy!