I find entertaining difficult, especially with a baby. However, if you preplan a simple menu, most of the work can be done ahead of time with your regular weekly local market visit.
A cheese and cured meats platter with a small dish of olives is an easy appetizer to create. Everyone loves attention to detail. Add flags made with labels and toothpicks for that extra fun touch.
When in season, grab a cantaloupe, cut in small pieces, top with prosciutto for another delicious and easy-to-assemble platter.
Once you get to the dessert portion of the meal, fix cups of teas, coffees, or just pour glasses of milk to accompany a delicious brookie (brownie cookie) or two.
My introduction to baking all started with a recipe from the Clinton Street Baking Co. With each batch I would adapt it to a different craving. "The Science Behind Baking Your Ideal Chocolate Chip Cookie" by Anne Miller from the NPR Blog was a real game changer! For a consistent size and round shape, use a small ice cream scooper.
There are several different flavors here with each batch making 12-18 depending on how big you scoop each. The recipe even suggests creating your variety with white chocolate chunks, walnuts, or peanut butter chunks in place of the semisweet chocolate chunks. These can be made a day in advance to take the pressure off of having to prepare a dessert the same day.
To tie the meal together visually, add a few more flags to the brookies labeling the different variations. So what do you think?
*The Clinton Street Baking Co.'s recipe was something I had clipped back in November 2010 from Daily Candy. Oh how I miss Daily Candy!