Pete and I entertain nonstop during the summer – or at least we try to. I think that it is by far the easiest time to do it, with casual gatherings and a relaxed atmosphere. We love to fill buckets with ice, beer and wine, and serve big family style meals outside. Serving the food outside makes it easy on me for cleanup, and we typically feature something from the BBQ.

I try to make all of the side dishes early in the day, or even a day ahead of time, and then there is very little to worry about once people have arrived. That is really what I tried to do here with the Potato Salad, and the tomatoes. Once the guests arrived, we just fired up the BBQ, and grilled the T-bones. It was a beautiful rustic meal, served outdoors with very little fuss.