How to Throw an Easy End of Summer Dinner Party

It may be the end of August, but don’t put that grill away just yet! Last week, a group of gals got together for a fun end of summer dinner party and almost everything we ate was grilled. Yep, even the dessert!

If you’re looking for an easy night in with your gal pals, why not heat up those charcoals and enjoy the last moments of the season? Today I’m sharing the details of our easy end of summer dinner party so you can throw one yourself.

Remember the fall-inspired brunch I hosted at my home last year with my local Los Angeles West Elm? They were kind enough to once again share their latest and greatest, with a dreamy transitional dinner set up. How perfect are these neutral plates and bowls? (Every time I walk into a West Elm store, my wallet cries a little).

While we waited for the grill to heat up, we helped my friend Natasha (who is a professional chef and host on So Yummy) prep the bread for the heat. Actually, that’s a lie. Mostly we just drank wine from WineSociety – canned wine that actually tastes good – and watched her prep said bread.

FYI – WineSociety is hooking it UP with a three-pack of FREE wine (Chance Premium Rosé with Bubbles). Cheers to that, friend! Find out how here.

Here’s the fun part about grilling; while we waited for all of the food to cook, we hung outside to enjoy our drinks at the patio table. It’s a fun way to all hang out together without one person feeling like they’re stuck in the kitchen missing out on the conversations.

Once that meat hit the perfect temp and the veggies got their A+ char on, we headed back inside to basically what is probably my dream table and major dinner party goals. Pro tip: find friends like Robyn, Katie, and Schentell who are all amazing creatives and set up this delightful situation. 😊

An end of summer dinner party doesn’t have to be fussy, but it’s fun to add in some special pieces. Use the dinnerware you never use. Buy a special serving plate. Light some candles. Buy the more expensive flowers you don’t normally get. You’d be surprised that by adding just a couple of these elements to your party, you can take it from normal dinner to Instagram-ready.

Remember how I said that we grilled practically everything for this? Here’s what was on the menu:

Grilled crusty bread drizzled with olive oil
Ribeye steak with herbed compound butter (see recipe here)
A big old pile of grilled veggies (find anything you want: corn, peppers, onions, and voila!)
Salad with figs and goat cheese – the only thing we didn’t grill!
Grilled peaches and lavender yogurt (Pro tip via Natasha: add lavender extract and a pinch of sea salt to store-bought Greek yogurt to make this fancy. If you want to be extra fancy, you can finish it with dried lavender)

Throw everything on the grill, enjoy some wine outside while it all cooks, and jazz things up with a special accent or two. Easy peasy! Now go call your girlfriends and host that dinner party you’ve been talking about all summer.