The Summer Edit:

Easy Entertaining Recipes for Summer La Dolce Vita:

Spicy Dill Dipping Sauce 

If we had another word for easy, we would use it, but honestly you’ve probably figured out by now that we really like recipes that fall under that “easy” category. For a multitude of reasons, but mostly because it makes entertaining, especially of the last minute spontaneous variety, actually achievable when you have a roster of recipes that can be assembled quickly, without creating mess or stress, and that typically call for ingredients that don’t require an additional trip to the store. 

 The only caveat to these easy recipes? They need to be fresh, flavorful and delicious! If that seems suddenly impossible, we are here to assure you that it isn’t.  

Since we approach entertaining from a seasonal angle, our recipes and ingredients reflect that. Summer means we are likely entertaining, and therefore dining, Al fresco, so our recipes need to be full of fresh seasonal flavor, color, and taste.  The easiest way to accomplish this is with fresh veggies and herbs fresh from the garden that make our summer recipes more interesting, flavorful, and complex. There is also something wholly satisfying about plucking something from the garden that you have grown yourself, we like to think you can actually taste the difference.

 Our summer gardens are usually bursting with the bounty of the season. Vibrant green stalks of basil, mint, parsley, dill, cilantro and rosemary beckoning with their fresh and earthy flavor growing alongside ripe juicy tomatoes, dropping heavily from their stems, next to crispy verdant cucumbers, and a bright rainbow of summer peppers. Our lush summer gardens often inspire our fresh summer recipes.  

 While our line-up of easy and delicious summer cocktails featuring our fresh summer herbs is one of our favorite ways to incorporate our summer garden, we have another summer entertaining go-to that is perhaps the easiest of all, on all fronts. A summer cruditéswith a simple dipping sauce. 

 A simple dipping sauce with fresh and herby flavor served alongside a platter of vegetables, or a simple steamed artichoke, is perhaps the easiest, and most colorful and aesthetically pleasing appetizer. It can serve double duty as the centerpiece of your summer table and is an easy to assemble offering you can bring to any gathering.  

 We love a simple dill dipping sauce for our summer crudités. Dill has a signature fresh and earthy flavor, and if you could describe flavor as a color, this one would certainly register as green! Slightly sweet with subtle citrus-like undertones, it makes for a creamy, tangy, bright and herby dipping sauce that is delicious with a variety of crisp summer veggies. 

Naturally, we prefer ours with a dash of Pappy Van Winkle Bourbon Barrel-Aged Pepper Sauce, for a zip of sweet summer heat that just takes the flavor up a notch without being overwhelming for anyone who is spice averse.  Featuring the gentle heat of Georgia grown Ghost Peppers, aged in retired barrels and infused with the signature Pappy Van Winkle flavor notes of caramel, charred oak and sweet, buttery vanilla, for the ideal combination of sweet and spicy that adds a complex, yet delightful, hit of sweet heat.  

This easy summer dip and easy summer appetizer truly takes less than 5 minutes to make, and only calls for a few simple ingredients, yet it delivers perfect summer flavor. 

Effortless entertaining tip: Assemble your crudités on our Pappy Van Winkle Bourbon Barrel Stave Cutting Board for an added element of elevated entertaining appeal. We curated our Pappy & Company Summer Edit, stocked with Pappy Van Winkle inspired, barrel-crafted and barrel-aged essentials to encourage a summer of easy entertaining and to invite you to embrace the everyday moments of joy and slow summer living.  It just doesn't get simpler than that.