This month we’re going to bring you a slightly different Gathering from The Kitchn (see our whole party series here!). Usually we show you a party we’ve thrown in our own homes, like a baby shower or a game night with friends. This week, however, I’m going to show you how I catered a friend’s wedding reception last month.

It was a big job — appetizers and drinks for 200 people! But this is still a very reasonable thing to do as an amateur cook, with a few notes, caveats, and precautions. I’ll share those this week, along with some favorite recipes. Here are the basic details of what I took on.

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Prize: A summer entertaining package including an iPad mini, iTunes gift card, Cuisinart ice cream maker, and other accessories for summer parties!
From: The Kitchn and PureWow
Value: $592

It’s finally summer, and you know what that means: it’s time to sweep the patio, wipe down the picnic table, and throw a party! In celebration of summer soireés and backyard get-togethers, we’ve teamed up with our friends at PureWow to give one lucky winner an amazing all-out summer entertaining package, including an iPad mini (to help you find your favorite recipes, of course!), a Cuisinart ice cream maker, a gift card so you can pick up some new tunes, and much more.

Want a chance to win? Click through to check out the full prize package and enter below:

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Eating is such a full-on sensory experience: taste, yes, but also smell and mouth-feel (texture) and even sound (the crunch of an apple, the slurp of soup). And we all know the saying that we taste first with our eyes. But how much do we remember to actually taste what we’re eating? Are we still tasting after our third or fourth bite?

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Faith Blakeney’s 5 Favorite International Edible Souvenirs

Happy weekend everyone! Are you at home, with cooking plans? Or traveling on a summer vacation? I’m away in France (my husband had a work trip so we’re here all week) and I’m pretty pumped to eat good baguette and cheese every day. What about you? What’s making you happy in the kitchen right now, and what’s on your weekend menu?

And here are a few posts I especially loved from this past week, in case you missed them.

• The best kind of meal, for a mom.
• Savory Pop-Tarts, with ham and ricotta!
• Three delicious, budget-friendly rums for summer cocktails.
• What kind of coffee grinder should you use?
• Wow, this frosting looks amazing. (So summery!)

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Q: When re-seasoning cast iron after cleaning, is the outside rubbed with oil every time as well?

Sent by Rick

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The angle: Greek home cooking, recorded here so it won’t be forgotten

Recipes for right now: Stuffed Tomatoes, Green Beans Braised in Oil, Grilled Fish, Courgette (Zucchini) Pie, Litsa’s Orange Cream and Filo Cake, Cod Roe Dip, Fried Squid, Lentil Soup, Jam Tart

Who would enjoy this book? Anyone who is suddenly craving some real Greek home cooking.

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From Apartment Therapy → This Floating Coffee Cup Has a Special Purpose

Can you guess what it is?

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You’ve probably seen turmeric on the ingredient list of a few recipes. Perhaps you’ve even cooked with it. Maybe you added it to a curry, used it as a light spice on roasted vegetables or to up the flavor of a soup.

But, have you ever considered adding turmeric to your smoothie?

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It was at El Floridita that Ernest Hemingway conducted his love affair with the daiquiri. During his many stints in Cuba, where he escaped to and from his home in Key West, Florida, the writer was known to post up in a favorite corner of this Havana watering hole and quaff glass after glass of barman Constantino Ribalaigua Vert’s simple, sublime concoctions of rum, lime, sugar, and ice.

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When a recipe calls for a good-quality white chocolate, do you know what to look for when you compare brands and labels? And does what you choose determine if your recipe will succeed? Here are a few tips for buying the best white chocolate for baking and melting.

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