Spring is one of the easiest times of the year for entertaining. Its flavors are so bright and fresh after the root vegetable-based fare of winter that really, all you need to do is find a good source of vegetables (like a farmer's market) and treat the vegetables as simply as possible. Roast chicken is the centerpiece of this dinner, and it gets roasted with asparagus and spring leeks. A simple salad and a five-minute-start-to-finish dessert seal the deal. More

Having a personal sangria recipe is a hallmark of the thoughtful summertime entertainer. The basics I follow include chopping the fruit, marinating the fruit in sugar and alcohol, adding wine, chilling and serving. However, sangria can be a risky enterprise with pitfalls. Here are my tips and recipes for making sangria. More