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Summer Cookbook Dinner Club Party Menu – summer entertaining is officially here! And the latest dinner party trend for summer 2025? Girls’ night Cookbook Club dinners!
Below, I’m sharing a complete summer dinner party menu featuring favorite recipes from all four HBH cookbooks. Think seasonal drinks, crowd-pleasing appetizers, vibrant mains, summery sides, and of course… dessert! It’s the ultimate potluck-style menu — perfect for hosting a relaxed, flavorful night with friends.
I’m so excited to share our first-ever entertaining post! One of my goals this summer is to create more long-format content around gatherings and menus — and so many of you have asked for exactly this.
One trend I’ve been seeing all over social lately is Cookbook Club dinner parties — and I love it. I’ve been tagged in so many posts where you’re cooking from all four HBH cookbooks. It’s such a fun concept, and I’ve loved being a part of your cozy nights with friends.
A couple of weeks ago, my cousin Maggie hosted her own cookbook club dinner — they went with a Mexican theme using only HBH recipes. It was so fun and totally inspired me.
So, I pulled together my own Cookbook Club dinner party menu — and today, I get to share it with you! I had the best time creating and shooting this story, and I hope it inspires your own summer get-together.
The Details
Location: The Colony Hotel, Palm Beach, Florida
The Cookbook: all 4 HBH Cookbooks, The HBH Cookbook, Super Simple, Every Day, and Quick and Cozy
The Party: a summer potluck dinner with friends
The Menu
Party Prep
To start planning your party, first choose the cookbook — or cookbooks — you want to feature, then build the menu. The idea is simple: each guest brings a dish from one of the books. This helps take the stress and workload off you, the host.
For today’s party, we’re using recipes from all four of my cookbooks: The Half Baked Harvest Cookbook, Super Simple, Every Day, and Quick and Cozy.. You can either handpick the recipes yourself and assign them to your guests, or let each guest choose one or two dishes they’d like to bring.
I recommend assigning everyone a course — appetizers, mains, salads, or desserts — to make sure everything’s covered. Keep the drinks for yourself as the host, so you can greet guests with something fun to sip when they arrive.
For our party, here’s what we served:
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Drinks: Creamy Coconut Mojito and Pomegranate Thyme Spritz
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Appetizers & Sides: Whipped Goat Cheese Dip, Summer Melon Salad, Grilled Corn and Basil Salad, Dad’s Pasta Salad
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Mains: Parmesan Pizza, Sheet Pan Mahi Mahi with Herby Potatoes
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Desserts: Summer Blueberry Peach Cobbler and Strawberry Rye Shortcakes
Set The Table
Next up: the table! This is your chance to set the scene and bring everything together.
For our dinner, I created two separate tables — one for displaying all the dishes potluck-style, and another for everyone to sit down and enjoy the meal together.
Having a designated food table keeps things organized and makes it easy for guests to help themselves, while the dining table sets the mood for a relaxed, shared experience.
cocktails glasses
barware
the tablescape
Cocktail Hour First
Start things off with cocktails! As the host, I recommend preparing one or two signature drinks ahead of time. It’s also a good idea to have bottles of both white and red wine on hand, plus a few non-alcoholic options as well.
If you know some of your guests love a mocktail, consider making at least one of your cocktails without alcohol — or offer a version that can easily be served both ways.
For our party, I made a pitcher of Creamy Coconut Mojitos from Quick and Cozy, and a refreshing Pomegranate Spritz from Super Simple.
Tip: Choose cocktails that can be made in advance and served pitcher-style. Just like with any party, you don’t want to be stuck playing bartender all night — prep ahead so you can enjoy the fun too.
Dinner Next
Now for the main event — dinner!
Prepare your buffet table and lay out all the dishes so guests can help themselves and sample a little bit of everything. It keeps things casual, interactive, and stress-free.
Tip: Add a fun personal touch by labeling each dish along with the name of the guest who made it. At the end of the night, invite everyone to share their favorite dish or recipe — it’s a great way to spark conversation and celebrate everyone’s contributions!
Recipes:
Onto Dessert
Dessert is always important — it’s the sweet finish to the night!
Once dinner winds down, clear the table and invite everyone to help. Then set out the desserts, or if you have the space, create a dedicated dessert table. Even a simple folding table dressed up with a pretty tablecloth works beautifully.
For our party, we made individual berry cobblers from Quick and Cozy and strawberry shortcakes from Every Day — both were big hits!
Tip: Be sure to include at least one single-serve dessert. We went with mini cobblers, but cookies, cupcakes, or mini pies all work well. Plus, they double as a cute take-home treat for guests!
tableclothes
Recipes:
Party Favors!
Party favors are totally optional, but I think they’re such a sweet, personal touch — and a fun way to end the night!
To fit the vibe of the evening, Asher and I found the cutest jelly Hermès-lookalike bags at a boutique on Worth Avenue. They were the perfect size to fill with a handful of my favorite Goop products — very on theme, especially since we shot this story in the Goop Villa!
Tip: Bake an extra batch of cookies, or pick up something sweet from the store. Package it up in a cute bag or box, and send guests home with a treat. I love ending the night by giving everyone something sweet to take with them — it’s a small but thoughtful gesture.
Discount: Goop is offering 15% off all Goop Beauty products to our HBH community with the code TIEGHAN15. Enjoy!
the mini jelly bags
the Goop products
Our Location Details
And lastly, a huge shoutout to The Colony Hotel in Palm Beach! We shot this story in their Goop Villa and around the hotel grounds — it was the perfect setting for a summer dinner party.
Of course, you can absolutely host a party like this at home. But for me, it was really special to return to a place that holds so many memories with my Nonnie — the person who inspired my love for entertaining, cooking, and creating a warm, welcoming home for everyone who walks through the door.
Nonnie and I used to come to Palm Beach all the time. We’d spend the day shopping, then stop by The Colony for lunch or dinner. This was my first time actually staying at the hotel, and they were the most gracious hosts. I stayed in the beautiful Goop Villa, which was just as cute as you’d imagine — and it was the perfect home base for me, Asher, and my sister. Yes, as you may have noticed in a few photos, Asher joined me for this shoot! One of the perks of creating something just for our site — I get to shape the shoot my way. Having her there made this trip even more special.
We shot the story in the kitchen and living room of the Goop Villa, lounged with cocktails by the hotel pool, and wandered through the lush gardens. We grabbed breakfast each morning from their adorable coffee shop and had a girls’ dinner at Swifty’s, the hotel’s iconic restaurant. It truly was the perfect spot for this story — I just wish Nonnie could have been there with us.
A big thank you!
To The Colony Hotel! I can’t wait to go back — Asher and I didn’t have time for the spa this trip, but it’s definitely on our list for next time. Oh, and don’t miss their gift shop — it’s so cute.
That’s all for this dinner party! This was such a fun one to create. I’d love to hear your thoughts — would you like to see more stories like this? Let me know how I can make them even more helpful, and what details you’d love to see included in future entertaining posts.
Next up: the 4th of July!
Shoot Producer/Planner: Ashleigh Amoroso & I
Photography: Kristen Kilpatrick
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