Looking back on it, when I've written for What's for Dinner? I've written a lot about entertaining. Maybe it's because I like to do it, or because I've always seemed to have friends who's idea of a good time is the revolving cocktail or dinner party so I've entertained a lot. Even when I was in my mid 20's everyone I knew could cook and while we were the dirtiest of dirty hippies (IIRC only a handful of us put on a tie to go to work) we couldn't shake the bourgeois urge to put out a plate of crudites or homemade salsa fresca on the coffee table between the ash tray and the stack of unread mail. We were hippies, but we were civilized about it.
Now the thing I like about summertime entertaining is that it tends to be highly informal, and I'd rather have friends over for nibbles and drinks or iced tea on the deck than try to give them dinner. Over the fold, a few things I like to put out when I'm hanging out with family or friends on the deck.