Beautiful Easy All-in-Advance Hot Weather Dinner Party Dinner

So there I was, having offered to make supper for my mother and two gentlemen friends on a night when I'd be gone all day. I thought of Jacques Pepin's* oven-baked salmon--ohmygosh, you bake salmon on a platter in a 200 degree oven then serve it at room temperature, succulent as can be. Then I remembered Anna Thomas's** salad combination of roasted asparagus with red and golden beets...as I was thinking about this, my eye fell on the sack of blue, red, and golden baby potatoes on the counter--I'll add those, too.
For hors d'oeuvres, I decided to go to Bay Cities Deli for their relish of mixed olives with pimentos and artichoke hearts, three cheeses (one goat's, one sheep's, one cow's), crackers, and mixed nuts. For dessert (Bay Cities is a treasure), I was looking at cookies when I saw the baklava! Unexpected. I picked a Venetian Pinot Grigio for the wine. Yum.
Well, I've made these gents many dinners and they've raved about all of them, but both said this was the absolute best ever. As important, by me, was the fact that I prepared EVERYTHING except the asparagus the night before and stuck it in the fridge. You can't beat that for an easy dinner party dinner...especially in hot weather.
Looking over all this language, the menu might not seem easy. But I assure you, it was. One fish...two simple (and fun) sauces...four vegetables...and it's an interesting meal to put together...the colors are so appealing.
Now my amounts are loose because, frankly, I didn't measure. So feel free to improvise.
COOL OVEN-BAKED SALMON FILLETS
Allow 4 to 6 ounces wild-caught salmon fillet per person...leave the skin on and keep pieces intact. Heat the oven to 200. Brush a platter with canola or peanut oil and arrange fillets skin down. Using about 1 cup fresh breadcrumbs (Pepin calls for 3/4 cup crumbs mixed with 1/4 cup ground hazelnuts, even better), sprinkle evenly over the top as a moisture barrier (brilliant). Bake until an instant-read thermometer in the center of each piece registers 120 degrees, 40 to 60 minutes, depending on thickness. Remove from the oven, cool, then wrap the platter tightly with plastic film and refrigerate. An hour before serving, remove the skin and bring fillets to room temperature (cold salmon is firm rather than moist). Cut into serving size pieces and arrange on a platter, garnish with
ASPARAGUS SPEARS
Up to 3 to 4 hours before dinner, snap off the inedible ends of about 1/4 pound skinny asparagus spears per person and steam or simmer until tender-crisp--do not overcook! (Of course you can roast them if you prefer--425 degrees 15 to 20 minutes--but it'll heat up the kitchen.) Pat dry on a towel, pour over the reserved dill vinaigrette and turn so each spear is covered. Cover lightly and keep at room temperature.
TANGY CREAMY HERB SAUCE
For each person, scoop a generous 1/4 cup good mayonnaise (in which the second ingredient isn't water!) into a mixing bowl. Season with 1 to 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard, and a scant 1/4 teaspoon minced garlic. Blend in as many chopped bits and very thin short ribbons of fresh herb leaves as possible--I used sweet basil, Italian parsley, dill, thyme, baby spinach, and blanched beet leaves...the sauce should be thick with greens. Cover tightly and refrigerate, then bring to room temperature to serve, tasting first for salt and freshly ground white pepper.
COMPOSED SALAD OF GOLDEN BEETS, RED BEETS, PURPLE AND RED AND GOLDEN BABY POTATOES
Allow 3 small or 1 medium beet of each color and 3 small potatoes per person. Scrub beets, trim stems to 1 inch, roast in an uncovered pan at 400 degrees until easily pierced with a cooking fork, 1/2 to 1 hour, depending on size--or steam the beets, about 20 to 40 minutes (cooler on a hot day). Keep the colors separate so the golds don't absorb any red. Take care not to overcook or they'll be rubbery! When cool enough to handle, slip off the skins. Cut beets into halves, quarters, or even eighths--large bite-size pieces. Steam the potatoes in their jackets until easily pierced with a cooking fork, 20 to 25 minutes--do not overcook! Cut into pieces resembling the beets' sizes. Turn golden beets, red beets, and mixed potatoes into three separate bowls and douse with:
DILL VINAIGRETTE DRESSING
For each person, prepare about 1/2 cup dressing (generous, but the extra a the bottom of the bowls can be drained into a jar and used later):
In a small bowl, whisk 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar, 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, scant 1/4 teaspoon minced garlic, and 1/8 teaspoon salt until the mustard and garlic are thoroughly dispersed. Whisk in 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil. Snip in about 2 tablespoons minced fresh dill, or maybe more (you can't use too much), and blend. Grind in pepper (white, black, mignonette, or any blend you please) to taste.
Reserve about 1/4 this dressing for the asparagus, then divide the rest among the golden beets, the red beets, and the potatoes. Working with the red beets last, use your hands to turn over each piece in the bowl so all are moistened. Cover tightly and refrigerate. When you think of it during the next day, when you can, at last shake the bowl to re-distribute the dressing.
To serve, line a large shallow bowl or platter with lengthwise slices of endive (1 head per person). Tossing the vegetables one last time, arrange them--separately!--on the platter. Garnish with nasturtium flowers if you have them, or sprigs of fresh dill.
Serve the salmon, asparagus, golden beets, red beets, and blue/red/gold potatoes, and pass the herb sauce.
Wow.
*"Fast Food My Way"
**"The New Vegetarian Epicure"--Anna also roasts heads of garlic with these vegetables, but I omitted it...a bit much with delicate salmon, I think. Instead, I slipped garlic into the green sauce.

Honeyed Greek Yogurt Panna Cotta, Creamy but Skinny!*

Crazy about this…it’s not just delicious, it’s fabulously lean. Traditional panna cotta, three parts heavy cream to one part whole milk, has nearly as much fat per serving as ½ cup butter! while this recipe has close to ½ teaspoon butter. You don’t miss the fat because Greek-style yogurt is so creamy. And it's a breeze to make. Also, for guests, it’s prepared ahead of time. Usually panna cotta is unmolded, but I like to eat it out of a bowl or goblet smothered with fruit. If you serve it within a few hours of chilling—to the point where the gelatin has thickened but not quite gelled—it’s creamiest.
I love this for lunch sprinkled with blueberries or raspberries, just leaning against the garden door watching the birds at the feeder squabbling over their black sunflower seeds. And of course it’s a classic dessert…
That this is healthy should be kept a secret…
Most recipes say this quantity serves 8. Stingy. My sleek little custard cups are broad, shallow, and hold 6 ounces…filling them almost full makes this serve 5…an odd yield, but one can’t stop eating this cream, and I’d be annoyed if I got less…
Place 1 cup of 1% or 2% milk in a quart-size microwave-proof pitcher. Sprinkle over 2 slightly rounded teaspoons plain gelatin (actually 2-1/16 teaspoons, less than 1 envelope). Stir to blend, then ignore for 10 minutes while the milk absorbs the gelatin.
Stir again, cover the pitcher tightly with plastic film, and microwave on full power for 1 minute (about 135 degrees on the instant read thermometer) to dissolve the gelatin. Stir in 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract—or cut a 2-inch piece of vanilla bean and slit it down the side, scrape in the seeds, stir to blend thoroughly, breaking up any knots of seeds with a spoon against the side of the bowl. I must say the teeny specks call out, “Real vanilla here! Yum!”
Bit by bit, whisk in 2 cups (16 ounces) plain non-fat or low-fat Greek-style yogurt, then ¼ cup honey (the stronger the flavor, the better).
Divide the cream among 5 or 6—or 8!—dishes or goblets, leaving at least ¼-inch headroom. Cover each tightly with film, not touching the pristine surface, and chill.
This is ready to serve after 3 hours…can be unmolded after 4 hours…and will still be tender the next day.
Serve in the dishes or goblets topped with fresh fruit—about 3 to 4 cups berries or chunks of peaches, apricots, plums, or a mixture, and so forth. If you’re deft, you can unmold each dish** onto a pool of coulis (aka sweetened pureed fruit) and top with more fruit.
Once when I had one dish left in the fridge and nary a berry or piece of fresh fruit in the house (oh well, I had a banana, but I hate bananas and only buy them because I’m supposed to, they always turn brown, I always think, “I’ll make banana bread for my mother,” but I never do, I throw them over the fence into the meadow and hope some creature will enjoy very soft banana), I brought out a jar of Mixed Berry Jam from the farmers’ market, spooned over its purpliness. Oh boy. Winter’s panna cotta will be delish…
*Inspired by the recipe in a “Nutrition Action Healthletter."
**Google "unmolding panna cotta"…