Casual Summer Supper

Every great dinner party ends with an hour or two of dirty work -- unless you can figure out a way around the dishwashing. Invite your friends over for a casual summer supper, and serve all the food on, in or wrapped with paper. After guests polish off the last of the ice-cream dessert, every cup, plate and makeshift bowl will go in the trash. Total cleanup time: 2.5 minutes.

menu

Set the Scene

Serving a meal on disposable dinnerware is easy: Just gather a few basic materials, and it's a wrap!

Fish and Chips

Serve in Paper bags
Materials Paper lunch bags
Prep Double the bags and snip off or roll down the tops.

Malt Vinegar Slaw

Serve in Chinese takeout boxes
Materials Paper takeout boxes ($5.50 for 50, papermart.com), disposable chopsticks ($.60 for 30 pairs, asianfoodgrocer.com)
Shortcut Ask a Chinese restaurant to sell you boxes and chopsticks.

Brownie Ice Cream Sandwiches

Serve in Parchment wrappers
Materials Parchment paper (available at grocery stores), Johnson & Johnson first-aid waterproof tape
Prep Cut the paper into 5-by-6-inch rectangles. Wrap each sandwich like a present and seal with tape.
Shortcut Wrap in aluminum foil.

*Prices and other details were accurate when we published this article in September 2006