A Nantucket-Inspired Summer Table, Right at Home
There's something about a Nantucket table — the linens, the light, the easy elegance of a meal that feels both effortless and intentional — that I wanted to bring home with me this summer. So I did, with two brands I've loved for a while now: Centre Pointe and Cailíní Coastal.
The table decor started with the collaboration between Cailíní Coastal and Centre Pointe. From there, the menu came together as a love letter to peak summer produce — a whipped dairy-free feta with peaches and honey, a grilled corn and heirloom tomato salad, a rainbow platter of grilled vegetables with herbed tahini, and blueberry swirl lemon bars to close things out.
Every dish below is fully plant-based, dairy-free, and built to be made ahead where it counts, so you can spend less time in the kitchen and more time at the table with the people you love. And this time, you can shop the whole thing - recipes, linens, and tableware included - over on Centre Pointe's website. I'll link that at the bottom.
Scroll down for all four recipes, which are meant to serve six people.
Whipped Dairy-Free Feta with Peaches and Honey
There's a particular kind of magic to the first course of a summer dinner party — the moment guests sit down, a glass of something cold in hand, and the table starts to do its job. For this Nantucket-inspired evening, I wanted that first bite to feel effortless but a little unexpected. Enter: whipped "feta."
I'll be honest, I didn't grow up whipping feta. It's a trick I picked up somewhere along the way and now can't imagine hosting without. Blended until silky and piled onto a plate in a big, swooping motion, it turns a humble block of dairy-free feta into something that looks like it belongs on a restaurant menu. Top it with ripe, sliced peaches, a generous drizzle of honey, and a scattering of fresh thyme, and you have an appetizer that does all the visual heavy lifting while asking almost nothing of you in the kitchen.
This version is fully dairy-free, made with Violife feta and a dairy-free cream cheese for that classic creamy tang, minus the dairy. If you want it fully vegan too, just swap the honey for maple syrup or agave — nobody will notice the difference.
A few notes from my kitchen:
Whip it close to serving time. It firms up if it sits too long in the fridge, and you want that just-whipped, cloud-like texture when it hits the table.
Save the topping for the very last minute. Peaches are gorgeous but they brown quickly once sliced, so this is a "plate it and go" situation.
Serve with something crusty. A good sourdough or simple crackers are really just a vehicle here — let the feta do the talking.
Ingredients
8 oz VioLife feta block, drained and crumbled
4 oz dairy-free cream cheese, softened
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 ripe peaches, sliced
2 tbsp honey (or maple syrup for fully vegan)
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
Pinch of flaky sea salt
Crusty bread or crackers, for serving
Instructions
Add the feta, cream cheese, olive oil, and lemon juice to a food processor.
Blend until completely smooth and light, scraping down the sides as needed, about 2 minutes.
Spread onto a serving plate in a swoosh using the back of a spoon.
Arrange peaches over the top, drizzle with honey and a little extra olive oil. Scatter thyme and flaky salt over top.
Serve immediately with bread or crackers.
Recipe note: Whip just before serving for the best texture, and add toppings right before guests arrive.
Grilled Corn & Heirloom Tomato Salad
If there's one dish that says "summer dinner party" more than any other, it's this one. Charred corn, sun-warmed heirloom tomatoes, torn basil — it's the kind of salad that barely needs a recipe because the ingredients are doing all the work. But a few small touches make it feel intentional rather than thrown together, which is exactly what I wanted for this course.
I set out to build a salad that could hold its own next to a full rainbow of grilled vegetables and still feel distinct — something with texture, sweetness, and a little smokiness from the grill. The corn gets charred until it's just blistered in spots, which brings out a natural sweetness that plays beautifully against the acidity of a simple red wine vinaigrette. Heirloom tomatoes, in every color they come in this time of year, make the whole bowl look like it was styled by nature itself.
This dish is meant to be made close to serving. Tomatoes are gorgeous but temperamental — leave them dressed too long and they'll release their liquid and lose that just-cut freshness. I like to prep every component ahead (char the corn, slice the tomatoes, wash the basil) and then bring it all together in the final hour before guests arrive.
A few notes from my kitchen:
Char the corn a few hours ahead if needed — it holds up fine at room temperature.
Don't dress it too early. Toss it together within an hour or two of serving for the best texture.
A crumble of dairy-free feta on top ties this dish back beautifully to the appetizer course.
Ingredients
4 ears fresh corn, husked
1.5 lb heirloom tomatoes, cut into wedges
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
1/3 cup fresh basil leaves, torn
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
3/4 tsp flaky sea salt
1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
Instructions
Grill or char the corn directly over a flame or in a hot dry skillet, turning occasionally, until lightly blackened in spots, about 8-10 minutes. Let cool slightly, then slice kernels off the cob.
In a large bowl, combine the corn kernels, tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, red onion, and basil.
Drizzle with olive oil and red wine vinegar, then season with salt and pepper. Toss gently to combine.
Let sit for 10 minutes at room temperature so the flavors meld before serving.
Recipe note: Best made close to serving so the tomatoes stay fresh.
Rainbow Grilled Vegetable Platter with Herbed Tahini
Once the vegetables are arranged, slightly overlapping, on a big platter, the whole thing already looks finished — and then the tahini sauce goes on.
The sauce is what pulls it together. Tahini, lemon juice, garlic, and just enough water to loosen it into something pourable, whisked until silky. Drizzled generously over warm vegetables, it turns into something almost custardy where it meets the char. A scatter of fresh herbs and a handful of pomegranate seeds or toasted pine nuts finishes it off with color and crunch.
A few notes from my kitchen:
A grill pan or broiler works just as well as an outdoor grill if that's what you have on hand.
Assemble this one right before serving. It's meant to be eaten warm, and the sauce stays glossiest fresh off the grill.
Keep the tahini sauce in a small pitcher or squeeze bottle if you're styling this for photos — it makes for a much more controlled, elegant drizzle.
Out of every dish on this table, this is the one I'd make again and again, in any season, with whatever vegetables are at their peak.
Ingredients
2 zucchini, sliced lengthwise
2 yellow squash, sliced lengthwise
1 red bell pepper, quartered
1 orange bell pepper, quartered
3 rainbow carrots, halved lengthwise
1 small head radicchio, cut into wedges
1 red onion, cut into thick rounds
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 tsp flaky sea salt, plus more to taste
1/2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
1/3 cup tahini
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 garlic clove, grated
3 tbsp water (more as needed to thin)
2 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
2 tbsp fresh mint, finely chopped
1/4 cup pomegranate seeds or toasted pine nuts, for garnish
Instructions
Preheat a grill or grill pan to medium-high heat.
Toss the zucchini, squash, peppers, carrots, radicchio, and red onion with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
Grill vegetables in batches, turning occasionally, until tender and nicely charred, 4-8 minutes depending on the vegetable.
While the vegetables grill, whisk together tahini, lemon juice, garlic, and water until smooth and pourable, adding more water as needed.
Arrange the grilled vegetables on a large platter, slightly overlapping for a full, abundant look.
Drizzle generously with the tahini sauce, then scatter with parsley, mint, and pomegranate seeds or pine nuts. Finish with a pinch more flaky salt.
Recipe note: Best served warm, right after grilling and assembling.
Blueberry Swirl Lemon Bars
Every dinner party needs a dessert that can be made ahead, and honestly, that's half the reason I love these. A buttery, dairy-free shortbread crust, a bright layer of lemon filling, and a quick blueberry compote swirled through the top before it bakes — they come together over the course of an afternoon, then sit patiently in the fridge until it's time to slice and serve.
There's something about the swirl that makes these feel special without any extra effort. A few spoonfuls of jammy blueberry compote dropped over the lemon layer, dragged gently with a skewer, and suddenly you have a dessert that looks like it took far more work than it did.
A few notes from my kitchen:
Chill at least 2 hours before slicing for clean squares.
Wipe your knife between cuts for that bakery-case look.
These hold beautifully in the fridge for a few days, which makes them one of the easiest make-ahead desserts on this whole table.
Makes 9 bars
Ingredients
Crust:
1.5 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
1/2 cup cold vegan butter, cubed
Blueberry compote:
1 cup fresh blueberries
2 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tbsp water
Lemon filling:
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 lemon, zested
1/3 cup unsweetened plant milk
1 tsp cornstarch
For finishing:
1 tbsp powdered sugar, for dusting
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line an 8x8-inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two sides.
Whisk together flour, powdered sugar, and salt. Add vegan butter and rub in with your fingers until the mixture looks like coarse sand and holds together when pressed.
Press the crust mixture evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake until light golden, 18-20 minutes.
While the crust bakes, combine blueberries, sugar, and water in a small saucepan. Simmer over medium heat, mashing gently, until thickened and jammy, about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Whisk together sugar, flour, lemon juice, lemon zest, plant milk, and cornstarch until smooth.
Pour the lemon filling over the warm crust. Drop spoonfuls of the blueberry compote over the top and swirl gently with a knife or skewer.
Bake until the filling is just set and no longer jiggly in the center, 25-28 minutes.
Cool completely at room temperature, then chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours before lifting out with the parchment overhang and slicing into squares.
Dust with powdered sugar just before serving.
Recipe note: Chill at least 2 hours before slicing for clean squares. Wipe your knife between cuts.
Every recipe and every piece you see on this table — down to the linens — is shoppable over on Centre Pointe's website.
