Let the produce stand inspire you; it's a bountiful, buy-and-serve party - The Good Foods of Summer: A Special Section

The overflowing bounty and vibrant, colorful appeal of a summer produce stand inspired this show feast of fruit and vegetables backed up by heartier, purchased, ready-to-eat foods. It's a buy-and-serve, self-paced, nibble-as-you-chat party, so it's wise to provide generously; good-value in-season produce creates the abundant look. You can easily scale the party up or down.

WHAT DO YOU NEED?

For each adult, allow about:

* 3 to 4 ounces savories. Choose from cooked, boneless meat (pates, roast beef, cold ham), smoked or preserved fish (smoked salmon, trout, or sturgeon; pickled herring), or 2 hard-cooked in-shell chicken eggs (or 1 chicken egg and 2 or 3 quail eggs)

* 1 to 2 ounces cheese (big wedges or small whole cheeses)

* 4 ounces bread

* 3/4 pound (ready-to-eat) to 2 pounds total (including rinds and stems) fresh fruit and vegetables

* 1/4 to 1/2 cup dip, purchased or homemade (for vegetables, try curry-flavor mayonnaise, guacamole, or yogurt with herbs; for fruit, offer sour cream and brown sugar)

2 to 4 cups of your choice of beverage (keep bottles in ice-filled tubs; serve coolers in pitchers)

HOW DO YOU SET UP THE PARTY?

Stage it on large or small tables, grouping savories with vegetables; present fruits separately. For a small party (18 or fewer), 1 large table for the savories and 1 small table for the fruits work well. For larger groups, small tables spaced apart reduce congestion. You can duplicate foods on tables, or create a different combination at each station.

To cover tables, use greenery such as tough and handsome kale or clean, nontoxic leaves such as aspidistra cloths beneath if you like). Then position meat, fish, eggs, cheeses, and dips with compatible vegetables and fruits. Mound them in everyday containers: trays, boards, baskets, pots, crocks, even folded-down paper bags (see bread, at right).

To hold dips for savories, you might cut hollows in cabbages or eggplants, Or use natural hollows in bell peppers. (Leftover cabbages and eggplants can be trimmed and cooked for subsequent meals.)

Dips for fruit can be served in a cut melon, half a coconut, or citrus shells.

When the edibles are in place, add opulence by filling bare spaces with whole fruits and vegetables like eggplants, tomatoes, potatoes, onions, melons, pineapples; plan to use them in later meals. Soften the look of your arrangement or camouflage containers with more greenery, such as sprays of rosemary or washed ivy, or the kale.

Remember that large pieces of foods stay fresh longest. For example, a big wedge of cheese, for guests to cut as they eat, will taste and look better longer than precut cubes of cheese that dry out.

Select produce you can eat raw and out of hand, and handle it with care. Take fragile fruits out of rigid, cutting containers at once and spread out on towel-lined trays to reduce bruising and rate of spoilage. Rinse all produce (including tops) well by immersing in water; drain on paper towels. If produce has to stand more than a few minutes (or up until next day) keep cool and moist by enclosing (within towels) in plastic.