Including some simple hacks to help you use up those leftovers.

Key Points

• Ina Garten suggests prepping recipes in advance to simplify Memorial Day entertaining.


• Repurpose leftovers like grilled salmon and veggies for easy meals throughout the weekend.


• Double-duty desserts, like Orange Pound Cake and Raspberry Orange Trifle, save time and effort.

Memorial Day weekend is coming fast, and as much fun as it can be to kick off the summer with parties and house guests, entertaining can be difficult, too. After all, it’s tough when you’d rather be enjoying sunny weather and dips in the pool than working hard in the kitchen to feed a house full of people.

Ina Garten has long been quick to share her favorite Memorial Day recipes. In the past, she’s shared her love of grilling steaks and serving them over a simple, flavorful summer salad or whipping up a batch of Aperol spritzes to keep bartending responsibilities to a minimum. But in a recent Substack newsletter, Garten just shared a Memorial Day weekend menu that has an even easier twist.

“I like to keep the weekend low-key and invite just a couple of friends,” Garten wrote of her Memorial Day weekend plans. “To make the weekend fun for myself—and a little easier—I choose recipes that can be made in advance or served at more than one meal.”

Sounds easy enough, but how exactly does Garten put this strategy into practice? “For example,” she wrote, “I like to have tea and a homemade Orange Pound Cake waiting for friends when they arrive after their long trip on Friday. Since the recipe makes two cakes, the second one becomes Saturday’s dessert—Raspberry Orange Trifle. The leftover tea goes in the fridge so we have iced tea available all weekend.”

This sweet combo is genius. After making two pound cakes filled with citrusy orange zest, the cakes get glazed with a combo of confectioner’s sugar and orange juice. One of the delicious pound cakes gets served with tea (we love a glass of raspberry iced tea in summertime) when your houseguests arrive, and the other gets put aside for the next day’s dessert. Simply cut the extra cake into cubes, follow Garten’s trifle recipe and you’ve got an all-new dessert with some familiar flavors.

But Garten’s ideas don’t stop at dessert. “Another simple way to do this is with a Friday grill night,” she explained. “I’d make grilled salmon and vegetables, with extra of each. Friday’s leftover salmon can become Salmon Cakes for dinner on Saturday, and the grilled vegetables can reappear in Sunday’s Vegetable Frittata. Good planning makes a weekend with house guests so much easier.”

We love the idea of welcoming guests with food cooked on a hot grill, by the pool or on the beach. And Garten’s idea of repurposing the grilled salmon to make salmon cakes flavored with capers, Old Bay seafood seasoning and bell peppers sounds absolutely delicious. Add in the extra veggies being perfect for a breakfast frittata and we’re sold.

Looking for a few more recipes for Memorial Day weekend that are delicious, healthy, and perfect for prepping for house guests? Check out a few of our favorites—from sweet desserts to easy mains.