With these warmer summer evenings (although few and far between), the last thing you want to be doing is slaving over a hot stove in a warm kitchen while everyone else is enjoying the lovely weather and sipping ice cold Pimms out on the terrace.
Outside cooking does not need to involve a smoky barbecue delivering undercooked chicken and everything ready at different time meaning you never get a chance to sit and enjoy the evening along with your friends.
For a stress free, relaxing enjoyable evening think about some of the following ideas which will still impress your guests yet ensure that you have fun too!
Barbecue a Whole Joint of Meat
If you have a kettle type barbecue (such as a Weber Barbeque) this is a fantastic, yet impressive way to feed a lot of people with minimal hassle. One of the best and quickest options is to butterfly a leg of lamb (your butcher should be able to do this for you). This entails removing the bone from the whole leg and then flattening the meat out. This can then be marinated well in advance or better still overnight, with whatever takes your fancy. Examples include a generous layering of garlic, diced fresh chilli, lemon juice, olive oil, white wine, coriander, Maldon salt and freshly ground black pepper. If you’re pushed for time, invest in a supermarket bought Harissa paste and mix with a little olive oil. The meat will only need around 12 – 15 minutes each side and 5 minutes to rest before carving in to good thick slices of meat. What is great with this cut of meat is that the varying thicknesses of meat mean there will be rare bits and well cooked bits – catering for everyone’s tastes!
A whole duck is fantastic on the barbecue, but takes a good couple of hours. Contrary to the lamb above, I would simply prick the skin all over, sprinkle with a good dusting of sea salt and just let it cook. The fat will drain away, leaving deliciously crispy skin and juicy tender meat. (This needs to be a kettle barbecue again and make sure you have a foil tin in the bottom to catch the fat)
Barbequeing a whole chicken is good because the meat remains juicy, whilst the skin crisps up. I like to coat it in homemade barbecue sauce, but again – if pushed for time, a shop bought rub or marinade will do the trick.
Invest in Good Ingredients
It is so easy with the credit crunch upon us to go to the supermarket and buy those bargain buckets of pre-marinated meat, plus copious amounts of cheap sausages and burgers. However we would urge you to think quality not quality. Most guests would prefer 3 or 4 good pieces of meat, padded out with some delicious salads than a whole plate of cheap (usually processed) food. Go to your local butcher – chicken pieces, pork chops and sausages are going to be so much tastier, a little more expensive maybe, but well worth the extra cash. Make your rubs at home and save your budget in that area instead.
Home-Made Burgers
This has to be the easiest, most delicious, way to wow your dinner party guests without blowing the budget. If finalists on Celebrity Masterchef can serve this, so can you. There are hundreds of recipes to be found, but my tip would be to always include some breadcrumbs together with an egg to hold the mixture together – the rest is up to you. I’ve always put a little chopped gherkin in (for texture) and some fresh garlic, chilli and English mustard for heat. Ground cumin and coriander could also be added for an oriental flavour. Minced beef is the natural choice but I do love the juiciness of a well made lamb burger with a hint of fresh mint! Top the burger with a choice of delicious crispy bacon, sliced avocado, butter fried mushrooms or just plain fresh sliced red onion, tomato and crisp lettuce for a more traditional option. These can be made (and are actually better) a day in advance, taking that last minute stress away.
Garlic Bread
There is nothing more delicious than the smell of homemade fresh buttery garlic bread. Buy a good sized baguette and slice through almost to the bottom but not quite. Soften some salted butter (but don’t melt!) and mix with some crushed garlic (as much as is your preference), some fresh herbs chopped (parsley preferably) and some grated parmesan cheese. Mix into a paste and then carefully butter between each slice. Wrap in foil (this can be done the morning of the dinner party) and just bake in a hottish (180 degrees) oven for 20 minutes. Your guests will LOVE it!
Coleslaw
There are loads of recipes for coleslaw on line and it is incredibly simple to prepare but just looks like you have made that little extra effort. I like to grate some crunchy apple into my coleslaw to give it the sweetness that bought coleslaw never has.
Salads
There are a plethora of salad recipes and if everything else has been done in advance the only last minute tasks should be dressing some delicious crisp fresh salads for which you can premake some homemade dressings. If making a tasty Greek salad it is always advisable to pre-soak the red onions in some red wine vinegar to remove the sharpness as well as sprinkle a cheeky castor sugar on your tomatoes to sweeten them up.
Potato salad is always a favourite and I love it with a few chopped spring onions or chives to add that little extra.
Puddings
After all of that lovely barbecue food do people really expect pudding? One option is to throw a few bananas (in their skin) on the barbecue for 20 minutes or so then split open to reveal a sticky unctuous mess and top with Kahlua (or Brandy or whatever you fancy!) and cream!
In summary, just remember – prepare well ahead, buy good ingredients and you will have as much fun as everyone else! Good luck!
Preparing ahead means you can enjoy the evening without spending hours in the kitchen. This worked really well and everything got eaten. Obviously you need plenty of red wine to wash it down with!
While this adage is true in many cases, there are exceptions. You would not wish to over-power the flavour of a delicate fish dish with a full-bodied red wine, and the subtleties of a white wine may be lost if served with a rich beef casserole.
