Marquee & Catering
Post wedding barbies
It’s the day after the wedding and you are sticking around to spend some quality time with your nearest and dearest, some of whom may have travelled hundreds of miles to be with you, but how should you celebrate?
A barbeque is the perfect summer post-wedding party. Not only are they a fun and informal way to cook for others, but they are also a relatively inexpensive and hassle-free way to enjoy a meal.
However, grilling food for a large amount of people can be a lot of work so you need to plan ahead.
First, decide who will be doing the cooking. You will not be able to do this yourself as you will want to mingle with guests. Do you want to hire a cook? Or call on a trusted friend or family member? Cooking on a grill requires constant attention. Depending on the size of the party you may need more than one cook.
Prep your food ahead of time. All chopping, slicing and marinating should be done in advance.
Plan your menu. You want something tasty yet easy, inexpensive and relatively quick. You want to plan on all the food being prepared and ready for service as close to the same time as possible. This is easiest with foods that are smaller or thinner and thus take less time to cook. For example, thinly sliced beef or chicken strips will cook iliterally minutes while a rack of ribs can take up to an hour. Get a grill big enough to cater for your party. Hire one if necessary.
Every barbecue has a cooking area which is measured in square centimeters (cm_). As a rough guide, those with smaller cooking areas (up to 1800cm_) will cook for up to four people; those from around 2000cm_ to 2500cm_ will be big enough for six people; the largest gas barbecues (over 2500cm_) will be suitable for up to eight people, and griddles and warming racks make even larger parties possible.
Charcoal or gas? The classic and reliable charcoal barbecue still holds a strange fascination although it takes longer to get started and depending on the duration of the meal, charcoal can start to get cooler, requiring attention tending the fire and adding coals.
It’s a myth that the fuel adds extra flavour to the food; in fact, it’s the fats and juices falling on the hot coals and the resulting smoke that creates the unique barbecue taste.
A gas grill is probably easier, faster and requires less attention. Plus points are: instant, controllable heat, cleaner and more convenient to use with no need to dispose of ashes.
Have fun with the décor to bring out the summer feeling. Classic red and white checkered tablecloths will add to the picnic like atmosphere.
Make sure to have a stock of tea-lights, hurricane lamps and citronella candles on hand for when the sun goes down.
Menus
You can keep it simple with a classic menu of hamburgers, hot dogs and sausages – or be a little more adventurous with barbequed spare ribs and chicken wings.
Arrange a table of every kind of topping you can think of - bowls of fresh, crisp lettuce, juicy tomatoes cut into slices, pickles, sauerkraut, ketchup and mustard. And it wouldn’t be a barbeque without cold salads like potato salad and cole slaw.
If you want something more complex think of themes to put together a cohesive meal. Almost any meat can be grilled (though some are harder to deal with)…..
BBQ Style Surf-n-Turf Menu: Marinate jumbo shrimp in lime juice, garlic and hot sauce before skewering them and grilling them along with beef filet or tender steaks. Serve with a mixed green salad dressed with simple vinaigrette and garlic bread made from fresh baguettes.
Asian Style BBQ Menu: A delicate soy and citrus glaze can add a great flavor to grilled foods. Mix a low-sodium soy sauce with fruit
juice and ginger to create a glaze. Reserve part of the glaze to be used as a dipping sauce. Marinate veggies and meat in the sauce before grilling. Serve the grilled foods with rice and the reserved dipping sauce.
Hawaiian Style BBQ Menu: Relying on the classic pairings of sweet and salty tastes, grill pork chops using a sweet and tart glaze. Thick slices of pineapple can be grilled as well.
Italian Style BBQ Menu: Grilled chicken, rubbed with sage and thyme, can be topped with sun dried tomatoes and roasted garlic.
Baby potatoes, roasted on the grill after being combined with rosemary sprigs and a light coating olive oil make a great side dish.
Skewer and lightly grill cherry tomatoes until their skins start to blister.
Use the roasted tomatoes with fresh mozzarella and whole basil leaves for a new take on a caprese salad as a starter.
And, enjoy….
