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Posted by gatchamarie on 28-07-2010 at 09:29:
Need help!
I'm going to host around 4 barbeques during the coming fortnight 
! Does anyone have any kind of suggestion for a quick, but unusual, chicken, burger or sausage recipe, and salad, which may include rice, couscous or potatoes, pleeeaase?!!
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Posted by condorcandi on 28-07-2010 at 09:33:
No recipies of my own, gatchamarie. My recipies tend to be in the half-hour to hour range. BUT-
Here's a website I've found very very useful in the past. I particularly love the search feature.
http://www.cooks.com/
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Candi
Hollywood is a land of money and cowardice.
-Henry A. Lee, Cracked.com columnist
Posted by nuni on 28-07-2010 at 14:09:
Here’s a quick recipe for a sauce that I like to use on steaks and hamburgers that really dresses them up and makes them special. It’s Argentinian Chimichurri sauce and it’s nice and tangy and fresh. There are a million ways to make it (depending on how your mom taught you). This recipe was given to me by an Argentinian friend of mine who swears it’s “the best!â€
Chimichurri Sauce
1 cup Italian parsley
¼ cup cilantro
2-3 cloves of garlic
Pinch of dried red pepper flakes
Pinch of cumin powder
Salt and pepper to taste
½ cup olive oil
¼ cup red wine vinegar
Juice of 1 lemon
Gather all your dry ingredients and chop them finely. Add oil and vinegar and mix into a sauce. Adjust with lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. Alternately, you can put all the ingredients into a food processor and puree. However, I like to hand chop it because I think you get a nicer, coarse consistency. Chill for about an hour before serving. Works great as a sauce for potato salad too!
Posted by nuni on 28-07-2010 at 14:27:
Here’s another recipe that a Mexican friend of mine taught me. It takes time to cook on the grill, but it requires almost no pre-cooking preparation.
Elote Asado (Mexican Grilled Corn)
Corn with husks still on
Melted butter
Mayonnaise
Grated parmesan cheese
Chili powder
Lime wedges
Completely immerse the corn in water, husks and all, for at least 30 minutes or until the husks absorb a good amount of water. Remove from water and place on a hot BBQ grill and let the corn steam cook, usually about 15-20 minutes. The husks should become burnt during this process. Take the corn off the grill and peel back the husks (be careful – it’s hot!) and place back on the grill. Cook corn until some of the kernels burn a little, turning brownish black. Take the corn off the grill and coat with melted butter. Then spread an even layer of mayonnaise, sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese and chili powder. Serve with lime wedges.
This is very common “street food†in Mexico (and in New York City, where I live) and it is delicious! Kinda messy to eat, but worth it! The original recipe calls for Mexican “crema†instead of mayonnaise and Cotija cheese instead of parmesan, but it’s not always easy to get those ingredients. The substitutes work just fine. Also, if you want a more smoky flavor, I would recommend using a chipotle chili powder to sprinkle on top. I will sometime serve this as a starch instead of rice or pasta. Enjoy!
Posted by Transmute Jun on 28-07-2010 at 14:34:
Depending on what your guests have eaten before, could you do a kabob? Get some long wooden skewers and put bits of meat and veggies on them. You can alternate the meat and veggies in patterns, and choose veggies for color. Then for dessert, you could serve fruit kabobs (chunks of fruit on a skewer, maybe with a dipping sauce like honey or vanilla... no cooking required).
The advantage of kabobs is that all of the prep is done in advance (not while your guests are there) and they don't take as long to cook on the grill because the pieces are bite-size.
I've done chicken and beef this way. Veggies that work well are colored peppers, onions, mushrooms and chunks of zucchini or squash. A bit of bacon adds a nice flavor as it grills.
HTH!
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Posted by gatchamarie on 28-07-2010 at 19:53:
Thanks to all for your help! I knew I could have been given some great ideas from you! Sometimes, I tend to spend hours browsing internet for recipes or searching for different ones through my books, this stealing a lot from my time, which is ever restricted ... so, again, thanks!
Candi ... the website you've suggested is one I've never encountered, and it seems very helpful and full of ideas! I'll surely take a good look at it and it's delicious recipes ... the ones on the main page already seem yummy! I appreciate a lot your sending me the link!
Nuni ... your recipes are the kind I'm searching for! I always like to try different and unusual things, apart from those we're traditionally used to, and the ingredients you've listed seem very interesting when combined with each other! I'm loving the Argentinian Chimichurri sauce recipe! It's just what I was looking for to go with my burgers! My only problem with the second recipe is that I don't know if, here, I could find corn with their husks still on! Maybe, I could use whole corn without husks, instead! Thanks a lot also for your meticulous guidance through the methods!
TJ ... your idea of including kebabs on one, or more, of the occasions is great, and it's one I have also thought about! You're right, owing to the small size of the meat or chicken chunks, cooking time will be much less and the preparation could be all done beforehand! The most thing that I like about kebabs, apart from the favourable things already mentioned, is that they're not so messy and that I don't have to include a lot of extra cutlery! I also like to make sausage kebabs, chopping bite-size pieces of different types of sausages and skewering them alternately! And, I agree ... the addition of bacon does make a difference, and adds a lot of flavour! One of your suggestions that I also like is that of a honey or vanilla dipping sauce as an accompaniment for fruit kebabs! I've always served such kebabs alone in the past, just putting them in a basket made out of a watermelon as a garnish, sometimes, but I've never tried dipping sauces before! Okay ... there were times when I've done melted chocolate as a dipping sauce, but not honey or vanilla, which surely sound yummy!
Thanks again!
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To be or not to be a gatchamaniac - that's the dilemma!
Posted by amethyst on 28-07-2010 at 20:13:
Marie, burgers are easy. Choose your ground meat: beef, chicken, turkey, etc. Then stuff them with mushrooms, bacon, cheese, onions, garlic. Before cooking or stuffing season them with your favorite spices or worchestershire sauce, wine, or whatever else you want.
For something like this or even with the kebabs that TJ suggested, you can get your guests involved. Do the prep work before they arrive and let them stuff their burger or kebab.
Ribs are another easy to do ahead of time. Season and cook them in the oven or stove top up to twenty four hours in advance then warm them slowly on the barbecue adding the sauce.
For salads here's one of my favorites, it's elegant and easy:
Spring salad mix or mesclun
crumbled bleu cheese
pecans, candied or plain
Raspberry vinigrette
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Posted by Transmute Jun on 28-07-2010 at 23:31:
You'll have to let us know what you made, and how your entertaining turned out, Marie!
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Posted by gatchamarie on 29-07-2010 at 05:14:
Amethyst .... your idea of letting the guests involve themselves in the assemble of their own choice of food makes a lot of sense! I like to let them do that with their burgers, letting them choose their preferred sauces and other condiments! Burgers are always included in my bbqs ... they're usually loved by everyone and make a fast, but very tasty and filling, treat! Thanks for the wonderful salad recipe! The combination is awesome ... I usually like to combine blue cheese and nuts with pasta, but I've never tried the raspberry vinigrette! Thanks again for your help!
TJ ... I hope I won't have to tell you that we've burnt everything! But, that would be my DH's fault, as I do all the precooking, prep work and extras leaving for him the delicate duty of grilling the food on the bbq! Well ... he's the one who, usually, specifically asks for such a task!
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To be or not to be a gatchamaniac - that's the dilemma!
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