Food for BBQ?

[wesleysgirl]

We're going to a BBQ on Saturday evening. We don't *have* to bring food, but I'd like to and I'd like it to be something a little fancier than potato chips and Coke. However, the car will be fairly full of other things so we don't have room for a cooler (unless it's a tiny one) so anything requiring refrigeration is out (we have to drive more than 2 hours to get there or I wouldn't worry about it). Any ideas?

Comments

[chip-dip.livejournal.com]

Depending if you have a sweet tooth, a bunch of bananas is a good way to go - Make slits in the skins and push in chocolate buttons or choc chips, then wrap in foil and throw on the grill, when ready open and drizzle with honey/syrup/chocolate sauce. These can be done right at the end as not too much heat is needed, its good for the tail end. People always bring savoury instead of sweet to a BBQ. Easy to transport as well.

[monanotlisa.livejournal.com]

What an excellent idea! ::takes note::

[gwendolynflight.livejournal.com]

... how long would one grill this delightful idea, and on what heat?

[chip-dip.livejournal.com]

Usually - I just fire them on when the coals are still warm, but too cold to cook meat any more - they only take a few mins, but can survive a good 15-20 if you need a wee rest after all the hotdogs and burgers. x

[gwendolynflight.livejournal.com]

Cool, thanks. ^_^

[wesleysgirl.livejournal.com]

Oh, this is an awesome idea and I never would have thought of it! Thank you!

[taffimai.livejournal.com]

Corn!

[monanotlisa.livejournal.com]

...I need to stop reading the responses to this post; getting hungry again. & :-)

[taffimai.livejournal.com]

Oh, I know! Now I want grilled corn like no one's business.

[wesleysgirl.livejournal.com]

OMG! Yes. Thank you. :-D

[katestamps.livejournal.com]

Cole slaw made with a vinegar dressing and not a mayo-based one. Or pound cake/cookies/something sweet and fruit of some kind.

The banana idea is a good one, I've done that and it is yummy.

[wesleysgirl.livejournal.com]

Oooh cole slaw. We still haven't decided or made anything, LOL, but we will. Soon! :-D Thank you.

[tsuki-no-bara.livejournal.com]

cake mix cookies! you can make 'em fancy. :D

[wesleysgirl.livejournal.com]

SO GOOD. We still haven't figured out what we're doing. We're so slow! Thank you. *Smooch*

[ix-tab.livejournal.com]

Simple as salad! Made from red and golden cherry tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and basil, dressed with extra virgin olive oil, a splash of balsamic vinegar and cracked black pepper and sea salt.

[wesleysgirl.livejournal.com]

Oh, that sounds so good. Thank you!

[justhuman.livejournal.com]

Corncakes!

The recipe talks about serving them hot with maple butter and while there's nothing wrong with that, they're great at room temp with blueberry jam or even salsa.

I'm bringing cupcakes to the picnic I'm heading to this weekend - special request. The ones I'm bringing have a crumbcake topping, so no messy icing issues. I think I might also bring along the orange ones that are topped with orange marmalade and chocolate ganache - which will also hold up better to the heat. Still thinking about which cupcakes to make -- there'a peanut butter one in my book that has the chocolate ganache topping, so it will hold up well.

[wesleysgirl.livejournal.com]

Oh man, I'm definitely making those corncakes at some point even if it's not today. Thank you! Cupcaaaaaakes. Yum.

[studiesinlight.livejournal.com]

Cookies. Universally adored. :-)

[wesleysgirl.livejournal.com]

Very good point! Thank you. :-)

[petzipellepingo.livejournal.com]

Lighter Chocolate Bundt Cake
Although you can substitute natural cocoa for Dutch-processed, the cake won't rise as high. If you don't have baking spray with flour, mix 1 tablespoon butter with 1 tablespoon cocoa into a paste and brush inside the pan.

Serves 16
Nonstick baking spray with flour
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate , chopped fine
3/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder (2 1/4 ounces)
1 teaspoon espresso powder
1 cup boiling water
1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (8 3/4 ounces)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups packed light brown sugar (14 ounces)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Confectioners' sugar , for dusting




1. Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray the inside of a standard 12-cup bundt pan with the nonstick baking spray

2. Combine the chocolate, cocoa, and espresso powder in a large bowl. Pour the boiling water over the chocolate mixture, cover, and let sit for 5 minutes to melt the chocolate. Whisk the chocolate mixture until smooth, then set aside to cool slightly, about 2 minutes. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda.

3. Process the melted chocolate mixture, sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla together in a food processor until smooth, about 1 minute. Transfer the batter to a large bowl. Sift half of the flour mixture over the batter and gently whisk in. Repeat with the remaining flour mixture and continue to whisk the batter gently until most of the lumps are gone (do not overmix).

4. Pour the batter into the prepared Bundt pan and smooth the top. Wipe any drops of batter off the sides of the pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, about 50 to 55 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking (do not overbake).

5. Transfer the cake to a wire rack and cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Invert the cake onto the rack and cool completely, 1 to 2 hours. When cool, dust with confectioners’ sugar (if using).

PER SERVING:
Cal 320; Fat 11 g; Sat fat 2 g; Chol 25 mg; Carb 51 g; Protein 6 g; Fiber 5 g; Sodium 170 mg

[wesleysgirl.livejournal.com]

Oh WOW that sounds amazing. You are the recipe queen. :-D Thank you!

[petzipellepingo.livejournal.com]

OR

Freeform Summer Fruit Tart

Few things are better than a summer fruit pie, but that takes time and skill. We wanted an easy recipe with a short list of ingredients that would produce an extra-flaky crust.
Makes one 8-inch tart, serving 6

Dough

1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (7 1/2 ounces), plus additional for work surface
1/2 teaspoon table salt
10 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/4 sticks), cold, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
3 - 6 tablespoons water (ice cold)

Fruit Filling

1 pound peaches , nectarines, apricots, or plums
1 cup berries (about 1/2 dry pint)
3-5 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon granulated sugar for sprinkling

1. Note: The amount of water that the dough will require depends on the ambient humidity; in a dry environment, it may need more water, in a humid environment, less. The dough can be made ahead and refrigerated overnight or tightly wrapped in two sheets of plastic wrap and frozen for up to one week. If at any point the dough becomes soft, sticky, and dificult to work with during rolling, chill it until it becomes workable.

2. For the dough: In food processor, pulse flour and salt to combine, about three 1-second pulses. Scatter butter pieces over flour, then pulse until texture resembles coarse bread crumbs and butter pieces about the size of small peas remain, ten to twelve 1-second pulses. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon water over mixture and process 1 second; repeat until dough begins to form small curds and holds together when pinched with fingers. Empty dough onto work surface; dough will be crumbly (if dough has large dry areas, sprinkle additional 2 teaspoons water over dry areas and incorporate by gently fluffing entire amount of dough with fingers). Using bench scraper, gather dough into rough mound about 12 inches long and 4 inches wide (mound should be perpendicular to edge of counter). Beginning from farthest end, use heel of a hand to smear about one sixth of dough against work surface away from you. Repeat until all dough has been worked. Using bench scraper, gather dough again and repeat. Dough should now be cohesive. Form dough into 4-inch disk, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate until cold and firm but malleable, about 1 hour.

3. For the filling: During last 30 minutes of chilling, prepare fruit. Halve and pit stone fruit and cut into 1/2-inch-thick wedges. Gently wash and dry berries. Combine fruit in medium bowl (you should have about 3 cups); set aside. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees.

4. To assemble and bake: (If dough has chilled longer than 1 hour and is cold and hard, let stand at room temperature 15 to 20 minutes before proceeding.) On large sheet of parchment paper lightly dusted with flour, roll dough to 12-inch round about 3/16 inch thick, dusting with flour as needed. (If dough sticks to parchment, gently loosen and lift sticky area with bench scraper and dust parchment with additional flour.) Slide parchment and dough onto baking sheet and refrigerate until cool and firm yet pliant, 15 to 30 minutes (if refrigerated longer and dough is hard and brittle, let stand at room temperature until pliant).

5. Sprinkle fruit with sugar and toss gently to combine. Remove baking sheet with dough from refrigerator. Mound fruit in center of dough, leaving 2 1/2-inch border around edge. Carefully grasp one edge of dough and fold up outer 2 inches over fruit, leaving 1/2-inch area of dough just inside of fold free of fruit. Repeat around circumference of tart, overlapping dough every 2 to 3 inches; gently pinch pleated dough to secure, but do not press dough into fruit. Working quickly, brush dough with water and sprinkle evenly with 1 tablespoon sugar. Bake until crust is deep golden brown and fruit is bubbling, 50 to 55 minutes. Cool tart on baking sheet on wire rack 10 minutes. Using offset or wide metal spatula, loosen tart from parchment and carefully slide tart off parchment onto wire rack; cool until warm, about 30 minutes, or to room temperature, about 1 hour. Cut into wedges and serve.

[wesleysgirl.livejournal.com]

*Salivates* Yum! Thank you!

[nnmpsn.livejournal.com]

I've recently had good success taking a Chinese-style pickled red cabbage to a cookout; ie, a bit-different-than-usual vinegar-based cole slaw (ginger and sesame feature prominently). A nice plus is that it looks really beautiful in the bowl.

Happy to supply a recipe if it's wanted.

[wesleysgirl.livejournal.com]

That sounds like a great idea! The recipe would be awesome, but no hurry, we still haven't figured out what we're doing. Thank you! :-)

[nnmpsn.livejournal.com]

OK, here we go. It's a little involved in the prep (can't quite do it at the last minute), but it makes a good-sized batch and keeps for 2 weeks in the refrigerator, so I think it's worth it. And I previously mentioned the pretty -- always a nice factor when you are taking something to a party!

Chinese-style Cabbage Pickle
[yield: about 5 cups]

1 small head red cabbage (about 1 1/4 pounds), cored and cut into strips about 5 inches long and 1/4 inch wide
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into long strips about 1/4 inch wide
3 scallions (green and white parts), roots trimmed, cut into thin rounds on the diagonal
2 tablespoons kosher or other coarse salt
1 tablespoon Asian sesame oil
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon peeled, finely grated fresh ginger
2 tablespoons sesame seed
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
freshly cracked white pepper (or substitute black)

In a large nonreactive bowl, combine the cabbage, bell pepper, and scallions with the salt, and toss well to coat. Place a weighted plate on top of the cabbage and allow it to stand at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours. Drain, rinse well, drain again, and gently squeeze any liquid out of the vegetables. Set aside.

In a large saute pan, combine the sesame and vegetable oils and heat over medium-high heat until hot but no smoking. Add the ginger and sesame seed and saute, stirring frequently, for 1 minute. Add the reserved vegetables and saute, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, add the vinegar, sugar, and white pepper to taste, and mix well. Allow to cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate.

This pickle will keep, covered and refrigerated, for about 2 weeks.

[wesleysgirl.livejournal.com]

Yay! Thank you so much for sharing. :-)

[entrenous88.livejournal.com]

I don't have any ideas, but yay, BBQ! We're having some of Mr. Nous's work friends over this weekend, though I think continuing crazy rain will keep things indoors. :/

[wesleysgirl.livejournal.com]

Well, today is supposed to be pretty nice, I think! I hope you guys have fun! *Hugs*

[springwoof.livejournal.com]

WATERMELON
the ultimate summer dessert--especially for a cookout or BBQ....

if that doesn't sound yummy, how about baby carrots and celery sticks (for some veggies to munch on with all the meat that's going to be BBQ'd)?

[wesleysgirl.livejournal.com]

Both excellent ideas! Thank you. :-)

[raveninthewind.livejournal.com]

Four Bean Salad

Ingredients: One can each of green beans, wax beans, red kidney beans, and chick peas). Mix up one of those envelopes of Italian dressing mix, but instead of regular vinegar, use balsamic vinegar. Just stir it all together; it won;t go bad. If you want, you can add a thinly sliced small onion, but I like it better without, not being a fan of raw onion. This is good as a side, or you can add it atop a pasta salad or green salad that someone else has brought, so it goes over well at pot lucks.

Cherry tomatoes and bamboo skewers for grilling. Bring a bottle of Italian dressing to drizzle over the skewers.

[wesleysgirl.livejournal.com]

I could imagine that being good with vidalia onion, which doesn't have the same bite as regular raw onion. Thank you! :-)

[raveninthewind.livejournal.com]

I have used a sweet onion before (Walla Walla) and it was OK. I still am not fan of raw onion, though. :)