An expert shares 10 tips that will wow your guests and free you up to enjoy the party!
by Emily Worts ❧ photography by Richard Galloway
Summer is all about living and entertaining outdoors. If you are prepared, entertaining is at its simplest this time of year. With no house to tidy for guests, no piles of clothes to put away, no clutter to be organized, you can focus your attention on what really matters – having fun.
However, you are not completely off the hook. There is still a lawn to cut, flowers to pick and a barbecue (with a full tank of propane) to be fired up.
I have been catering for the past two decades and most of my
events take place in the summer, with a barbecue as my main, or only, source of heat. Whether it’s an intimate cocktail party on the rocks of Georgian Bay or an elaborate barn wedding for 200, food in the summer is at its tastiest and easiest to prepare.
Many of my friends are somewhat shy when it comes to the barbecue. For some it’s the ‘constant hovering’ over the ‘cue that scares them away. For others, who are prone to distraction (like my husband), it’s the unpredictability of the flames which means nicely charred results every time.
Rest assured, summer entertaining doesn’t have to be all about the barbecue. Below are some tried and true techniques celebrating summer with family and friends.
1. Keep It Local
The first step to easy entertaining is keeping it local. The environmental, socio-economic and political benefits of buying local go without saying, but the benefits of preparing local foods are often overlooked. When you buy food fresh from the market or the farm gate the food speaks for itself. A warm carrot fresh from the field or salad greens picked earlier in the day hardly need embellishment. A squeeze of lemon, a pinch of good quality sea salt and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil are often all you need to enhance field fresh vegetables or fresh caught fish.
2. Vamp Your Veggies
For every summer soiree I host or cater, I steer clear from warm vegetable side dishes. Every vegetable is raw or cooked earlier in the day and served at room temperature. I call all my vegetable sides ‘salads’ and compose them to take advantage of fresh flavours and colours. Carrots, beets, green beans, broccoli, potatoes, you name it; field fresh veggies are perfect prepared ahead of time and served room temperature.
3. Wow Them With Fish
Fish is exceptionally easy on the barbecue, but it scares the uninitiated. My favourite is trout. You can use a simple marinade or cook it straight up with a sauce accompanying it to the plate. I line my barbecue with foil, place the fish fillet skin side down and close the lid. Ten minutes later (depending on the size of the fillet) I open the lid, check that the fish is opaque and flakey, use a spatula to separate the fillet from skin (skin will stick to the foil), and slide the whole fillet onto a serving platter. It works every time and the presentation is killer.
4. Beef It Up
Beef tenderloin is brilliant on the ‘cue. Remember, your barbecue can act in the exact same way as your oven. Keep the lid down and trust that it is doing its job. A high heat (we’re talking 500 degrees) for 25 minutes (for a four to five pound whole tenderloin) means perfect medium rare beef. Again I line my grill with foil so my meat doesn’t get too charred but still comes away tasting like it’s been kissed by the flames.
5. Prepare Ahead
If the high heat of a barbecue scares you and you are prone to distraction (never good for someone in charge of a meal), consider slow roasting a cut of meat (like a shoulder of lamb) the day before. Use a low temperature barbecue as a warming oven to bring your dinner up to temperature before serving. Main course salads like Thai beef offer a great alternative to using the barbecue on hot summer nights.
6. Set The Mood
A well-dressed table and great summer lighting (think twinkle lights and votives in mason jars) can take just as much time to prepare as your meal but to some they are equally as important. This isn’t where I shine and at home these are good tasks to delegate to those less comfortable in the kitchen. Dress your table with stones, flowers and greenery from around your garden.
7. Show Off
The way food is displayed is almost as important as how it tastes. When something is beautifully presented, hunger strikes well before guests have a chance to pick up their fork. One of my trademarks for country weddings and outdoor summer parties is displaying the summer’s bounty in the colourful ceramics I have collected from my travels. Their vibrant colours highlight the colours of the food. Plain white platters and wooden bowls work equally well for display, allowing the fresh colours of summer to pop.
8. Tell Them About It
When entertaining a crowd it’s not a bad idea to label your dishes and their ingredients, saving you the hassle and the time of answering the same question over and over. Simple black board slates do a great job and can be used again and again.
9. Keep Desserts Simple
Dessert has never been my strong point but I do love sweets. A bowl of whipped cream I can handle, and that’s often all you need when serving fresh summer berries tossed in a favourite liqueur or a splash of some top-quality balsamic vinegar.
10. Less Tidy-up = More Fun!
The best part of barbecuing is the lack of tidy-up. For fish and tenderloin I line my barbecue with foil before the barbecue gets too hot. When I am finished cooking, I let the foil cool, scrunch it up and toss it into the recycling. This technique leaves my barbecue as clean as when I started. If you really want to cut back on clean-up, ask your guests to bring their own plates, cutlery and glassware and call your party a picnic. Throw some blankets on your lawn and gather as if in a park. Rentals also save on clean up and are worth every penny.
Being organized (lists, lists and more lists) is really what makes the difference between a good time and complete chaos. When I cater I can easily fill a whole notebook with lists for one party. Checking things off my list gives me tremendous satisfaction and knowing that everything is taken care of allows me to relax. If I feel, at the end of the evening, like I have been a guest in my own house, I know I’ve done a good job.
