Unique Serving Platter

My favorite thing about summer is being able to fire up the barbecue and enjoy good food outdoors with family and friends. It’s the best way to have a party and the food always tastes great. For me, BBQ recipes should be cooked on charcoal barbecues. No gas fuel cookers for me. The charcoal should be good quality too, either lumpwood charcoal or briquettes. If you grow fruit trees, the dried cuttings also make an excellent fuel.

A barbecue feast should smell, look and taste good. Be careful not to undercook anything as that can be harmful, but there’s no need to set everything on fire either. Good cooking outside comes with practice. Just do the basics to begin with and then confidence will come with experience. Then you can experiment with different BBQ recipes.

Barbecues don’t have to be just sausages, chicken drumsticks and burgers, although there should always be some of those, as people expect them! Even these can be spiced up with marinades and sauces etc. There are traditional, classic sauces such as aioli sauce. This is the basis of mayonnaise and consists of garlic, egg yolks, olive oil, lemon and seasoning. A tasty barbecue sauce can be made with garlic, salt, paprika, clear honey, tomato puree, orange juice, white or red wine vinegar and soy sauce. You can also make Japanese marinades that use sake and Indian marinades that use cumin and coriander. The use of herbs and butters also adds to the flavor of BBQ recipes. You can have accompanying butters with foods such as lobster, shrimp or anchovy.

There are lots of BBQ ideas for meat dishes to satisfy the carnivores. One of my favorite BBQ recipes is fillet steak with blue cheese. I also like lamb chops with tarragon and pork chops with fennel. Poultry can include less common items such as pheasant, quail or guinea fowl. Fish lovers will also enjoy barbecues and there are certain types of fish that are suited to being grilled. Bass, mackerel, swordfish, cod, bream and sardines are just some examples of tasty BBQ recipes using fish. Vegetarians and lovers of vegetables generally should also enjoy going to barbecues. There’s nothing more full of flavor than grilled sweet corn or aubergines. Mushrooms are also very tasty, cooked in garlic butter.

People tend to forget pudding at barbecues. I have come across some imaginative BBQ recipes for fruit deserts, including caramelized bananas and apple kebabs. If you prefer cheese as a last course, there’s nothing finer than barbecued goat cheeses.

One appetizer stands out as a must have, old standby and crowd pleaser, no matter what the occasion. It’s equally at home on a silver platter or displayed at a buffet table on a nice ceramic plate. Birthdays, holiday meals and summer backyard pool parties are all enhanced with deviled eggs. These delicious treats are usually one of the first consumed. Any experienced host can tell you, you’ll want to have another plateful in the fridge to bring out when the first plateful is gone.

Deviled eggs are perhaps the quintessential hors d’oeuvre. Many hold the opinion that if you don’t like deviled eggs, there’s something wrong with you, unless you’re allergic to eggs! This delectable appetizer requires careful preparation and attention to detail to avoid a rather messy result. The successful deviled egg is as pretty to look at as it is delightful to eat. Here’s a step-by-step instruction sheet to make sure yours are just perfect.

The eggs you use are important. Extra large eggs are preferred, for a generous presentation of your deviled eggs. Use eggs with an expiration date as close as possible to the day you cook them. Older eggs don’t crack as easily and peel without pulling chunks of the egg with the shell.

Gently place the eggs in the pan and add enough water to completely cover the eggs. Salt the water and add a couple of teaspoons of apple cider vinegar. Allow the eggs to reach room temperature, about 15 minutes. Turn the heat on medium until they start to simmer. Do not let them come to a boil. Simmer for 15-20 minutes. Remove from the heat and place the eggs, still in the pan, in the sink. Run cold water over the eggs for several minutes until they are just warm to the touch. Allow to cool thoroughly, adding more cold water if needed.

To peel the eggs, gently crack on a hard surface, just enough to give you a place to grab the shell. They should peel nicely. Have your platter and a bowl to hold the yolks ready. Use your cutting board to cut each egg in half lengthwise. The yolk will pop out easily. Repeat until all are done.

Now for the fun part. Mash the yolks with a fork, but not so forcefully that the egg toughens. You want them nice and fluffy. Add enough mayonnaise to make a creamy texture. Some cooks like to add some very finely diced onion to the mixture at this point, but that’s according to your preference. Using two teaspoons, fill each egg half with the yolk mixture. Sprinkle a fine dusting of sweet paprika over the eggs. Garnish the sides of the platter with sprigs of fresh parsley or snipped chives. So there you have it. Perfect deviled eggs. Just leave plenty for your guests!