PrintQuestion of the Day: What do you serve at Summer BBQ parties?
I'm organizing a BBQ party and am looking for delicious, fun and relatively easy food ideas. This is for a youth group so most of the party goers will be teens in 8th - 12th grade.
I'd also love to hear about food-related activities, like making smores etc. :-D
Thank you for your help!
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11 Comments:
Pasta Salad: Tri-Color noodles, cucumber, grape tomtaoes, and olives, with a nice vinegrette (sp?). Also a fruit salad with lots of orange to keep it bright and to keep it from browning. I love good sides!
foodette at 11:00PM on 06/02/07
My son used to be a church camp counselor and something they did for the last dinner every week was make what they called "Knights in Shining Armor." This was a foil packet with a light spray of Pam that they fill themselves with whatever vegetables they want and they always used hamburger, but i'm sure you could use chicken or fish, you just have to make your veggies bigger for chicken and smaller for fish because fish cooks so much faster. Once the kids got their Knights filled the counselors would cook them on barbecue grills. They had them portioned for three minutes on each side, but it would very depending on the ingredients.
Another thing kids that age love is putting together their own kebabs. Again, cut up vegies, (we like Good Seasons Italian dressing marinated mushrooms best of all,) chunks of marinated meat, soaked bamboo skewars and they do the rest. Supervise the cooking, of course.
Calichef at 5:31AM on 06/03/07
Corn on the cob, grilled, Clean the corn of the bruised outer leaves and chop off the hairy tops, then soak the corn IN THE HUSK in salted water until ready to cook. When placing on grill, shake off the excess water and place on the outer edges of the grill while you cook the other food. This will steam the corn in its husk. When done cooking the other stuff (meats, et cetera), move the corn directly over the heat source. This will roast the corn a bit, charring the husk and giving the corn that sweet caramelized flavor. Serve with lime, salt and butter.
KCMaspeth at 8:25AM on 06/03/07
Just had a bbcue last night. The menu was: Watermelon salad, green salad( with avocado, apples, dried cranberries, and gruyere), ribs, skirt steak, hot dogs, homemade cole slaw, homemade baked beans, corn salad, and pasta salad (with pesto, peas and pine nuts). Dessert was a berry cobbler and ice cream. Needless to say, we'll be eating all of this again for dinner tonight! ( If you need a recipe, let me know) As far as activities, grilling pizza seems to be a trend. You could have all the toppings separate, the dough of the pzza pregilled, and the guests can create their own pizzas.
Mich23 at 9:11AM on 06/03/07
Lots of cold salads - chopped salads on platters, pasta salads using whatever's in the fridge or pantry, torn romaine with vinaigrette, tomato and mozarella with basil. Pasta salads I'm taking to a bbq potluck this afternoon: Dreamfield's penne with artichoke pesto and sun-dried tomato strips and orzo with roasted corn, black beans, green onions, cilantro and halved tiny tomatoes with a dressing of white wine vinegar, cumin, garlic and olive oil flavored with a drop of orange oil.
Sangria is a summer must here in So TX, so I am also bringing my "crocodile tears" - a white sangria with lime, lemon, orange and fresh pineapple. I make it with very dry cheap white wine and serve in a 2 gallon glass jar with a spigot.
We are going to have all of this with New Braunfels beef sausages grilled and rolled up in fresh flour tortillas, chicken thighs, and birthday cake with strawberries and Romanov sauce.
dksbook at 10:53AM on 06/03/07
cucumber salad with sweet onion, pea pods, tomatoes and a french dressing. Very good all year
pasta salad olives, onions, celery, veggies of your choice, dressing of your choice and some grated cheese
potato salad
grilled corn
grilled marinated chicken thighs bone in
hamburgers
hot dogs
baked beans I buy them in cans and doctor them and bake
my own pickles
a sheet cake with a custard or whipped cream fillng sliced berries
watermelon
banana pudding
one batch of cookies
Cool summer punch (sparklng ciders, gallon of fruit juice and one carton of peach nectar)
JerzeeTomato at 12:02PM on 06/03/07
I've found that flank steak is very popular with the younger set, and if you buy it at your local warehouse club it's very affordable for a crowd. I've found this Soy-Marinated Flank Steaks recipe a flavorful option that works well when you aren't sure what everyone will like. I'd serve this with corn on the cob with regular and herb butter, and a nice pasta or maybe even a panzanella salad (depending on the crowd).
For dessert a make your own ice cream sandwich bar is always a treat. If you have time you can make the cookies and ice cream yourself, something a teen host might like to help with. But if you're pressed for time as most parents are, you can buy all of the fixins at your local grocery and still have a hit. Don't forget fun toppings to roll the sandwiches in - it takes them to a whole new level.
natanya at 1:09PM on 06/03/07
What don't I serve?
With a group of people, I really like making kabobs. You can easily make lots of different types of meats and marinades, and then just grill them up when people are ready to eat. Also throw some vegetables on there and you have a nice balanced meal (...thinking of getting kids to eat their veggies).
Check out my site for some other grilling ideas and recipes:
http://blog.meatwave.com
josh! at 9:34AM on 06/04/07
I agree with Mich 23, Grilling pizza is a great group activity, you can have one group prepare the sides, remember they must be cooked just about through before you put them on the pizza. You can get premade dough at Whole Paycheck I mean Foods, they make their own. Also make sure that you grill one side of the dough before flipping it over and adding the toppings.
nelson5757 at 10:37AM on 06/04/07
I seem to be in a deviled egg rut, but I always have them at BBQs. I made my own version of shrimp stuffed eggs this weekend. To the mashed egg yolks, I added some finely chopped cooked shrimp, capers, finely minced celery, tarragon, dijon mustard, and mayo of course! They were really good!!
Library Lady at 2:00PM on 06/04/07
diet soda
cocktails
watermelon
salads
Dreamzoxo at 10:16PM on 06/04/07