Yesterday I enjoyed the company of my husband and several precious friends, all of whom I consider family in the best understanding of that concept. So what I prepared needed to be delightful and could be familiar. Cooking for family leaves lots of room for repeats as long as those dishes have been well received in the past and may even hold memories for these special people. That's one of the many reasons I love to cook on such occasions. We often enjoy the same dishes, foods I love to cook and that hold previous memories of tastes and times already shared.
The other thing about special occasions and particularly barbecues is the requirement of foods withstanding the heat of the day. I don't want to prepare anything that contains mayonnaise because of the obvious problems of mayonnaise sitting out in warm weather. Also the freshest foods can wilt in the shade or the length of time outdoors. I especially don't want fragile foods because they require me to be alert to the consequences of the day on the dishes rather than to the conversation and interaction of my friends.
One other thing I've learned over time is that big amounts of food all prepared by me is ridiculous. The effort and even expense of such preparations also takes away from everyone's enjoyment as I worry about this or that, or my friends feel a need to sample and comment on the food rather than indulge in the company and discussions of whatever catches our attention. And I love it when people bring things to share. Their efforts are more deserving of attention than that of my own. Each dish brought moves the spotlight to the friend who made it. That wandering spotlight is exactly the fun of the day as each of us enters and exits through sharing, praise and wit.
So the menu yesterday was simple. I made a bread salad from the freshest of ingredients and just enough to be consumed allowing for second-helpings. We barbecued prawns and fresh corn to be enjoyed with butter and lemon juice heated on the grill. Cheese and olives plus some tasty pickled veggies served as appetizers. The pickled veggies were by my dear friend Anne who is the reason I'm writing a food blog--her cold-pickled vegetables were an old recipe, tried and true. Then new friends Vanessa and Ryan provided the "indulgences" from whiskey sours to a Filipino donut of sweet coconut and rice flour made American with a center of chocolate. Between the delightful high of the cocktail to the sweetness of the donut, Vanessa and Ryan bookended our meal with fun.
And as the evening closed, everyone had a chance to talk one-on-one and with the whole group. We learned more about each other and widened our enjoyment and celebration to include new stories, different aspects of old favorite subjects and fresh memories to keep. I hope you did the same.d
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