Denver Barbecue

Just picture this, a stunning backyard on a warm summer afternoon, delicious food and a sound system playing a smokin' jazz track or the newest upbeat tunes or some modern rock records. Fill up those pitchers with margaritas, or some vodka and pineapple-juice, or iced cordial for the kids. All that's left are the loved ones to come in numbers. I for one cannot think of a more appropriate time and setting for a barbecue.

Now, when planning the barbecue menu, don't forget that even the simplest of food are made totally delicious by the smoky barbecue taste. The classic sausages, burger patties, steaks, chops or cutlets are somewhat simple foods. Top them off with onions or capsicum and these vegetable sides mesh together in taste just by cooking them on the barbecue.

Make it easier on yourself. Gather up some pre-cut vegetables and pre-made salads from your local supermarket. These same outlets also store, in numbers, some ready-to-grill beef kebobs, marinated chicken, souvlaki and fish. Depending on what you want to cook, this could save a considerable amount of preparation time.

Pick up bunches of strawberries and grapes, a few watermelons, cherries and some rock melons while you're at the supermarket. Arrange these fruits in a stylish platter and you have a simple yet tasty and attractive dessert. Oh, it's also important to keep these fruits chilled. Maybe place the platter on a large tray filled with ice. It's up to you what recipes you want to dish up for your guests but you can have all sorts of different barbecues.

For an informal outdoor barbecue, attempt having a BBQ ribs cookout. Ribs can take quite a while to cook so remember to start a few hours early. Serve the bbq ribs up with some garlic bread and corn on the cob straight off the grill. On the other hand this type of barbeque is neglecting the little ones.

For a cookout centered around kids, I recommend giving the children a choice between hot dogs or burgers. Remember to teach them about adding a few greens on their plate! Place salads out with carrots and celery sticks so they can add it to their plates themselves without being forced to. If you're looking to entertain by sophistication (for dinner) try serving up some grilled salmon, baby Asian vegetables and some steamed white rice on the side.

Hopefully, these ideas can get you going, but take note that I didn't get into detail, so unless I studied hospitality/catering I probably would have already floored you with hundreds of ideas, which is why I'm moving your attention to this handy little book - Super BBQ Secrets. It contains easy to read guides to throwing a 'kickass' barbecue. It will save you time AND money for every barbecue event you plan on having. For loads of other terrific barbecue secrets, keep coming back to my blog at least once a week to find newly added barbecue recipes, so YOU can cook up your own unique BBQ ideas.

Things to Consider When Choosing BBQ Meat

Everybody loves a good barbecue. But once in while, we get that itch when we just want everything to be absolutely perfect - from the bbq marinade to the the barbecue meat to the paper plates and cups. Speaking of barbecue meat, there are some things you should consider when choosing meat to help bring out the perfect flavor of the barbecue.

In general, the most common barbecue meat choices are beef, pork and poultry, with each type of meat having something different to offer to the palate. As a general rule, select meats that were derived from younger animals since these would be tender and more flavorful.

BBQ meat tip # 1. Beef cuts ideal for barbecues are the New York strip, Filet Mignon and Rib eye. The appropriate thickness of the beef should be about a full inch. A little seasoning rub helps bring out the natural flavor of the beef without overpowering it.

BBQ meat tip # 2. Poultry is another barbecue favorite that can either be in the form of duck, chicken, game hen or even turkey. Choice cuts of poultry like wings, legs and thighs can be marinated or flavored using a dry spice rub. Chicken breasts can also be seasoned in the same way before grilling.

BBQ meat tip # 3. Pork is a barbecue staple enjoyed by everyone. It is the simplest type of meat to barbecue. To appreciate the flavor of pork, choose lean cuts like tender chops and spare ribs or baby back ribs seasoned with spices or barbecue sauce.
Seasoning Meats

Barbecue rubs give traditional barbecue a whole new dimension. It makes for a tastier and more flavorful barbecue. In fact, most famed barbecue restaurants use rubs to give their ribs, chicken and steaks a rich deep flavor. Barbecue rubs should be rubbed thickly into the meat and left there for at least four hours or more. When grilling, the barbecue rub will give the meat a nice, chunky and crusty coating.

Ideally, you should rub the meat first, and then add the sauce while grilling. BBQ rubs come in all kinds of mixtures. For a nice brown color, you should add some more brown sugar. Paprika is also a popular ingredient in rubs. It has a very light peppery taste, and gives the meat a nice, rich, brown color. Oregano, thyme, and rosemary are excellent herbs which go well with red barbecue sauces. Rubs also typically have onion and garlic powder to flavor the meat.
For an all-around sauce, try the Jim Bean Honey BBQ Sauce and Maguire's Irish BBQ Sauce. They are two exceptional sauces that can be used for any type of meat even fish.

On the other hand, the Bone Suckin' Sauce Rib Rub, the Cowtown BBQ Seasoning and the Habanero Seasoning from Hell are multi-purpose dry rubs that can be used to season everything from beef, pork, poultry, fish as well as eggs and pasta.

Organizing the Wedding Reception and Hiring a Caterer

If you've been keeping your wedding plans organized, you probably realize by now that you still have a lot to do. S ure you may have hired a photographer, set the dates, ordered some decorations, and bought a dress. You know just how you want your reception to look - but have you decided what you want to do? Have you thought about what you want to feed your hundreds of hungry guests?

Don't panic. Receptions are pretty much an open celebration. Anything you want goes. First, look at your wedding plans and check to see if you wanted a big or a small reception. Once you know that, you will have an idea of what you want to do. A traditional reception includes several parts. You can start off with a receiving line. This will give guests time to personally congratulate the bride and groom, as well as the parents. After the receiving line, when guests are seated, the food can be served. This too, depends on the style you have chosen. If your reception includes a buffet, guests can eat as soon as they have finished passing through the line. If the dinner is more formal, food should typically be served when the designated time for the receiving line has ended. At some point during dinner, you may have asked your best man and maid of honor to give speeches. This can be done before the dinner, to kick off the celebration with a toast, or it can be done as dinner is winding down.

After your guests are well fed, it's time for the party to continue. If your wedding plans include dancing, now would be the time to start. Consider including the traditional first dance, as well as a father-daughter dance. When you have danced yourself into exhaustion, it is time to cut the cake. Everyone has been waiting to see you stuff that frosting into your new spouse's face. (Oh come on now, be nice!) Take your piece, and then allow the guests to share the cake. Shortly before it is time for you to make your getaway, toss the bouquet to all those hopeful brides-to-be.

All of these are just suggestions that you may or may not wish to include in your wedding plans. One thing will be essential, and that is food. First, you have to decide whether you want a buffet or a formal dinner. If your reception is small and you chose a buffet, and if cost is an issue, consider asking several family members or friends to help by bringing an assigned item. Remember to be sure that your reception hall allows this. It is possible that you may only be allowed to use one of their caterers. If you want a larger reception (formal or buffet) you are going to want to hire a Denver caterer. Look at the list offered by the reception hall, or search for your own. Get an idea of how much each caterer will charge. You will also want to taste samples of the food you have chosen, and ask whether or not your caterer will also take care of serving the food.

Your reception can flow any way you want it to. This is your time to celebrate. With a little planning and some good food, your guests will enjoy themselves, and you will be able to share your joy with them.

Barbecue tips

Article By: Natasha Johnson

An important thing to remember when cooking out on the barbecue, is that the meat is cooked by the heat, not the flames. It is good to avoid letting the flames get too big, because, you don't want the flames to touch the food. If the flames do touch the food, you will want to take the meat off and raise the height of the grate on the barbecue. If raising the grate is not possible, then you can just use a spray bottle of water and spray them down a bit, before putting the meat back on the barbecue.
There are different temperatures required for different meats, and for different cuts of meat. You will want to pay attention to this, because, if you cook the meat on the wrong temperature, and/or for the wrong period of time, you will wind up with tough meat. You can monitor the temperature of the meat with a special barbecue thermometer.
A thermometer is only one of a number of different tools that you might want to get to help you barbecue. The most important things to buy would be tongs, a spatula, and a fork. You need to make sure that they are not too short, or you can burn yourself when flipping the meat on the grill. A lot of people use barbecue tools that are at least twelve inches long. There are some great barbecue sets that come with a lot more than these three items, but, these would be your basic, gotta have it, items to get started. The barbecue sets are really great, though, and make perfect gifts, too.
There is actually one other thing that would be really good for starting out, but, it is not for cooking - it is for cleaning. It is a brush for cleaning the grate of the grill between uses. So much stuff gets stuck on the grate and the brushes made for cleaning them work wonders in scraping all of that junk off of there, so your food doesn't wind up tasting like last week's meal!