Perfect wife barbecue

[fruitstick]

DH has invited his new work colleagues round for a barbecue on Saturday. There will be about 10 of us plus preschool kids.

What can I cook that looks like I haven't tried too hard but are just effortlessly brilliant?

Things to barbecue, salads and desserts.

Make sure you have halloumi - be it cooked in slices or on kebabs with lovely peppers, onions and mushrooms, is just something different.

A tomato, mozzarella and avacado salad is also good, new potatoes tossed in butter with mint - you can't beat a good new potato.

A nice salad with pine nuts and crispy lardons.

Nigella does a pavlova which is very easy and looks great - is squidgy in the middle from using corn flour and white wine vinegar.

one easy pud that everyone likes, and strikes that "good but not too much effort" balance is a huge bowl of summer berries, with whipped cream and, if you like, some home-made biscuits (which , obviously, you do in advance). goes down well after the meatiness of a barby and goes down well with parents who like their kids to have some fruit. (but maybe not with the ones who dress their pre-schoolers in white laura ashley dresses ).

I read this as a perfect way to cook a wife!

Homemade burgers - use tomato sauce, sherry, a bit of worcestershire sauce to bind (plus an agg if still dry) and season liberally with garlic and peppers and add finely chopped onions. Yumm.

Pasta salad - pasta tossed while still warm with fresh parmesan, sun dried tomatoes, chopped garlic and onions.

Do you have a contingency if it is raining?

there's a lovely recipe for light crispy biscuits that go great with berries here. she does sweetened cream with them and serves them individually sandwich style - I didn;t bother, I piled the berries on a big serving plate and put the biscuits around the edge. be warned - they grow enourmously when you cook them - you need a really small spoonful for each biscuit - and lots of space on the baking tray for then to grow.

greek salad holds up well

giant flat mushrooms - smear with butter, crushed garlic and herbs, and wrap in foil

serve on a burger bun (I quite prefer these to burgers despite my usual carnivorous tendancies)

ooh this is marvellous, thank you.

How long will biscuits keep if I make them in advance?

I have a friend coming to visit the day before so have to do everything either a couple of days before or Saturday morning (eek)

and do you mean the patty cakrs recipe?

not very long in our house! they are very lovely. They certainly lasted a day, in a tupperware, absolutely fine. I'm afraid I couldn't say re anything longer. I did them the morning we had our barbecue - and they are very straightforward and quick. the only thing to bear in mind is this thing about them growing - depending on how many you need/how much oven space/baking trays you have you'll probably end up cooking in batches (no need to make the bater in batches though). we had 8 adults and 10 kids -mostly school age - I did that recipe x3 and they all went!

We don;t have a contingency if it;s raining except giving DH an umbrella and eating indoors

I think you have missed the point of BBQs.

Your DH should be doing it not you! OK, you can offer to help with the salads and dessert, but the perfect wife should hover in the background while the man does macho stuff with hot coals and meat.

Surely the point of bbqs grimma is that I spend a week thinking about it, planning it, doing the shopping, making desserts, salads, marinades etc.

Then DH spends half an hour turning a few drumsticks and takes all the credit

sorry fruitsticks - didn;t register the patty cakes question was aimed at me - no it's the honey biscuits (with berries) on page 152