Outdoor Entertaining - Smoke & Mirrors

Outdoor Entertaining - Smoke & Mirrors

Now if you are hell bent on entertaining friends or family over the weekend firstly I should try to talk you out of it. Why not luxuriate on a lounger, read a magazine under a sun shade and generally laze about and relax. 

Relaxing not for you? Then here are a few tips to make things easier for you:-

It's all really a case of smoke and mirrors, making the visitor think you've been in the kitchen all day and that every morsel they consume is part of a delectable feast. In order to do this, as with magic, you need to trick the eye.

For example, a gorgeously set table with flowers and candles or a themed event with lit torches, will evoke a feeling of a special occasion and create that all important  sense of theatre. I have a large silver ice bucket that I snapped up from www.tkmax.co.uk which always lends a sense of luxury to proceedings as well as a large candelabra that lends an air of opulence with hardly any effort whatsoever.

I recently adopted a French country theme for a casual family lunch, with the aid of a red and white table cloth and some wicker baskets and serving plates. 

This theme also lends itself to simple dishes including rustic bread and dipping oils, pate, roughly chopped salad vegetables and a cold meat selection. What could be easier? All washed down with a glass or two of wine. Perfect.

Should your guests  require non alcoholic beverages (there's always one!) there are  some really good cordials and flavoured waters about.  One I  tried recently was a White Grape and Raspberry fizzy water from the Best range at www.morrisons.co.uk which was really refreshing and very moreish even without any alcohol content!

Again, particularly in hot weather guests like to lightly graze rather than have a set meal. Make sure that snacks are at hand such as Cashews and of course crisps. Just Crisps www.justoil.co.uk are a product made just up the road from me in Staffordshire at a farm that grows both the potato's and the rapeseed for the oil making these crisps a better alternative to some snacks in terms of both flavour and saturated fat content. 

For a lighter alternative to ice cream why not serve a sorbet for dessert. The Truly Irresistible Mango Sorbet from www.co-operativefood.co.uk is full of refreshing flavour and light on calories. Eat on it's own, or forget calories and serve in a brandy basket with chocolate sauce.

So think outside the box, keep it simple and last of all send me an invitation!

Enjoy!