Here are a few suggestions. My recipes tend to be very lowfat, but feel free to use real butter where I use Butter Buds, etc. All of these recipes have been tested and highly praised (if I do say so) by both veggie and omni types:
BBQ beans are a favorite of most folks, omni or veggie. I've attached recipes for Kansas City style BBQ beans and the Struttin' Sauce that goes with it. The sauce can be made up ahead of time; I make a multiple recipe and freeze recipe-size lots for later. The sauce and the beans are very easy to make.
I've also attached a recipe for smoky grilled onions the way my father makes them. You put them on the side of the grill all the while you are grilling and eat them as the last course before dessert.
My favorite recipe for a party of this size is Mango, Peach, or Nectarine Sorbet. You can make enough for 15 people in batches (about 3 or 4) where each batch takes under five minutes to make and serve. I've attached the recipes for both Mango and Peach/Nectarine Sorbet, although both are just variations on the same theme. The advantage of the mango version for me is that I get very good frozen mango in a local Mexican grocery, so I don't have to spend hours peeling, chunking, and freezing if I don't want to. I haven't tried the peach or nectarine sorbet using frozen fruit chunks, but I suspect that it would suffer mightily compared to fresh.
For a very interesting and delicious twist on the usual, try Annie Somerville's (the current chef at Greens restaurant in San Francisco) grilled veggies with cinnamon chipotle butter. If you can't find canned chipotles adobado in your local Mexican/Hispanic market I don't know what you'll do, though. They are central to this dish. Chipotle puree is made by dumping a can of chipotles adobado (chipotles canned in adobo) in a blender and puree'ing. The recipe is attached.
Otherwise, well, make-your-own kabobs are always nice. The following are popular items:
Be sure to provide olive oil and brushes for both the grill and the kabob items. I've found that the small wooden Japanese style skewers work much better then the larger metal skewers. They are less likely to split veggies in half and the veggies are less likely to fall off when you turn the kabob on the grill.
Also, don't forget cole slaw, another BBQ favorite at least in the U.S.
Enjoy! Here are the recipes:
I made this a few days ago. This is the type of thing that you need to tweak on a very personal taste basis, so I just adapted it for VLF and I'll let you decide how to modify it yourself. The original recipe called for both bacon and burnt ends, both of which I have simply omitted. If you care to include them, it was 4 slices of bacon (saute the veggies in the drippings) and 1 cup of burnt ends.
The recipe as adapted is vegan, I believe, if vegetarian Worchestershire sauce is used.
Recipe By : Cheryl Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison in "Smoke & Spice"
Serving Size : 6 Preparation Time :0:15
Categories : Beans/Peas Two Thumbs Up
| Amount | Measure | Ingredient -- Preparation Method |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | pound | dried navy beans |
| 6 | cups | water |
| 1 | teaspoon | salt -- plus more to taste |
| 1 | medium | onion -- chopped |
| 2 | medium | bell peppers -- chopped |
| preferably red and green | ||
| 1 | cup | Struttin' Sauce |
| 1 | cup | apple cider |
| 1/3 | cup | dark molasses -- unsulphured variety |
| 1/4 | cup | prepared yellow mustard |
| 2 | tablespoons | cider vinegar -- or less to taste |
Soak the beans for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight, in water to cover, then drain.
In a large, heavy saucepan, combine the beans with the water. Bring the beans to a boil over high heat, and then reduce to a simmer. Cook slowly, stirring up from the bottom occasionally for at least 2 to 3 hours, depending on the beans. Stir in the salt after the beans begin to seem dry. The beans are ready when they mash easily but still hold their shape. Drain the beans.
Preheat the oven to 325 F, and spray a Dutch oven or other baking dish with cooking spray or wipe lightly with oil.
In a nonstick skillet, water-saute the onion and bell pepper until soft. Transfer the onion and bell pepper mixture to the Dutch oven or baking dish. Mix in the remaining ingredients, including the beans. Bake, covered, for about 1 hour. Uncover and bake for an additional 15 to 30 minutes. Serve hot.
CURTIS'S VARIATION: Use Vallarta beans instead of navy beans; these are particularly suited for making barbecued beans.
Serving Ideas : These can be made ahead; they reheat especially well.
NOTES : (adapted by Curtis Jackson)
Boston has no monopoly on baked beans. This is how they cook them out west in Kansas City, where barbecue sauce is a key ingredient....
SERVES 6 TO 8
Recipe By : Cheryl Alters Jamison and Bill Jamison in "Smoke & Spice"
Serving Size : 6 Preparation Time :0:10
Categories : Condiments , Sauces
Two Thumbs Up
| Amount | Measure | Ingredient -- Preparation Method |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | medium | onion -- chopped |
| 2 | cloves | fresh garlic -- minced |
| 1 | cup | tomato puree |
| 3/4 | cup | cider vinegar |
| 3/4 | cup | water |
| 6 | tablespoons | brown sugar |
| 6 | tablespoons | chili powder |
| 1/4 | cup | tomato paste |
| 3 | tablespoons | Worcestershire sauce |
| 4 | teaspoons | celery salt |
| 1 | tablespoon | prepared yellow mustard |
| 1 | tablespoon | freshly ground black pepper |
| 1 | tablespoon | corn syrup |
| 1 | tablespoon | Liquid Barbecue Smoke(R) -- OPTIONAL |
In a nonstick saucepan, water-saute the onions and garlic until they are softened, about 5 minutes. Mix in the remaining ingredients, reduce the heat to low, and cook the mixture until it thickens, approximately 30 minutes. Stir frequently. If the consistency is thicker than you prefer, add a little water. Use the sauce warm or chilled. It keeps, refrigerated, for a couple of weeks.
Curtis sez: "I thought that a full tablespoon of liquid smoke would be far too much, but after slowly adding it and tasting as I went along I convinced myself to add the whole tablespoon, and was glad of it later."
NOTES : (adapted by Curtis Jackson)
Kansas City is the sauce capital of the country, where they practically pave the streets with the stuff. Over the last half century, local pitmasters perfected a spicy, sweet sauce, thick with tomatoes, that ultimately became the most common and popular style nationally. When you look for a commercial sauce in a supermarket today, Kansas City-style may be the only kind you find. Few of the packaged products, however, rival the originals, still served in Bar-B-Q joints all over town, or good homemade variations on the same theme. This version is modeled on the sauce that Ollie Gates created years ago for his thriving small chain of Gates & Son's restaurants. Like Gates's classic, our rendition will leave you strutting with satisfaction.
MAKES ABOUT 2 1/4 CUPS
Recipe By : Jack Jackson
Serving Size : 1 Preparation Time :0:03
Categories : Grilled/Smoked , Side Dish
Two Thumbs Up
| Amount | Measure | Ingredient -- Preparation Method |
|---|---|---|
| sweet onions (preferably Vidalia) -- small are better | ||
| liquid Butter Buds(or other substitute) | ||
| Liquid Smoke flavoring | ||
For each onion:
Serving Ideas : Serve as an appetizer or side-dish.
NOTES : (adapted by Curtis Jackson)
Make these onions when you are already grilling something else; just set them on the side of the grill while you are grilling other things. Maui onions are passable for this dish, but Vidalias are highly preferred (I haven't tried Walla Wallas yet).
Recipe By : Curtis Jackson
Serving Size : 3 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Desserts , Two Thumbs Up, Food Processor/Blender ,Fruit
| Amount | Measure | Ingredient -- Preparation Method |
|---|---|---|
| 28 | ounces | frozen mango -- very slightly thawed |
| 1/4 | cup | lemon juice -- or more to taste |
| 1 | cup | apple juice -- or more as needed |
| Equalr sweetener -- to taste | ||
Take the mango out of the freezer and let sit out at room temperature approximately 30 minutes before you are going to make the sorbet.
Put the mango, lemon juice, and 1/2 CUP of the apple juice into a blender or food processor and puree until smooth, adding additional apple juice as needed for smooth blending and texture. You may require 1 1/2 cups of apple juice or more in all.
Add sweetener to taste and blend in (I've added as little as no sweetener and as much as four 1-gram packets of sweetener; depends on the sweetness of the mangos and your personal tastes).
Serve immediately.
Serving Ideas : Eat all this at one sitting; it gets rock-hard if refrozen
Recipe By : Curtis Jackson
Serving Size : 3 Preparation Time :0:15
Categories : Desserts , Two Thumbs Up, Food Processor/Blender , Fruit
| Amount | Measure | Ingredient -- Preparation Method |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | large | TRULY RIPE SOFT peaches or nectarines -- peeled, pitted, and cut into 3/4" chunks |
| 1/4 | cup | lemon juice -- or more to taste |
| 1/2 | cup | apple juice -- or more as needed |
| Equal sweetener -- to taste | ||
Choose very ripe juicy peaches or nectarines for this recipe; if they are very firm don't even bother because this recipe will yield ghastly results. Prepare 2 of the fruits and freeze the chunks on a baking sheet, taking care that they do not touch each other. Prepare the other 3 fruits and refrigerate the chunks.
Put the frozen fruit chunks, refrigerated fruit chunks, lemon juice, and 1/4 CUP of the apple juice into a blender or food processor and puree until smooth, adding additional apple juice as needed for smooth blending and texture. You may require 1 cup of apple juice or more in all.
Add sweetener (if necessary) to taste and blend in. If you pick good ripe juicy peaches or nectarines, you should not need any sweetener at all.
Serve immediately.
Serving Ideas : Eat all this at one sitting; it gets rock-hard if refrozen
Recipe By : Annie Sommerville in "Fields of Greens"
Serving Size : 3 Preparation Time :0:15
Categories : Grilled/Smoked , Two Thumbs Up
| Amount | Measure | Ingredient -- Preparation Method |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | pounds | small summer squash (crookneck, zucchini) -- halved lengthwise -- in thirds if thick |
| 4 | small | Japanese eggplant (about 1 pound) -- cut in thirds -- lengthwise |
| 3/4 | cup | Cinnamon-Chipotle Butter -- recipe to follow |
VERY VERY lightly spray the cut sides of the vegetables with cooking spray (I like to use butter-flavored PAM for this).
Lightly spray a clean grill with cooking spray, then get it very hot, preferrably using mesquite charcoal or mesquite chips. Grill the vegetables cut-side down over high heat until they are done but only blackened in rare spots, about 5 or 6 minutes. For pieces with two cut sides, turn them once halfway through. (If you want you can watch them carefully and turn them 90 degrees partway through to get nice crosshatch grill marks).
Brush the cut side of each piece generously with the Cinnamon-Chipotle Butter and serve hot or warm.
NOTES : (adapted from the original recipe by Curtis Jackson)