628770 Wed Jun 17 10:38:33 -0700 2009 21 31 Home Cooking 0 4781415 I am having people over for July 4th starting at around 3 in the afternoon. There are 12 adults and 16 kids, ranging in ages from 2-8). Although we have a grill, I do not want to do hamburgers because, as it has been stated in other threads, it requires someone to be standing at the grill and that someone will be me! So here is what I was thinking and wondering if you have any thoughts or comments... Mango Salsa/Chips Benedictine Dip with Crudite (I got the recipe for the dip on CH, made it last week and it was great!) Caprese on a Stick (actually flag toothpicks) Chips, and other snacks for kids Roast Chicken (I will buy, cut up ,and served at room temp) Hot Dogs (my husband can make these on the grill) Corn on the Cob Orzo, Feta, Tomato, Scallion salad Broccoli Slaw Corn Muffins My friends are bringing dessert but I may just have to make the flag cake since it is July 4th. One of my goals here is to be able to do as much as possible in advance. Does this sound like a nice menu? Or is it a hodgepodge? I can't decide! Thanks. Wed Jun 17 10:38:33 -0700 2009 10205 valerie 1 4781531 It sounds like a great Independence Day menu, valerie! But you have both corn muffins AND COTC...perhaps a different savory muffin or slices of a crusty bread instead? Another "do ahead" main dish except for the last bit of grilling would be some ribs. They could be baked in the oven and then slathered with BBQ sauce and given a final grill for the crust you'd want. Wed Jun 17 11:12:53 -0700 2009 4781415 10532 LindaWhit 2 4781755 I thought about the corn and corn muffins. I will probably nix the muffin idea altogether. And I will consider ribs. I just never made them before so if you have any suggestions on how to do them, let me know. I will start searching CH for rib ideas... Wed Jun 17 12:20:15 -0700 2009 4781531 10205 valerie 3 4781946 Plenty of Rib ideas here (along with pulled pork): http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/623897 Wed Jun 17 13:08:23 -0700 2009 4781755 10532 LindaWhit 2 4782880 I agree with both ideas, LindaWhit, I would nix either the muffins (which can be done ahead) or the fresh corn. Ribs are an excellent idea as well, and can also be done ahead and just heated and basted on the grill last minute. I have a great recipe that has always been foolproof for me: BODACIOUS BABY BACK RIBS 5 lbs. pork baby back ribs, about 4 racks Dry Rub: 4 tbsp. spicy montreal steak seasoning 2 tbsp coarse salt Fresh ground pepper ½ cup brown sugar 1 cup apple juice ½ cup apple cider Cattlemen’s Authentic smokehouse BBQ sauce Rinse and pat dry ribs. Sprinkle dry rub on both sides of all racks. Refrigerate, covered for 1-24 hours. Put convection oven on 300 degrees. Mix together apple juice & cider. Put racks in deep roasting pan. Pour in the juice. Tightly cover with foil and cook for 1 ½ - 2 hours, or until ribs are tender. Preheat grill to medium high heat. Slather racks with bbq sauce and grill, covered, for 15-20 minutes, turning and basting frequently. You can braise them ahead a day, cover in fridge, then come up to room temp before reheating & saucing on the grill. Hope you like them! Wed Jun 17 18:13:48 -0700 2009 4781531 90755 Phurstluv 3 4783103 This sounds VERY good - and a good way for me to try out Montreal Steak Seasoning mix (as I've said in another thread, I've never tried it). I like the brown sugar with the rub as well - I've always been a fan of "sweet with meat" - whether it's a sugar/honey or fruit base. Wed Jun 17 19:41:07 -0700 2009 4782880 10532 LindaWhit 3 4783159 Yes, this does sound good, and easy. Maybe a dumb question but you say convection oven. I don't have a convection oven...does it matter, maybe does a regular oven require more cooking time? I especially like the idea of cooking the ribs a day ahead and then finishing them on the day they are being served. The cooking of the ribs would be one less thing I have to do while I have guests here. Thanks. Wed Jun 17 20:01:17 -0700 2009 4782880 10205 valerie 4 4783196 Valerie, I have a convection toaster oven. I think the rule of thumb is when you're using one, you lower the heat by 25 degrees and shorten the cooking time by one-quarter to one-third. So I'd increase a regular oven's heat to 325, and cook for up to 2.5 hours....but others more familiar with making ribs could probably zero in on the length of time better. Wed Jun 17 20:13:44 -0700 2009 4783159 10532 LindaWhit 4 4784457 Just add about a half hour to the total cooking time, convection gets a little hotter, but it really doesn't matter if it's a regular oven. Thu Jun 18 09:37:42 -0700 2009 4783159 90755 Phurstluv 1 4781681 I like it. The caprese on a stick sounds great. I may copy that one. Still working on my own menu.. Wed Jun 17 11:57:19 -0700 2009 4781415 12426 janehathaway 2 4781739 I must admit, I have seen people discuss it here on CH in the past. Not my original idea, but a good one, nonetheless! Wed Jun 17 12:16:58 -0700 2009 4781681 10205 valerie 1 4781699 Watermelon ------------- Wed Jun 17 12:04:32 -0700 2009 4781415 65057 Uncle Bob 2 4781734 My friends are in charge of fruit and dessert. Truthfully, I hate delegating anything at all, but we all have small kids, so why not make it easier on myself... Wed Jun 17 12:15:57 -0700 2009 4781699 10205 valerie 3 4781759 I agree --- Make it easy on yourself and delegate someone to bring ice cold watermelons!! With 16 "Rug Rats" how can you not!! They'll love it..The 12 adults will too!! Have Fun!!!!!!!! Wed Jun 17 12:21:26 -0700 2009 4781734 65057 Uncle Bob 1 4781732 Sounds delicious although I too would add watermelon to it, and if the corn is not local then I would go with potato salad instead, which solves the corn muffin redundancy and is also more make-ahead than COTC.. Not at all hodgepodge and enough variety so everyone should be happy. Wed Jun 17 12:15:01 -0700 2009 4781415 13756 GretchenS 1 4781890 Thanks everyone. As per LindaWhit's suggestion, I did a search and came up with this thread on babyback ribs. It seems easy so I will definitely make them too. All I can say is that we better have nice weather on the 4th...t is June 17th and in NY it is still in the 60's! Wed Jun 17 12:57:56 -0700 2009 4781415 10205 valerie 2 4781983 Here's the link to the thread on babyback ribs... http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/284848 Wed Jun 17 13:18:49 -0700 2009 4781890 10205 valerie 3 4782008 THAT'S super-easy and very little work on your part - as long as it's not blazingly hot and you have A/C for the oven portion, you're golden! Wed Jun 17 13:23:44 -0700 2009 4781983 10532 LindaWhit 4 4782604 Yes we have A/C, but honestly, I'd rather it be hot than rain -- I don't want 16 kids running around my house! Wed Jun 17 16:19:06 -0700 2009 4782008 10205 valerie 5 4782715 Well, THAT'S just a given. ;-) Wed Jun 17 17:03:25 -0700 2009 4782604 10532 LindaWhit 1 4837115 Here I am reporting back. The party was a huge success! Weather in NY could not have been better and it was a pleasure for everyone to be outside in the warm, dry air after all the rain we had in June. I more or less stuck with the menu above. My friends all loved the mango salsa, and I still have a ton left over. Dip was good to and the caprese on a stick was great with the flag toothpicks. Bought the roast chickens, and I bought alot because I was thinking that more people would eat chicken than ribs. Boy was I wrong! I ended up making the ribs following Alton Brown's recipe (link in this thread -- http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/284848 ). I braised them on Thursday, let them cool and then refrigerated them. I made the sauce as directed from the braising liquid and stuck that in the refrigerator too. On Saturday, I took the ribs out earlyish in the day and let the meat come to room temperature. When I cut the ribs into smaller sections of 2 or 3 ribs, I was kind of on the fence about whether they were actually cooked because they looked pink to me, but I had no idea since I never cooked them before. So at around 4:30, I stuck them back into the oven on 250 and cooked them some more, then around 6:00, I put the sauce on and we put them on the grill for about 5 minutes on each side to get that crisp exterior. All I can say, is that my friends are still talking about the ribs. Here I was on the verge of throwing them out and running out to buy burgers since I was afraid of poisoning anyone, and people were raving. I was proud! Side dishes were good, but I should have mixed the broccoli slaw with its dressing a little earlier and it needs to sit a bit for all the flavors to come together and the broccoli to get a little soft. Oh well. Nobody complained and the leftovers were delicious. The corn was just ok, which is kind of weird since the corn has been generally good, and I did not make the corn muffins. For dessert I got a fruit platter, friends brought brownies, other friends brought an insanely delicious apple pie and then there were my chipwiches. More raves on the chipwiches, and a fair amount left over which we have been eating each night since. The good news is that they are small! A great time was had by all, and certainly enough food was had by all. Thanks to everyone...Chowhounds have seriously made me a better cook! Here are photos of the caprese and chipwiches... http://www.flickr.com/photos/14526977@N06/sets/72157621101293386/ Tue Jul 07 13:16:26 -0700 2009 4781415 10205 valerie 2 4837646 very nice...sounds great Tue Jul 07 16:25:40 -0700 2009 4837115 11854 LaLa