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Community Table from Epicurious

from Epicurious

Take your place at the table

Our busy lives barely permit leisure time to be spent with family and friends. However, sometimes it becomes quite essential to pause the hullabaloo of everyday life and spend some quality time with the people you love.

And what can be better than a wholesome outdoor cookout with your folks and pals! Yes, I agree it may sound like too much of a task organizing the whole cookout and arranging for all the food and equipment required to cook outdoors. But guess what, your worries end here.

Consider these 5 foolproof ideas to make your cookout a smashing success:

Get Your Equipment Right

It is extremely easy not to be equipped appropriately while having an outdoor cookout. Of course, traditional cookers and ovens are highly inappropriate and troublesome while preparing meals or dishes out in the open.

However, technology has proven its might yet again and presented to the world the most advanced kitchen set up that literally makes your life ten times simpler.

Slow cooker, pressure cooker, multi cooker, sous vide and even toaster ovens – you just name it! Technology has revolutionized the world of cooking. You can get a hold of any of these wonderful inventions quite easily at AllCookerFind.

Consider the Weather

The weather can be the make or break of the cookout you planned with such effort. So, make sure you are updated about the kind of weather you can expect on the day of the cookout.

Accordingly, you need to decide the menu. On a hot day, it might be a good idea to keep lots of fresh, fruity and cool things on the menu. For instance, a nice fresh glass of Broiled Grapefruit Margarita might be a hit among the adults. For the kids, perhaps a tall glass of watermelon juice or mint lemonade might do the trick!

Time of the Day

Another important factor to consider while planning a cookout is the time of the day it is at. You don’t want to be serving waffles for lunch, do you? So, be ahead of the game and serve the right thing at the right time.

If your cookout begins towards late morning, start with something light, like an entree. Of course, don’t forget to make it delicious. Go with popular dishes to win happy points at the beginning itself. Speck Ham Tater Tots may be a fabulous way to kick start the fun and games.

Sandwiches are popular dishes for outdoor dining as well. There is nothing like a good chicken sandwich at a cookout. Of course, you could also go for traditional barbecues.

Your Guests

Judging your guests by their age, tastes and preferences are crucial to having a successful cookout. Children and adults do not enjoy the same things. Again, someone with a sweet tooth will be disappointed if there are no desserts on the menu.

Keeping everyone happy is your duty. Make sure there are kid-friendly dishes – kids love cookies and chocolates. Arrange for some entertainment for them too – a few games, music, dancing. Sometimes adults enjoy that too.

Having a dessert of some sort is also essential. After all, you want your guests to go home with a happy palate. Nothing beats a cheesecake!

Entertainment

Adults enjoy games at picnics as much as the kids. After all, we are all kids at heart.

So, make sure your cookout isn’t a bore. Arrange for simple and fun games that everyone can play together like musical chairs etc. Music is also a crucial mood setter.

Conclusion

Note these few simple suggestions and you can never have an unsuccessful cookout. Spend time with your loved ones and have a blast!

Life of Dad, Tommy Wyher

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Tommy is a passionate writer who found his real passion in raising his children.