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Barbecue: a cure for post-vacation blues as summer ends

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What better way can there be than a barbecue, to meet up with friends again this fall, and to plan ahead for the remaining months of the year? The following are five good reasons for setting up the grill and getting the charcoal out.

A fall barbecue? Yes indeed!

  1. A remedy against post-vacation blues: just do it. Do your unpacking later!
  2. You and your friends no doubt have many stories to tell. Outside, you’ll be safer from those endless vacation snapshots and selfies!
  3. The summer heat is off (cooking is a bit more pleasant).
  4. With the arrival of cooler temperatures, no more nervousness about your ‘beach look’ and tan… until next year.
  5. September is rather like January, the right time to plan ahead for the coming months (and that includes upcoming vacations!).

Barbecue? Yes. Italian-style barbecue!

Strictly speaking, barbecue cooking is a low-temperature, indirect-flame type of cooking. Barbecue cooking is a markedly traditional practice in the United States.

The term is derived from the Spanish “barbacoa”, in turn derived from the Caribbean dialect word, “babracot”, from Haiti. The word refers to a grill consisting in branches, below which a fire was lit.
Grilling over hot charcoal is nothing other than the reflection of an ancient practice. There is something instinctive about cooking meats, fish and roots on open flames.
The ways and techniques established for traditional American-style barbecue cooking change even from one State to the next. We shall suggest some original, genuine methods for grilling, which are bound to impress even your most discerning guests (including vegetarians)!

Mediterranean-style BBQ

  • Ketchup? Perhaps not this time! Your guests might appreciate an alternative such as extra virgin olive oil or a real home-made mayonnaise (prepare with olive oil and 100% natural ingredients). 
  • Treats served in olive oil (Sott’oli mes amours). The range is practically limitless: delightful olives and vegetable specialties in olive oil, such as tomatoes, artichokes and chili peppers: Dried Tomatoes, Cuori di Carciofo and Stuffed Chili Peppers.
  • The pride of Italy. One of Italy’s indispensable buffet treats is the traditional ‘bruschetta’, i.e. toasted bread, with fresh tomato, salt, basil and fragrant extra virgin olive oil (best with our EVO Delicato!). 
  • Your guests will relish the sauces you have prepared as an ideal accompaniment for a ‘pinzimonio’ raw vegetable dip or canapés and crouton; our favorites are Black Olive Spread, Artichoke Spread and Dried Tomato Spread. 
  • For the non-meat-eaters among us! Mini sandwiches with filleted tuna and vegetables, accompanied by delicious tuna sauce. 
  • Vegetarians welcome! Some people won’t eat either meat or fish. For these guests, we suggest delicious tomini (bloomy-rind cheeses) or perhaps seitan steaks, which you can grill together with the season’s vegetables and sliced polenta, or enjoy with jacket potatoes.
  • Alongside bread, if you have the time, you may want to home-bake some focaccia flat bread. Check out our focaccia with olives recipe!
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