Adie's going away/good luck BBQ

Well as the title suggests I am setting up a BBQ party type thing for my OH as he is going away into the Army on the 15th May.

Aside from the usual BBQ food - what else can I throw on the Barbie or prepare in order to keep my guests happy, does anyone have any recipes of some really nice salads or other foods etc, desserts also please (I don't do salads - I have no idea what goes into them)

Ribs!! I make a super easy sauce for them...mix up honey, Worcestershire sauce, tomato ketchup and a hint of chili (flakes). Make enough sauce to completely coat the ribs. These are lush however you cook them, but especially so on the BBQ.

What is Adie doing in the Army? I thought I remember you posting about him going into the Marines and not the Army.

He's going into 1st battalion rifles - Marine's doctor said he wasn't fit enough, even with the knowledge that Adie had had a bad cough the week before. He applied to both just in case, but with the rifles he can go into the snipers and also a route into the Marines after a few years so he'll get there one way or another.

Ribs - Hhmmm that's going to be a challenge to keep the dogs away.. Thank you for the sauce - I shall try it (I'm a bit funny with raw meat so someone else might have to do it) Thank you once again

Infantry eh? quite a challenge to say the least! is he starting basic training then?

As for the ribs, that sauce can be also be used on chicken wings, etc., which are again great when BBQ'd.

My perfect BBQ would probably be burgers (homemade and grilled of course - again these are very easy), ribs, chicken wings, coleslaw (home made - Nigella Lawsons recipe for this is very easy and delish!), potato salad (I make German potato salad - Google it!) & a cesar salad.

Yes, 15th May is when he starts his Basic training. A lot of changes for me and Louie.

Thanks for the tips. We roll up mince into burgers anyway so they are homemade (slightly) but to be honest I was going to get Icelands BBQ 25 piece bag - we had one last year with loads of burgers in and whole legs of chicken and sausages. It was nice, but he only likes the homemade burgers lol. Men - they're fussier than the dogs!

We always do kebabs on the BBQ. Soak the sticks first for about half an hour then put chunks of pepper, onion, mushroom and your chosen meat on them. Marinade with a desired sauce and leave in the fridge preferably overnight or for a few hours if prepping them same day. They are delish on the BBQ and a good way of adding a bit of veg into the equation as I always find bbqs tend to be meat overload!!

We always do a large bowl of baby new potatoes cooked with butter and fresh mint as well and they always go down well. You could also make this into potato salad by adding mayonnaise and chopped chives or spring onions.

Homemade coleslaw is also usually another sure fire winner. I have got a good recipe somewhere, I'll try to dig it out for you.

Hope it goes well and good luck to Adie for his training. My other half is on loads of military courses at the moment so I know how intense some of the training can be.

Thanks Esmed

I usually do kebabs as well with Turkey/Chicken or Prawn & Chorizo ones which are really nice.I'm not a big fan of burgers etc so i tend to do Steak with them and have a
pot of buttered,minted new potatoes (with a lid on to keep them warm) and Cous cous

cesar salad.

Ceasar salad might be better. On the other hand... lol