PHOTO BY TANIA COLAMARINO, AMA PHOTOGRAPHY
For a casual get together, nothing can quite compare to a backyard barbecue, even with a guest list a mile long. If that’s what you’re after, but if you want to raise the bar—for a little more fun and a lot more adventure—
add a touch of the wild west. to get your “posse” started, read on for entertainment tips on everything from party-themed foods to decorations, games, prizes and more.
PARTY-TIME ESSENTIALS
Hold your event on a day that works best for you. If it’s going to be held on a holiday weekend, your guests will appreciate a heads up. A “save the date” card put in the mail several weeks before the real invitations are mailed out will help.
Is there a friend or family member willing to help out before, during or after the party? For back up, Mack Hospitality Staffing in Sinking Spring is a good option for the extra help you might need.
Will you need to rent tables, chairs or other party supplies? If space allows for a large tent, Matt Kerper, general manager at Knight’s Rental in Leesport, says that’s the way to go because it’s easier for food to be served and for people to mill about and be involved in all the activities.
A large round canopy tent will set you back about $200 (this fee includes setup and tear down). You will also incur a delivery charge based on the number of miles from the store to the event site.
THE CHUCK WAGON
A grill or outdoor cooktop is essential to the success of your outdoor party – even if the bulk of your food will be prepared indoors.
Our loaded-gun menu starts with brisket. Grill-master Fred A. Bernardo, owner of Tasty Licks BBQ Supply in Shillington, says, “If you’re gonna have a ‘Cowboy Barbecue’ you gotta have brisket because back in the day, that’s what cowboys ate.”
When you order brisket from a butcher shop or supermarket, you most likely will get a cut of meat called the center portion of the flat. And according to Mary Hill at M&B Fairview Farm in Hamburg, that would be the meaty part of a cow that goes from the chin to the bottom of the neck. Referred to as a
rectangular muscle that is lean and compact, brisket, when slow-cooked over low heat, should be tender and easy to carve when done. If this is your first time making brisket, practice a recipe you are comfortable with at least one time before the party so that you have no unwelcome surprises.
Have picky kids (or adults) attending? Have burgers on hand! They're always a crowd pleaser.
For more finger-licking foods, we’ve rustled up three easy side dish recipes, including belly-busting baked beans, hot chili rice and homemade cornbread for the hungry guests who will be bringing their appetites to your party.
The easiest side, fresh sweet corn, is delicious grilled in its husk (grilledcornonthecob.com) or cooked un-husked in boiling water for five to 10 minutes. Make sure there’s butter, flaky sea salt and an assortment of “shake at your own risk” spicy seasonings on the eats table. Pick up your corn at Fisher’s Produce Inc., a family-owned farm along Route 662 in Oley whose main crop is sweet corn; they also grow and sell rhubarb, zucchini, eggplants, peppers and spinach.
And for dessert, Felicia Fisher, owner of Black Buggy Baking Company, says strawberry-rhubarb pie is especially good for a picnic in early summer. Other good pie choices would be blueberry, peach or apple depending on what fruit is in season.
WESTERN SALOON
Most barrooms of the 19th century were sparsely decorated holes-in-the-wall that attracted cowboys, gamblers, gold prospectors and other travelers with a penchant for strong liquor. What these crude establishments lacked in ambience they made up for in the way of games, dancing girls and piano players. To get a better picture, legendsofamerica.com has a plethora of historical information and hundreds of saloon style photo prints to spark your imagination. You might even be inspired to create your own bar menu based on libation recipes of the past.
If there’s room to spare in your beverage area, have small round tables set up for dice or poker games.
Keep beer and soda on ice in metal wash buckets or water troughs so that guests can help themselves. And glass mason jars are a perfect complement to a cold glass of lemonade.
TABLEWARE
Continue your western theme by covering tabletops with gingham fabric or brown craft paper from your local craft store.
Repurpose pie pans and old silverware instead of using paper or plastic plates and utensils—your food will take on a life of its own if it looks and tastes better than the plate it’s on.
Wrap eating utensils inside of paisley-patterned bandanas and stack inside a wicker basket or metal bucket at the end of the buffet table.
Adorn tabletops with mason jars filled with freshly picked flowers. Small candles inside glass jars or oil lamps will keep light on the tables all night.
CREATE THE MOOD
For country ambience, decorate your party area with riding saddles mounted on sawhorses. Check with local farmers for straw bales and wagon wheels to fill empty spaces. Hang Navajo blankets or country quilts on walls or simply cover stacked straw bales so that they can be used for seating.
For a more novel approach, nail or tape up personalized “dead or alive” wanted posters that have a worn, faded look. Check out studentposters.co.uk, glassgiant.com or tripwiremagazine.com to print your own or to purchase posters.
GAMES AND PRIZES
"Guess the campfire song" is a fun game for all ages. Get the game started with a musically inclined guest reading or singing the first two sentences of a song and then have guests guess the next two lines. Here’s an example: “Do your ears hang low; Do they wobble to and fro?” And the answer: “Can you tie ‘em in a knot; Can you tie ‘em in a bow?”
Check out mcphee.com for fun prizes or favors including cowgirl coasters, horse head masks, machismo mints, Texas hold ‘em poker chips or playing card sets, fake mustaches, bubble gum, franks and beans, everything bacon and more.
Finally, kick it up a notch for guests who wish to Do-Si-Do the night away to live classic country music provided by Daniel Bower of Moonlight Forest Productions in Reading. He’ll handle all the details and take your party from ho hum to “yee haw!”
CORNBREAD
(Recipe adapted by Felicia Fisher)
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
3 eggs
2 cups yellow cornmeal
1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter (chilled, diced)
1 1/2 cups corn kernels (fresh, 3 ears)
Directions
• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Butter a 9x9x2-inch metal baking pan.
• Whisk buttermilk and eggs in large bowl.
• Blend cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in processor 5 seconds.
• Add 1/2 cup butter; blend until coarse meal forms.
• Add corn kernels and blend until kernels are coarsely chopped.
• Stir dry ingredients into buttermilk mixture; transfer to pan.
• Bake cornbread until golden on top and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 45 minutes.
• Cool 20 minutes.
BELLY-BUSTING BAKED BEANS Serves 6 Ingredients 1 40-ounce can of Hanover Great Northern White Beans 1 medium onion (chopped) 1 cup ketchup 1 cup brown sugar 2 tsp. powdered mustard 2 Tbsp. Turkey brand molasses 1/4 pound cut bacon strips Directions • In a frying pan, cook bacon and chopped onions until done. • Add ketchup, brown sugar, powdered mustard and molasses and stir until combined. • Put cooked ingredients into crockpot along with beans and cook on high for 4 to 6 hours. • Finish and cook on low for 12 hours.
CHILI RICE Serves: 6 Ingredients 2 Tbsp. butter 1/3 cup finely chopped onion 1/3 cup finely chopped scallions 1/2 cup finely chopped celery 1 tsp. chili powder (or more) 1 cup raw rice 1 1/2 cup canned chicken broth Directions • Heat 1 Tbsp. butter and add chopped onions, scallions and celery and cook until wilted. • Add rice and broth along with salt and pepper and cook until the pot simmers. • Cover and cook until done, about 17 minutes. • Stir in remaining butter.
