When it comes to backyard grill parties, from experience, I opt serving assorted cold cuts and cheeses from my favorite deli shop.  The reason behind this is I want to begin with what won't stain my guests' clothes immediately and won't keep me too busy from mingling with friends.  So I usually have 2-3 platters containing assorted salamis, lyoner varieties, chorizo slices, pitted black and green olives, as well as a range of semi-soft, hard and aged cheese.  I pair these platters with quarter sliced warm tortillas, saltine crackers, and the ever-dependable Bread Pan or Sky flakes.

When in the mood, I serve my own nacho cheese dip and chilled Mexican salsa with assorted plain and whole wheat nacho chips (store-bought).  The salsa can be very versatile.  My friends have always had a knack for mixing and matching it with the rest of what is served.

Jen's Nacho Cheese Sauce

2 tablespoons of premium butter
½ carton of low fat milk
½ pack of cream cheese, softened and whipped
1 block of local cheddar cheese, grated
1 cup of quezo de bola, grated
1 medium sized bottle of local cheese spread
1/3 cup bottled parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon of nutmeg
1 teaspoon of paprika
½ teaspoon of bottled basil leaves, crush before adding to release its oil
1 can of mushroom soup concentrate
A pinch of white pepper

Melt the butter, add the milk. As it doubles its volume, lower your fire, add all the cheese ingredients, whisk in the mushroom soup concentrate, season with paprika, nutmeg and white pepper. NO NEED FOR SALT.   
    

Tomato Salsa

This unfortunately lasts only until the end of the party, trying to eat the leftovers the next day or later is not advisable as tomatoes can easily get rotten.  Best served chilled.

Diced tomatoes
Diced white onions
Minced Garlic
Chopped fresh Cilantro
A dash of lemon juice
Salt and pepper to season with

This has to be the simplest instruction in the world: Mix everything in a bowl, chill in the fridge for 10-20 minutes and serve.

Simple Greek Salad

Extra-virgin olive oil
5 tablespoons Red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Coarse salt and coarse pepper
1 head romaine lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces (better to tear rather than use a knife to cut)
Cherry tomatoes, or ripe normal tomatoes, halved
Store-bought feta cheese cubes, crumbled
Red native onion, halved and sliced thinly
Cucumber, skin on, drained and seeded, halved and sliced thinly
Kalamata Olives, assorted, pitted and halved, bought from the deli

Arrange the salad veggies in no particular order.  But I randomly categorize them so my guests can pick what they only like and I serve the dressing separately in a salad vinaigrette boat.  Just combine the garlic, oregano, red wine vinegar and olive oil in a jar.  Put the lid on and shake!

I still favor grilling with charcoal instead of using electric grills.  If there is a newly bought grill in a party that does not use charcoal, I often worry. I like taking my time to grill and watching how the char-grilled marks appear as I turn what it is I am grilling.

Grilled Korean Chuck Blade Ribs

2 kilos thinly sliced chuck blade ribs
Korean ribs marinade:
½ cup Kikkoman soy sauce
¼ cup regular soy sauce
1/8 cup brown sugar
1/8 cup sesame oil
Sesame seeds
Whole pepper corns, bay leaves

Marinate the beef ribs in the fridge for a day using above mentioned ingredients.  Let the marinated ribs adjust to room temperature before grilling.  You can dress this up further with onion leeks and more sesame seeds.

Grilled Pork Loin

3 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped
2 tablespoons shallots, diced,
2 tablespoons orange zest, grated
2 tablespoons lemon zest, grated
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup apple juice
Rock salt and ground pepper to taste
½ bottle white wine
5 rosemary sprigs
Cinnamon powder
1 bone in pork loin roast

Make sure that when you buy the loin roast, it should have its fatty side of the loin intact. Marinate and rub the loin with orange zest, lemon zest, chopped rosemary, shallots, apple juice, olive oil, cinnamon powder, salt and pepper.  Seal in a bag or in a saran-wrapped hollow dish for 24 hours. Tie the loin roast so that while grilling, the layer of fat will not slide out diagonally.

Grill the loin on a roasting drip pan, covered in foil for the first 40 minutes to tenderize it with its own marinade and juices.  Remove the aluminium foil and transfer the loin on the grill rack for direct cooking and let the loin grill according to how you want it to be done.

Lemon Parsley Rice

People still look for rice in parties.  Why not serve them something loose and light!

Cooked white long grain rice
Softened butter
1 teaspoon of lemon juice
Regular parsley, finely chopped
Ground white pepper

Cook your rice the usual way.  While it is still warm, fold in the softened butter, lemon juice, white pepper and finely chopped parsley in with the steaming rice.  Simple.

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