IDEAS

what's on your menu now?

We're off-site caterers and often use a grill to do things like tips, chicken, and seafood.  We vary the sides, but tend to stick with a few staples.  One favorite is a potato salad with a vinaigrette rather than mayo, blanched haricort vert, grape tomatoes, and fresh herbs like dill and parsley, and sometimes black olives.   Black bean and corn salad with avocado, tomato, red onion, and cilantro is always a hit; watermelon, feta, and black olive salad; grilled vegetables;  sweet potato and corn salad...

One idea would be to organize your grill as for a Mongolian BBQ. Choose between proteins and vegetables and utilize the flat top grill to combine the ingredients and also spices to make authentic Mongolian food.

The grill would work well for grilling flank steaks to make pita sandwiches. Sides could include healthy items such as hummus, tzadziki,

scordahlia, shredded romaine all of which would be condiments for pita bread that you could grill as well.

grains, veg, creamy type sauce, nuts, fruit.....bowls, wraps

yesterday I made a wild rice blend with sauted onions, fresh bosc pears,cashews,  lots of pepper/rosemary, put it on a whole grain large tortilla and added guacamole, sour cream, baby spinach, pickled red onion.  Was awesome.....for low fat use plain yogurt instead of sour cream/guacamole

I could see hummos (various versions, red pepper, dillweed, garlic, herb, etc) with sauted onions, summer squashes...fresh tomatoes, lettuces or cabbage, cukes, yogurt sauce

Asian version, rice blend, cooked onions, broccoi, carrots, cabbage, hoisin/sirachi/orange sauce, with or without meats.....again bowl or wrap

you could do mexican or creole .....

work with various grain blends, I really like the Lundberg's wild rice blend.

will do, my pleasure.

Of course there are always the classic skewers that you can do with whatever combinations of local seasonal veg you have. You can have these pre-skewered and play and have fun with different marinades. Chipolte, bbq, fresh herb and lemon. Drop the skewers in the different marinades the night before service. Switch your skewers out with fresh rosemary stalks. So instead of disgarding them after you have used the fresh leaves - save them for an extra flavour punch on your veg skewers. toss some lovely extra firm tofu on for fun.

There's also portabello mushroom burgers which are great on the grill or flat top, stuffed with avocado, red onion,roast corn and bell peppers topped with a nice slice of local Sylvan Lake gouda or something. Skies the limit - you can create different fusion flavour profiles by picking a different country of origin.

Veggie burgers......of course....and put your own unique twist on them.

With today's special dietary needs, why not include some gluten free options - there are some pretty spectacular things that you can do with quinoa - experiment with some different quinoa burger recipes and serve them topped with your signature twists. Served either straight up with what some lovely condiments or place them on a crispy grilled potato slice -like sliders. Call them your quinoa sliders.

You could do grilled peaches, with fresh herbs and creme fraiche or yogurt. Or toss them on a salad.  You could even do some grilled pizza offerings -that would work on the flat top and do vegetarian style whole wheat pita pizzas or instead of calling them pizzas depending on your service time constraints and set up for cutting them, when they are done just fold them in half and serve - you could brush them with a garlic, herb olive oil so the bottom gets nice and crispy.

 Just bouncing a bunch of ideas out there that will hopefully catalyze some really fun stuff for you to do!! Have fun!!

How about a New Zealand Hāngi - Meat, potatoes, veggies, what ever you want, wrapped in banana leaves and wet sacks and cooked over coals in a covered pit in the ground.

Check out wikipedia for the details.