42 June 2022 | parkcitiespeople.com
Living
6-STEP CHECKLIST FOR MAKING YOUR NEXT OUTDOOR PARTY A SUCCESS An outdoor party takes a little more planning than an indoor one. Here are some of my tips for ensuring everyone has a great time at your next barbecue, cocktail hour, or pool party.
1. Seating: Once you’ve figured out how many guests you’ll be having, you can determine your seating arrangements. Will your guests be seated at a long table? Or will you create a variety of seating arrangements for individual conversation groups? If there will be children present, do you want a kids’ table? You may want to rent additional tables, tablecloths, linens, and chairs. In the past, I’ve ordered bamboo tables that seat four people and pushed them together to seat six. MARGARET CHAMBERS
2. Table Settings: I recommend decorative melamine plates because they are shatterproof and dishwasher safe. With melamine, you can hardly tell that it’s not real porcelain. Acrylic stemware is a sturdy alternative to glassware — after all, you don’t want glass near the pool. 3. Food: It’s imperative that the food you serve won’t melt or wilt in the heat. Some triedand-true choices for outdoor parties include nuts, crudités, hummus dips, puff pastries, charcuterie boards, and dried fruit.
LEFT: Mixing iron furniture and faux bois furniture in this outdoor seating area creates a more interesting look. (PHOTO: NATHAN SCHRODER. DESIGNS: MARGARET CHAMBERS); RIGHT: It worked out better here to have two small tables with umbrellas instead of one large table. We used same fabrics for both seating arrangements. (PHOTO: MICHAEL HUNTER. DESIGNS: MARGARET CHAMBERS).
4. Drinks: Self-service drink areas encourage guests to circulate the space and possibly cross paths with someone new to talk to. Stock your drink station with glasses, cups, straws, lemons and limes, club soda, and a cocktail shaker. Also, consider including your own cocktail mix or punch (serve ice separately so that you don’t water down the mixture). 5. Games: Food and drinks are not the only ingre-
dients for a successful outdoor party: Don’t forget to include games so that your guests never get bored. Good outdoor party games include horseshoes, croquet, giant Jenga, and badminton.
6. Weather: Here in Dallas, the window of opportunity for perfect weather is small. If chill is a concern, provide throw blankets, outdoor heaters, or a fire pit to keep guests warm. During the hot summer, guests will appreciate access to
cold nonalcoholic drinks, misters, plenty of ice, fans, and shade. Even if you’ve never entertained outdoors before, you can plan with confidence if you keep these tips in mind. Margaret Chambers, a registered interior designer (RID) and member of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), leads Chambers Interiors and Associates. Her colleague Caitlin Crowley helped edit this column. Visit chambersinteriors.com/blog for more design advice.
Gather Round, And Get Fired Up For Grilling Season True grill masters work their culinary magic year-round over charcoal or wood fire grills and smokers. For the rest of us, grilling season gets underway with the arrival of Father’s Day. Whether it’s burgers and hot dogs or CHRISTY ROST steaks, chops, or kabobs, cooking over a grill offers much more than flavor. Grilling is equal parts cooking, socializing, and entertainment. That’s the reason folks gather around whenever someone fires up the grill. It’s a veritable symphony where sizzling meat or fish take center stage, accompanied by the sound of spits as melting fat drips onto hot coals. As with any symphony, all eyes are on the conductor – in this case, the grill master, who deftly coaxes the best flavors, textures, and colors from the ingredients with every flip, turn, or repositioning. Add chilled beverages and tasty apps, and standing around the grill takes on the excitement of culinary
GRILLED RIBEYE STEAK WITH CHARRED PEPPERS, ONION, AND BOK CHOY
(PHOTO: CHRISTY ROST)
theater. When it comes to grilled meats, a thick ribeye steak cooked to perfection is hard to beat. Well-marbled with flecks of fat throughout and a simple seasoning of coarse salt and freshly ground pepper, the flamekissed flavor imparted by charcoal, wood, or even a gas fire ensures every bite is sublime. But why stop there? Grilling heightens the flavor and mouthwatering appearance of vegetables, too. For this grilled ribeye steak with charred peppers, onion, and bok choy, I lightly brushed olive oil over yellow and red sweet peppers, red onion, and baby bok choy, grilled them over a hot flame until charred, then brushed on
Asian sweet chili sauce during the final minute of cooking. While grilling a complete meal of steak and vegetables, I used leftover space to blacken poblano peppers for chicken enchiladas I plan to prepare later in the week. Other times, I’ve used excess space to grill chicken legs and thighs for another meal. This double-duty grilling saves cooking time and fuel, and there’s nothing like knowing another savory meal awaits in the fridge for the next day. Cookbook author and PBS chef Christy Rost is a longtime resident of the Park Cities and Preston Hollow. Find her ‘Celebrating Home’ 4-minute cooking videos at youtube.com/ChristyRostCooks and christyrost.com.
Ingredients: 1 ¾ pounds boneless ribeye steak, 1 ½ inch thickness Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste Smoked sea salt flakes for garnish 2 yellow sweet peppers, rinsed 1 red sweet pepper, rinsed 1 large red onion, peeled and cut into 6 wedges 3 baby bok choy, rinsed and cut in half lengthwise 1 tablespoon olive oil 2 tablespoons sweet chili sauce Directions: Season the meat generously with coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper and set it aside. Slice the yellow and red peppers in half lengthwise, remove the seeds, and slice each half into three wedges. Brush the peppers, onion wedges, and
bok choy halves lightly on each side with olive oil and set them aside. Preheat the grill. When it is hot, transfer the meat and vegetables to the grill. Cook the meat 4 minutes, then turn it over and cook 4 minutes more. Turn the meat over once more, rotate it one-quarter turn to create crosshatch grill marks, and cook 1 to 2 minutes more on each side, or until an instant-read thermometer reads 130 degrees. Transfer the meat to a large platter, garnish it with smoked sea salt flakes, and set it aside to keep warm. Meanwhile, cook the vegetables until they are crisp-tender and begin to char, flipping them over once. Just before removing them from the grill, brush with sweet chili sauce. Cook 1 minute more, then remove them from the grill and arrange them on the platter next to the meat. Yield: 4 servings
