Hurrah, it’s a bank holiday weekend! And in our book, that means lots of good food. Take a look at our four-day foodie plan…
Friday night – cocktails and party games
Friday nights are for celebrating, especially when you’ve got three days off work to look forward to. So why not throw a bank holiday bash for friends and family – there’ll be plenty of time to recuperate! Although, just in case, our top 10 hangover food recipes might come in handy the next day.
Whip up some nibbles using our party food collection for inspiration (we’re talking sausage rolls, mini toad-in-the-holes, and swirly cupcakes), and lay on a selection of top notch drinks from our cocktail maestro Nick Strangeway. We love his Cherry Chocolate Manhattan and Spitfires over Kent cocktails.
Once the party gets going, and all the sausage rolls have been eaten, distract your guests with one of our top five party game ideas, such as apple bobbing and 'the Mars Bar game'. But be careful if you pick 'egg roulette' – things could get messy...
Saturday – dinner party night
You’ve got the whole day ahead of you to plan an impressive feast for friends. Look at our Italian collection for something light and summery (how about a starter of venison carpaccio, followed by linguine with clams and sweet orange risotto for dessert?), or if you don’t want to break the bank, try our cheap dinner party menus – there are ‘veggie’, ‘exotic’ and ‘traditionally English’ menu options.
If you’d prefer not to be in the kitchen for hours, check out our quick dinner party menus – one menu guarantees a three course meal on the table in under 90 minutes; another in under 60; and one more in just over half an hour – amazing!
Whatever you do, be sure to swot up on dinner party etiquette before the guests arrive – we’ve got advice from Debrett’s, the modern authority on all things polite; 12 tips from The Dorchester’s Restaurant Director; and yet more top tips for successful summer entertaining. That way you’ll be able to deal with everything from unexpected guests to angry neighbours and allergies.
Sunday – brunch and an evening barbie
After all that entertaining, you deserve a lazy breakfast. We love our breakfast collection, which boasts everything from little bacon and egg breakfast pies to American buttermilk and blueberry pancakes; fruity porridge; breakfast beefsteak; cinnamon granola; and homemade crumpets with burnt honey butter. The very thought makes our bellies rumble.
When you’ve let that go down, and you’ve had a relax in front of the telly, how about a barbecue to end the day? We’ve got to make the most of the last dregs of summer, after all. Our BBQ collection has every char-grilled recipe you could hope for (including beer can chicken, a selection of burger recipes, and lots of veggie options), and you can marry your meat of choice with one of our top ten barbecue side recipes.
Be sure to check out our top 10 BBQ tips first (they come straight from the chefs who know best), and our video guide to how to light a barbie will be a great help too. And if it rains? No need to worry – this how to barbecue in the rain video is a godsend, as is our feature on what to do when your BBQ gets rained off.
Monday – picnic and a spot of baking
If it’s warm outside, we can’t think of a better way to end the bank holiday than with a great big picnic. We’ve got a lovely collection of picnic recipes on our site, including salad recipes, quiches and tarts, Indian snacks, chutneys, homemade breads, pork pies and cakes. If there’s too much choice there, our top 10 picnic recipes will narrow it down for you – they’re all al fresco essentials.
The thought of going to work the next day might make you sad, and because we all know that cake makes one feel better on such occasions, we suggest that you devote the rest of the day to baking. Our site is choc-a-bloc with cakey recipes, but a good place to start is our extensive baking recipe collection. If you’re a newcomer to the art of baking, try our top 10 easy baking recipes instead.
There are also five bank holiday baking ideas to check out, and if you chose a chocolate-y recipe don’t start cooking until you’ve read our baking with chocolate feature – there’s loads of top tips in there, including advice on what type of chocolate to buy.
Cocktails, party games, a posh dinner with friends, brunch, barbecues, picnicking and cakes… what a fantastic way to fill your bank holiday weekend. All you’ll have to worry about is the washing up afterwards – but even that can be fun.
Have you any foodie plans for the bank holiday weekend? Will you follow our suggestions? Talk to us in the comments box below.
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