Last weekend we had our Smoke Party. Once a summer, we have lots of friends over and Ebo smokes a bunch of food, and I cook and grill more food, and we hang out and eat and drink and laugh until we are too full or too tired to stay vertical.
It started several years ago when our friends and family chipped in on Ebo’s birthday gift of the gargantuan hand-built smoker of his dreams. (He now lusts after a newer, shiner, prettier model, here. I’m hoping this is not his m.o.) Ebo learned a lot from Chris Lilly and the guys at Pitmaker in Las Vegas at a Kingsford event earlier this year, and then by touring the pits of many a barbecue joint in Taylor and Lockhart, Texas: his brisket and ribs were the best they’ve been. In fact, a friend at the party, restaurateur and food historian Maricel Presilla, tweeted “He is the Yoda of smoke”. But taller than Yoda he is.
We didn’t just serve smoked food. Here’s the menu. Click on the highlighted dishes in the list below for recipes.
To start (Appetizers):
Onion Dip
Baba Ganoush
Assorted Cheeses
Guacamole (made by our friend Trudy Solin)
To Continue (Main course):
Smoked Brisket
Smoked Ribs
Smoked Barbecue Sauce
Rosemary Grilled Chicken Thighs with Grilled Peach Calamata Topping
On the Side:
Grilled Vegetable Platter
Cucumber Salad with Shallot Vinaigrette
Cornbread with Flying Pigs Bacon
Alice’s Sugar Snap Salad with Ginger Sesame Dressing
For Dessert:
Not-as-good-as-Ed’s Brownies (seen above)
Ed’s Brownies (our friend and chef extraordinaire Ed Magel)
To Drink:
Wine, Beer, Sangria
Soda
Mint, Green and White Iced Tea (pictured above, front)
Iced Fruit Tea (pictured above, back)
We also had beautiful flowers on every table, thanks to my friend Laurie, who always knows exactly what flowers to bring me. Some of the bunches had mint in them, which smelled as pretty as it looked.
laurie says
the photos are fabulous. Miss Juliet is quite the natural.
Marge says
She’s a smoker in training…
Edward Magel says
OK enough now with the brownie envy!
Exquisite menu from te two of you. How lucky to be on that list!
Great photos Bernadette by the by.
anne says
Oh, how I wish I had been there!
Marge says
Well, it’s not like you weren’t invited. Sniff, sniff. You re the one who let a small detail like air travel keep you away. (That, and the fact that you are coming here a week later…but let’s not get mired in trivial logistics.)
And on top of that, it could have been valid research: “What Yankees call barbecue, bless their hearts”
VIVIEN says
I HAVE BEEN DREAMING ABOUT THAT CORN SALAD SINCE HAD IT AT THE PARTY. THE LEFTOVERS I TOOK HOME WERE GONE BEFORE I HAD A CHANCE TO EAT THEM. THANKS FOR THE RECIPE. CAN’T WAIT TO EAT IT AGAIN!
Marge says
I think I owe you a lifetime supply of that salad, Viv…
Alison @ Ingredients, Inc. says
looks fabulous. Now this is a party!
Marge says
If you’re ever in town, Alison, our doors will be flung wide open for you!
Amy Nieporent says
The party was a delight ..Thank you for having our extended family…(we’ll be 3 no Marge..now it’s 8..wait Marge now it’s 7, hold on now it’s 6. We all ate with gusto and the leftovers were amazing. The corn salad…the veggies..the ribs….the teas…the crisps…the DIP!!!…WOW. How lucky (and Blessed) we are to have you and David as friends and neighbors
Marge says
Well, you tell Matthew we said thank you for being our ice man who cometh.
Tracy Nieporent says
T’was a wonderful gathering with sumptuos food, lovely people, and a feeling of festivity. The only downer was the humidity. Get a handle on that next time, okay?
Marge says
Musta been the heat from those tiki torches…
Chris says
Now, that’s a barbeque! I love the corn salad. Made it for some of my lunches this week. Very excited…since I know I can’t go wrong with any of your recipes. 🙂 Thanks Grilled Peach Calamata Topping is next for sure…
Marge says
Enjoy! The good news is…it’s good for days in the fridge! And for me, the other good news is that it is fairly low in calories and high in nutrients.
Suellen says
OMG, Everything looks soooo amazing! I might have to try some of that cornbread and get my son to do some smokin and grillin!