Food never tastes better than when it's cooked outside.
Add some warm friends and a few cold drinks to the mix and you've got a recipe for a fun-filled summer.
But there are a few essentials to take care of if your backyard is going to be the focus of fun over the holiday period.
Seating:
If you've got a lazy $4500 sitting around doing nothing, you could do a lot worse than pick up a "Glide" by innovative Hawkes Bay furniture designer David Trubridge.
For an extra $450, you can even add a custom-made futon mattress.
For all-weather outdoor comfort it would be hard to beat the Coast NZ marine beanbag in a range of summer colours.
The funkiest seat we found was a bright red moulded fibreglass chaise and the best while-away-the-afternoon seat was the Maytime hanging pod chair.
For big family functions, there's the Devon outdoor table and two benches or the stylish Luna oval terracotta table.
If all else fails, tell your friends to pull up a beer crate.
Some things never go out of fashion.
Barbecues:
Barbecues come in all shapes and sizes these days.
There's something available whether you're a solo entertainer or having the extended whanau over for Christmas.
The Coleman Roadtrip Grill LXE barbecue was the best portable cooker, while the Gasmate Hot Ozi BBQ was the best economy model.
Heating:
There's no quicker way to lose the party than when the sun goes down and the night chill comes up.
The Gasmate column heater will make your guests feel like the sun is still burning bright long after darkness.
Lighting:
For evening entertaining, there's no light like moonlight.
But if that's not bright enough, there's a wide range of portable gas lights for every occasion and location.
For atmosphere, pick up some bamboo garden torches, which can also be filled with citronella oil to repel insects.
Shading:
The New Zealand sun can be deadly, so make sure you can shade your guests from the afternoon sun, when ultraviolet rays are at their strongest.
The best choices are either large umbrellas, which can be moved around the backyard, or extendable shade cloths, which are permanently attached to the house and can be wound out as needed.
Barbecue bits
- Barbecuing is the slow, indirect cooking of meat over a low, smoky fire and grilling is cooking food quickly over a very hot fire.
- The word "barbecue" was derived from the Spanish Taino Indian word "barbacoa", which was a method of cooking fish over a pit of coals.
- Have your barbecue on stable ground out of the wind and away from flammable objects, such as wooden fences.
- Make sure you have a fire blanket and water close by.
- Have all your plates and food ready before you light the barbecue. That way you're not rushing off to grab things during the cooking.
- Provide a colourful apron for the barbecue chef (usually a man, for some long-forgotten traditional reason). "Kiss the Cook" has always been a perennial favourite, as have those aprons which make the wearer look like a naked woman.
- Try your whitebait patties with mint sauce, rather than lemon. Much better!
- Put pieces of fresh rosemary into a charcoal fire to add flavour to your food.
- Get your heat right. When you can keep your hand over the flames for three seconds, it means you have medium heat. Most foods grill without - burning on the outside at this temperature.
- Clean your barbecue after use, while it's still warm. That way it's all ready for next time.
- Check your gas bottle is full enough for next time, too. There's nothing worse than running out of gas during a barbecue.
- Citronella candles keep the biting bugs at bay.
Do it right
- Recommended steak grilling times:2.5cm thick: High heat, 8-10 minutes (rare), 12-14 minutes (medium), 16-20 minutes (well-done).
3.75cm thick: High heat, 10-14 minutes (rare), 16-20 minutes (medium), 22-26 minutes (well-done).
5cm thick: Medium heat, 12-16 minutes (rare), 18-22 minutes (medium), 24-28 minutes (well-done).
- You can tell when your steak is ready by touch.
- A rare steak will feel quite soft to the touch, a medium-rare steak will have some resistance but yield to the touch, a medium steak is firm but with some give in the centre and a well-done steak will feel very firm.
