We hosted our first pig roast over the weekend. For the event, my husband was in charge of handling all the porky details. He sourced the pig from a local butcher, picked it up, wrestled it onto the skewer, and slow roasted it over the course of the day. In total, I think he used about 80 pounds ofreal charcoal in order to get the pig fully cooked.
I was charged with the task of crafting the rest of the menu and prepping in advance. I wanted to keep our budget in line, so I decided to serve an array of simple seasonal salads that could be made in advance and wouldn't require a lot of time. Hence, I decided to make a largetomato, basil, and mozzarella platter as well as a large black bean and rice salad. I knew the black bean and rice salad would be a simple slam dunk because I decided to cook the beans and the rice a day ahead. I reasoned that if I used my rice cooker thenthe salad would be super simple and could easily be stashed in one of my 6-quart Cambro buckets. I've used these prepping buckets in the past, and they are positively priceless when you are self-catering a large party!
So, I cooked the rice and beans the day before the party. I let them cool and then put the beans in the bottom of the bucket and the rice on top of the beans. I then diced some bell peppers, some scallions, and some fresh cilantro and layered that on top. The lid was popped onto the container and stashed in my extra fridge. On the evening of the party, I simply tossed the rice and beans with a light orange vinaigrette and transferred the whole thing to a large white serving bowl. It looked quite nice and was a whole lot cheaper than having a caterer do it for me.
So, if you are planning to self cater any large parties in the near future, do yourself a favor and invest in these super useful buckets. You will find that it is so much easier to prep and store foods in advance.
--Melissa A. Trainer
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