Choose easy-to-transport foods for serving a crowd at the beach.
Nothing says "summer fun" like a gathering at a sandy beach. If you plan to host a beach party, you will need to be well supplied if you plan to feed a crowd of people. Prior planning of your menu before you leave will make the food preparation simpler. A variety of meals lend themselves to beach cooking without a lot of fuss.
Clambake
Bake clams in the sand with seaweed and hot rocks.
Use the beach to your advantage and cook your food in the sand. A clambake cooks clams and other shellfish in a pit dug into the sand and lined with hot rocks covered in seaweed. The water from the seaweed creates enough steam to cook the food in a pot in one to two hours. For beaches without seaweed for lining the pit, put the seafood into a pot of water and boil it. Add corn on the cob, potatoes and crab seasoning mix to round out the meal.
Fajitas
Bring sliced onions, bell peppers, peeled shrimp and marinated chicken or beef to the beach. Grill the vegetables and meats on a portable grill and serve with flour tortillas. Offer sides of salsa, guacamole and tortilla chips for dipping. Bring a fruit salad for dessert in a tightly sealed container to keep sand out.
Tropical Kabobs
Bring a taste of the islands to your beach gathering. Add pineapple chunks to pork, chicken, beef or shrimp kabobs. Bring the marinated and skewered meat and vegetables with you to the beach and grill on a portable grill. Serve the kabobs with potato salad and coconut pudding for dessert. Make both the potato salad and pudding and take them to the beach in an ice chest so they stay cold until serving.
Pan Bagnat
A pan bagnat is a sandwich eaten at beach picnics in Nice, France. Take this idea and adapt it to your own beach gathering. Use a long, crusty loaf of bread. The texture of the bread is important to keep it from becoming soggy in transit to the beach. Cut the loaf in half, lengthwise. Cover the cut edges of the loaf with olive oil. The traditional filling for a pan bagnat is olive oil-packed tuna fish with red onions, bell peppers and basil, drizzled with olive oil and red wine vinegar. You can also use your favorite sandwich fillings. Wrap the sandwich tightly and place it at the bottom of the picnic basket you are taking to the beach. The bread will absorb the flavors of the filling in transit. Cut the long loaf of bread into smaller 3 to 4 inch sections for serving to your guests. Offer sides of cut vegetables with dip and potato chips.
Tags: beach gathering, bell peppers, chicken beef, loaf bread, Offer sides, onions bell