Conference turris::cooks

    
    
    Beef stew
    Chili
    Sheppards pies
    lasagna
    spaghetti
    Fettuchini
    Chicken pie
    
    
    bonnie

  Chili with fresh bread!

--Sharon

    chili as an appetizer maybe.  how bout the lasagna?  there is a great
    recipe for a vegetable one that was recently entered in here somewhere. 
    also, you could serve some meatballs and sausages on the side.  with a
    salad that would be it!  
    
    good luck!
    
    cj

    How about jambalaya?  You can make it ahead, warm it up as you cook the
    rice.  Serve with bread and a nice garden salad.  I've noticed several
    recipes for jambalaya in this notes file, all of which sound terrific.
    
    /Kari
    
    

  Mmm, yes, I agree with all of the suggestions so far (especially chili
  and jambalaya), and would add:

  Lamb stew
  Bouillabaisse
  Paella
  Osso bucco
  Cous cous

  We're having osso bucco for dinner tonight. It's been simmering in a
  big iron pot since early yesterday. Mmm mmm.

    RE:  .5
    
    Osso Bucco sounds good - do you have a recipe that I could use?
    
    Thanks for the other suggestions - I am basically all lasagna'd out,
    Chili is a good idea but the way I make it we'd all have heartburn
    all night long....jambalaya sounds good too (I will do a search for
    that one) and so does Paella.  Does anyone have a recipe for Paella?
    
    Marilyn
    

 Lasagna is easy to prepare ahead of time and can easily serve 10 people.
Complemented with garlic bread and a green salad, it makes a nice meal.

 I think your DEC turkey (if you still have it) will serve 10. It's a little
more work though.

 Jambalaya sounds wonderful.

 Beef (or venison) stews are easy and feed many. And they are quite hearty.

 Chicken or turkey divan is also good and can be made ahead of time.

 The Doctah

    Paella is something that cannot be done ahead, it requires quite a lot
    of time and care to get a good paella going.  I suggest a good Irish
    Stew, or Jambalaya...or something even better, why not Beef Stroganoff?
    it is better if made the day before, and it can be served over noodles
    or white rice, either one takes 7 or 15 minutes to cook and gives you
    plenty of time to set table and have a glass of wine with your
    relatives while noodles or rice are cooking... toss up a salad and
    serve any easy, made ahead dessert and you have a wonderful dinner to
    enjoy!

    Sometimes when I serve a crowd I make either eggplant casserole or
    chicken and ricotta rollups
    
    CHICKEN AND RICOTTA ROLLUP
    
    boneless breast chick (1 big per person)
    pepper
    garlic powder
    1-2 lb ricotta cheese
    
    Flatten chicken breast out sprinkle lightly with pepper and garlic
    powder. Spread about 3 tablespoons ricotta over chicken and roll up.
    Secure with a tooth pick. Place in a baking pan and cover with
    spaghetti sauce. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. I serve with spaghetti and 
    tomato sauce, fetticini, pasta with oil and garlic
    
    
    EGGPLANT CASSEROLE
    
    1-1 1/2 pounds pasta cooked (any type)
    spaghetti sauce
    2 big eggplants
    1 lb mozzerella
    grated parmasean or romano
    
    Peel eggplant and slice in quarter in wafers. Soaked in salted water
    for about 30 minutes (absorbs less grease when frying). Dip
    eggplant in milk and then dip in seasoned flour (flour, garlic powder,
    parsley, pepper). Fry in olive oil. After all the eggplant is done
    make casserole
    
    Use a big lasagna pan. layer
    
    Sauce
    pasta
    eggplant
    cheese
    repeat 2 more times
    
    Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 for 1 hour

    Also country ribs are excellent and easy to make, these can even be
    made the day before and just reheated (which is even better) and 
    then serve with potatoes or rice and a vagetable.
    
    The ribs are cooks for a total of 3 hours, the first hour put them
    in a large roaster pan with 2 chopped onions (med size) and about 
    1 inch of water (oven temp is 400 F.)  Then turn the over down
    to 325 and remove the water saving the onions and now add
    bar-b-que sause to all the ribs, cooks for 2 more hours adding 
    more bar-b-que sauce when you turn the ribs every half hour.
    
    The meat will fall off the bones and be just as tender that a fork will
    cut the meat.  This is great reheated, so is easy to do ahead and 
    just heat up that day.
    
    Have a nice visit with your family.
    
    

    
    
     Rep. Osso Bucco Recipe request
    
    
    	For 10 people I would think you would want two pieces of Veal
       shank per person. My guess it would be around 6-7lbs total.
    
    	First flour the veal and brown in a large dutch oven pan.
    
    	Add to the pan the following,
    
    	1-2 Large onions chopped
    	1-2 Stalks of celery chopped
    	3-4 Carrots chopped
    	3-8 Garlic cloves crushed <use the amount you like, I love garlic>
    	2 Bay leaves
    	2 Large strips of orange zest <you can use about 1 tsp of dried but
    				       the fresh is much better.>
    	5 TBsp of tomato paste
        1 tsp of mixed Italian herbs
    	Salt and Pepper to taste
    
    	Add enough dry white wine or chicken stock to the pan to bring the
    	the liquid up to about halfway covering the veal and veggies.
    	Bring to a boil and either simmer over low heat on the stove top
        or bake in a 325f oven for 3-4 hours if it's an ovenproof pan.
    
    	Remove the veal and discard the bay leaves. Thicken the liquid
     	with a little cornstarch and water if needed. Ladle the liquid
        over the veal and serve with rice or noodles. I would suggest
        a nice sauvignon blanc from calif. or washington state to go
        with dinner.
     
    
    	-mike
    
      I'll add a recipe for Boeuf en Daube <Provincal Beef Stew> if you're
      interested. It will also feed a large group easily.
    

  I never had a chance to enter any of our favorite recipes for the
  dishes I mentioned, but there are some excellent ones already in this
  notesfile. Notes 1318 and 1587 contain some good paella recipes. I
  wouldn't be too negative about paella, but it's true that it requires
  more last-minute work than most of the others, and is fairly expensive
  to make (the seafood and saffron can add up). But it's so good and
  very pretty. 

  I couldn't manage to find anything on Osso Bucco, though I know it's
  somewhere around here, but take my word for it, Mike's recipe in .11
  is first class.

for the adventurous:

Rinse a good quality saurkraut and drain well.  Place
saurkraut in a large baking/roasting pan and top with smoked sausages,
smoked pork chops (call a good deli and see what they can offer - German
deli, that is), a few nice chunks of smoked ham.  Add 4 or more apples cut
into generous wedges.  Sprinkle liberally with brown sugar.  Cover and
bake in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for approx. 1 hour.  If you desire,
add pre-roasted spare ribs to this....cook them until approx. 3/4 done
and then add to the saurkraut...bake until the meat from the ribs begins
to fall off the bone.  

Serve with buttered, boiled new potatoes (the red ones), apple sauce,
sturdy "country" breads like dark rye or whole wheat and butter.  Place 
the meats on a platter and serve the kraut in a separate dish.  At most, 
serve a simple salad of greens tossed with a vinegarette as a side dish.

I like to finish something this sturdy with a simple fruit dessert...or
tapioca pudding.  My German grandmother used to serve a hot fruit
dropped-dumpling dish with this, but then noone moved for 9 hours or so.  

This is delicious stuff...honest.

another suggestion is the French Cassoulet - a baked casserole of beans
and smoked meats that is definitely winter food.

If you serve chile, I suggest you bake home-made cornbread to go with
it.  Serve it with grated cheese, diced onions, and diced fresh, ripe
tomatoes for those who wish to damp down the chile heat a little.

    I would just make a large tossed salad, the american chop suey &
    there's a good recipe for a summer squash/zucchini casserole
    that's really good !! Also you could have a few loafs of garlic bread..
    
    If you want I'll post the recipe for the chop suey I make and I'll give
    you the number for the squash casserole.  So let me know ..
    
    Sandy
    
    

  Re .13 (sauerkraut and sausage), that's pretty close to traditional
  Choucroute Alsacienne, which sure is delicious. In Choucroute, you
  also often find juniper berries to add a little interest.

    How about Braised Beef & Mushrooms over egg noodles or rice?  The
    brasied beef can be made in advance.  Serve with a salad, green beans,
    & hot bread.
    If you are interested in a recipe for Braised Beef & Mushrooms let me
    know.
    
    Robyn

    My favorite cold weather meals are a huge pot of Split Pea
    Soup with large slabs of homemade bread  and Red Beans
    and Rice (like #.18 said).
    
    cheyenne

    Chop Suey Recipe.
    
    
    Take 1 lb of extra lean hamburg meat. brown it in a frying pan on the 
    stove with onions till brown, also adding in a little of black pepper,
    salt, pressed garlic or garlic salt. Actually you can add anything into
    the meat mixture even green peppers, red peppers & mushrooms.
    Depending on what you like.  And the amount of onions or etc. is
    how much you like to add in..  Then drain the meat mixture.
    
    Boil 1 box of maccaroni or ziti or small shells or whatever you like, then
    drain.  After draining maccaroni then put the maccaroni back in the
    same pan and add the meat mixture and 2 cans of tommato soup. (do
    not dilute the soup) Heat up this whole mixture on the stove till 
    thoroughly heated through.    This will feed at least 4 adults.
    
    So if you want this for 10 hungry people you'll want to maybe triple 
    the recipe.
    
    Hope you like it.
    
    Sandy
                  

I usually make the following recipe for Dill Meatballs for large
crowds.  I just double the recipe, or buy enough hamburger for 
the amount of people I am serving, and adjust the rest accordingly
(it doesn't have to be exact).  It always goes over well (I love
it) and you can roll the meatballs the night before to save time.



    	            Saucy Dill Meatballs
		  (from Redbook magazine)
	
    1 lb lean hamburger
    1 large egg
    1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
    1/4 cup club soda
    3 Tbsp dried dill weed
    1 1/4 tsp salt
    3/4 tsp black pepper
    3 Tbsp butter
    1 8-ounce package of egg noodles
    8 ounces of fresh green beans, approx. 2 cups
    2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms, approx 8 oz
    1/3 cup sour cream
	
	
    	In large bowl combine beef, egg, bread crumbs, 
    club soda, 2 Tbsp chopped dill, 3/4 tsp salt, and 1/4 
    tsp pepper.  Blend well with hands.  Shape mixture into 
    1 1/4 inch balls.  In a 12-inch skillet over medium-high 
    heat, melt 2 Tbsp butter; add meatballs; cook about 12 
    minutes, turning frequently until brown.  Meanwhile, 
    prepare noodles according to package directions, adding 
    green beans.  When meatballs are browned, remove with a 
    slotted spoon to a plate.  To drippings add 1 Tbsp 
    butter, and saute the mushrooms for 5 minutes.  Return 
    meatballs to skillet along with 3/4 cup water, remaining 
    1 Tbsp dill, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper.  Increase 
    heat to high, bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and 
    cook meatballs through, about 5 minutes.  Stir in sour 
    cream and cook 2-3 minutes more.  To serve:  drain 
    noodles and beans and spoon meatballs and sauce over it.
    
    Hints:  I usually add more dill and sour cream than is 
    	called for.  Also, this dish tastes great heated 
    	up the next day, when the noodles have picked up 
     	more of the flavors.

    
    Re: .20
    
    Yes, that's my mom's recipe too, but she always
    used thin spaghetti, which gives quite a different effect
    than other types of macaroni noodles.  The tomato soup 
    sounds funny, but it really does come out good.
    

    Hi,
    
    Is there a recipe for the red beans and rice?   My husband mentioned
    he would like to have some again and I have no idea how to make
    it.
    
    Thanks,
    Sarah

    Here is the Vegan Red Beans and Rice recipe as promised:
    
    Red Beans and Rice
    by Nava Atlas
    
    2 cups uncooked red or kidney beans
    1 tablespoon safflower oil
    2 large onions
    1 medium green bell pepper
    2 large stalks celery, diced
    2 cloves garlic, minced
    1 cup canned imported tomatoes with liquid, chopped
    2 small bay leaves
    1 heaping tablespoon peanut butter
    3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
    2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves OR 2 teaspoons dried basil
    1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
    salt and freshly ground black pepper
    cayenne pepper to taste
    hot cooked rice
    
    Soak the beans overnight.  When you're ready to cook them,
    drain and rinse them and place them in a soup pot or Dutch
    oven with water in approximately 1 1/2 times their bulk.
    Bring to a boil and add the oil, onions, garlic, green
    pepper, celery, tomatoes, and bay leaves.  Cover and simmer
    over low heat for 1 hour.  At this point the water level
    should be just below the beans and vegetables.  Add a bit 
    more water if necessary to bring it to that level.  Add the
    peanut butter and seasonings and simmer for another 1 1/2
    hours, stirring occasionally.  At this point there should be
    a thick, saucelike consistency to the liquid.  Mash a small
    amount of beans against the side of the pot with a wooden
    spoon.  Cover and cook until beans have burst and are very
    soft.  It should have a thick, saucy texture.  Remove the
    bay leaves.  Serve over hot cooked rice.
    
    Serves 6 to 8
    
    ******
    
    "Local lore on Red Beans and Rice tells us that to eat
    this dish on Monday was suposed to bring good luck.
    Conversely, the expression, 'I am on the red and white,'
    meant one was broke."
    
    
    with love,
    cheyenne