| what would YOU make?
Posted: 8/7/2008 9:52:47 AM |
I'm a first generation Dane.
One of the coolest guys I've ever known was Danish, though his dad was Italian. He would host the most wonderful Danish brunches. We'd eat for a couple hours - various kinds of fish & dense, whole-grain breads. The best part, though, was the camaraderie. I was sorry when he went back to Denmark. | |
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| what would YOU make?
Posted: 8/7/2008 6:59:59 PM |
What would you choose as a representation of your nationality?
Well it either Italian(northern) or German so it would be some kind of fish dish or sauerbraten. | |
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| what would YOU make?
Posted: 8/8/2008 12:01:47 PM | To Arwen,
Yes indeed, exactly the way I grew up. I'm not certain it's the European attitude or something unique. Meals were always an event when you entertained, different courses.. a little aquavit with a beer chaser. No wonder that Denmark has been voted the happiest country. Hehehe
In retrospect, it always amazed me that my mom could make a multi course sit down meal for 18 people, table always impeccable. ........it stretched on for hours. | |
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| what would YOU make?
Posted: 8/8/2008 12:08:02 PM | | My dad was Cajun, and my mom boring old Irish/English so I'd go with my dad's side. I make an OUTSTANDING jambalaya, might make that. If it had to be a finger food, I'd make boudin balls, which is deep fried boudin sausage (cajun sausage with rice in it). | |
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Posted: 8/8/2008 8:37:50 PM | I LOVE these ideas. Food is such an integral part of our heritage, creates memories, triggers emotions.
Keep 'em coming! | |
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Posted: 8/8/2008 9:28:07 PM | arwen52...I am with you. I love Northern Italian food with the German and French influences, from Tuscany and Romagna north. I have never been a pasta and tomato sauce person. For some reason it has never settled well on my stomach and I can hardly eat it, but I have discovered a way to make a tomato pasta sauce that doesn't make me sick, so I can only eat my own. I have made some hearty Nothern Italian meals that no one knew was Italian, except Italians. I also love Roman seafood dishes, as well. There is nothing quite like a properly cooked squid, or stuffed and grilled fresh Anchovies.
WickedKyra, I am making a Jambalaya for a contest next weekend. I usually make it at home for 30-50+ people, but we are supposed to make for 20-30 in very small taster portions. I would normally make it with chicken, shrimp, soft shell crab, crawfish, ham (I use smoked pork chops), Andouille and or Boudin, but making that small of a batch it just will not work with all of those meats. Therefore, I have been agonizing over what to use. I have kind of settled on ham, Andouille and shrimp. What would you suggest? I am in Michigan and at least 97% have never eaten any Cajun or Creole food at all. | |
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| what would YOU make?
Posted: 8/9/2008 5:20:12 AM | Well if I were making favorites from both of my grandmothers kitchens I'd have to say barbequed spareribs, fresh corn on the cob, butter beans, greens with lots of smoked meat, sweet potato casserole, home made yeast rolls and corn pudding or peach cobbler for dessert. Ok, now I'm starving...time for breakfast!  | |
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| what would YOU make?
Posted: 8/9/2008 6:11:12 AM | since i'm of irish /german decent i guess i would have to combine both .so for the german side i would bring red cabbage which has apples cut up in it and i have fixed this often for pot ucks and is always a success, and for the irish side i really don't know am more familiar with scottish food as having been there for six weeks (not near long enough lol) i tried many of their dishes . however i drew the line at haggis as i read what was in it . my favorite meal was the deep fried chicken and chips both are sprinkled with malt vinegar and salt while piping hot . having been forwarned that the scottish people love to try and send americans on a haggis hunt ,they couldn't pull the wool over on me lol in this case i suppose it would be sheep wool.  | |
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Posted: 8/9/2008 9:48:11 AM | Instead of telling you my family history.....
I would make a radio out of a coconut.... | |
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Posted: 8/9/2008 10:12:31 AM | Being 100% Italian I would have to bring an italian dessert known as Struffala.. or as we call it in my family Chi Chi's.
The little dough balls that are fried, soaked in honey and sprinkled with little colorful nonperils.
This is my grandma's recipe that ONLY the ladies in my family have.... other wise we have to kill you!!  
JJ NY | |
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| what would YOU make?
Posted: 8/10/2008 5:26:10 AM | Smiling Salmon --
I ususally use whatever meats I have on hand to use up, but ALWAYS use tasso (ham) and Andouille - those are the main flavor agents... the rest is just a way to get protien to your belly. I personally love the flavor of dark meat bone-in chicken cooked in jambalaya, and love the presentation of a big bowl of jamba with a leg sticking out. But I'm a chicken eater. I think your combo sounds great!!!
I can't imagine cooking for so many - it's just me and my boy and even when I make a half batch, we eat jamba for days, and I usually freeze a lot, too!
Here's my jambalaya recipe that I've adapted for the crockpot, since I work 12 hour days I don't have the time to cook like I used to!
Kyra's crockpot Jambalaya! A success story... Ok.. here's the recipe: 1/2 onion, 1 rib celery, 1/2 bell pepper, 2 cloves garlic, 1/2 chicken, cut into peices, 2 peices andouille sausage, 1 cup tasso ham, diced - sautee all in olive oil in a skillet till brown. While that is sauteeing, in a small bowl, mix 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp white pepper, 1 tsp mustard powder, 1 tsp cayenne (more or less to taste) 1/2 tsp black pepper, 1/2 tsp cumin and 1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves. Pour spice mixture over meat/veg in skillet and stir to combine. When meat and veg are browned, transfer to crock pot. Add 1 SMALL can V8 juice, 2 bay leaves, and 1 cup chicken stock. Cook on low. 1 hr before you're ready to eat, add 1 cup rice and just enough stock to cover everything with liquid. Stir and replace cover. 30 minutes later, stir again, and again add just enough stock to make sure everything is covered. After another 30 minutes, rice should be done. If it's still soupy, cook on high w/ the lid off till it gets to the consistency you like it. Mine was perfect after about 3 minutes like that, stirring. | |
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Posted: 8/11/2008 3:36:06 PM | Thanks so much Kyra! 
I use pretty much what you use, only even more. I have been able to add a lot of ingredients to mine because of making for such a large crowd.
I have now learned that 4 other churches are getting involved, so I can make a lot more, in fact, I have to. What we are doing is a contest fundraiser for Katrina victims, hence the New Orleans theme. It is going to be hard to judge since most of these people have never eaten these dishes. I can guess that the most blah dish will win. Michigan people are pretty blah eaters. No spice, no herbs, no creativity. It freaks them out.
I think I am going to stick with the Andouille, ham and shrimp. I also love chicken in it and I use legs and thighs that are cut in half. I fry the skin well then cook it the rest of the way in the dish. I have used V-8 before and liked it, but I don't always use it. I try to control the salt a bit more. It is more fun when making huge portions so you can use so many meats. YUMMY | |
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Posted: 8/11/2008 6:12:14 PM | I used V8 the first time because I didn't have any tomato paste - I like the flavor plus it's yet another way to sneak in veggies. I should have specified low-sodium V8, it's all I buy. That recipe is a cut and paste from my personal file, I don't always get super specific when I'm writing to myself - you know how it is.
If you're cooking for a crowd, I'm sure you know to go easy on the spice, but be sure to put out some bottles of evangeline if you can get it, or louisiana red hot, or if all else fails, tabasco for folks who like it HOT. | |
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Posted: 8/11/2008 6:26:51 PM | That is exactly what I was thinking with the hot sauce bottles, but I wll get the little bottles for sure. I doubt many people here will use it.
Yeah, low sodium, good idea. I love V-8 type juice, but I developed a tendency to make my own and now I am hooked on it, but without a doubt, salt is needed in it. I try to overcome this by using veggies at the very peak of flavor, which is about now and into October. I mix tomato, carrot, red beet, flat leaf parsley, basil, celery+leaves, spinach (not baby), lemon, green onion, poblano pepper. It taste amazingly like the stuff in the can, but fresher and more flavorful.
It is excellent for Bloody Mary's, Bloody Bull's (just add my beef stock from when I boil a tongue), Bloody Ceasar's, etc... worcesterchire sauce, more lemon, tabasco and of course the much needed celery salt. It is an excellent base for soups, stews and just adding liquid flavor to things. | |
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Posted: 8/12/2008 3:31:29 AM | I'm about as Cajun as you can get (with an Irish mom) and I can't STAND gumbo. My grandma won't even speak to me. I'll probably be disowned. IT tastes/looks/smells like swamp water to me. I wish I liked it - I've tried and tried... but ick.
Funny tho, as much as I hate it, I make a GREAT gumbo - I'm the roux queen. It's one of the few things I make that I don't taste as I cook. CUz...ick. | |
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Posted: 8/12/2008 4:05:08 AM | This is a tough one for sure, given the choice between (very long list my ancestors would go after anything with a pulse it seems). I think I'd bring Baklava.
I remember sundays as a kid my friends family would invite me over for brunch, and Yaya(greek for grandma) would make baklava. The whole family was involved. | |
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Posted: 8/12/2008 2:30:28 PM | I attended an event like this a few years ago. I took the path of least resistance and brought scalloped potatoes because of my Irish heritage. Interestingly, a friend made the comment that potatoes are actually native to the Americas. He thought it was ironical--the full circle--from America, to Ireland and Europe to save millions from starvation, and then, because of the potato blight back to America.
If I were to go now I would bring Ebelskevers, spherical pancake thingys from Denmark. | |
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Posted: 8/12/2008 7:47:45 PM | my family is german, austrian, and north italian. i'd probably make my mom's bessarabian strudel...which unlike the dessert pastry most people know, is actually a type of savory dumpling made from dough which is stretched thin, rolled up into a long strudel-like roll, cut into pieces, then placed over a layer of sliced potatoes spread over the bottom of a deep pan with a lid. water is added to steam the potatoes and strudel dumplings, then towards the end fat is added to fry the dumplings and potatoes til they turn a crispy brown. it's then served with chicken and gravy or sauerkraut. it was my favorite comfort food as a child.
i've seen my mom make it a hundred times, but i've never tried to make it myself...might be an interesting challenge. lol.
P.S. a brief geography and history lesson for anyone who might be wondering where Bessarabia is located -- this is an old name for a region located near the Black Sea between southwest Russia and Romania. my mom was born in a small german colony in the region during the second world war, and her family was later forcibly repatriated back to Germany where she grew up. | |
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Posted: 8/13/2008 5:18:44 PM | ~curlygirl~ NOW THAT SOUNDS GOOD
It actually sounds similar to my Jewish potato kugel, which is always served with chicken, for some reason. Hmmmm, never made gravy with that, but I might try it. I haven't made that dish in a long time. I think I should and invite someone over for one of the upcoming Jewish Holy Days. | |
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Posted: 8/13/2008 5:27:29 PM | | bjg pan of sausage and pepper s with some harty italain bread, for sandwhiches | |
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Posted: 8/19/2008 5:54:14 PM | | Well being Canadian, my mother always made torierre ...its a french meat pie that has a rich crust. We eat this at Christmas time and its french canadian food from quebec far as I know. It has a combination of ground meat and cubed potatoes can be added if you like it that way, you top the pie with gravy the meat is loose inside. | |
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| what would YOU make?
Posted: 8/19/2008 7:35:25 PM | I'm American so I would drag the ol gas grill to school and make em all cheeseburgers. | |
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