patti

An apple galette sounds so good! It’s chilly and dreary here and wouldn’t that just warm things up. I didn’t know what a lemon posset was, but now that I do, yum! I would be happy with some butter and whatever homemade bread you have. Oh, and could you pass the cashews? I appreciate all the pictures. You are one excellent hostess!

Oh, do try the coleslaw! And thank you.

I tried not to even think about community fridge meals once Thanksgiving prep started, and succeeded up until Monday. I needed the break, both physically and mentally. But once Monday rolled around, I decided on the menu. Today’s CFM meal consisted of ham fried rice, coleslaw, and store bought cookies. The cookies were a last minute addition because I felt bad that there wasn’t an item for the third spot on the to go plate, and my husband chose them on a grocery store run for more soy sauce. I made ham fried rice for a previous fridge meal back in July, and remembered it as fairly easy with a really tasty final product. So of course this time it wasn’t. I mean, it was fairly easy, but mediocrity often is. Haha! I never felt like the seasoning was just right. The only ingredient difference between the two was red bell pepper. I only had half of one and didn’t feel like it was worth it to use, so I didn’t, but I don’t think that’s the difference. Also, it looks good in the skillet, but not so photogenic on the plate or in the hotel pan. Hopefully, it tasted good to those who received the food. What turned out even better than expected was the coleslaw. I got the recipe from The Kitchn, which calls it Thanksgiving Slaw, but since Thanksgiving is past, I called it Holiday Coleslaw. 🤷‍♀️ https://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-thanksgiving-slaw-237475 The dressing includes apple cider vinegar, olive oil, diced red onion, maple syrup, Dijon mustard, salt and pepper. I used less red onion than the dressing recipe called for, and less fresh parsley in the slaw when I quadrupled the recipe. And I didn’t measure the cranberries or almonds. Just mixed until it looked (and tasted) good. Even my particular husband thought it was great. I dressed and refrigerated the slaw before I started the batches of fried rice, so it would have time for the flavors to develop. Starting to dress the slaw. The cookies: The plated meal: Delivered:

Yay! I was hoping this would be happening soon. Your Christmas decor is beautiful … the piano, the fireplace and mantel … I love it! And you have a Rushton Coca Cola Santa! I have one, too. 😍 Ooh, and tell me more about your life sized Santa! I know I didn’t see everything, so now I’ll go back and examine all the pics and read all the words. 😉

I really try to eat low carb and bread is off the list, but I just made one on a low carb tortilla, and while it was good, it wasn’t the same. The picture was ugly, too. 😂 I searched to find out if it was maybe a southern thing, but it’s not. I remember riding my bike holding a fried egg sandwich in one hand, and steering with the other. Perfectly portable and no runny egg to make a mess. Liking runny eggs (which I do) doesn’t stop me from enjoying them this way, especially with lacy crispy edges. I love runny or jammy yolks. This is just it’s own thing, I guess. I’m not sure which website you’re referring to? Where I am, the group sponsoring two of the community fridges has a Facebook page called Foodies of Lafayette. The people who run that page, which is generally about local restaurants, decided to take them over, as the previous volunteers seemed to lose momentum promoting them, and interest waned. There are other local community fridges, (like the one I donate to) not sponsored by the page, but are allowed to be promoted on their page. There are at least 7 fridges in this area. Some get more notice than others. I agree that it wouldn’t be easy to start one without lots of energy and time and effort.

I think sandwiches can be pretty easy if you stick to a decision and gather supplies efficiently. I dithered and didn’t stick to a plan. I struggle with trying to do too much and/or trying to make a giant batch of something I’ve never made a single batch of. My son relayed to me that his daughter told him that things don’t have to be perfect. When I told him she was wise beyond her years, he replied that Murphy told him that Mimi taught her that things don’t have to be perfect. My granddaughter took my advice, but I can’t seem to!

Thank you! I’m kind of disappointed that the number of sandwich donations has not lived up to the enthusiastic reception the idea seemed to get last week, but the donations picked up yesterday, so here is hoping.

I will address the hard fried egg posts 😜 a little later, but wanted to update on Sandwich Week. I’m not sure why I complicate things unnecessarily, but yesterday I finally decided to keep it simple. I made 22 peanut butter & jelly sandwiches on honey wheat bread, but only bagged 20 lunches because the “end piece” sandwiches were smaller, and I put two of those in a bag lunch, instead of just one. I’m always concerned about using the end pieces since so many people turn their noses up at them, but the ends are my favorite slices and I refuse to throw them away. One loaf of sandwiches was peanut butter and grape jelly, and the other loaf was with strawberry. Each bag contained a sandwich, cookies, a mandarin orange, and a bag of some kind of chip. My pic of the chips variety, oranges, and cookie varieties will only show up upside down, so I didn’t include. Next, 22 ham & cheese brown bag lunches. The cheese was a Tillamook medium cheddar from Costco, and the ham was Wright smoked honey ham. Bread was whole wheat and there was mayo on each side. Although the fridge was bare when we arrived at about 2:15 pm, I know it had been filled and emptied several times that day. An hour later, someone posted this donation, and you can see there were still a few of our bagged lunches left, but most gone in an hour. For the week, 22 grilled cheese sandwiches (not packed as a brown bag lunch, just bagged sandwiches placed in the community fridge), 25 breakfast sandwiches (eggs with cheese, sausage patty on biscuit) and 42 brown bag lunches. C’est fini! My plan is to focus on my own Thanksgiving dinner today and tomorrow and maybe not cook, prepare, or think of feeding anyone until mid to late next week!

Re: hard fried egg sandwich: I was just nostalgic for a hard fried egg on white bread with a slice of American cheese sandwich from my childhood. ☺️ Mayo on one side, mustard on the other, and salt and lots of black pepper on the egg. Since my granddaughter was joining me, I needed to get things prepped before she arrived. First, I fried up a bunch of sausage patties, allowed them to cool, and put them in the fridge. (Dark color, not burned.) Next, I baked sheet pan scrambled eggs topped with cheese And baked some frozen biscuits (2 batches) At this point the camera was forgotten because … three year old. Her job was to use a mason jar lid to cut the eggs into rounds, and pop them out, in her words. Her interest lasted long enough to cut eighteen egg rounds and go through two pairs of hot pink disposable gloves. While she played outside with the dogs and Gramps, I put the sandwiches together and wrapped them in foil and refrigerated, because before delivery I needed to paint some fingernails, apply some pretend makeup (and a little real, don’t tell), and be impressed that she could spell her name in blocks. We ended up with 25 sausage, egg, and cheese biscuits to deliver. They weren’t gorgeous, as you can tell by the elements pictured. And if you can cut eggs into rounds, they’re probably overcooked. That’s two days in a row that I wasn’t satisfied with the final product. I have two loaves of honey wheat and a bunch of peanut butter & jelly, so maybe I’ll try that tomorrow.

😂 Hard fried egg sandwiches are off the table! PB&J back on the list.

I did a test oven grilled cheese sandwich for Mike (my husband), who doesn’t usually care for grilled cheese (IKR?), and he thought it was really good. I’d weighted down a cookie sheet and put it on top, and boy, it was a smashed grilled cheese. Decided no weight was necessary and “tested” a batch and then ended up making 22 of them and taking them to the fridge. They were kind of greasy (sorry, recipients). I’d either use less butter next time or switch to mayo. Not a great pic, but the first full batch: The cheeses were a medium cheddar and havarti. I may or may not make more this week. Might make them another time and pair with homemade tomato soup (which I’ve never made before). Anyone have an opinion on a hard fried egg and cheese sandwich? Breakfast sandwiches are another option, especially if my granddaughter participates as planned. I’ll cook the sausage patties ahead of time, and bake the sheet pan scrambled eggs ahead of time, too. She can help me with cutting the eggs into rounds to fit on the sandwiches, and assembling. Frozen Grands biscuits will be used (sorry to all the people who are cringing over using frozen ready made biscuits). 🤷‍♀️ I might have unintentionally worried my granddaughter when I told her we would be making the sandwiches for children who don’t have enough food. She looked worried and later asked if her little brother could come, too. Maybe she thinks I meant the hungry children would be at my house? Will have to confer with her mother about it.

What a deliciously fun five years! I have no talent in the candy making department, but I might be able to be convinced to add dark chocolate to my diet. 😃 Even though I might learn better face to face, a good reference book is more valuable. Good to know. And I’m not going to ask or tell until I finish the course! So I’m the only person in the thread not qualified to cook and serve meals? 🤔😂 I just texted my former Continuing Ed boss (and one of my best friends) and confirmed that we used to offer ServSafe. It would’ve been as easy to take the course as walking down the hall, pre-Covid. But I will take it online.

Thanks. We’ve lived in this house in a pretty quiet neighborhood for 33 years, and we don’t really have grumpy neighbors, mostly just people who mind their own business and keep to themselves. I’ve wondered if our neighbors have noticed the car being loaded up for delivery, and if they think we might be selling food, but unless they’re Gladys Kravitz types, peeking through the window, I don’t think anyone has noticed a thing. The ServSafe courses are offered online, although I think I learn better face to face. We’ll see.

It is useful info. Several people have asked me about how to start a community fridge, thinking I had something to do with the management. The article has good info about that, as well as the food safety issues. Also, now I know why they don’t want donated raw meat in the fridges, and why the church gives some of the meat to me to cook, instead of putting it in the fridge. Merci beaucoup! Thank you! Amen!

I hope it’s along the lines of the words of one of my former speech therapy students, “It’s my wucky day!” Thank you.

Says the woman who raises, grows, hunts, processes, cans, etc. the majority of her own food?!! Haha, I pale in comparison! And would share macaroni and cheese with you, anytime. Thank you! Pun appreciated! For the record, I do think about food safety every time I prepare these meals. I’m aging my hands a thousand times more with all of this hand washing! I start with a clean kitchen, I wipe down and sanitize surfaces, I use a Lysol cloth to clean my phone and iPad before starting each time, knowing I will be repeatedly touching them. I haven’t checked my fridge temps, but I know some items that get placed in the very back of the main shelf will freeze. I really should take a food safety course, and might. My previous job at the local university was in the Continuing Ed dept and we offered the food safety certification courses all the time. Not that I picked up any info by osmosis! But I worked with the woman who taught the class when I offered a south Louisiana cooking program when I coordinated a Road Scholar program. The cooking portion of the program took place in a university teaching kitchen, and it was under the supervision of the food safety instructor (side gig for her, as she was also head of the hospitality program). Anyway, she had rules for our kitchen usage, which I had to follow. Again, it doesn’t mean I know all of the rules, just that I have a basic understanding. Unfortunately, the Continuing Education dept. no longer exists, so no more food safety classes through them, although the community college probably offers it. I definitely need to work on purging outdated foods, but 90% of the ingredients (except spices and seasonings) are purchased the week the meal will be made. Except for that damn coleslaw dressing that I threw out. I appreciate your input and will be following that best practices link. Thank you. Haha, that made me smile. I too, am surprised I have this much energy, but it feeds on itself. I seem to be able to recover and do it all again! So far.

Thank you! How I would love to share the mac and cheese with you! Honestly, last night I wanted to serve myself a big plate of it. Sigh. But didn’t. I love Tabasco green sauce. It’s my secret ingredient in a number of things. 😉 Louisiana Gold Green sauce was another favorite, but it’s been discontinued. Wish I’d known soon enough to stock up and hoard. Haha!

I do understand that, but I was caught off guard and wasn’t sure how to feel and/or how to address it. Regarding the Magnalite, yes, they’ve been put into heavy use during this project! My enthusiasm for Magnalite has varied over the years. As a young bride, it was something I definitely wanted to receive as a wedding gift! Along with a rice cooker and a Talk About Good cookbook. We south Louisiana cooks are devoted to it. When I discovered eGullet in 2004, I was influenced to get Le Creuset, and I switched my allegiance to those, sort of pushing my Magnalite away. Speaking of hanging your head in shame, I gave my mother’s 17 quart Magnalite to my sister, instead of treasuring it. I’m glad you kept yours! In recent years I’ve revived my love for it. I bought both a 13 quart and 17 quart roaster on eBay, but original Magnalite, not the new versions. They are so handy for larger scale cooking! I used my Magnalite chicken fryer for the cheese sauce. I have saucepans and 6 & 8 quart gumbo pots (I guess other people would call them stock pots, but we know they’re for gumbo!) Also, the weight difference means you can get them in and out of the oven easier than the Le Creuset (or Lodge, or Staub, or which ever). Terrebonne Parish? My sister has lived there for many years. Bon jour, cher! I’m ashamed to say that I ignored my mother’s warnings and used to put my largest Magnalite skillet (used for smothered round steak and smothered chicken, etc.) in the dishwasher, and it is pitted and ugly. Mom, I shoulda listened!! I haven’t found one on eBay, but then I don’t cook those kinds of meals (for home) anymore. You’ve taken me down memory lane! Mais la!

You are the sweetest! Your support means so much.

A local seafood restaurant collaborates with the sponsors of two of the community fridges to donate leftovers four days a week (Tues - Fri). My husband and I volunteer to do pickup of the packaged meals from the restaurant for delivery to a community fridge. Community volunteers sign up for the delivery, and it’s been working for the last six months. Sometimes the meal donation is as small as 12 plates, but more often it’s more than 20, and even 40 plates, four days a week. I admire this restaurant!

After a very long but successful couple of days, 24 pulled pork meals were delivered to the community fridge! I fretted over the pulled pork so much! My intention was to make pulled pork mac n cheese, but to make that work, I should’ve put the pork in the oven much, much sooner, so that it could be ready to go into the mac n cheese before baking. Since I needed to have the pans of mac ready to bake in the morning, it was easier to refrigerate the oven ready pans the night before (when the pork was only beginning its journey in the oven). Did that make sense? I thought I’d use my two large Dutch ovens in separate ovens, but the 17 quart roaster won out. All the pieces of pork butt fit, and it would tie up just one oven. I seared all four pieces, deglazed with onions, bell pepper, celery. I used Serious Eats recipe as a guideline, but skipped the bourbon, and tailored it a few other ways. Serious Eats - Oven Pulled Pork I poured in half of the barbecue sauce which was made of ketchup, molasses, (and some Steen’s cane syrup, which tastes a lot like molasses, but I didn’t have enough molasses for a double sauce recipe), cider vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, liquid smoke, brown mustard, hot sauce (I used Tabasco Green sauce). In the oven at 300 degrees for twelve hours (I hoped). Searing three of the four pieces of pork shoulder. Deglazing. They all fit! Half of sauce poured over, and ready for the oven after covering the pot. My husband grated 8 pounds of cheese! (I was quadrupling my mac and cheese recipe). We didn’t end up using it all. No pictures of boiling the elbow macaroni, but I did 2 pounds in each pot of boiling, salted water, before spreading out the macaroni in two hotel pans (one pot per pan). I made the bechamel in two batches. I usually use 5 cups of buttermilk per batch, but quadrupling meant that I would be four cups short after a using a gallon, so I added two cups of whole milk to each batch. Making the bechamel. Melting that much cheese took forever, it seemed. Almost there! Mixed the cheese sauce and mac in each pan, covered them in foil and refrigerated. (This is where my husband always doubts me when I tell him I can fit something in the fridge. Or in a pot. Or in a bag. Heck, this is a man who will choose a gallon ziplock back to store 10 leftover crackers.) 😏😂 I woke up to the tantalizing aroma of delicious meat cooking in the oven. At 5:30am I checked the pork. It was definitely to temp! You really can get a bark in oven baked pulled pork! I double wrapped each piece in foil and placed them in a cooler, with newspapers all around to further insulate. I let the roasts rest until ready to pull the meat. I skimmed the grease from the pan sauce, and then strained it, mashing the veg as much as I could to get the flavor. I strained simply because there were unattractive bits in the sauce, otherwise the onions, etc. tasted pretty damn good. This is before straining. I combined the strained oven sauce with the remainder of the barbecue sauce, and used this for saucing the meat before plating. My husband washed and peeled the sweet potatoes. There were a few more than pictured. Ready for the ovens. The mac and cheese ready for the ovens. After the ovens. This much of the second pan left. Wow, did I overestimate. I knew I’d be seeing my son later that day and was sure he’d want some mac and cheese. Nope, his wife made some the night before for supper and they had plenty. Joke’s on me! I have this much in my fridge in three containers and maybe I’ll just take them to the community fridge. The pulled pork. I added more sauce to it as we plated. For some reason I have zero pictures of the coleslaw. I used bagged coleslaw, which my husband volunteered to chop finer because he doesn’t care for coarsely chopped. The pleasure was all his. I had two bottles of commercial coleslaw dressing, one in the fridge and one in the pantry. It is far too sweet, so I matched it with mayo and added red wine vinegar. Tasted it. YUCK!!! The bottle of dressing that was in the pantry should’ve been refrigerated. Tossed all of the dressing and my husband picked up more at the store. I know I should’ve just made it from scratch, but I didn’t. Added mayo and red wine vinegar to the newly purchased dressing and it was fine. No pictures, except plated. We both agreed we didn’t work this hard when we worked! The delivery was made at 12:30, and we wanted to collapse. But I was babysitting my 20 month old grandson at 2:00, so I put my collapse on hold. Luckily, he loves to sit on my lap and listen to children’s music on my phone (holding the phone is part of the draw). We sang and couch danced for a couple of hours. My Mimi heart was restored.

Well, that changed the energy of the thread! While my enthusiasm was momentarily quelled, I won’t let it stop me from continuing this project. I’ve been aware of community fridges for five years and I’m not sure how long they’ve been in existence, but in that time, this type of meal donation has been allowed. I will continue to do it until personal circumstances or the law tell me that I can’t. Everyone has the right to approve or disapprove (at least we currently have the right). Indifference kills more people than feeding them does. And now I’ll work on the post about yesterday’s CFM.

And to share it with your granddaughter. It doesn't get any better than that. This. My heart is full because of this part.

After much indecision, I started on the pulled pork. I cut each roast in half(ish), slathered in mustard, and applied the dry rub, which consisted of brown sugar, smoked paprika, salt, cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. I was out of onion powder. About to make the rub. Added the rub. Wrapped the pork in plastic wrap and put back in the fridge until later today. I still have plenty of time to be indecisive about the mac and cheese, as well as which pot(s) I will use. Meanwhile, my idea for sandwiches for kids home from school next week has exploded! I posted a on a Facebook group page, suggesting that if a lot of us made just one loaf of sandwiches each, we could keep the fridges full next week. “Fill the fridges with sandwiches” has taken off, as people have shared the suggestion on their own pages. I can’t wait to see how it works out next week! My three year old granddaughter will help me with sandwiches next week. 😍

Your photos are stunning and the composition of the food is exquisite … WOW!