Jaymes

Jrshaul - you have received some truly brilliant suggestions in this thread and although I hate to throw a wet dishtowel onto your wok, I'd respectfully advise you to start with some more manageable recipes than stirfry. Although I know it's tempting for many reasons, the facts are that you've said you are really a neophyte cook, and although stir-fry looks easy, it definitely is not, if you really want to do it well. For one thing, your wok won't "stay hot" on your stove mainly because most regular stoves just don't get hot enough for that wok ever to work properly. See this thread: Wok burner advice And getting the technique down to keep everything crisp-cooked can take considerable time to perfect, even with the very best equipment. I suspect you're thinking that stir-frying would allow you to use a little of this and a little of that, according to what you have available, say a carrot, half a bell pepper, some cabbage, some onions, maybe a little bit of left-over pork chop or other protein, etc. But, to accomplish much the same thing on a less-daunting level, I'd suggest you explore the infinite possibilities of fried rice. The only caveat here is that, in my experience anyway, fried rice is best made with cold leftover rice that has been chilling (and drying) in the fridge at least overnight. True, that does require some advance planning, but you could do what I do which is, when I'm planning a meal that calls for rice, I make double the amount needed. That way, I've got some leftover for fried rice the next day. But seriously, look over this thread, find some of the suggestions/recipes that seem very approachable, and start there. Save the wok tofu stirfry for a little farther down your culinary road.

Plain baked sweet potatoes are hugely popular in our house. Always have been. I also scrub and poke, but don't wrap them in foil for cooking. Instead, I put them on a cookie sheet and let them bake a long, long time, until they are collapsed, and nice and caramelly. True that they would make a hella mess if they weren't on that cookie sheet, but they are! Then we just serve them like you would any baked potato (although you do have to scrape them off of that cookie sheet with a sturdy spatula): split them open, tuck in a nice wedge of butter, and a dusting of salt and pepper. I have made some good spreads with butter and brown sugar, or piloncillo, or molasses, and maybe a dusting of cinnamon, and orange juice or lemon juice (or Rancho Gordo banana vinegar which is ambrosial) to serve when we have guests coming over, but for the most part, we are purists. If I don't have a lot of time, I start them in the microwave. Give them about five minutes or so, and then into the oven. No aluminum foil unless they're ready before we're ready to start eating. Then I wrap them in foil to hold until dinnertime. That foil keeps them nice and hot while we get the rest of the meal together. So so good.

I know, but it would sidestep/solve potential problems (and unless US ricotta is a different substance then the one I know, it isn't generally a lump..?). And to be clear, I agree with the premise that if you're eating as part of a group, you partake of (or not) the things on the table; it's about the group and its needs, which trump individual needs. And I'm saying this as someone who has a couple of food sensitivities (not allergies, but they're real, unfortunately: they visibly attack my joints and mucous membranes, visibly and within minutes), and has some distinct and visceral dislikes. But if I'm eating with a group, I keep these things to myself, and deal, quietly. I am well aware there are folks that deal daily with real food issues with differing degrees of severity. As we discussed here on eG a while back, we had a devil of a time with my 18-mo-old grandbaby and gluten. And my son's very best friend is of Chinese heritage and his whole family is severely lactose intolerant. I cooked for my elderly parents who were on highly salt-restrictive diets. And God knows I've hopped upon my share of dietetic bandwagons through the years. But reading jrshaul's long list of individual requirements really gave me pause, as I said. And I couldn't help but think back to my days cooking for college kids, and how different it seems to be now. (As for US Ricotta - what I'm familiar with comes in a form much like cottage cheese and to serve it on the side would definitely require spooning it out into a bowl or plate where indeed it would much resemble what I'd call a 'lump.') But you're right about one thing. This isn't helping poor jrshaul. Whom I do not envy. Jrshaul: I really admire your clear efforts to try to make something tasty, instead of just going for the easiest way out. Be sure to check back with us in a few months. I, for one, am very eager to hear how your adventure goes. And I wish you luck. I think you're going to need it.

Yes. A nice big bubbling hot casserole made with brown rice, black beans and green chiles... And beside it a big lump of ricotta.

Lawsy me, does that ever sound good. I've got to put Margarita Pie back into rotation!

Amen, Sister! FWIW, here is a recipe from the classic "Diet for a Small Planet" that has pleased even carnivores for decades, a casserole of brown rice, black beans, green chiles, ricotta, jack cheese, etc.. Wish I had some now... That looks really good. And very similar to a dish I often make. But you do realize, of course, that all of the various 'No Dairy' factions wouldn't touch it.

I remember it being pretty popular a few years back, and I know I even made it on several occasions. I remember adding additional lime juice so that it would be more tart than some. But I can't remember which recipe I used, and most of my books/notebooks are in storage. So I'm monitoring this thread and hoping for some suggestions. As you say, a lime pie with booze and a salty crust was pretty good and thanks to this memory jog, I'm definitely in the mood to try it again.

This column really brings into very sharp focus for me a huge difference between young people today and those of several decades back. I don't know, I'm probably generalizing, and probably even wrong, but I doubt the percentage of people with genuine food issues, like celiacs, etc., has increased that much. But what has clearly increased is the percentage of people that adopt whatever food trend is currently in vogue. I remember a time when cooking for college kids meant one thing - did you make enough. And you cooked for the group. If individuals didn't like this, or wouldn't eat that, or decided some other common ingredient was "poison" or "immoral" or "whatever," they were free to ignore it and move on. If they felt like nothing on offer was ever suitable for their consumption, and that they were somehow entitled to have everyone cater to their whims, they'd be left to their own devices. Boy have times changed. Now everyone has demands and feels perfectly entitled in insisting upon them and getting upset and insulted when others don't see the brilliance and moral superiority of their culinary choices. And anyone that foolishly offers to help fulfill those choices soon finds themselves in the same thankless position as a short-order cook. I'm really really happy that's not me. As I've said elsewhere, for at least twenty years, I routinely cooked for groups from 20-90 on a more-than-weekly basis. Naturally, I always made sure to have something for anyone that I knew had some sort of legitimate food issue, like an allergy, or religious dietary restrictions (see my thread about entertaining Iranian fighter pilots). But catering to a bunch of picky eaters and entitled prima donnas would never have been manageable for me.

Yes, I noticed that, too, and laughed out loud. And then looked to see if it was billed: Top Chef Texas - Episode 15 - in which Bev Has Had Enough

Yep, me, too. Was hopeful Sarah & Lindsay might have developed a little kindness, humanity and respect for Bev or, at the very minimum, manners, but then there was that inexcusable incident in the car when Paul asked Bev about LCK and Bev starts to chat about it and Sarah says, "Oh, look at the trees!" and rolls her eyes and smirks at Lindsay. How dismissive and demeaning can you get. Boy, I sure wish she had gone home. But it is some vindication that in their "vote for your favorite chef" contest, the "mean girls" are much farther down the list than Bev. In fact, come to think of it, believe I'll go there and do a little voting right now.

Or, just use actual vegetable oil. There's a noticeable flavor difference but it's not large. Using bacon fat to prepare a meal for vegans is not quite an ideal or ethical solution. +1 for the vegetable oil route. And if you're using typical American bacon, there's a distinctive smoky flavor that is difficult, if not impossible, to disguise. You can parboil the bacon before you fry it or otherwise cook it. The parboiling removes that smoky flavor which is ideal for recipes that call for European bacon or for some other reason you don't want that smoke. But, as others have said, just use vegetable oil. Easier all the way around and far less likely to offend or insult someone. Not to mention lose a friend.

Another vote for the pretzel crust. A favorite from several years back, Margarita Pie is often made with a pretzel crust. And it's also particularly good with strawberry pies.

And lots of people make crusts with Oreos, or other chocolate cookies. Pretty tasty. I've had these chocolate crusts with cheesecakes and other assorted refrigerator and freezer pies, but the classic, of course, is Grasshopper Pie. Anybody remember that?

I've had really good luck through the years with this recipe for vegetarian chili. Maybe it will give you some ideas and direction. I do use kidney beans, but you could try it with black beans. I can't imagine why they wouldn't work. Vegetarian Chili

I'd definitely plan on some sort of soup with all those root vegetables. You could easily change it up according to what's on hand. And get some sort of powdered vegetable soup stock to add for flavor. I'd probably buy a tub of Knorr's Mexican Chicken base, but if you go with vegetable stock, that could always count for your vegetarian option. If all you have to buy with your $13 is some sort of protein, you can't go wrong with those chicken thighs. And get a bag of rice and a bag of beans and a bag of onions. You say you've got a nice French lady making bread. Be sure nobody tosses the bread when it goes stale. Lots of things you can do with stale bread. Canned salmon, for instance, is pretty cheap and you can stretch two or three cans with bread crumbs, eggs, celery. I'm assuming you only have to take a "turn," right, say once a week or something? Or, as others have suggested, is this all up to you for an extended period?

Right. And just to clarify my post, when I said "meat and dried chiles that had been either ground into a powder or paste or reconstituted in some liquid," I was referring to the whole dried chiles. Upon rereading, I realized it could have been misconstrued to mean that both the meat and dried chiles had been ground up together. But, jrshaul, I meant that "Cookie" in his chuckwagon out on the cattle trail, or the vaqueros, or the San Antonio Chili Queens, who usually didn't have regular access to fresh or canned chiles were grinding and reconstituting the whole dried chiles that they did have. Most probably in a manner identical to patrickamory's current avatar. My bad. I misread the recipes. I haven't seen dried versions of some of these chilis. Can anyone suggest an all-pork or pork-heavy recipe using widely available dried peppers? Ground pork or pork shoulder would both be equally suitable. Chile Verde, especially New Mexico style, is most-typically a pork stew that uses green chiles - Anaheim, Poblano, Hatch, etc. It's really really good, and we make it a lot in our house. Again, it's something you can make with almost any chiles you like: dried, smoked, fresh, canned, whatever type/style of chiles you prefer and have access to. When we lived in Alaska, canned mild green chiles and canned jalapenos were about all I could find available. I also had a house full of kiddos that I cooked for, so I wouldn't make it too spicy or they wouldn't eat it. So I made it with pork shoulder, canned mild green chiles, and just one or two jalapenos for a little zip. It usually requires long slow cooking to break down that pork butt/shoulder or whatever pork you've used (you can use basically any cut), but when I'm in a big hurry to get something on the table quickly, I make it with those smoked pork chops you can buy in your "cooked meats" case in the supermarkets. Smoked pork chops are particularly popular with Mexican home-cooks, so our Mexican markets here sell them in bulk. The Green (or Red, for that matter) Chile Stew I make with them can be ready and on the table in a half-hour. You can find many, many recipes for Chili/e Verde, or Green Chile Stew with a quick google, and I think we had a thread about it on eG a while back. It's a wonderful dish, a real classic of Southwestern Cooking, very easy and forgivable to prepare, and I think you'd probably love it. If you prefer red chiles, the New Mexican dish made with pork and red chiles is called "Carne Adovada (or Adobada)." When the recipes call for chile powder, all you have to do is to take your dried chiles and grind them up in a molcajete, or mortar and pestle. We also used to live in New Mexico, a few miles up the road from an old Mexican town called Mesilla. There's a famous restaurant there, La Posta, and their "Red Chile Stew" was deservedly famous in that part of the country. Here's a recipe based on the La Posta recipe for Carne Adobada: Carne Adobada It's also easy and forgiving to prepare. It's basically the same as Green Chile Stew, but you use red chiles. And then you can investigate posole - a Mexican stew made with hominy and chiles. You can use whatever meat you like. Pork and red chiles are typical. You can make it with parts of the pig like pork rinds, pigs feet, etc. In fact, if you have a butcher that will sell you these cuts cheaply, posole might be a good choice for your meals for 26. You can make a vegetarian version, although that's not typical.

Right. And just to clarify my post, when I said "meat and dried chiles that had been either ground into a powder or paste or reconstituted in some liquid," I was referring to the whole dried chiles. Upon rereading, I realized it could have been misconstrued to mean that both the meat and dried chiles had been ground up together. But, jrshaul, I meant that "Cookie" in his chuckwagon out on the cattle trail, or the vaqueros, or the San Antonio Chili Queens, who usually didn't have regular access to fresh or canned chiles were grinding and reconstituting the whole dried chiles that they did have. Most probably in a manner identical to patrickamory's current avatar.

Whole dried chiles are almost certainly the original ingredient used. And that was about it. Meat and dried chiles that had been either ground into a powder or paste or reconstituted in some liquid.

The other cheftestants sit around and drink and smoke and schmooze and dish the dirt (not that there's anything wrong with that ). I doubt that was ever her personality but, even if it was, she's at a different place in her life now. She's got a child to worry about, and she's deadly serious and focused about this. I think that's most of the problem. She's a grownup and doesn't fit in with the cool kids smoking out behind the gym at lunchtime.

I must say, I find this surprising. I don't know in what part of California you are, but I used to live in Southern California and my son and his family currently live in the Bay Area. Never had a bit of trouble finding Key/Mexican limes. They usually come in a mesh bag. I was just out there visiting a few months back and bought a bag at their local Safeway. Even the WalMart in San Jose had them. So I'd advise you not to give up.

My other strong suggestion is to start simple. You can work your way up to impressive and fabulous as you gain knowledge and expertise as to what works, what's do-able, what's well-received. If you start off overly ambitious and try to wow them right out of the gate and it goes awry, you'll have to get beyond that first negative impression. But if you start off really simple until you get your bearings, you'll have nowhere to go but up.

Thanks, PC. I'm going to give it a go sometime over this next week. Looks wonderful, and I've got a jar of cajeta in the pantry. I'm all set!

I'd really seriously love to have that recipe, too, if you don't mind. Sounds perfect for our family. In fact, I can hardly wait!

I've cooked for large groups for most of my life and I want to stress to you that, as you're thinking it over and planning, you completely jettison the 'tempura' idea for the immediate time being. After you have the hang of preparing these meals, and know your 'audience,' equipment, etc., better, if you want to try something that last-minute labor-intensive, you always can.

And of course, in actuality Ed was knocked out by Ed. Specifically, Ed was knocked out in those few seconds when he was standing in the store considering the fact that he had just been told there were no fresh oysters. He should have immediately remembered the previous "I didn't buy fresh shrimp" incident, and chosen another dish.