ronnie_suburban

Well, I certainly hope so. All in all, it's about a 5 gallon batch. But yes, normally for us it's a 'what do I do with these leftovers?' type of dish. =R=

I am just about to start a huge batch of Jambalaya (based on a recipe from the Times Picayune Cookbook) using about 6 pounds of andouille as well as some tasso. I've been making this jambalaya for about 20 years and I cannot imagine making it with anything but andouille. I have used regular ham (baked, smoked) in the past when I couldn't get my hands on any tasso, but if I couldn't get the andouille, I'd just make something else. =R=

LOL, I wish I could...but we're going to another big party on Sunday (so that will be somewhat relaxing) and then Monday I plan on doing nothing more than going through the motions here at the office =R=

Coming up Toliver...a little later this evening. =R=

Thanks PK...that's why we only do it once a year and not 3 or 4 times... =R=

I do use a pastry bag because: a) I have one b) the finished product looks better that way c) they go much faster Usually, I mix the cooked, chopped bacon into the filling but this year I'm planning on just topping them with the bacon because I think they'll be better that way--hopefully, the bacon will still be totally crispy when I serve them. Also, in the past, the pieces of bacon have obstructed the flow of filling from the bag. There's always a workaround for it but the topping concept just seems better all the way around. =R=

Okay, back to single servings for a moment--just had a chicken caesar salad for lunch from Viccino's pizza--a place in our building. It was pretty good actually. Sometimes the chicken is too salty and tastes way processed. Today, it tasted like a real person made it with a real chicken. Ah, the wonders of technology. With that, I had the requisite caffeine-free diet coke. I'm currently going through about 6 cans of that per day. Probably making the jambalaya, about a 15 pound batch, tonight. History tells me that Wednesday is a fine day to make it in advance (for a Saturday party). In a perfect world, I make it the day of the party but that's not realistic in this case. Regardless, it is one of the few items that always disappears completely at this party. Not sure how much eating there will be tonight, but there will be food a'plenty. The thought of having dinner tonight just doesn't appeal to me at the moment. Did I mention that I'm taking THU and FRI off from work this week? In the past I've only taken the Friday before off, but I decided to double up on that this time around. I think we'll need the additional time. =R=

Cool! Yeah, I forgot to mention the devilled eggs (with bacon). We'll make those right before the party -- bought 6 dozen eggs for that. Also forgot to mention the bow-tie pasta salad with grape tomatoes (or roasted red peppers, haven't decided yet) and peas... The meatball recipe I used was an improvisation off a Lydia recipe. I worked it out in my head, then checked her recipe and found that mine was almost identical. After that, I basically split the difference between the 2 recipes and the testers turned out great. I do think that the eggs are probably the hardest thing labor-wise, but people tend to love them so we always include them. Hey! The andouille (6#) and tasso (4#) for the jambalaya just showed up at the office. =R=

Busted! I stole them from our sample freezer at work and then immediately placed myself on probation. =R=

Well...counting the mini fridge near the tv in our bedroom , we actually have 4 total units...1 in the kitchen, 1 in the garage and 1 in our basement. As for help, yes we will have a few 'hired hands' to help us keep the food stocked, the drinks flowing and the coats in check. We didn't used to do it that way but we found that, after trying it once, we enjoyed ourselves way more when we had help, so now we always have it. No point in having a party if one can't converse with the guests =R=

The menu for our party doesn't change too much from year to year. Here's a (not too) brief overview of the items I can remember right now: jambalaya meatballs mini hot dogs en croute mini spanikopitas rumaki cold boiled shrimp baked brie in puff pastry lox and mini bagels smoked ham (from Nueske) Euro-style deli tray (we get this at a German deli near us) toasted chick peas and pistachios spinach and artichoke dip (hot) queso fundido stuffed grape leaves hummus avocaodo and goat cheese dip veggie krudite roasted red pepper dip chex mix (home-made, my MIL's recipe) assorted pretzels and chips chocolate mousse cake carrot cake cheesecake (still haven't decided what type I'm making) sugared pecans assorted cookies (biscotti, linzer, rugelah) brownies Holiday Harvest Punch Assorted beer and wine Cocktail station It's been one hell of a week and there's still a lot of work ahead for us. We spent last weekend prepping the hardest items -- at least the ones that could be made ahead. Here are a few pics: ~500 mini vienna beef dogs (12# of dogs). After they froze solid, we wrapped them all up tightly to avoid freezer burn. ~500 par-baked meatballs. This was 10# of meat (veal, beef, pork and sausage) plus the additional ingredients. These will be cooked and served in a beefy-bbq-type sauce. ~180 mini spanikopitas. This was about 8# of filling and 4 boxes of phyllo dough. We've also been scurrying around with some more fundamental prep and decorating the house too. It's loads of holiday fun. I love having this party. Every year we try to do a few more things and usually make ourselves crazy doing so, but I wouldn't have it any other way. =R=

That's interesting about the pork rinds. At the stores, most every brand now proudly boasts "A Carbohydrate-Free Food" on their label. The ones from yesterday were great, but the pieces are so big that they curl up when fried so that the very centers of each piece are kind of soft and grainy as oppoosed to hard and crunchy. I'm sure this is, for many folks, the best part but for me, that's usually the point where it's very easy to stop eating them. How many are you having over Tammy? =R=

I wonder why? LOL, no comment! =R=

Soba, I did start something, but if you want me to hold off, just say the word. =R=

Hi All, Just realized that I'd been tagged for this week. For some reason I stopped receiving notifcations about last week's blog thread and forgot to check in. Frankly, if my head weren't screwed onto my body, I'd probably leave it somewhere. Once I count on not having to remember something, I generally don't. guajolote mentioned that I was having a crazy week and it's true. My wife and I are hosting a holiday open house for 150 this weekend and we've been cooking and prepping for it every night since last Friday. This is, I think, around the 22nd year that this holiday party has taken place, my wife used to host it before I came into the picture. But, before I get into that, I should probably review the more notable 'regular' food moments. As some sort of crazy self-punishment, I've been back on Atkins for the few weeks leading up to this party. Because of that, I've been eating a lot of salads, meats and frankenfood bars. When the party starts on Saturday, Atkins will be officially over through January 2 at least... I love Atkins and I hate Atkins...more on this later (hopefully). But, Tuesday was a good food day because for lunch we had some delicious carnitas from a place at 41st & Ashland (in Chicago) called Kiki D's Carnitas (don't go breakin' my heart). The carnitas were amazing and so were the huge pieces of home-made pork rinds they make on premises. From an Atkin's perspective, this is about as good as it gets. While a couple of my co-horts indulged in the corn tortillas, I and another guy in the office (who seems to be permanently on Atkins) indulged in a 2 pound order of carnitas...I solo'd a small portion of the pork rinds since no one else would go near them, but that's nothing out of the ordinary. At the end of lunchtime, there was probably still at least a pound of carnitas left but no one could eat another bite. I took them home but didn't get to them last night. My wife had made a small rib roast and some steamed broccoli with butter and fresh lemon. I wasn't really hungry because of my carnitas indulgence but I muddled through it and put most of the roast in the fridge. Going back to Monday, I have nothing spectacular to report. I had a Chef's Salad with caesar dressing from Seul's, the tavern across the street from our office. For dinner, we had Han's brand Chicken Sausages with spinach and feta. That was it...other than a caffeine-free diet coke. No bun, no side dishes, no nothing. Because of all the party work we have to do each night, the regular meal schedule is suffering a bit. BTW, I almost never eat breakfast during the week, so this blog will be comprised of lunches, dinners, snacks and party prep. Each morning starts with an iced, venti no water, Americano from Starbucks unless I happen to have scored some better beans or been given some by a friend who roasts his own. It's getting a little crazy here at the office, so I'll bow out for a bit and be back later with some more. =R=

Sorry to be so late to respond, but I hadn't received a notification about this thread in a few days. I will happily accept =R=

=R=

Those carrots sound amazing. Thanks for the lore. =R=

scarred burned and calloused those hands have cooked for sovereigns wisdom leaves its mark tugged from the garden chef's hands transform the bounty Civilization caramelized shrapnel flawless loins served at table chef holds best bits back andouille and rice onion garlic tasso thyme jambalaya lives arrives in darkness chef wrestles with blade and flame daylight fades again solitary life uncouth guests gobble, clueless ignored hero, chef Wait! Aroma calls bacon sizzling in the pan is that all you made? kitchen window gone former sky is now a house I hate my neighbors =R=

You may just have to go there and decide for yourself. And when you do, please be sure to report back =R=

Is that what the kids are calling it these days? It should have made for quite the painless TG. Seriously though, I admire you so much for navigating your way through the entire situation. I'm not sure I'd want any tv cameras around during some of my TG prep 'moments'...they're not usually suitable for public consumption. =R=

I'm really looking forward to this...your intro hooked me. =R=

Oh. My. I wish I had seen that. Me too! =R=

Thanks for the great blog and for taking the time to upload all the wonderful pics. Happy Thanksgiving GGM! =R=

Congrats tommy. If and when you add a 3rd one, let us know and we can stage an intervention =R=