Cooking for a Community Fridge

[chromedome]

2 hours ago, patti said:

I didn’t notice that my husband edited my ingredient list until after the fact. He said I didn’t need to list every little glug of Worcestershire or Tabasco or balsamic. Grrr.

The others probably wouldn't matter, but Worcestershire is a fish-based sauce. Probably not good to leave off one of the Big Nine allergens when you're labeling food for people. 

+1 for me on the dark edges being the best part. In my home all of us (including the sporadically-picky grandkids) fight over those. 

[patti]

33 minutes ago, Maison Rustique said:

That cheese is not burned--it is just right!!!! The dark brown cheese is the best part!

 

33 minutes ago, Maison Rustique said:

That cheese is not burned--it is just right!!!! The dark brown cheese is the best part!

13 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

I agree!  It looks deeply browned, not charred, to me (who also likes her toast well browned 🙃)

😜

 

I love crispy edges of browned cheese, but this was a little bitter to me. I ate some of the scraps after cleaning up the first pan. I would not have gone to the trouble of doing it with the second pan if I’d enjoyed any from the first! It wasn’t gooey underneath the dark parts.

[patti]

23 minutes ago, chromedome said:

The others probably wouldn't matter, but Worcestershire is a fish-based sauce. Probably not good to leave off one of the Big Nine allergens when you're labeling food for people. 

+1 for me on the dark edges being the best part. In my home all of us (including the sporadically-picky grandkids) fight over those. 

Yes, I agree it should be listed!

[Shelby]

1 hour ago, Maison Rustique said:

That cheese is not burned--it is just right!!!! The dark brown cheese is the best part!

I was going to say the same thing.  Ronnie and I fight over the dark cheese and he always wins arrrgh.  

[MaryIsobel]

1 hour ago, patti said:

 

My husband would wrestle anyone for the "browned bits of cheese."

[patti]

15 hours ago, Shelby said:

I was going to say the same thing.  Ronnie and I fight over the dark cheese and he always wins arrrgh.  

 

14 hours ago, MaryIsobel said:

My husband would wrestle anyone for the "browned bits of cheese."

 

Dear Shelby, MaryIsobel, and all others who mentioned favoring burnt cheese,

 

Apologies for not boxing up and shipping the big pile of burned cheese scraps for y’all to devour. 🤔

 

Next time, I promise! 😜😆😂

 

 

I’m thinking of pulled ham sandwiches and broccoli salad for next week’s CFM. I know that doesn’t sound very Christmassy, but there may also be some homemade cookies involved. Not sure which day will be food delivery day, but it might be early on Christmas Eve day. Alternatively, the day after Christmas.

 

Is this where I admit I’ve never baked a ham? I saw a vid of someone doing pulled ham for sandwiches, and it looked scrumptious. Shelby’s idea for broccoli salad would go good with this, I think.

Edited December 18, 2025 by patti (log)

[patti]

Already second guessing the pulled ham. Too similar to the pulled pork from a few weeks ago. It’s not off the table for the future, though.

[blue_dolphin]

6 hours ago, patti said:

Already second guessing the pulled ham. Too similar to the pulled pork from a few weeks ago. It’s not off the table for the future, though.

It’s fine if you’d like to make something different with the ham but I don’t think offering something that’s only barely similar (but quite different to me) almost a month later is repetitive.

PB&J day after day would get old but I don’t see that risk here. 
Looking forward to seeing whatever you decide to make!

 

[bokreta]

48 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

It’s fine if you’d like to make something different with the ham but I don’t think offering something that’s only barely similar (but quite different to me) almost a month later is repetitive.

PB&J day after day would get old but I don’t see that risk here. 
Looking forward to seeing whatever you decide to make!

 

 

Especially since (at least as far as I understand how this works) yours are not the only contributions and the population served is unlikely to be a constant week to week, let alone month to month. I think pulled ham sandwiches and broccoli salad sound quite close to a vaguely traditional holiday meal. In fact, the base ingredients are probably what I'm having for Xmas dinner!

[patti]

 

14 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

It’s fine if you’d like to make something different with the ham but I don’t think offering something that’s only barely similar (but quite different to me) almost a month later is repetitive.

PB&J day after day would get old but I don’t see that risk here. 
Looking forward to seeing whatever you decide to make!

 

 

13 hours ago, bokreta said:

 

Especially since (at least as far as I understand how this works) yours are not the only contributions and the population served is unlikely to be a constant week to week, let alone month to month. I think pulled ham sandwiches and broccoli salad sound quite close to a vaguely traditional holiday meal. In fact, the base ingredients are probably what I'm having for Xmas dinner!

 

Thank you both for offering your opinions. Pulled ham sandwiches (on a sturdy bun) with pickles, and a side of broccoli salad does sound good (with plenty of red/green opportunities for a Christmas theme). Merci!

Edited December 19, 2025 by patti (log)

[patti]

I delivered the planned CFM earlier today, but now I’m getting ready for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, so I will post about it later!

 

Merry Christmas!

[patti]

Sorry it has taken me so long to post about this CFM! Christmas week was jam packed and I had a couple of moments of high anxiety, wondering if I’d get it all done.

 

On Tuesday morning, I started with two bone in hams. 

 

 

 

They were coated in mustard and a homemade rub.

 

 

I poured a 12 oz bottle of Coke in the bottom of each pan, covered them tightly in foil, and then two hours in the oven at 275. Removed from the oven and covered in a combination of Sweet Baby Ray’s barbecue sauce, apricot preserves, and apple cider vinegar, and back in the oven, with the temp raised to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.

 

 

After the first two hours, as I was preparing to cover them in sauce.

 

 

 

 

I thought they were done, but I was sadly mistaken (misunderstood the internal temp goal of 200 for pulled ham, vs 165 for “done” ham). So much to learn.

 

 

 

 

Later that evening (hours later) it was pullable. Tasted good, too.

 

 

 

The pulled ham sandwiches were accompanied by broccoli salad. (Thanks for the suggestion @Shelby!)

My recipe calls for raisins, but I subbed with Craisins. Broccoli, bacon, cheddar, red onion, sunflower seeds, Craisins. My husband was turning his nose up at the broccoli salad from the beginning. (He is now a believer.)

I made and dressed the broccoli salad on Tuesday for the Wednesday delivery. 

 

Before dressing:

 

 

 

The dressing was made of mayo, sugar, red wine vinegar, salt, black pepper. Nothing unusual or edgy.

 

 

 

I toasted the buns, and you can see that they are a beautiful color. Unfortunately, they were still a little over toasted and the sandwiches didn’t have any give. It made me sad.

 

 

 

Maybe the chocolate chip cookies with flaky salt helped. I hope so.

 

[

 

 

 

 

 

There was a family and two single guys waiting for food as we unloaded. I apologized for the over toasted buns and one of the single guys insisted he preferred crunchy bread. 😂 That was nice of him.

 

ETA: The red hat peeking over the back seat says, “Ragin Cajuns,” btw.

 

I feel good that we were able to complete and deliver for 11am on Christmas Eve. 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 27, 2025 by patti (log)

[Shelby]

I think it all looks AMAZING.  I'd definitely dive into all of that.  

[patti]

My husband just suggested that the buns weren’t over toasted, the ham was under sauced. He waits till now to tell me?! Damn. 

[Shelby]

6 minutes ago, patti said:

My husband just suggested that the buns weren’t over toasted, the ham was under sauced. He waits till now to tell me?! Damn. 

It's never too early for a glass of wine--for you, not him 🙃

[Darienne]

My mouth just watered looking at that pulled ham.  And that wonderful broccoli salad.  And chocolate chip cookies?  Look out.  Here I come!!!!

[patti]

22 hours ago, Darienne said:

My mouth just watered looking at that pulled ham.  And that wonderful broccoli salad.  And chocolate chip cookies?  Look out.  Here I come!!!!

 

If that’s not a supportive reaction, I don’t know what is! Thank you.😍

One of the reasons I chose chocolate chip cookies for the fridge meal is that the dough doesn’t require chilling and I don’t have to take out and use the stand mixer, even when I do a double batch, and I needed a simple item on the menu. Oh, and they’re delicious! (I am bothered that I chose such a misshapen cookie for the pic, though.) 🤨

 

The plan for next week is that the meal will be delivered New Year’s Day, and it will be RG black eyed peas and rice, fried cabbage with tasso, cornbread (with stuff in it), and I haven’t decided if I will be using enough sausage or other pork items in the black eyes to count as a meat item, or if I will also cook something else. (I can’t wait to do a meal without pork, though!)

[Darienne]

@pattiRG?  Rancho Gordo?  

 

Hey!  I'll eat the misshapen ones!!

[patti]

2 minutes ago, Darienne said:

@pattiRG?  Rancho Gordo?  

 

Hey!  I'll eat the misshapen ones!!

Yes ma’am, Rancho Gordo. Hoppin John, most likely.

[patti]

🎵 Let’s start at the very beginning. A very good place to start. 🎵

 

As previously posted, a generous eGullet member donated a variety box of Rancho Gordo beans to be used in community fridge meals. That box included two packages of black eyed peas, which southerners believe symbolize coins and abundance. Usually served with some type of greens (money) and cornbread (gold). Prosperity and good fortune for the coming year!

 

Because my goal is to make 24 meals of generous portion sizes (and my neurotic desire to make sure there is “enough”), I decided to also cook 2 more pounds of peas, using the local favorite brand, Camellia. Also, my husband wanted to be sure there was enough for his own New Year’s Day meal!

 

 

 

I found out just last week that you can buy ham bones from the Honey Baked Ham store when they are available. They were available, and I bought two, at $5.99 each. I consider it a bargain because there really was a good amount of ham attached. A ham for each pot of beans.

 

 

 

 

First things first. Rinsing and sorting.

 

 

 

 

 

There is often debate about whether or not to soak the beans, and if you do, for how long? I decided against soaking for two reasons. First, I wanted the longer cooking time to make sure the ham bone had time to do its job. B, Rancho Gordo black eyed pea package instructions did not include soaking! Who am I to argue (this time)? It’s probably because they are thin skinned, comme moi.

 

So. After the rinsing and sorting, aromatics were sautéed in bacon grease from my bacon grease crock.

 

 

The RG peas were cooked in an 8 quart stock pot, while the Camellias were cooked in a larger roaster. Instead of choosing pots for their usual function, I have to choose by size. My largest Dutch oven is 7 1/4 quarts, but I have larger roasters and stock pots. Two pounds of beans or peas needs at least an 8 quart pot.

 

After the veg was sautéed, the ham bone, rinsed and sorted black eyes, and a few bay leaves were added to the pot, along with enough water to cover the beans by an inch or so.

 

Pot 1

 

 

 

 

Pot 2 

 

 

And eventually:

 

Pot 1

 

 

 

Pot 2

 

 

At some point between those pics, smoked sausage, seasoning, and a couple of tablespoons of tomato paste were added. I didn’t add salt early in the cooking, according to package directions. But the ham added salt, so I don’t know if that is theoretically a bad thing or not. Taste wise, it was a good thing!

 

The pot of Rancho Gordo beans had more liquid and it was brothier. I didn’t want to cook the liquid down at the risk of over cooking the peas, and they were done, and tasted delicious!  I was very pleased with the result.

The Camellias took a little longer to cook, and in the end, were thicker. There were a number of variables at play, but both pots of beans tasted good. 

 

While the original plan for the cabbage included tasso, getting the ham changed that. I’d already bought smoked sausage, and decided to use that in both the peas and the cabbage. 

 

Here is the beginning of the cabbage prep. I used five heads, and this was one.

 

 

 

Fried cabbage usually starts with bacon. This was two pounds.

 

 

 

 

The onions need to fry in the rendered bacon fat.

 

 

 

And so did the cabbage.

 

 

 

Seasoning included celery seed, salt, black pepper, sugar. A little chicken broth to let it lightly simmer to tenderize some, but I wanted a little bite to it, no mush.

 

 

For the cornbread, I did my usual 6 packs of Jiffy in a sheet pan, adding some grated cheddar and some pickled jalapeño slices into the mix. The last time I made cornbread for a CFM, the cornbread seemed a little dry. This time I took a stick of butter and rubbed it all over the surface of the cornbread while it was still warm and uncut. I used half a stick of butter over the 24 pieces. It looked purty.

 

No pics of the two rice cookers making rice. I really need to learn how to make rice in the oven in a hotel pan.

 

Note: I usually like to mix the food cooked in separate pots, but I didn’t do that with these. I wanted the flavors of each to show. But about midway, I admit I did start mixing a scoop of the brothier peas with a scoop of the thicker peas. Apologies to the purists.

 

The plated meal:

 

 

 

Delivered, about 12:30 pm yesterday. There are only 20 plates in the fridge because a mother and her children took four as we were unloading. 

 

 

 

Happy New Year!

 

 

[chromedome]

20 minutes ago, patti said:

No pics of the two rice cookers making rice. I really need to learn how to make rice in the oven in a hotel pan.

 

 

You know those big water pitchers they use for drinking water in meeting rooms and buffets? For a 4 inch-deep hotel pan, I used those and did 2 of rice, 3 of water. Cover the pan well (we used the heavy commercial plastic wrap, then foil) and pop it in your oven. Sadly I don't recall the actual cooking time, which is fairly important, but it was probably something in the range of 45 minutes to an hour. 

[Shelby]

Patti, you did so great!  I'm sitting here wishing I had a big plate with everything on it.  

 

I don't ever soak black eyed peas, either.  

 

 

[TdeV]

@patti, your guests must have been delighted. I can understand folks hanging around on the day you deliver meals!

 

What is that cabbage dish called? Your explanation and pictures are so straigtforward, that I think I could make that dish.

 

Only, mine would have to be smaller. 🙄 That's why the name of the dish will help me find a smaller recipe. 😄

 

The texture wouldn't survive being frozen, would it?

 

[Darienne]

31 minutes ago, TdeV said:

@patti, your guests must have been delighted. I can understand folks hanging around on the day you deliver meals!

 

What is that cabbage dish called? Your explanation and pictures are so straigtforward, that I think I could make that dish.

 

Only, mine would have to be smaller. 🙄 That's why the name of the dish will help me find a smaller recipe. 😄

 

The texture wouldn't survive being frozen, would it?

 

Me too.  I love cooked cabbage.  Added some shredded cabbage to our New Year's Eve extravaganza of steamed broccoli.  Cabbages are just SO big!  And they can last for half of forever!  

[patti]

57 minutes ago, TdeV said:

@patti, your guests must have been delighted. I can understand folks hanging around on the day you deliver meals!

 

What is that cabbage dish called? Your explanation and pictures are so straigtforward, that I think I could make that dish.

 

Only, mine would have to be smaller. 🙄 That's why the name of the dish will help me find a smaller recipe. 😄

 

The texture wouldn't survive being frozen, would it?

 

 

Thank you!

 

It’s just called fried cabbage, although with the volume I cooked, it pretty much became smothered cabbage.

 

Fried cabbage usually starts with bacon, but with the amount I was doing, I also used sausage since I only had two pounds of bacon. I cooked the sausage in a separate skillet and added in. Cabbage had to be added in batches and after a little chicken stock was added, it needed to be covered, which is more like a smothered dish.

 

Definitely scale downable! 😂 And with a smaller version, less cook time and you can end up with something tender/crisp. I like it with a little heat and a little sweet.

 

An aside. I’ve never made collard greens and didn’t grow up eating them. When I taste them now, sometimes I love them and sometimes not, which shows me it’s not easy to do them right. I wouldn’t want to insult people who know what they’re doing with an attempt. Therefore, I cooked cabbage.

 

24 minutes ago, Darienne said:

Me too.  I love cooked cabbage.  Added some shredded cabbage to our New Year's Eve extravaganza of steamed broccoli.  Cabbages are just SO big!  And they can last for half of forever!  

 

I often see big beautiful cabbages around here! Unfortunately, what was available at shopping time were smallish to medium ones, which made it harder for me to decide how many to get.