eGullet NJ Pig-BBQ & Potluck, Sunday, 9/21/03

[johnjohn]

Thanks to everyone involved in organizing the Potluck. I had a great time, and really enjoyed putting faces with names.

Fink - I was at a pig roast the week before (two 155lbs) and yours blew them away - it was awesome.

johnjohn

[KatieLoeb]

I would like to add that Katieloeb's mousakka is even better on the second day. We had it for dinner tonight.

Question, was the omission of a potato layer on purpose, because your friend is on Atkins? Or is this a legitimately potato-free mousakka?

Jason:

There are lots of varieties of Moussaka. Some are made with eggplant, some with potato, some with zucchini or any combinations thereof. We had discussed making pastitzio initially, before Gary started doing Atkins, but I figured if Gary did alot of the work, it would suck to not even try some, so we did pasta-free moussaka instead.

Gary should get equal billing for helping shop and helping me cook. He also stored and transported the enormous trays.

I had my leftovers for dinner tonight too. Like chili and stew, it's definitely better the second day.

I'll try to downsize the recipe and I'll see if I can make it one more time at home, in "normal" proportions, and then I'll post the recipe with exact measurements. Basically there's no secret. Peel eggplants with "racing stripes", cut longways and salt and weigh down with a plate to extract the bitter juices. Rinse and pat dry. Brush with olive oil and broil the eggplant slices for about 4 minutes per side until lightly browned. Spray dish with olive oil cooking spray and dust with breadcrumbs. Add first layer of eggplant over crumbs. Saute chopped onions and ground lamb and ground turkey in a little butter until brown. Add tomato sauce, red wine and tomato paste. Season with a little salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. (Careful with the salt as the cheese tends to be quite salty) Simmer until liquid absorbs. Season with fresh chopped parsley and dried oregano. Let cool. Mix in grated cheese (I used a combo of ricotta salata and Pecorino Romano), breadcrumbs, and cinnamon (I use Penzey's Fancy Vietnamese Cinnamon because it's really fragrant) Make a basic Bechamel sauce with flour, butter and hot milk. Cook until thickened and season with salt, white pepper and lots of fresh grated nutmeg. Temper beaten egg yolks with a little of the hot Bechamel sauce and then add back to remaining Bechamel. Layer meat sauce over eggplant, top with other half of broiled eggplant slices and then top with bechamel sauce. Sprinkle with more cheese. Bake at 350 until browned on top. That's it. It's really time consuming, but not terribly difficult if you know what I mean.

Glad you liked it!

[elyse]

I just have to say that I was dreaming all day about the food. Man, was it good.

[Fat Guy]

Have we spoken yet about Docsconz's amazing apple cider?

The good doctor went out near he lives in way-upstate New York (basically Vermont) and picked like a million Macouns (in my opinion the world's best apple) and then spent all day Saturday working them in a big old antique wooden cider press. By far the best cider I've ever had. I drank about half a gallon at the event. So enthusiastic was I about the cider that the doctor sent me home with a gallon.

It's all gone now. My recommendation: never drink a gallon of cider in a day. Nonetheless, I couldn't help myself.

Also, please allow me to dwell for a moment on the other thing I drank half a gallon of: RockADS21's incredible sangria. Woah. That was some serious sangria. We definitely need the formula ASAP.

At one point, I was about halfway through a cup of RockADS21's sangria, and I thought, hey, this might go pretty well with Docsconz's cider. So I topped off RockADS21's sangria with Docsconz's cider. I don't remember anything after that.

[Fat Guy]

i want to mention doc's apple cider

Cross-posted. Great minds think alike.

[elyse]

I just have to say that I was dreaming all day about the food.  Man, was it good.

Oh, and when I say food, I mean everything that passed my lips.

Although herb's vodka almost knocked me on my ass. tommy helped me.

Edited September 23, 2003 by elyse (log)

[dumpling]

I just have to say that I was dreaming all day about the food.  Man, was it good.

Oh, and when I say food, I mean everything that passed my lips.

?

[elyse]

YOU shush!

Drinks, dear, drinks.

[dumpling]

Yeah, that vodka was mighty potent stuff.

[elyse]

Rachel, bernaner pudding better the next day. Yummy dinner.

[RockADS21]

Let me chime in with reiterating what a great all around event it was. Much thanks to Curdnerd and Nina for providing the use of a perfect loacation and for the tour of the dairy...I for one now know a lot more about the milk/cheese process then I did the day before. Cudos as well to the Perlow's and Kim for the organization - often overlooked at these type events - certainly much appreciated and as expected - well done!!! Fink - quite simply put - the best pulled pork I have ever had - bar none!!! Great to spend time with those of you I have met before and a pleasure to meet all thad I hadn't. My only regret was that this was not a two day affair so that I could have made the rounds to try everything that I didn't get to. I honestly will say that each and every thing I tried was outstanding. A few standouts I can recall...Dumpling's dumplings, =Mark's amazing grilled portabellas(kick ass marinade!), and the best piece of pecan pie I have ever tasted(and generally I am not a fan). I'm already looking forward to the second one! Damn, how did I miss that cider - Tommy did you hide it on me???

[Rachel Perlow]

rlibkind's Baked Beans

Um... you should expect to hear from our attorneys on this one, although I don't think a jury would convict anyone who could make such a beautiful jello mold.

Oh, and I think it' only right the wife made the photo album, since she was the one who made the baked beans, although I did copious amounts of stirring all weekend.

Fix baked bean attribution. Check.

tommy- you look sooooo different from the front.  sorry i didn't get to see/meet you.  was counting migrating hawks

Suzi - you were there in spirit. I noticed a big flock of migrating birds (doubt they were hawks) and said, "Hey look at the big flock of migrating birds, everybody!" (everybody being the 5 or so people sitting near me) "Suzi told us we should keep an eye out for some kind of migrating bird, didn't she?" I said, in between sips of powerfully good sangria ala Rock.

Moussaka recipe .... Mix in ... cinnamon (I use Penzey's Fancy Vietnamese Cinnamon because it's really fragrant)

I thought the cinnamon taste was a little overpowering yesterday, but either you put in different amounts (since what I took home was from the second tray) or it mellowed overnight, because it was just perfect tonight. It also could be because my tastebuds were overwhelmed yesterday, so the cinnamon just stood out. There's got to be some kind of physiological reasoning some food (geek) scientist will now tell us all about.

.... That's it.  It's really time consuming, but not terribly difficult if you know what I mean.

I know exactly what you mean, that's what I was trying to tell to people about the jello. Frankly, the banana pudding was much more complicated, as were other people's recipes. That jello was all flash. Damned jello mold.

At one point, I was about halfway through a cup of RockADS21's sangria, and I thought, hey, this might go pretty well with Docsconz's cider. So I topped off RockADS21's sangria with Docsconz's cider. I don't remember anything after that.

I hope Ellen drove home!

Sorry I missed out on that combination. I heard people oohing and ahhing over the cider, so I made sure to try it. YUM-MY. Also, one good sized cup of that sangria was enough to make me a little tipsy, so I made sure to have one more before the ride home. Zzzzzzzzzz.

Rachel, bernaner pudding better the next day.  Yummy dinner.

You're welcome. You need some more?

[dumpling]

I didn't get to a lot of stuff but did try the bananna pudding-great flavor, Rachel.

Completely missed the cider. Tommy probably drank it all.

But did try the sangria. made it home alive. Of course, I wasn't driving.

[elyse]

Rachel:

You're welcome. You need some more?

Sho'nuff!

Hey, for that matter, if anyone wants to drop leftovers off, I'll be at the Bloomfield farmer's market thursday, 1-7! Unless I sell out early. Then I'll be walking around Bloomfield looking for a kitchen before catching NJ Transit home.

Edited September 23, 2003 by elyse (log)

[KatieLoeb]

I thought the cinnamon taste was a little overpowering yesterday, but either you put in different amounts (since what I took home was from the second tray) or it mellowed overnight, because it was just perfect tonight. It also could be because my tastebuds were overwhelmed yesterday, so the cinnamon just stood out. There's got to be some kind of physiological reasoning some food (geek) scientist will now tell us all about.

Rachel:

Although the meat was sauteed in two separate skillets, everything was mixed together in a gigantic bowl before getting spread into its respective trays. Perhaps you got a bite with a little blob of cinnamon that didn't break apart in the mixing? Or perhaps it was merely palate fatigue, as you suggested earlier. Could go either way, I guess.

And where's a geek scientist when you need one? Calling Alton Brown!

[NJ2FLA]

Hi All..

Sorry I wasn't in town to make the BBQ. The food looked fantastic. Hopefully I will be in NJ next year to attend. I am glad to hear that you all had a great time.

-Scott

[tommy]

i'd like to take this moment to suggest that fink looks a lot like the "other" guitarist from styx.

just a thought.

[KatieLoeb]

The leftover banana pudding that I'm having as my bedtime snack has been a huge hit with two of the kitties. They just won't leave me alone and are actually pulling the spoon to their own little mouths before I get any.

We've found the thing that sets them off...

[tommy]

Completely missed the cider.  Tommy probably drank it all.

oh no not at all. i approached this stuff as i would a good and unique wine. i had a little bit, and sipped it for some time. i left the rest for others, as i wanted to make sure as many people had it as possible.

[Kim WB]

I don't think the cider was prominent enough, and that's why some folks missed it. It was hard at first to find a place forall the food, what with much of the food arriving before the tables..and the cider was relegated to the beverage table, where it really deserved more prominence.

From an organizational standpoint, for anyone planning similiar events, I think that renting tables would have been the way to go. It would have been much easier if I could have come an hour earlier, got the tables organized and set up, and then had a place ready for all the food. I figure this would have aded about $1-2 bucks to the per person cost. Also, for the breakdown, you've got the table owner leaving and wanting to take their table home, and no where to put the food.

[jmcgrath]

I'd be happy to make the same mold for every potluck type event. My fear is that I'd be expected to top myself with each creation!

Perhaps vertical layers next time

[slkinsey]

i'd like to take this moment to suggest that fink looks a lot like the "other" guitarist from styx.

just a thought.

Oh my God, you're right!

[bergerka]

Completely missed the cider.  Tommy probably drank it all.

oh no not at all. i approached this stuff as i would a good and unique wine. i had a little bit, and sipped it for some time. i left the rest for others, as i wanted to make sure as many people had it as possible.

...There was cider?

Shit, I totally missed it. I LOVE cider too. I'll have to drown my sorrows in more sangria.

K, who has been living on cheese for two days.

[Suzanne F]

Also, according to Jello, red is the favored Jello color. I used raspberry, but you can, of course of course, substitute strawberry, cherry, watermelon or heck, even strawberry-banana. 

You mean, there are different FLAVORS of red Jello? I thought it was all the same.

I got to taste the cider because HWOE found it and had a glass, of which he kindly offered me a taste. It was indeed the essence of applehood.

The next one of these will probably end up being a little more expensive -- because now we know what's important to rent -- but it will be worth it!! For a first-time, though, this was stupendous.

Edited September 23, 2003 by Suzanne F (log)

[herbacidal]

i hate to mention any dish in particular, as i don't to take away from the excellent dishes that i don't mention.  however, i want to mention doc's apple cider, which really moved me in a strange way.  "strange" as in "apple cider has never moved me".  it was so pure, so good, so perfect.  oh yes, it was very good.

man, i missed the cider, too.