Wedding Luncheon

When Charles became engaged, I knew that we would have to provide a luncheon for the family and guests who could come, so I asked him to let me know what he wanted.  He thought about it for the next few days, and he wanted chicken salad sandwiches and salad.  Anything else, he said would be up to me. (He is really big on salads). I wanted to make it nice and have a variety of food, so I came up with this menu:

                Chicken salad sandwiches (Have to get a recipe)
                 Green salad (just as the freeze hit and lettuce became like gold)
                  w/ croutons, sunflower seeds, and choice of 3 dressings
                 Potato salad (Charles and Chris loved this idea)
                 Seafood pasta salad ( My favorite for a special event)
                 Spinach Strawberry salad ( just to round things out)
                 Carrot sticks, celery sticks, olives, pickles
                 cantaloupe, and pineapple
                 Sparkling white grape juice to drink
And dessert - what for dessert?  I came across this dessert recipe  while I was going through some recipe books one day.  I chose it because I could make it a week before and it had chocolate and ice cream.  You can never go wrong with chocolate and ice cream. So, dessert was Frozen Ice Cream Delight  ( thanks TOH magazine). It was the hit of the day and I had requests for the recipe. So here are the recipes for some of the items at the wedding luncheon.  I will give you dessert first, since life is short.

FROZEN ICE CREAM DESSERT
2-1/2 cups cream filled chocolate cookie crumbs, divided
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 gallon vanilla ice cream, softened (use any flavor you like)
1/2 to 1 cup salted peanuts
1 carton (8 ozs.) frozen whipped topping, thawed
CHOCOLATE SAUCE:
2 cups confectioners sugar
2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 can (12 ozs.)evaporated milk
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 tsp. vanilla extract
     Combine 2 cups cookie crumbs with butter and sugar.  Press into the bottom of a 9X13 pan.  Freeze for 15 minutes.  Spread ice cream over crumbs; freeze until firm, about 3 hours.  Meanwhile, combine first four sauce ingredients in a sauce pan; bring to a boil. Boil for 8 minutes.  Remove from the heat and stir in vanilla; allow to cool to room temperature ( I stirred it while it was cooling.  Try not stirring it while cooling and see if it freezes harder).  Spoon sauce over ice cream; sprinkle with nuts.  Freeze until firm.  Spread whipped topping over nuts and sprinkle with remaining cookie crumbs. Freeze at least 3 hours before serving. Can be stored in the freezer for a up to a week.  Yield 12-16 servings.

There were a couple of requests for the seafood salad. So here it is:

SEAFOOD PASTA SALAD
1 lb. imitation crab ( if you like real crab, use it. We like the imitation because it has a milder flavor.)
1 (24 0z.) package of large shell macaroni
1 package of celery roughly chopped, leaves and all
1 1/2 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup lemon juice ( Fresh is best, but the concentrate is just fine.)
1 Tbsp. onion powder ( you can adjust to taste)
Salt and Pepper to taste
Cook, drain and cool pasta according to the directions on the package. Chop celery roughly. Chop crab roughly. In a smaller bowl, combine sour cream, mayo, lemon juice and onion powder.  Pour over pasta, crab and celery. Add salt and pepper. Combine thoroughly and chill.

Now for the chicken salad.  This recipe is for 50 small croissants.  Good for a crowd.  I doubled it for the luncheon and there was plenty.
15 cooked and cut up chicken breasts
1 cup chopped celery
2 Tbsp grated or minced onion ( I grated it and added 1 Tbsp onion powder.  If you don't like onion, don't add the onion powder)
2 cup mayonnaise
4 cup whipping cream
1 (8oz.) pkg. cream cheese
sliced almonds ( I didn't add these, but it would be very good)
2 Tbsp chicken broth paste
1 tsp. salt ( or to taste)
1/8 tsp. pepper ( or to taste)
Mix together whipping cream and softened cream cheese until cream peaks.  Add onions, mayonnaise, broth, salt and pepper.  Mix well. Add remaining ingredients.  Will make salad filling for 50 small croissants.

SPARKLING WHITE GRAPE JUICE
2 cans frozen concentrate White Grape Cocktail Juice, slightly thawed
1 1/2 liters club soda
ice
Combine slightly thawed juice with club soda.  Pour over ice.

French Fries: The Easy Way? (Steph)

The other day I was over at Mom and Dad's house and I was watching America's Test Kitchen with Mom, since the "Create" channel is one of the only ones that comes in on Mom and Dad's TV.  They were making burgers and fries.  The burgers were made of sirloin that they ground themselves and after they were cooked they served them on potato rolls with cheese and onion.  While that sounded good, I would have made more of a salad on mine.  I like the veggies.  The fries were the really interesting part.  They called them "Easier French Fries" and here's the recipe from their website:

• 2 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes (about 6 medium), scrubbed, dried, sides squared off, and cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch by 1/4-inch batons
• 6 cups peanut oil
• 1/4 cup bacon fat , strained (optional)
•   Kosher salt

1. Combine potatoes, oil, and bacon fat (if using) in large Dutch oven. Cook over high heat until oil has reached rolling boil, about 5 minutes. Continue to cook, without stirring, until potatoes are limp but exteriors are beginning to firm, about 15 minutes.
2. Using tongs, stir potatoes, gently scraping up any that stick, and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until golden and crisp, 5 to 10 minutes longer. Using skimmer or slotted spoon, transfer fries to thick paper bag or paper towels. Season with salt and serve immediately.

Seems easy enough and they said that they turned out super crispy and not greasy at all.  I though it was interesting and that one day I would have to try it for myself.  I had no idea that day would come so quickly.

The other night, I had come home not long after Kevin did from work and the dreaded question of "what's for dinner" inevitably came up.  Of course I had nothing planned and the pantry was running low and payday wasn't for another week.  I had to whip something up with what we had already.  In the freezer there was a couple of corn dogs and chicken nuggets and quick food like that, so I got out what was in there and preheated the oven.  Then I thought, "what can I serve with this stuff?"  You got it: french fries.  And since I didn't have any in the freezer, I though about making my own using the crazy new technique I saw on America's Test Kitchen.

I only had russet potatoes, so I figured they would have to do, and I only had veg oil. I used about a pound of potatoes and only covered them with oil, I didn't really measure.  Other than that I followed the instructions provided in the recipe.  I was so easy and it worked like a dream.  They were delicious and not greasy at all.

The other night I was at Mom and Dad's house and was raving about how well these fries worked.  I wanted to prove it, so we whipped up a batch, but in larger quantity.  It didn't work as well and I think the reason was that either the pot was too crowded, or we didn't use enough oil.  My suggestion would be that if you are going to cook more than 2 1/2 pounds of potatoes, you probably want to do more than one batch.  Also, a non-stick pan makes life a lot easier.

Here's the link to the website, the also have the scientific explanation as to why it works so well, though you may have to register.  It's free, just click no to the magazine offers.

http://www.americastestkitchen.com/recipes/detail.php?docid=19884&extcode=M**ASCA00

Labor Day with the Fellows

Yesterday, the three of us (Rory, Rowan and I) along with my in-laws decided to do something special for the holiday.  We settled on a menu of chicken and beef kabobs, baked beans, grilled corn and watermelon.  We marinated the chicken in Italian dressing and put seasoning salt on the beef, alternating the meat on the skewers with bell peppers and onion.  We brined the corn in water with salt and sugar (a la America's Test Kitchen).  Rowan helped out with this ppart, relishing getting to play in the water as he dunked each ear of corn.  The baked beans are from the Lion House cookbook  and are very similar to the ones Chris makes, the only differences being Chris uses a full tablespoon of Worchestershire sauce and only one bell pepper and onion.  I also told Rory that we were going to saute the pepper and onion, even though the recipe doesn't say to.

Baked Beans

2 29-ounce cans pork and beans
2 large onions, chopped
2 large green peppers, chopped
1 cup catsup
1 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 pound lean bacon, cut up and cooked till crisp, then drained

Combine ingredients well in 9x13 baking pan.  Bake at 325 degrees for 2 1/2 hours, covered with aluminum foil.  Uncover and bake another 30 minutes.  Makes 8 to 10 servings.

We had a lot more food than we could eat, so we have a good amount of leftovers.  Rory's dad said everything was excellent, which, if you know Steve, is like 7 thumbs up.