September 8 Plant Swap: Food thread

Plant swap at Critter's home in Frederick, Saturday Sept. 8, noon to 6.

I've been asked to go ahead and start a food thread for the plant swap, so here it is. No need to worry if you don't yet know what you'll bring, but this is a place to gather ideas.

I'm thinking that rather than having a designated meal time for lunch or dinner, we should think more in terms of appetizers and finger foods or sweet goodies so we can just "graze" all day, having a nibble here and there whenever we're inclined. I have a long island counter in the kitchen that should work well for setting out goodies, and it's pretty convenient to the back door leading to the deck. We could set up sweets on a separate table, and maybe we'll put a cooler just outside on the deck for drinks if it looks like we'll need more than we can easily fit inside or next to the fridge.

Reserved for list of who is planning to bring what

Critter: hopefully garden will provide, and we'll have bruschetta and refrigerator pickles, plus pesto butter and maybe something else to put on bread. I'll also make a couple of dips.

Chantell: pesto pasta salad

Susan: paper goods (napkins, plates, cups)... maybe somebody else could help?

Happy: nametags? wine

Bec_no_va: "thingys" LOL

Miata: cilantro humus and chicken finger sandwiches

SallyG: veggies for dipping, maybe brownies

Gita: Mmmmeatballs (I've got toothpicks for 'em!)

Elf: Crab balls





This message was edited Aug 30, 2007 4:01 PM

Reserved for requests... this is where to look to see what we might still need people to bring.

Here's where I'm going to post what I'm planning to make... :-)

Bruschetta (because I'm hoping for a good tomato harvest)
Pesto Butter
probably another spread for bread or crackers -- Krab dip, or pepper spread with goat cheese?

2 dips for veggies (I figure it's easy for me to keep dip cold, hoping somebody will volunteer to cut veggies)



This message was edited Aug 6, 2007 5:22 AM

How does a cold pasta salad (pesto sauce) sound to start with?

That sounds like your basil must be doing well! :-) Which reminds me, I need to get out there and harvest my basil "hedge" again...

I'm hoping I'll have abundant fresh tomatoes as well as basil, so I'll make a big batch of bruschetta and maybe some pesto butter also.

I'll try to keep up with these plants so that only a few of them are going to seed by swap time... so anybody who wants to harvest some basil will be more than welcome to it... It'll be a good time to take some cuttings for windowsill plants, also.

This is the double row of Italian Genovese Basil at one end of the veggie garden (maybe 12 feet?), plus there's some Sicilian Basil at the other end of the bed.

I would rather bring something no food so I dont have to travel with it.. So you let me know ok?
Susan

Susan, that's fine. Maybe people who are traveling far could split up bringing paper goods? We'll need paper plates and plastic cups... I'll check to see if we've still got that stash of extra silverware... And especially if we get a good turnout, name tags might be useful.

I could also use some good crusty bread to go with the bruschetta and pesto butter... The baguettes from Giant are pretty good, but whatever somebody wants to bring would be great, and that would be pretty easy. Similarly, I'd like to put out a couple of dips and some veggies, but if somebody could save me some time by slicing up peppers, cukes, celery, whatever, maybe grabbing a bag of baby carrots... that'd be great.

Just tossing out a couple of no-hassle suggestions! :-)

I have nametags somewhere that I bought for Harts but were never used . . . .

Cool... LMK if you don't find them, and we'll put them back on the list! Maybe I'll set up a little "welcome table" at the top of the driveway for things like name tags.

Mercy....PUH-LEZ - name tags this time...I'm terrible and remembering names...down right embarrassing!

I don't mind helping with veggies- just feel guilty about 'stealing' a real easy item so fast. and am way out of practice on appetizers. or could do brownies.
You'll need drinks?

I'm glad to have somebody sign right up for the veggies! I think we'll be glad to have them, and I'll be happy not to have to deal with them. Thanks!

Do check with me though before buying... cukes will probably have succumbed to virus by then, but I might well be overloaded with peppers... and you do remember how many kinds of cherry tomatoes I started this spring? LOL Bring some with you, and you might be able to forage in the garden for the rest... :-)

I don't think we'd turn down brownies!

Drinks... I wasn't really paying attention to how well drinks worked out at the last swap, or what we did... ? I was thinking that I could have iced tea and/or lemonade on hand, and maybe we could ask people to bring what they wanted in terms of anything else. That way, there's not all that guessing about whether people would prefer Coke or Pepsi or Sprite or diet or splenda-diet or caffeine free... what do you think? I've got a cooler... maybe somebody could pick up a bag or two of ice on their way in... ?

I would love to contribute by cheating - they have great appetizer thingys at Costcos :-) And dessert thingys as well!

That's not cheating at all! If I remember, one of the most commented on items at Hart's were the ravioli that Brent brought... from Costco's... :-)

I think the concept of grazing all afternoon on various goodies will work out well!

I'll bring wine unless someone objects!

Jill,

I am mulling over several choices of appetizers to bring. Have not decided--but I DO want to bring something good.

I have a question................
Will the food be outside (in the heat) or inside? This may determine WHAT I choose to bring. Some things just would not do well sitting out in the heat for a whole day--like anything with Mayo in it.

Also--Do you want us to bring lawn chairs? I have a bunch, but since i am riding with sally and I do not know just how many plants we will have to bring between us, I am not sure if i should bring more than one.

I will wait to hear from you.

Thanks, Gita

PS. You Cherokee Purple Tomato is going gung-ho and is loaded with nice, big, green tomatoes. The other one is withering.....doing nothing. (PP Top). Remember how scrawny these were????

Here! take a look!

Another angle.....from the other side.

Sorry the PPT didn't "do" for you.. but that CP looks great!!

The plan is to put all the food inside on the kitchen island. It will still be sitting out all afternoon (until it's gone, LOL), so please take that into consideration. I can arrange some fridge space if need be, but if it's in the fridge then it probably isn't being nibbled on... and our fridge is usually a bit on the crowded side. :-)

As I mentioned on the logistics thread, it might be useful if you can bring a lawnchair, but we do have a few seats around (4 chairs on the deck, a bench on the landing, big rocks around the patio), and we can probably drag out some "indoor" chairs as needed also.

OK! I will let you know what i decide to bring. There is still time!

Gita

Happy, wine sounds fine to me! I'm sure it goes without saying that any drivers should make sure there's enough time between their last adult beverage and when they get behind the wheel, but that's the only thing we're strict about around here. :-)

Oh, and I know our "official" time is noon to 6, but it's fine with me if anybody wants to hang out longer than that... I'm hoping for some nice, relaxed, visiting time with everyone!

Critter, sign me up for cilantro hummus and little chicken salad sandwiches. And Happy, I'll wine with you ;)

ooohhh, yummy! I need to get up to the top and start editing that list... maybe tomorrow, since Kitten keeps trying to "help" me type tonight... LOL

Mmmmeatballs, anyone? http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/681174/#new This is a dish I really love, and it would be fun to have at the swap... but I'm hoping maybe somebody else will volunteer to roll all those little meatballs... any takers? If not, maybe I'll do some and freeze them ahead of time. :-)

Jill,

I will be happy to do your MMMMeatballs!!!! Been wanting to try them out anyway! Have ground meats in my freezer. Might make a humongous batch and freeze half of it for my own use and bring the rest.
--Done!!! No more decisions to make about what to bring!

Just warning you..............I have a tendency to "mess" a bit with other people's recipes. Will try to stay straight and true--as much as I can.

Should these be brought in a crock pot? Served warm? Cold? On a platter with toothpicks in them? Simplify this for me!

Some of the other things I had thought of were:

--Deviled eggs
--Pinwheel Roll-ups (Tortillas with cream cheese and "stuff" as a filler)
--Small, meat-stuffed blintzes--a Latvian (maybe German) dish.

Next time..................:o)

Thanks, Gita

If you put them in an oven proof dish for baking, just leave them in that dish. Served with toothpicks at any temp. is fine, and you can pop them in the oven here to heat them up if you'd like to start with.

Please do not mess with this particular recipe... I have the same tendency, and any time I have made substitutions with this recipe we've been unhappy with the results. The Heinz chili sauce is important (tried to use my homemade, which is great, but not in this recipe), the onion soup mix is important, etc. Breadcrumbs could be sub'd for with cracker crumbs etc. as some people reported doing, but otherwise I really would stick to the recipe. It's such a weird combination of ingredients that the balance between them seems to be really important.

The only other thing to mention is that the ground beef needs to be pretty lean (at least 90%) Since you don't fry the meatballs, there's no chance to drain off fat from them. However, that also means one less step than a lot of party meatball recipes!

BTW, I hope nobody thinks I'm trying to dictate what should be served, LOL... just making suggestions in case anybody is looking for ideas!

:-)

Critt.....Can WE help it if WE have such GREAT ideas!!! LOL Jo

Judging by the wonderful food at the spring swap, this crowd doesn't need ideas or recipe suggestions... but I'm just trying to avoid my usual tendency to make 12 different things myself, LOL...

But don't mess with that meatball recipe! Honest.

Crossing my heart! See? Hand is over my left boob!

I WON'T!!!!!

Gita

ROFLOL

I promise, I'm not like this about most recipes... I mess with them all the time, myself... but some recipes are exactly the way they are for good reason, and I think this might be one of them.

BTW, I just picked up a cookbook at Border's -- Best Recipes on Cans, Jars, and Labels (or something like that). I'll bet that has a lot of fun ones in it, too. So if anyone is looking for "that biscquick recipe for impossible coconut pie" or some such, LMK!

(yes, I just went O/T in my own thread, LOL.... but at least I'm still talking food!)

I make crab balls to die for, and I'd love to make them for everyone; however, they are best fresh. If I pre-mix them at home, could I use your oven to bake them?

Elf

Lastelf -- I hope you'll share the recipe!!!

I'll bring copies if Critter approves of the oven use!

I got it from Phillips years ago. They don't make them that way any longer.

Shame on them!!

Blessings on your garden,
Elf

That's going to be a treat.. I *love* crab... and I'm delighted that you'll be sharing the recipe! (I can tell already that we'll need a recipe thread again after this swap.)

Using the oven is no problem, as long as I don't have to keep track of whatever is in there! Since we're not trying to serve and eat everything at one set time, the crab balls can go in, and then Gita's MMmeatballs can go in, etc. We'll just crank up the A/C to compensate, LOL. It's a decent oven, with convection, so it'll get the crab balls nicely browned. (Make a note to yourself to set the "convection bake" temperature at 20 degrees less than you'd use in a conventional oven, and keep an eye on them.) We'll see if we can keep a bit of counter free for prep work.

Jill,

One quick question.

In the MMMM recipe--you say "one small can of Sauerkraut".
I presume "small" means the size (14oz) that is about like a can of soup? Or--is there a smaller one?

I plan to bake them here. We can warm them up in your oven. Right?
I'll keep them in an oven-proof dish.

Thanks, Gita

Yep, that's the size. Yes, you can use the oven... you may have to arm wrestle Elf and her crab balls for it, though! JK, there will be plenty of opportunities for anybody to run something through the oven if they need to... just nothing that takes too long, please, as we don't want to keep heating up the kitchen where we'll all be passing through for snacks. :-)

PS. I've also got a big microwave, so anything that needs reheating can use that also...

Those meatballs are good at any temperature except maybe not ice-cold.

My goodness - all this talk of food is making me hungry - and feeling guilty for thinking I can get away with buying the stuff at Costco's - hmmmm, maybe I will buckle down and make mini-quiches (time and work allowing)

LOL! Nothing wrong with Costco's.... :-)

One thing is for certain, nobody is going to go hungry around this group!

Plants, what plants??????