A Little of This, A Little of That

Sometimes - or I guess, often - blog posts are a lot like weekday meals: a little of this and a little of that. There are so many blog topics to choose from and sometimes each of those choices aren't quite enough for a full post. This week's blog is like that; and so I'll describe a great meal we had last night. We had beef, barley, vegetable soup - it was so rich and satisfying on a rainy night! But because my friend Bobbie built it from leftovers, I'll first need to describe the original ingredients.

Slow Cooker Braised Beef Roast
Ingredients:
2.5 pounds (approximately) roast beef (I used a sirloin tip roast)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup red wine
20 ounces beef broth
1 onion, peeled and diced into large chunks
2 stalks celery, cut in 1/2 inch chunks
2 carrots, cut in 1/2 inch chunks
1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
4 potatoes, peeled and quartered
2 bay leaves

Instructions:

1. Rinse roast beef and pat dry; sprinkle with salt and pepper
2. In a large pot, heat oil; then add roast and brown on all sides
3. Add red wine and cover quickly; simmer 5 minutes
4. In a slow cooker (such as a Crockpot), heat the beef broth while browning beef
5. Add the beef and all remaining ingredients
6. Cover and cook on LOW setting for 6 - 9 hours
7. Remove bay leaves; let roast rest for 10 minutes and then slice; serve au jus with vegetables

Here's the recipe for the soup from leftovers (Note: this is soup from leftovers, so all of these measurements are approximate. Feel free to modify as you wish - it'll still be wonderful!)

Beef with Barley and Vegetables Soup
Ingredients:
leftover beef broth - about 2 - 4 cups
1 - 2 cups water
1/2 cup pearled barley
2 carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
1/2 large onion, peeled and diced
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon olive oil
leftover roast beef - about 8 ounces or so, diced
1/2 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 cup diced mushrooms
8 - 12 cherry tomatoes, diced
 
Instructions:

1. In a large pot, combine broth, water, barley, carrots, celery, onion, and bay leaves
2. Simmer until barley is soft - we like it a little chewy or al dente; add water as necessary
3. In a large frying pan, saute the beef, peppers, mushrooms, and tomatoes until soft; set aside
4. When the barley is cooked to your liking, add the beef, peppers, mushrooms, and tomatoes to the soup and heat through
5. Remove the bay leaves and serve

We had this soup with a cold, crisp Romaine salad and completed the meal with Trader Joe's Triple Ginger Cookies - great combination. Oh! And we had an actual terrific wine pairing with this meal: Washington state's Columbia Crest Merlot, 2011. Delicious!

Cardamom Bread - Yum!

Growing up, my sister and I loved it when we visited our Great Grandma, Kuka, because she almost always baked cardamom bread for us. It's also commonly called cardamom braid, because of its shape; in the Finnish language, it's called pulla. Whatever you call it, the luscious fragrance of cardamom and yeast baking in the oven is unbeatable. And when the bread is fresh from the oven and warm, thick slices are slathered with butter, there's nothing more homey and delicious.

Kuka did not speak English, only Finnish. I'll tell you the story of her name another day. Luckily, our  Grandma and Mom spoke both Finnish and English and so were able to bridge the gap between us. The three women would drive us kids crazy at Christmastime by talking about our gifts in Finn - which we couldn't understand.

Many years later, I was trying to show off my culinary skills to my new Mother-in-Law, who was an excellent home cook as well as a caterer. I really wanted to impress her with pulla, and I told her that it was one of my specialties. Truthfully, I had never made it by myself and though I was around when Kuka or Grandma made it, I didn't really pay attention. In addition to not making pulla before, I don't think I had ever made any yeast bread from scratch - refrigerator biscuits from the grocery store, but other than pulling them apart and baking them, I had no experience.

So I got my Grandma to give me the recipe and I bravely began. Amazingly, I did not start off by killing the yeast and managed to get the dough together fairly easily. And then the last part of the recipe said, " Divide dough into 3 and braid." And so I did. I divided the dough into three balls, made them into thick ropes, and braided them together. What I did not know, was that the recipe really should have said, "Divide into 3, and then divide each ball into 3 and braid to make 3 loaves." So instead of 3 nice loaves, I ended up with one giant loaf. I remember that my Mother-in-Law said, "Oh, my! Is it supposed to be that large?" "Oh, yes," I lied, still trying to keep the pretense that I knew exactly what I was doing. Well, the bread rose again and I still baked the monstrosity. As you can imagine, the edges were way overdone and the inside was raw. We ate the edible parts and it was delicious anyway. The best part was that I admitted to my novice baking skills and my Mother-in-Law offered to teach me. And she didn't laugh at me, but with me.

Here's the recipe - just remember that you should end up with 3 braided loaves.

Ingredients:
 1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) active yeast
1/2 cup warm water
2 cups whole milk
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
4 large eggs
8 cups all purpose flour (you may need a little more or a little less to make the dough correctly)
1/2 cup butter, melted
glaze:
1/2 cup brewed, strong coffee, cooled
1/2 cup pearl (coarsely granulated) sugar

 Instructions:

1.  Dissolve the yeast in warm water
2. Add milk, sugar, salt, cardamom, eggs, and 2 cups of flour and beat to a smooth batter
3. Add 3 cups of flour, a little at a time, mixing well
4. Add melted butter and enough of the remaining flour until it's a stiff dough
5. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes
6. Place dough in buttered mixing bowl, turning a few times until it's all coated with butter
7. Let dough rise in a warm place, covered, for about 1 hour and it's doubled in size
8. Punch down the dough, cover, and let rise 30 minutes
9. Lightly flour a board and divide the dough into 3 even-sized balls
10. Divide each ball into 3 pieces and roll out each piece into a rectangle about 16 inches long
11. Place these 3 rectangles on a greased baking sheet and braid the 3 rectangles together; pinch both ends together and tuck the ends under the loaf
12. Repeat the process with the remaining 2 balls; you'll end up with 3 braided loaves
13. Allow to rise an additional 20 minutes
14. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees; meanwhile, glaze the 3 braided loaves with coffee and sprinkle on the pearl sugar
15. Bake at 400 degrees for about 25 - 30 minutes, until lightly browned

Minnesotan Asian Fusion

Asian ingredients and foods have been combined with, inspired by, and played the leading role with ingredients and foods from many different cuisines. Today's blog is about Minnesotan Asian Fusion cooking. Never heard of it before? Well, neither have most people, but I made such a hotdish for a potluck lunch today.
 
First, let's talk about hotdish. The famous Minnesota Hotdish is easy to make and oh, so versatile.All you need is some meat, such as hamburger, chicken, or sausage; a vegetable of some kind, such as corn, green beans, onions, or celery; some kind of starch, such as rice, noodles, or pasta; and some kind of condensed or thick soup to stick it all together. Options include French fried onion rings, shredded cheese, croutons, nuts, etc. You mix and match ingredients from each of the groups and then bake it in the oven (usually at 350 degrees for 45 - 60 minutes) and you have a great entree. Add a salad and dessert and you have a meal!

One last thing you need to know about hotdish - the hotdish is the food that's in a casserole dish. I know, I know, lots of people use the words hotdish and casserole interchangeably, but most Minnesotans will agree with me. You carry a casserole, and you eat the hotdish.

For today's potluck, I made Hamburger Chow Mein Hotdish. For this recipe, as with most other hotdishes, exact measurements are not important and you can substitute almost all ingredients to your liking. 

Ingredients:
1/2 onion
2 stalks celery
1 pound hamburger
1/2 - 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 - 1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 (10 1/2 ounce) can beef with barley soup
1 (10 1/2 ounce) can cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons - 1/4 cup soy sauce
15 ounce can corn (or 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen corn), drained
1 (12 ounce) bag chow mein noodles

Instructions:

1. Finely dice 1/2 onion; set aside
2. Dice 2 stalks celery; set aside
3. In a frying pan, brown hamburger with the onion and celery; season with pepper and garlic; drain; set aside
4. In a large mixing bowl, combine the soups, water, and soy sauce
5. Add corn and hamburger mixture to the soup mixture and mix well
6. Add chow mein noodles and mix well
7. Place hotdish in a baking dish or casserole dish and bake covered at 350 degrees for 45 - 60 minutes - until heated through

Pumpkin Pie From Scratch

My Mom never made pumpkin pie from scratch; well, I believe that's true because when I was growing up, she used a lot of canned and packaged foods, and so pumpkin pie was always made with canned pumpkin pie filling. Empty the can into a packaged pie crust, bake, and serve with Cool Whip.

As I got older and was occasionally cooking the new way - hippie-style (you know, substituting carob for chocolate, substituting chicory for coffee, making my own yeast bread), I still used a lot of canned fruits and vegetables. So naturally, my version of making a pumpkin pie from scratch was using canned pumpkin, not canned pumpkin pie filling. At least you added evaporated milk, eggs, and spices to the canned pumpkin before you put it in a pie shell. But it did not occur to me (yet) to buy an actual pumpkin and make the pie from that.

We moved to southeast Kansas when our daughter was little. We moved to a very small town with a single large company that had a "no spouse rule" - if one spouse worked there, the other could not. So, I found myself without a job, lots of play time with my daughter, lots of women's charity organizations, lots of ladies' lunches, and no place to shop. This was before the Internet and the Web, so some of my attention was diverted to cooking. To add a little extra challenge, the house we rented for the last six months we lived there had no stove/oven. I had quite a few electric appliances, such as slow cookers, electric skillets, electric fondue pots, hot pots, and a big Dutch oven. With some planning, I found I could cook almost anything in my stove-less kitchen. One big challenge was baking cookies - I could bake only 4 at a time, so our daughter enjoyed Oreos and Girl Scout cookies for that time period.

One day, I got the urge to try my hand at baking a pumpkin pie from scratch - no canned pumpkin. All recipes I found said "cook 6 cups pumpkin until tender . . ." but that was the extent of information I found. So I brought a nice big pumpkin home from the grocery store, cut off the top, and scooped out the seeds and pulp from the inside - and proceeded to cook those in the Dutch oven. And I cooked and stirred and stirred and cooked, but to no avail. The seeds and pulp never changed form and looked nothing like the canned pumpkin I was used to. I got out my potato masher and tried to mash it up, but that didn't work either. I got out my mixer and that didn't produce a nice smooth pumpkin puree. As a side note, I didn't cook or eat squash, so had no idea that one cooked the meat of the vegetable, not the insides. If I had pictured a cantaloupe where one eats the meat but not the seeds, I would have figured it out, but I didn't. I just kept cooking and mashing.

Luckily, my neighbor came over; she was an older woman who was an excellent cook. After she finished laughing at my disaster, she was kind enough to show me what I was doing wrong. She helped me cut up the meat of the pumpkin, cook it, and puree it and together we made a wonderful pumpkin pie - from scratch!

Today, with the Internet, the Web, and YouTube - you can see actual demonstrations of these types of things. And in the future, who knows? Maybe someone will appear holographically in your kitchen and help out. I can't wait. I could always use some instruction - and help with the dishes!

Snow with Spaghetti and Meatballs

Last week, I said that according to Punxsutawny Phil, we're due for another 6 weeks of winter. Apparently, he was right. Mother Nature blessed us with snow last night. Oregon got far more snow, shutting down I-5 near Salem and creating driving havoc in Portland. We only got 3-4 inches and though it was powdery and sparkled like diamonds, I'm glad I didn't have to go out in it. And felt bad for dinner guests who did have to drive home in the snow.

The dinner included some old friends, some new friends, and a newly engaged couple (YAY!). And what could be better than spaghetti, garlic bread, salad, chocolate cake, and bubbly wine? Hmm ... I know: meatballs! They turned out really yummy. I'm including the recipe, but usually when I cook, I add this and that as my mood strikes me, so I'm recreating the following recipe from memory. And you should feel free to add a little more of this or a little less of that while keeping the proportions of ground meats, eggs, and bread crumbs the same. That will yield the correct texture for the meatballs.

Italian Meatballs in Tomato Sauce
Makes about 48 meatballs

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 pound ground pork
2 large eggs
1/3 cup finely shredded Parmesan, Romano, or Asiago cheese (or a blend of these)
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt (the cheese is salty as is the tomato sauce, so be careful)
1/2 cup fine bread crumbs
1 cup lightly packed finely chopped fresh basil

Instructions:

1. Thoroughly wash your hands - meatballs should be mixed and formed by hand
2. In a large bowl, combine the beef and pork until well-blended
3. In a small bowl, combine the eggs, cheese, pepper, and salt and mix well
4. Add the egg mixture to the meat mixture and mix well
5. Add bread crumbs and mix until well-blended
6. Add the basil and mix lightly until well-blended
7. Lightly form meatballs, about 1 - 1 1/2 inches in diameter; do not handle too firmly or they'll be dense and chewy
8. In a frying pan, heat about 2 tablespoons olive oil and then add meatballs, a few at a time, and brown on all sides
9. Drain browned meatballs on paper towels and then place in a large pan or pot with a little tomato sauce to finish cooking; simmer meatballs for about 30 minutes to complete their cooking and absorb the flavors of the sauce
10. Serve meatballs and tomato sauce with cooked pasta; pass the cheese!

Tomato Sauce
Makes enough sauce for about 2 pounds dried pasta, cooked - freezes well

Ingredients: 
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, diced small
1 head roasted garlic
2 (29 ounce) cans tomato sauce
1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes, mostly drained
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons dried oregano *
2 teaspoons dried basil *
* you may substitute several leaves of fresh oregano and/or basil
1/2 cup dry red wine
Optional: for a meat sauce, add browned and drained 1 1/2 pounds ground beef and/or Italian sausage and then serve meatballs on the side

Instructions:

1. Saute onions in olive oil over low heat until soft and translucent - about 30 minutes 
2. Add several cloves of roasted garlic that have been smashed and saute 2 minutes more
3. Add tomato sauce and diced tomatoes; blend well
4. Add sugar, red pepper, oregano, basil, and wine
5. If making a meat sauce, add the cooked and drained meats
6. Simmer for about 1 hour
7. If using fresh basil or oregano, remove before serving

Vegetables and Groundhogs

Weather seems to be capturing my attention lately, more so than usual, I think. First, I am truly sympathetic with my sisters, brother, nieces, nephews, cousins, and dear friends who live in Minnesota and have been braving wind-chills of  -54 degrees. They're rejoicing in heat waves when the daytime temperature is about 25. So I really am sympathetic, yet a bit smug. After all, who was the smart one to move to the Pacific Northwest where we rarely get such temperatures.

And weather has been part of the build up to the Super Bowl, with frigid temperatures and snow in New Jersey a possibility just a week ago. They escaped the snow and the very coldest temperatures.

In Seattle/Tacoma, we have had a relatively dry January, although it has been foggy and cloudy. We've had to scrape and defrost windshields a couple of times, but temperatures have been fairly normal for us, ranging from the mid-30s to the mid-40s. Typical winter, though a bit dry.

But today the sun came out! And it was glorious. Still chilly at 45 degrees, but with a brilliant blue sky. And so, my mind turned to planting flowers and vegetables this Spring. For flowers, I have a beautiful blue hydrangea and I'm thinking of planting a couple more. I love the flowers and the foliage and they don't require care beyond keeping weeds out and deadheading blooms. I have a large hostos that slugs love to munch on, leaving the large leaves very lacy looking; I think I need to de-slug the plant this year. I want to plant some dahlias, but the tremendous variety leaves me indecisive until it's too late. This year, I'll just make some decisions and go with it. As usual, I look forward to the blooming of daffodils, jonquils, and bluebells. We seem to have an active squirrel population which digs up bulbs and deposits them elsewhere in our yard. I never know where these flowers will bloom. I've dug up the bulbs after they're done and tried to organize them, but the same disarray happens every year.

We have strawberry, blueberry, and raspberry plants and will probably add to that collection. We love berries and it's wonderful to go outside and pick them and have them for breakfast.

As for vegetables, herbs and tomatoes are always at the top of my list. I'm also thinking of green beans, wax beans, carrots, onions, and who knows what else. Maybe Brussels sprouts. Years ago, I planted Brussels sprouts from seeds. I'd never seen them grow before, and thought they might grow in bunches like grapes, but on a single stalk like broccoli. After awhile, these spiky single stems grew to about 3 - 4 feet tall, and then they all fell over. I thought that was the last of those plants. Then I noticed little bumps along the stalks, so propped up the stalks and the bumps turned into Brussels sprouts. I was amazed! They were ready just in time for Thanksgiving and were the best thing ever. Now that I know what to expect, maybe I'll try growing them again.

While I was daydreaming and starting to create lists, I heard that Punxsutawney Phil was ceremoniously dragged out of his burrow and saw his shadow. Six more weeks of winter.

Can I wait that long to dig in the dirt and plant stuff or will I move on to other projects? Maybe this is the year that I buy all my produce from farmers' markets and farm stands, supporting the local agricultural community. What a good idea!

Brunch Party with Recipes

We play water volleyball every week and sometimes we go out for brunch with other players afterwards. Today, we hosted a brunch party for the gang. The menu included sausage, green chilies, & cheese mini quiches; broccoli almond mini quiches; breakfast meatballs; my sister Joyce's hugely popular, often requested, and outrageously delicious cheesy potatoes; sausage patties and sausage mini links; ham, turkey, cheese, croissants, and assorted rolls sandwich platter; pickles and olives; raspberry kringle from Wisconsin that my other sister Nancy sent me; pumpkin muffins; blueberry muffins; fruit; truffles; mimosas, coffee, and tea. Yum.

I've been making and serving mini quiches for years; they're easy to make and because they're bite-sized, easy to serve at parties. Sometimes I make up a batch, and then grab a few for breakfast. They can be served hot, warm, room temperature, or even chilled, so they're very versatile. About 5 years ago, I submitted the recipe to our local PBS station for one of their fund raisers. Not only were they published in their Appetizer Cookbook, I was asked to demonstrate making them on TV during their promotion. The TV station runs repeats of these cooking demonstration shows every now and then and someone will say, "I was flipping through channels and I heard your voice! And there you were, cooking on TV!" I hope you enjoy these recipes.

Broccoli Almond Mini Quiches
Makes 30 - 32

Ingredients:
2 (9") unbaked pie crusts - use your favorite recipe or buy refrigerated unbaked crusts
1 cup milk
2 large eggs
1/4 cup dairy sour cream
1 cup cooked broccoli cut into tiny florets
1/2 cup sliced almonds
vegetable oil to prepare muffin tins

Instructions:

1. Prepare muffin tins by lightly oiling each cup with vegetable oil
2. Roll out pie crusts a little thinner than for a pie
3. With a 2" diameter biscuit cutter, cut out 30 - 32 circles; press each one into a prepared muffin cup; refrigerate for at least 20 minutes to chill dough. Note: you can make these up to a day or so ahead of time - cover with plastic wrap before refrigerating
4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
5. Place the broccoli in each muffin cup using all the broccoli
6. In a 2 cup measuring cup, combine 2 eggs, milk, and sour cream and whisk until well mixed
7. Carefully pour the egg mixture over the broccoli in the muffin cups
8. Sprinkle almond slices on top of each quiche
9. Bake for 30 - 40 minutes until the egg is set and the pie crust is golden brown
10. These may be served hot, warm, room temperature, or even chilled

Breakfast Meatballs
Makes 72 meatballs

Ingredients:
2 (16 ounce each) Jimmy Dean bulk sausage - 1 hot and 1 regular
1 1/2 cups Bisquick
4 cups (16 ounces) finely shredded cheese - sharp cheddar or Colby Jack
1 teaspoon garlic powder

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl, combine sausage, Bisquick, cheese, and garlic powder - mix well; note: wash your hands thoroughly and mix by hand - really get in there and work with the mixture and eventually, it will be well-mixed
2. Roll into small-medium balls; at this point, you can cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to bake
3. Heat oven to 350 degrees
4. Place balls on a wire rack over a shallow baking pan; if you prefer, bake on parchment paper in a shallow baking pan, turning once during baking; the cheese makes the balls sticky, so using a wire rack is preferred
5. Bake for about 15 minutes, turn off oven and let stand another 5 minutes
6. Serve hot, warm, or room temperature

Milk, eggs, and chicken - oh my!

My Dad grew up on a farm in the Upper Midwest. After WWII, he and my Mom married and settled into Minneapolis. I was born there and moved to the suburbs when about 6 years old - and lived there until I got married years later. So, my early years were urban and the rest of my youth was shaped by living in suburbia. I knew that milk came in glass bottles from the milkman. I knew that apples and oranges came from the green grocers. I knew that beef and chicken came in cook-able portions on cardboard or Styrofoam and was covered with plastic wrap. We visited my Dad's parents on their farm - where they had chickens, cows, beef cattle, sheep, and a large vegetable garden. But I never connected the food we ate with what they had on the farm. Except, in the late summer, I'd help Grandma pick vegetables and she'd cook them up for dinner. And oh! what dinners! Fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn on the cob, green beans, tomatoes still warm from the sun, pie, and homemade ice cream.  We kids loved the ice cream but hated having to hand crank the ice cream maker - it was hard work and we just wanted to play; threatened with the prospect of no ice cream we "cheerfully" cranked away.

One thing my Grandparents made me do was feed the chickens; I hated that, even though I had to do it infrequently. I was scared of those things: they made so much noise, would cluster around me, and would peck at my feet and legs. I mostly just threw the chicken feed at them and got out of there as fast as I could.

I remember the summer when I started paying attention to the workings of the farm. I saw a chicken lay an egg and was totally grossed out. And then I saw my Grandpa milk the cows and thereafter refused to drink milk from the pail. What were those things hanging down from the underside of a cow and why would one drink anything that came from there? My Grandma, probably a little amused by the suburban prissiness of my sister and I and probably a little aggravated too, kept a glass milk bottle in her refrigerator. Unbeknownst to us, she'd pour the fresh milk from the milk pail into the glass bottle and then when we were watching, into drinking glasses for us - and then we'd drink it. Eggs went from the barn basket into cardboard egg crates because that's where we knew eggs came from. But I gotta tell you - it wasn't until I was a teen that I figured out that the chickens I was so scared to feed were the chickens she'd kill, butcher, and fry for our delicious Sunday dinners. I almost became a vegetarian, but those  chicken dinners were so good!

Not too long ago, I spent a long weekend at a special summer camp. The weekend was a food writing workshop (hi to all my friends from that weekend; we still keep in touch with each other!); it was led by Greg Atkinson, a local chef with writing chops. We cooked and ate together, wrote, and critiqued each other all weekend. For example, for one lunch, Chef Atkinson took us on a little hike and taught us how to pick Stinging Nettles without getting stung. We brought them back to the kitchen and while Chef was preparing the kitchen, we wrote about that experience. He then showed us how to make a delicious lunch with Cream of Nettle Soup as the highlight. After watching him cook, eating it all, and cleaning the kitchen, we wrote about that and then critiqued the writing. It was a fabulous workshop.

Why I just told you this story was because this camp specializes in retreats and workshops and uses that money to partially support summer sessions for underprivileged urban kids. We were told that some of these kids, brought up on fast food and school cafeteria food, were amazed that their French fries originally came from underground and that their pickles originally grew on a vine on top of the dirt along with salad greens and tomatoes. When you're an adult, it's easy to be shocked by kids not knowing where their food comes from - but really, that was my experience too!

How about you folks? Any stories out there about where you thought food came from when you were growing up?

Poltluck

Potluck has two basic meanings - they're not the same, but they are related. The first way of thinking about potluck is to think, literally, about the luck of the pot. My Mom used to invite people over for lunch or dinner at the spur of the moment. She would always say, "you'll have to take potluck," meaning that whatever she finds to cook and serve is what the meal will be. Often, those potluck meals were leftovers and little dibs and dabs of this and that. These potluck meals were only served to relatives and very good friends - they were meant to emphasize the company and conversation, not the food.

The other and more common meaning of potluck involves a meal where people bring food to share with others. It's customary to bring enough of a dish for nearly everyone attending, but you need not plan to feed everyone full servings of your dish. This way, you don't have a lot of leftovers but people get to try a variety of foods during the meal.

Now, how to organize a potluck depends on the organizer. I've been invited to potlucks where not only was I told exactly what to bring, but was given the recipe to use. Other potlucks have involved signing up for a category of foods, such as dessert, breads, entrees, vegetables, or salads. That is a good way to organize your party because you're pretty sure to get a good variety of foods. I've also been to potlucks where we're asked to bring whatever we want. Once, I went to one of these potlucks; 12 women attended. And we ALL brought shrimp! I recall that there were about 8 chilled peel-and-eat shrimp platters, 1 shrimp dip, and 3 shrimp salads! Our hostess scrambled in her kitchen and found some assorted crackers. I had a tin of Altoids in my bag, and so that's what we had for dessert. We had lots of good shrimp, a good laugh, and a resolve to organize it just a wee bit more the next time.

This blog will involve both of these: some weeks it will be a little bit of this and a little bit of that; other weeks, it will be more organized and I'll attempt to give good variety throughout the life of this blog. And, as always, I'd LOVE it if any of you have something you want to say. After all, the very best potlucks involve everyone contributing something!

See you next Sunday.

Welcome to Cindy B's Potluck blog

This is a food-related weekly blog. Each week, I intend to write about whatever strikes my fancy - it might be what I cooked that week, a favorite restaurant or a newly found one, recipes that excite or intrigue me, gotta-have-it kitchen gadgets, newly discovered foods from farmer's markets, 
farm stands, or grocery stores, cookbooks, etc. Along the way, I'll include kitchen disasters I've created or favorite food-related memories and stories. As typical with potlucks, you never quite know what to expect. And as also typical, I invite any of you to also share your food-related items or just comment on what's been published or what you'd like to see in the blog. So, welcome - grab a favorite beverage, sit back, and enjoy the conversation. The blog will be published every week, Sunday evenings.