First ever neighborhood pitch-in

[velochic]

Our neighborhood, which is an actual neighborhood and not a subdivision, is having a pitch-in... something I don't think people do much anymore. I remember these from my childhood oh so many years ago. They were great fun and I remember the food to be just the best!

Looking for ideas for some really great knock-your-socks-off old-fashioned dishes I can google the recipes for or if you have some recipes yourselves. We eat only all-natural food, so scratch recipes would be great! TIA!

 

[jkath]

Hey velochic - I was wondering where you'd gone!

Are you thinking more along the lines of meat dish, side, veggie dish, fruit dish, dessert, or?

 

[Constance]

This recipe was given to me by my husband's ex-MIL, and it is delicious. I promise that you'll bring home an empty dish.

DOROTHY JEAN'S CHICKEN CASSEROLE

Ingredients:
2 boxes chicken flavor instant stuffing mix
1-1/2 stick butter, melted, divided
3 cups chicken broth
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
4-6 cloves minced garlic, or 1 tbl jarred minced garlic
approx. 1 cup mayonaisse (NOT Miracle Whip)
2 cups chopped cooked chicken or turkey
3 eggs
1 cup milk

Directions: In medium bowl, mix together stuffing mix, 1 stick melted butter and chicken broth. Put half this mixture in buttered casserole (I use small or medium old speckled porcelain covered steel roaster) and set aside. Microwave or saute celery, onions and garlic in remaining butter (may substitute olive oil or bacon grease) until onions are translucent and celery is tender. Spread on top of stuffing mixture in casserole. Next, add a layer of chicken or turkey. At this point, you may add whole or chopped oysters, sauteed mushrooms, water chestnuts, cooked sausage...whatever your heart desires. Spread a layer of mayo over the top, making sure to cover completely. Top with remaining stuffing mixture. Beat eggs in milk, and pour slowly over top. You may have to stab with a knife a few times to help milk mixture soak in. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees, and bake casserole, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Turn heat down to 350, and bake about another 60 minutes, or until bubbling and crusty on top and bottom.

 

[Maverick2272]

We call em block parties, all the blocks except ours has em.

 

[velochic]

Hey velochic - I was wondering where you'd gone!

Are you thinking more along the lines of meat dish, side, veggie dish, fruit dish, dessert, or?

I still lurk a lot.

Cold dishes with mayo are probably out because it will be hot. A meat or side dish would be good. I'm not a very good baker so a lot of desserts are probably out.

Constance - I like your suggestion! I wonder if anyone knows if it's okay to have a dish like this (hot chicken and mayo) outside in 90* weather for about 2 hours?

 

[pdswife]

How about baked beans??

I start with a can of good baked beans.
Fry up some cut up bacon ( most of the fat removed)
saute some onions.
add those and some ketchup and brown sugar to the beans and bake for
30 minutes. Very easy. Very good! Sometimes I'll add a tablespoon of yellow mustard for a little zing.

 

[JoeV]

Calico Beans

I got this recipe from my neighbor who got it from a magazine many years ago, and it’s a favorite of both of our families for large gatherings and Summer BBQ’s. With all the different beans, it’s also very colorful. You can assemble this a day ahead and refrigerate it to save time, and you can change around the variety of beans to suit your taste. Enjoy!


Ingredients:

1~ 1# Can Baby Lima Beans - drained
1~ 1# Can Kidney Beans - drained
1~ 1# Can Butter Beans - drained
1~ 1# Can Pork-n-Beans - drained
½# Bacon
½ Cup Catsup
¾ Cup Brown Sugar
¼ Cup Vinegar
¼ tsp. Garlic Salt
¼ tsp. Dry Mustard
3 Cups thinly sliced onions (I like Vadalia onions this time of year, and use at least a whole onion, sometimes more, for this recipe)

Directions:

Cut bacon into 1” long pieces and fry until crisp. Remove bacon from pan to drain, and drain fat except for 3 Tbsp left in the pan. Chop cooked bacon and divide in two equal portions. Resist the urge to pick at the bacon.

In the pan you cooked the bacon in, stir in onions, brown sugar, garlic salt, mustard, catsup and vinegar. Simmer for 20 minutes or until onions are softened.

Stir in all the beans and half of the bacon. Mix well to spread out the onions throughout. Place mixture in a casserole dish, sprinkle the rest of the bacon on top, cover and bake for 50 minutes at 350°. Remove cover and continue baking for 10 minutes longer. Serve hot.


Enjoy!

JoeV

 

[Cooper'sMom]

okonomiyaki ... For the batter, start with typical pancake batter proportions: 1 cup flour, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 1 egg, and 3/4 cup dashi (I used instant). I used about 1 cup chopped green cabbage. Add some grated mountain potato (or russet will do...) to the batter. For toppings, rumnmage some things/stuffs/vegetables from the refrigerator -- ground pork, carrots, etc...Okonomiyaki means....anything you want...so put anything you want on top. It makes "Clean up the fridge" to another level....
Step 1: Add 3/4 cup of okonomiyaki flour to a mixing bowl, and add 2/3 cups of water. Mix well. Add two eggs.
Step 2: Take the nagaimo root and trim off one end. With a sharp knife, peel off the light brown skin. Underneath is a slimy, white flesh. Grate about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of nagaimo (russet potatoes) into the bowl. Take care not to slip and accidentally grate your knuckles; the nagaimo has a very slimy consistency.
Step 3: Grate about 1 cup of green cabbage. Add this to the bowl. Now, add your fillings of choice and mix well.
Step 4: Heat a large, flat skillet or griddle. Evenly spread 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil on the surface. Take your okonomiyaki batter and spread it in a circle that is about 6 inches across and 3/4 inch thick. You will get several okonomiyaki servings out of your batter, so don't use all the batter at once. Remember, you have to flip this like a pancake, so don't make it so big that your pancake turner can't handle it.
Step 5: Let the okonomiyaki cook on one side on medium heat (350 degrees) for about 7 to 9 minutes. The trick is to not turn it too soon; doing so will break the pancake. By the time you flip it, it should be nicely browned on one side.
Step 6: Flip the okonomiyaki and cook the other side for 7 to 9 minutes. Flip it over and cook for 3 minutes more.
Step 7: Remove the okonomiyaki to a plate and with a pastry brush, brush the brown okonomi sauce over the surface. Take the bottle of Kewpie and squeeze lines of mayonnaise across the surface in a criss-cross pattern; it should look like lattice. Sprinkle about 2 to 3 tablespoons of fish flakes on top and 1 tablespoon of aonori on top. Place a tablespoon of pickled ginger smack dab in the middle.
To eat, cut in wedges and pick up with chopsticks. It's really quite simple! Let us know if you try this, and which filling combinations you decided on.

 

[Katie H]

Velochic, to keep "dangerous" foods safely cool, fill a small rigid child's swimming pool full, full, full with ice and nestle the dishes with the food into the ice. This will last for many hours. Just be sure the icy pool is shaded.

 

[velochic]

Velochic, to keep "dangerous" foods safely cool, fill a small rigid child's swimming pool full, full, full with ice and nestle the dishes with the food into the ice. This will last for many hours. Just be sure the icy pool is shaded.

It's actually not at my house. I don't actually even know the neighbor who is hosting it. I was just told the house number by another neighbor who knows us both. That's a good idea, though.

And thank you to all for the ideas. I think beans of some sort might just fill the bill. I hadn't thought of that. My husband is from Turkey and they have some really nice, refreshing summer bean dishes. I may take a look at his mother's cookbook (she wrote it in Turkish in Armenian, so actually we'll have to look at it together ).

 

[babetoo]

i think the beans sound just right. pass on the summer ones, if u have time.

babe

 

[PattY1]

How about "Three Bean Salad"?

1 can green beans
1 can great northern beans
1 can kidney beans
Rinsed and drained

1 med. onion chopped
1 med. green pepper chopped
1/2 tea. salt
1 tea. dill weed (optional)
1/4 tea. pepper
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup oil (your choice)
1 cup vinegar (your choice)

Stir until sugar dissolves and add to beans. Refrigerate 8 hours. Serve with a slotted spoon.

Enjoy!

 

[velochic]

I made an appetizer (Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese Bites, made with store-bought pastry dough) and a cold bean dish dh assisted with that they eat back "home"... not sure if it's Turkish or Armenian. It's called Fasuliya Piyaz (which is a Turkish name, so I guess it's Turkish).

I'll let you know what the reactions are when I serve these in a couple of hours.

Thanks again for all the suggestions. They really helped me focus what direction to go.

 

[elaine l]

Velochic, to keep "dangerous" foods safely cool, fill a small rigid child's swimming pool full, full, full with ice and nestle the dishes with the food into the ice. This will last for many hours. Just be sure the icy pool is shaded.

Katie E,

What a great idea! I love it!

 

[velochic]

Beans were a hit. Very simple, very summery. I use the freshest of ingredients from my garden, which is key because it's mostly a raw dish with few ingredients. Here's the recipe:

3 c. cooked white kidney beans, cooled
1/2 c. chopped parsley
1/4 - 1/2 c. veeeeeeeeeery thinly slice red onion
1 roma tomato, chopped
juice from 1 lemon
1/4 c. good extra virgin olive oil

Mix all together and let it sit in fridge so flavors can blend together. Take out of fridge ahead of time so that congealed olive oil can liquefy.

 

[GotGarlic]

Velochic, to keep "dangerous" foods safely cool, fill a small rigid child's swimming pool full, full, full with ice and nestle the dishes with the food into the ice. This will last for many hours. Just be sure the icy pool is shaded.

Another way to do this, for one item, is to use a cast-iron pot; it's best if it's enameled. Put ice water in the pot for about 10 minutes. It will stay cold for a long time, holding onto the cold, just as it holds on to heat.

 

[babetoo]

Beans were a hit. Very simple, very summery. I use the freshest of ingredients from my garden, which is key because it's mostly a raw dish with few ingredients. Here's the recipe:

3 c. cooked white kidney beans, cooled
1/2 c. chopped parsley
1/4 - 1/2 c. veeeeeeeeeery thinly slice red onion
1 roma tomato, chopped
juice from 1 lemon
1/4 c. good extra virgin olive oil

Mix all together and let it sit in fridge so flavors can blend together. Take out of fridge ahead of time so that congealed olive oil can liquefy.

that sounds just wonderful. i bet it was much enjoyed.

babe