good things to take to parties, or skip the party and eat at home, otherwise known as miscellaneous
mashed potatoes
last minute fruit salad
snow peas and almond salad
primo salad
eggplant sandwichesstuffed mushrooms
café wedges
chex-like party mix
iced tea
chai
mashed potatoes
2 potatoes per person
milk or cream
butter
saltThis one is easy. Slice the potatoes--the smaller the slices, the faster they cook. Put the potatoes in a pot, cover with water, boil. For 1/4 inch potato slices it will take about 20-30 minutes. They are done if you can easily stick a fork in them. Pour off the water. Mash with a potato masher. Add some milk or cream. Mash some more. If it is too dry, add a little more milk. If it is too runny, put it on top of the stove and cook some of the liquid off, stirring well so nothing burns. I usually skip the butter and salt, put them on the table, and let people season their own to taste. Bill's mashed potatoes are so good because he uses cream and garlic as well as lots and lots of butter and salt. Heaven on a spoon!
last minute fruit salad
2 cans pineapple chunks
some grapes
1/2 cup pecans
1/4 cup coconut flakesMix the pineapple with the grapes and pecans. Top with coconut. This is silly, but good. And it always seems to disappear at parties. Weird.
snow peas and almond salad
1 pack of fresh snow peas (the flat ones)
olive oil
salt
oregano
1/2 cup almond sliversSteam the snow peas until they turn bright green. Pull them off the hot water and douse them with ice water to stop them from cooking. Toss them with olive oil and a bit of salt and oregano. Top with the almond slivers.
primo salad
lettuce
spinach
carrots
tomatoes
purple onion
garbanzo beans
raisins
olives
cheesevinegarette dressing
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon basil
1 teaspoon saltTear the lettuce and the spinach into a bowl. Grate some carrots into the bowl. Toss with a very small amount of dressing. Slice the tomatoes and onions, arrange on the lettuce. Sprinkle the garbanzo beans, raisins, olives, and cheese on the top.
eggplant sandwiches
1 eggplant
1 egg, beaten
bread crumbs and parmesan mixed together
parsley
olive oil
provolone, mozzarella, ham, etc.Cut the eggplant into 1/4 inches slices. If the slices have seeds salt both sides and let them sit for 1/2 hour. Rinse. Why? This takes the bitterness out of the seeds. Dip the eggplant in the egg. Dip the eggplant in the bread crumbs and parmesan. Put slices of provolone, mozzarella, ham, etc. Between slices of eggplant and put on oiled cookie sheet. Bake 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Flip and bake another 20 minutes.
stuffed mushrooms
1 pack fresh mushrooms
1 can water chestnuts
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 bell pepper
1 cup stuffing (the small-grained kind)
1 cup water
1 teaspoon garlic
1/4 teaspoon oil
1/4 cup parmesanSeparate the mushroom caps from the stems. Chop the mushroom stems and saute in the oil until tender. Add the stuffing and the rest of the ingredients--except for the cheese. Pack the stuffing mixture into the mushroom caps. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Sprinkle the parmesan cheese on top. If you have more stuffing than caps, you can roll it into balls and bake with the stuffed mushrooms.
café wedges
(potatoes like Café Gardens makes)1 tablespoon melted butter
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 package/cube veggie bullion
pinch pepper
2 large potatoes
2 tablespoons grated parmesan
1 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons parsleyMix the butter, lemon juice, veggie bullion, and the pepper. Coat the potato wedges. Put in greased pan. Sprinkle potatoes with the parmesan, paprika, and parsley. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.
chex-like party mix
2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
6 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 teaspoons seasoned salt (Jane's Crazy Mixed-Up Salt or Adobo)
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
9 cups chex-like product
1 cup nuts
1 cup pretzelsMelt butter in large roasting pan in oven. Stir in seasonings. Gradually stir in remaining ingredients until evenly coated. Bake at 250 degrees for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Spread on paper towels to cool. Store in airtight container.
iced tea
(for a 1/2 gallon pitcher)1 kettle of hot water
6 tea bags
1/2 cup sugar
more water to fill your pitcher up the rest of the wayBoil the water and pour it into pitcher. Add the tea bags and let them steep for 8 minutes. Remove the tea bags. Add the sugar and stir until it is dissolved. Fill the pitcher up the rest of the way with water. Chill.
chai
Chai is simply tea blended with spices, served with milk and sugar. I prefer to brew the tea in hot soy milk (because I don't like cow's milk) and sweeten it with honey.tea leaves (black, oolong, or green)--three handfuls
whole coriander--one handful
chunked up cinnamon sticks--one handful
chunked up dried orange peel--one handful
whole coriander seeds--one handful
green cardamom seeds (not pods)--half handful
whole cloves--third handful
chunked up dried ginger--third handful
chunked up nutmeg--third handful
whole star anise--third handful
whole peppercorns--quarter handful
whole vanilla bean--just oneMix together all the ingredients. Store in an airtight container.
To make the tea: Boil 1 cup of milk. Add 1 tablespoon chai mix. Simmer for 5-10 minutes, depending on how strong you like your tea. Strain and serve.
Notes:
1. There are as many recipes for chai as there are people who make it. The above list is my personal favorite blend arrived at by trial and error. Experiment! Try other spices. Surf the web for other recipes. Alter the blend and make it your own. Tell me what other spices you like in your chai so I can try it too.2. I buy my tea leaves and spices in bulk from a small local grocery (Wards) or health food store (Mother Earth). They usually have all the spices I need in stock and I can buy as much as I'll use and not have to pay extra for the little bottles and jars. A large batch of this chai (it fills a large coffee can) costs about $5 to make.
3. I use short bursts in the blender to chunk up the whole spices if the pieces are too large. If I don't feel like hauling out the blender, I'll use my mortar and pestle.
4. I don't steep the vanilla bean as tea. I just put it in the container with the rest of the ingredients and it flavors the mix by association. I can use the bean over and over this way.