I thought you might like some of the (50 dishes) recipes from Andy's staff potluck that took place today, December 17th. I didn't have a chance to submit the cheese ball recipe that I had Andy offer. These recipes seem really interesting.
Also, here is a summer picture of a dish I miss more than any other summer food. Waaa, I want tomatoes! Now!
However, I will settle for this cauliflower-bacon gratin that's pictured. When I traveled to Paris to buy antiques I mostly stayed in a family owned hotel in Nation. Beside this hotel was a tea room that was only open for lunch...so French. They had a limited menu: quiche, gratins, desserts, tea, coffee. Their gratins were wonderful if you got there at 11:00 or even 12:00 after that, forget it; the cheese starts to separate and it is not a pleasant sight. Also their salads were awful--lettuce, no dressing, but, their seafood gratin was out of this world. That and the cauliflower gratin had me coming back. (I find it is better to eat the gratin right away or at room temperature, otherwise it gets watery...does not store well) Their variety of teas was staggering and I brought many bags of tea home with me each time along with one of those little iron tea pots that you can buy in most cook speciality stores all over the country now. It was so pleasant to sit in that tea room and have a pot of Christmas tea in the winter after a long day of antiquing. It was one of my best memories of Paris.(Scroll on down for the recipe from Dori Greenspan's Around My French Table.)
Andy especially liked the red skin potatoes dish from the potluck. I am going to try it for sure.2010
Holiday Potluck Recipes
Hot Artichoke Dip
1 large can artichokes in water - drained
3/4 c mayo
1 clove garlic - chopped
4 oz shredded Swiss cheese
4 oz shredded Parmesan cheese
1 small can diced green chilies (optional)
Chop artichokes
Mix the remaining ingredients with the artichokes
Spoon into a pie plate
Cook, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes
Serve with tortilla chips
Submitted by Amy Shaffer
Salsa Hors D’oeuvres Wraps
1 pkg - 8 Fajita Tortillas
16 oz - cream cheese
A few tablespoons - salsa (medium flavor)
Soften cream cheese and mix in salsa. Lay tortilla out and spread mixture on tortilla until covered (almost to edge). Roll up. Repeat until everything is used up. Store in a container and place in refrigerator overnight. Before serving, slice roll into 8 pieces each, discard edges (or eat them while slicing!). Place pieces on a platter and serve with unmixed salsa as a dip.
Submitted by Chuck Weiden
Barbecue Lasagna
1-1/2 pounds ground beef
1 cup ketchup
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
½ cup packed brown sugar
¼ cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoons prepared mustard
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon lemon-pepper seasoning
6 lasagna noodles, cooked and drained (I use Barilla Lasagne, Oven Ready no boiling required noodles)
2 cups (8 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup (4 oz) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup (4 oz) shredded Colby or mild cheddar cheese
1 cup small-curd cottage cheese
1 egg
Meat: In a skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain.
Barbecue sauce: Combine the next 13 ingredients in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
Layering: Spread about ¼ cup barbecue sauce in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish. Layer with three noodles and half of the beef. Spread with half of the remaining barbecue sauce; sprinkle with half of the mozzarella, cheddar and Colby cheeses. Repeat layers.
Topping: Combine cottage cheese and egg; spoon evenly over the top.
Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes or until lightly browned. Let stand for about 10 minutes before cutting.
Yield: 8 servings
Submitted by Patti Guseman
Swedish Meatballs
Meatballs Sauce
1 lb. Hamburger 1 - 15 oz. Tomato Sauce
1 Chopped Onion 1/2 C Brown Sugar
1/4 C dry Bread Crumbs 2 Tbsp. White Vinegar
1/2 tsp. Pepper 1 1/2 tsp. Seasoning Salt
Combine ingredients for meatballs and brown. Simmer sauce uncovered for 15 minutes.
Add browned meatballs & simmer uncovered for 3 hours.
Submitted by Kelly Gaier
Red Skin Mashed Potatoes
1 5 lb. bag of red skin potatoes
1 3 lb. tub of Daisy Sour Cream
1 2 lb. tub of Smart Balance Margarine
Salt
Serves many! (at least 15 servings)
• Wash potatoes and peel away only the bad spots/blemishes so that most of the peel stays on the potato.
• Place potatoes into a large cooking pot on stove and fill with water to about ¾ full (Note: I do not salt the water.)
• Boil potatoes until fork tender (This can take about a half hour, and then if fork slides easily through potatoes, they are ready to be mashed.)
• With a large slotted spoon, remove/drain potatoes and place well-drained potatoes into a large mixing bowl
• While the potatoes are steaming hot, add about one cup of margarine, and about one cup of sour cream into to the bowl, and sprinkle in some salt. (You’ll “taste test” as you go along to add in generous amounts of margarine, sour cream and some salt, so add salt sparingly as you blend.
• Mix the margarine and sour cream into the potatoes (I use an electric hand mixer.)
• Taste the mixture. You’ll need to add more margarine and sour cream and a little salt until the potatoes are creamy white and well mixed. Note: I use at least half of the tub of margarine and about half of the tub of sour cream for this dish.
Potatoes should have a nice balance of flavor with the butter and sour cream (you should not notice one flavor over the other), and the potatoes shouldn’t taste salty, just flavorful.
Serve immediately (note that the margarine and sour cream cools down the potatoes, so you may need to pop them into microwave for a few minutes to get them nice and hot again to serve), or store the mashed potatoes in a sealed container in the fridge until ready to heat and serve. These ‘taters re-heat well in the microwave or on the stove top.
Submitted by Char Rogge
Raspberry Punch
1 2 liter bottle of Sprite
1 gallon jug Hawaiian Punch Fruit Drink
½ gallon Raspberry Sherbet
1 pint fresh Raspberries (or thaw 1 package of frozen Raspberries)
A few minutes before serving the punch, set out the Raspberry Sherbet so that it softens some at room temperature (you want it to be soft and easy to scoop out). If fresh raspberries are not available, thaw frozen raspberries at room temperature (do not defrost raspberries in the microwave!)
In a large punch bowl, pour in ½ jug of Hawaiian Fruit Punch Drink. (Reserve the other half jug for a second serving of punch.)
Pour in ½ of the 2 liter bottle of Sprite. (Reserve the other half of the bottle for a second serving of punch.)
Scoop out large dollops of Raspberry Sherbet and place on top of the fruit punch (try to cover sherbet all over the top of the punch. The Sprite soda will help the sherbet foam up to cover the surface.) Reserve half of the sherbet for a second serving of punch.
As a garnish, place a fresh raspberry (or thawed from frozen) on top of each sherbet scoop. (Reserve half of the raspberries for a second serving of punch) Note: If you try to move the punch bowl after you garnish with raspberries, the berries will drop down to the bottom of the bowl!
Serve and enjoy (serves many!)
Submitted by Char Rogge
Cauliflower-bacon Gratin
1 cauliflower
1/2 pound bacon, cut crosswise into slender strips
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
5 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup heavy cream
2/3 cup whole milk
salt and pepper and freshly grated nutmeg (Nutmeg is needed in this dish as well as green vegetable dishes to give any of them a boost.)
3 ounce Gruyere cheese
Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 425
Generously butter an oven dish that holds about 2 1/2 quarts. Put the dish on a baking sheet.
Put a large pot of salted water on to boil. Pull or cut the florets leaving about an inch stem. Drop the florets into the boiling water and cook for 10 minutes. Drain, rinse the cauliflower under cold running water to cool and PAT DRY. (Cauliflower is like a sponge, so pat it dry.)
While the cauliflower cooks, toss the bacon strips into a heavy skillet and crisp it up, drain it and dry it too.
Spread the cauliflower in the buttered pan and scatter over the bacon bits.
Put flour in a bowl and gradually whisk in the eggs. When the flour and eggs are blended, whisk in the cream and milk. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg and stir in about 2/3 cup of the cheese. Pour the mix over the cauliflower, shake the pan to settle the liquid and scatter over the remaining cheese.
Bake the gratin for 25 minutes until puffed and golden and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. (It's like a quiche, except for the flour) If you need it to be browner, run it under the broiler...it's a pretty dish alone with a salad, or as a special side dish. I love it!
