I swear, every time I read an update to this thread I get so hungry…
Yeah, that’s why I started doing vegetable platters, myself, out of self defense. Anything that wasn’t meat was a starch at a lot of potlucks. But I grew to love them, as I didn’t have to juggle a hot dish and make sure it was kept hot or reheated properly, and I could suggest that the host put out the platter as an appetizer. I do like to occasionally bake a cake or other sweet, though.
I’m sure I’m super late to this party, but here :: plunks down covered dish ::
This is always a big hit, travels well, keeps for a long time, and is dead easy to make.
Green Bean-Feta-Walnut Salad:
1-2 pounds of green beans, washed and cut into 1-2" pieces
1 container feta cheese, about 4 ounces
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1/2 cup toasted walnuts or pecans
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
1/2 olive or other oil
2-3 Tablespoons fresh chopped dill
Salt & Pepp to taste
First, lay the nuts out on a cookie sheet and toast in the oven at 350º for about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool. While that’s toasting, blanch the green beans. Fire up a 3-quart pan with water and bring to a boil. Throw green beans in, boil for about 4-5 minutes, just as green beans get really bright but before they start losing color. Drain the boiling water and plunge green beans into a bowl of ice water. Drain off the ice water and mix green beans in a bowl (I usually use one of those Glad plastic containers and mix it up right in the container I’m going to travel with) with the onions, feta, and nuts. In another small bowl, mix up the oil, vinegar, dill, and salt & pepp. Pour over the green bean mixture and mix together. This can be done a day or two ahead of time.
Chocolate lasagna. Unusual and yummy.
And while I’m at it, here’s an easy appetizer:
1 wheel of brie
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 Kaluha
1/2 cup chopped pecans
Cut rind off brie while it’s cold and let it warm to room temperature.
In a small sauce pan, toss in pecans and toast over medium heat just until the smell of pecans starts to waft across the kitchen. You don’t want them really brown, just warm up the natural oils to bring out the flavor.
Mix kaluha and brown sugar and bring to a simmer until the sauce begins to thicken a little.
Pour sauce over brie. Serve with crusty French bread, crackers, or whatever…
And here I am, fresh back from the grocery store with all my ingredients for Sunday’s lunch, when Annie posts that chocolate lasagna recipe! That looks amazing! No way I’m going back, though. I love my little college town, but thegrgrocery stores get absolutely ransacked every August and January! I definitely intend to try that recipe for thenext to-do, though.
Mmmm, this sounds yummy and on the healthful side. My only concern is the red onion, which raw tends to dominate anything I put it in. Do you ever steam or boil it to take some of the strength out of it?
Pickle wraps! Dried beef slices (Buddig’s is cheap but if your market has better sliced beef, go for it ), spread with cream cheese. Place a whole dill pickle (Clausen’s) on one end and roll it up, then slice into rounds.
I can’t go to a pitch-in and not bring my famous baked beans. It’s expected – like my sister’s killer deviled eggs. She isn’t allowed to go anywhere without them, either, and we never have leftovers of either dish.
I don’t like bean dishes that are mustard-based, so a number of years ago I began experimenting with various types of beans and sweetening agents, and finally came up with this basic recipe:
large can of beans
Ketchup
Light brown sugar
Frank’s Hot Sauce
Apple cider vinegar
Salt and pepper
For the beans, go with Campbell’s or whatever your cheap house brand might happen to be. Do not use Busch’s. In addition to the fact that they just taste awful, whatever’s in that ‘secret family recipe’ DOES NOT mix well with mine. Campbell’s has always been my choice.
Drain the beans of any sauce - rinse them off with water if necessary - before dumping them in a large mixing bowl. Add a generous amount of ketchup and an even more generous amount of brown sugar. Taste mixture frequently until you find a balance you like, but remember that this recipe is designed to be sweet, not savory. Mix thoroughly, add a dash or two of vinegar and then a few more of hot sauce, taste testing as you go. Add a pinch or so of salt and pepper and mix thoroughly again.
Spray an oven-safe bowl with non-stick, dump the beans in, cover, and bake in a very slow oven. The longer it cooks, the better it will be. If you want, lay a few strips of bacon across the top before you start baking it.
Would using just canned great northern or pinto beans simply work, since you rinse them anyway?
Dunno, I’ve never tried northern or pintos. I don’t see why it wouldn’t.
I think great northern are the kind baked beans are made from, right? Anyway, I meant just buy the plain type of whatever kind of beans are in Campbell’s.