[Sca-cooks] Decisions, decisions...

[Heather M]

cldyroz at aol.com wrote:

>OK, I have been thinking, reading, scraping, pondering....
> 
>One decision is to bake Carrots. cheap, and they can go far. Scrape them, lightly oil them, and stick 'em in the oven till tooth-tender, sprinkle on some fresh seasonal herbs, cut in quarters length wise, plate and serve. 
>Would 1/2 of a carrot per person cut that way be enough?
>  
>
This went over really well recently. Peeled and quartered, spread out on 
a half-sheet pan in a 400 deg. F oven. Olive oil, sprinkle of balsamic 
vinegar, and salt and pretty-freshly-ground pepper (day before). I had 
people eating carrots who otherwise hated them. I purchased 15 pounds to 
feed 88, and that was about right - I ended up feeding around 40, a bit 
under two-thirds of what carrots I'd bought was cooked, and IIRC a third 
of that came back. (Third course, with one more to go.)

>I was quickly through WalMart last night, and they have fresh asparagus at $1.28  a pound. Would ten pounds be enough for 125-130 people? 
>  
>
At 160 ounces, ten pounds divided by 125 is a bit under an ounce and a 
third a person. I might purchase more, but then I really love fresh 
asparagus and you've got some other veggies you're working on, and 
plenty of folks who won't eat it (- or possibly *any* veg - odds say, 
anyway).

>Brussel Sprouts were $2 a box, and it looked as though there were about 15 to a box. 
>but, here is the rub-I do not want to serve something I would not touch with a ten-foot polearm...and guess which veggie that is?
>I absolutely hate and dispise Sprouts. 
>  
>
Yeah, you ain't the only one. I generally like veggies with most prep 
methods, and usually enjoy any veggie raw whose processed form I don't 
like. Sprouts are the exception. They're just nasty-tasting. I've got 
the detector of that chemical present in them in large amounts. Ruins it 
for me.

>I have also had thoughts on a dish that I have had many times, growing up-fried cabbage and apples. Shred cabbage, core and quarter apples (leave on the peel), toss in a frying pan with a little water, butter and a tad bit of sugar. cover, cook till tender.... (yeah, I know-no measurements. I am one of *those* cooks-add stuff till it looks, smells and tastes right)
>I haven't found anything similar in any of my books. I hope this isn't another one of my Grandmother's depression/War era recipes (i.e. Make do with what you have)
>  
>
Using apples, esp. the keeper sort, in a wet recipe seems practical to 
me. I can't speak about the combination with cabbage. They were 
available at the same time of the year, though. I did the caboges recipe 
that Cariadoc mentioned earlier, and they went over pretty well (boiled 
cabbage in a breadcrumb-thicked beef broth, basically. Sorta).

Margaret N.