[Sca-cooks] Decisions, decisions...

[Mark Hendershott]

At 09:46 AM 11/18/2005, you wrote:
>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.

Apples with red cabbage and a little onion is a good German dish.  A 
tablespoon or so of red wine vinegar to keep the cabbage from turning ugly 
gray and a bit of broth for cooking liquid.  When almost done, some wine 
and some flour for thickening.  Actually I use a recipe from a cookbook at 
home but this is pretty close.

Simon Sinneghe
Briaroak, Summits, An Tir