Year of OOTC Dinners in Review

To see where we have been I have put together summary of the mains, vegetarian mains and deserts for the last 23 dinners.

1. Comfort and Joy - roasted tomato soup, chicken pot pie, mac and cheese and apple crisp

2. Hale and Hearty - carrot and orange mild curry soup, beef stew with dumplings, vegetarian chili and lemon meringue pie

3. Savoury Favorites - leek and potato soup, chicken with sausage, prunes and apples, quiche Florentine, lemon pasta and date squares / ice cream with chocolate sauce

4. Rancho San Andres - tomato Tex-Mex soup (with hominy), chicken with mole, chili-glazed sweet potato, Mexican red-rice, chili and cheese on rice, jicama and tangerine salad, pineapple upside-down cake / flan

5. Rosedale Dinner 1 - vegetable soup, shepherd's pie, mac and cheese and brownies with chocolate sauce

6. Saints and Scholars - celery and apple soup, brisket with caramelized shallots, champ, red cabbage and apples, pumpkin, spinach, walnut, basil and ricottta lasagna and prume torte & ice cream

7. Danforth Nights - white bean soup, souvlaki and tzatziki, roast potato and lemon rice, green beans with garlic sauce, spinach frittata, Greek salad and rice pudding

8. Christmas Dinner - roast turkey, giblet gravy, cranberry sauce with sausage and apple stuffing, chocolate pots de crème with whipped cream, berry-cream cheese squares, chocolate peanut butter bars and cherry surprise cookies

9. New Year's Eve Dinner - roasted tomato and red pepper soup, roast ham with raisin sauce, pommes Anna, mac and cheese, banana splits

10. Sausage and Mash at No 10 - roasted tomato and red pepper soup, sausage and mash, spanakopita, lemon pound cake with lemon butter icing and butterscotch swirl

11. Lasagne Night - Moroccan pumpkin soup, lasagna, penne al forno and apple crisp

12. Little India - roasted tomato soup, mughlai chicken with almonds and sultanas, aloo gobi, gujerati green beans, channa masala, cucumber wedges and carrot cake

13. Southern Warmth - Moroccan pumpkin soup, breaded chicken, baked potatoes, spinach quiche, mango crisp and berry jam white chocolate bars

14. Rosedale Dinner 2 - cream of vegetable soup, beef stew served over rice, strawberry shortcake with whipped cream and sprinkles

15. St Valentines Day - cream of celery soup, beef and pork lasagna, spinach, pumpkin, basil, walnut and ricotta lasagna, bread pudding

16. Potluck - onion and potato soup, potluck, spanokopita, walnut pie, lemon meringue pie

17. Dinner 17 - carrot, ginger and orange soup, shepherd's pie, savoury rice and cheese burritos, chocolate cake with blackberries and ice cream, white cake with coconut frosting

18. There is a Chicken in the Kitchen (Again !!) - celery soup, chicken parmesan Italienne, vegetarian chili, buttered rice with dill, corn niblets, pineapple upside-down cake with papaya and ice cream

19. International Women's Day - potato and onion soup, brisket in sauce, deep dish vegetable pie, fancy salad with jicama, orange and mango segments with cranberry vinaigrette

20. St Patrick's Day - celery and apple soup, chicken pot pie, kreatopita David, macaroni and cheese, tomato salad with herbed cottage cheese, mud pie

21. Easter Dinner - minted sweet pea and spinach soup, oven roasted, glazed ham on the bone, cheese quesadilla, salad with assorted tropical fruit and red currant garnish, chocolate pudding cake avec crème Chantilly et Oeufs de Pâques

22. Newfoundland and Labrador Anniversary - vegetable soup, Farmer's sausage, macaroni and cheese with ham, potato pie, coleslaw on bed of lettuce, Omaha bread pudding with whipped cream and caramel sauce

23. The Penultimate - tomato and rice soup, beef stew with mashed potato, salad with tropical fruit and honey-cranberry vinaigrette vegetarian chili, chocolate chip, nut and raisin bar with oreo crust and chocolate frosting

Potato Pie

See this link:

http://www.bellypleasers.com/potato_pie.html

Chicken Pot Pie (OOTC Recipe - Version 2)

75 lbs Chicken
10 onions, minced
3 heads celery, minced
3 heads celery, diced
4-5 carrots, per pan
½ cups fat for each large pan
1 ½ cups flour for each large pan
6-8 litres liquid, either milk or chicken/vegetable stock
2 to 4 large cans mushrooms
Pastry to cover

Rinse the chicken pieces quickly under cold water and fill 3 to 4 of the deep pans half full of chicken. Cover with cold water and put in the convection ovens to poach for about an hour at 350 0F – 400 0F. No need to cover.

Then lift chicken pieces onto those big shallow baking trays to cool. As soon as it can be handled, start cleaning any gristle or fat or bone off it. Cut or pull into nice large-ish pieces (large dice).

Put the chicken water into a big pot.

While chicken is cooking, sweat about 10 minced onions and 3 heads of minced celery in the big round pans to make a mirepoix – until soft and golden; distribute into the large roasting pans.

Someone should be peeling celery and carrots - say 3 heads of celery and 4-5 carrots per pan – cutting into small pieces and blanching them in a big pot half full of water till just done. Save the blanching water for the gravy.

Make gravy: you can use any chicken fat and butter to make a gravy starting with equal chicken fat/butter to flour; cook together till it looks like cottage cheese. It will take about 1 ½ cups of fat + 1 ½ cups flour – maybe more – for each large pan + about 6-8 litres liquid. You can use some milk too, and the chicken/vegetable water stock (You can also use the chicken gravy in the pantry). Season to taste.

You can add 2 to 4 large cans of mushrooms to this too; just drain and rinse them. If there are any bags of frozen pea around I suppose you could throw a cup or two in each pan. Distribute the vegetables and chicken in the pans; add enough gravy to make the mix nice and cover with saran. (Not tinfoil). Next day - cover with pastry and bake for about 20 minutes to cook the pastry and heat the pans.

Kreatopita - Version 1

http://www.krinos.com/ind_recipe.php?RId=38

Items to Use

As we approach the end of season for the OOTC Monday night dinners, we should make use of the following as soon as possible:

- Apples ~ 2/3 bushel (pantry)
- Rice - frozen in tubs (kitchen freezer)
- Monterey Jack cheese - 12 lbs (pantry fridge)
- Marscapone cheese - 10 lb tub, check date (pantry fridge)
- Orange segments - 20 lbs tub
- Mozarella cheese - 5 lbs unopened - check date (pantry frdige)
- Sausages - cooked and frozen - about 30 lbs (upstairs freezer)
- Scalloped potato mix ~ many boxes (pantry)
- Melonette squash - 2 large bags (upstairs freezer)
- Sauces ~ gravy and dessert sauces in tubs (all 3 freezers)
- Leftovers, not packaged (kitchen freezer)

Perhaps if someone could do a thorough check of pantry items, we can add to this list. And when cooking, lets all check the freezers before ordering / opening. Can we use these items in the last few dinners?

Red Wine Substitute (for braising)

Red Wine Substitute

Equal measure:

red grape juice
cranberry juice
apple cider
chicken broth
clam juice
flavored vinegar (or nonalcoholic wine (add a tablespoon of vinegar to cut the sweetness)).

We used this for the red cabbage with success.

Dinner 19 Vegetarian Suggestion from Sally

I have a vegetarian recipe for deep dish vegetable pie which combines broccoli & cauliflower (frozen or fresh) cabbage, carrots, celery & onion in a rich vegetable sauce, flavoured with basil, oregano & dill. It can be topped with a pastry crust but biscuits are a good substitute & would be easier to serve. Would this be doable with our current pantry stock? Would this dish appeal to our vegetarian guests? -

Sally

Yeah - Couscous Replacment

There few foods I dislike (okay that must be obvious). But what a great idea to use Ditali instead of the dreaded couscous.

See this lovely Moroccan Braised Beef on Ditali: http://bluekitchen.wordpress.com/2008/02/13/warm-and-sunny-moroccan-braised-beef/

Mughlai Chicken

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_35405,00.html

Spanakopita

Idea for Vegetarian Main Spanakopita - Triangles of Spinach and Feta in Phyllo (click on it for recipe)

Brussels Sprouts with With Beans

Click Here

Feta Spinach and Red Pepper Quiche

Click Here

Glutinous Rice with Pumpkin

Click Here

Greek Roasted Potatoes

Lemon Roasted Potatoes

Ingredients
4 lbs. potatoes, peeled and cut into quarters or sixths- depending on their size.
1 cup olive oil
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

salt & pepper
2 tbsp. oregano
1 crushed garlic clove
chicken or vegetable stock

Method
In a roasting pan, toss the potatoes with all the ingredients - except the stock.

Add enough stock to the pan so that they are 1/2 covered. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake them for about 40 minutes at 350F.

Check that they are tender. If they're still hard, bake for another 20 minutes.

If you need more liquid, add more stock but just enough to cover the bottom so they don’t stick to the pan. when they are almost done, increase the oven temperature to about 400F.

Remove the foil and bake them uncovered for another 20-30 minutes so they get a nice red-brown color.

Spinach Muenster Quiche

Spinach Muenster Quiche for 100 guests

INGREDIENTS

6-1/4 pounds Muenster cheese, sliced
25 (10 ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
25 eggs
4 cups and 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
12-1/2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
salt and pepper to taste
garlic powder to taste
3-1/4 pounds Muenster cheese, sliced

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Line a quiche dish or 9 inch pie pan with the 8 ounces of Muenster cheese slices. Carefully press all of the water out of the spinach and place it in a large mixing bowl. Add eggs, Parmesan cheese, cream cheese, salt, pepper and garlic powder; stir well. Spoon mixture into pan and top with remaining cheese slices.

Bake in preheated oven for 35 minutes and allow to set up for 10 minutes before serving. Decrease oven temperature by 25 degrees F if using glass pie dish.

Au Jus (as if from Brisket)

2 T. butter
1 medium onion
1/2 c. water
1/2 c. ketchup
1/2 c. chili sauce
1/4 c. cider vinegar
2 T. lemon juice
2 T. soy sauce
1 T. molasses or honey
2 t. dried mustard
1/2 t. ground pepper
1/2 t. paprika

For 5 lbs brisket

Melt butter, cook chopped onion until opaque. Blend in remaining ingredients, then bring to a boil. Simmer 30 minutes.

Braised Brisket with Beans and Ancho Chile

http://www.chow.com/recipes/10493

Red Braised Brisket With Caramelised Shallots and Fresh Chilli

http://www.foodtv.ca/recipes/recipedetails.aspx?dishid=5199

Spinach, Pumpkin, Walnuts, Fresh Basil and Ricotta Cheese Lasagna

http://www.mediterrasian.com/delicious_recipes_spinach_pumpkin_walnut_lasagna.htm

Pumpkin Lasagne

http://www.jamieoliver.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=27647

Pumpkin Mushroom & Leek Risotto

I've found an interesting use for the Jarrahdale pumpkins. The Vegan Visitor blog has this great looking Pumpkin Mushroom & Leek Risotto (click here)

Irish Dinner

Bearing in mind that we have about 50 lbs of pre-cooked ham in the fridge (courtesy of Second Harvest), perhaps we should use it for a dinner soonest. I had been thinking that it would be used by the breakfast cooks instead of the usual breakfast ham - but why not make a yummy Dublin Dinner:

Potato Soup / Celery and Apple Soup / Carrot Soup
Limerick Ham (if not enough ham, also offer Beef in Guinness (is there a non-alcohol Guinness for cooking?)
Champ (Mash mixed with Scallions and/or Leeks and Butter) or Colcannon (substitute Cabbage)
Green Beans with Cashews
Red Cabbage and Apples (Elizabeth Baird)
Vegetarian Irish Stew with Accordian Potatoes
Soda Bread
Lambs Leaf Salad
Lemon and Vanilla Curd Cake / Rhubarb Crumble

Creole House Dinner

Speaking to Vickie yesterday and her helpful reminder that meals should have the same appeal as a rustic lunch for someone who has worked very hard, I had an immediate flashback to the lunches I've had in Venezuela - known locally as El Pabellón (also Pabellón Criollo). Here is a description (leaving out the alligator variation!) on wikipedia :

Pabellón criollo is a traditional Venezuelan dish, the local version of the rice and beans combination found throughout the Caribbean. It is a plate of rice, shredded beef and stewed black beans that is considered by many to be the Venezuelan national dish.

Common additions include tajadas (fried plantain slices) or a fried egg. Both of these variants have acquired slang names. A pabellón con barandas (baranda is Spanish for guard rail) is served with tajadas because the long plantain slices placed on the sides are humorously considered to be keeping the food from falling off from the plate.

A pabellón a caballo (a caballo is Spanish for horseback riding) means with a fried egg on top, as though the egg were "riding" the dish. Most waiters understand immediately what is meant by Pabellón con barandas y un caballo.

Similar Variants:
Platillo Moros y Cristianos (or Moros): is the national dish of Cuba, their version of the rice and beans combination found throughout the Caribbean. It is also found in Puerto Rican and Dominica.

Gallo Pinto (or Gallopinto): is the prototypical traditional dish of Nicaragua and Costa Rica cuisines.

Hoppin' John: is the Southern United States' version of the rice and beans dish traditional throughout the Caribbean. It consists of crowder peas (black-eyed peas) and rice, often seasoned with a combination of; ham hock or fatback, onions, green peppers, vinegar and spices. In much of the region, eating Hoppin' John on New Year's Day is thought to bring a year filled with luck.

Greek, Chinese and Indian

Welcome your views on these or variations thereof:

Greece - Easter Soup (Mayeritsa) / Chicken Kebabs / Roasted Potatoes / Rice / Tzatziki / Baklava and Sugar Cookies

China- Corn Soup / Beef and Broccoli / Chow Mein / Mixed Chinese Veg / Rice / Pastries

India - Curried Vegetable Soup / Mughli Chicken (not spicy - based on a almond /ginger / garlic paste with some cinnamon and sultanas), Basmati Rice, Gugerati Green Beans (toasted almonds and black mustard seed), Curried Aubergines (Veg Meal), Mango and Coconut Ice Cream.

Share your Main Course Ideas

We are looking for main course ideas for Dinner 6 (December 10) and Dinner 7 (December 17). Please share your thoughts on main courses. Please remember that we try to turn over the pantry. So here is a list of a few things we would like to integrate into up-coming menus (any course you can !): Squash, Pumpkins and Prunes.

Dinner 3 Main - Chicken with Sausage, Prunes and Apples & Pasta

Here is the main course recipe (for 4)

http://www.baltimorestyle.com/index.php/style/recipe/r_chicken_with_sausage_n06/
We would welcome your ideas on the penne pasta side. I am thinking that due the rich and savoury nature of the main, that the pasta should be as light and bright as possible. Can lemon be effectively employed to balance what is otherwise a very rich dish?

Please share your thoughts.

Please Share Your Ideas

Please share main course ideas to set the theme for a feast