Need EASY, AWESOME recipes for 125 people !!

pulled pork

pulled pork

did I mention pulled pork?


(great to see you, chun chun)


fruit kebabs

green bean/pancetta salad always seems to go over well

there's also a really good revamp of the old classic green bean casserole in the America's Test Kitchen best recipes mag I've got out in the car

Back later, just saying hi to Chun Chun. ehBeth's ideas sounding good...

Hey, chun chun!

August means heat -- I take it that you're going with minimal mayo. I personally love anything Mexican and I bet a lot of finger food could be made that way.

Combine pulled pork with mexican and you get a nice mole dish. I made one with turkey, too. Any meat would work.

What are you going to give people at 9am? I think the ideas you've got so far are great (did you think of pulled pork yet?) but at 9 in the morning I'm not really ready for a lot of meat and spice...

Fruit? Biscuits & gravy? Juices and caffeine drinks of all kinds... Hard boiled eggs. Toast?

If you do pulled pork you could divide it into a couple different flavor pots -- one chipotle barbecue, one vinegar barbecue (yum), one chili verde, etc., and let folks choose the flavor they like.

jeez, I suppose I need to check out what pulled pork is. I think I looked it up before and it was not right there. Shredded pork, perhaps? Why is this so good, relative to any other pork dish?

I'm with Osso on the pulled pork. I noticed the other day that Lil K mentioned, I think, pulled turkey.

What's this pulled thing?

You're pulling my leg, right?

Ok, work up some really good biscuits and gravy. Piping hot, full of flavor, with sausage bits, and very good biscuits. That is the hard part, the biscuits. Oh, and the gravy. I've ordered adequate attempts at this with biscuits with burned bottoms. The recipes seem simple but... aren't so. Biscuits and gravy is an art.

To die for but hard to find, and hard to repeat the next day.

shredded, more or less.

Like shredded is a good thing?


Murmurs, probably related to the cut..

You know what pulled pork is margo. nudge nudge, wink wink, say no more.

Snort.

No, really really shredded. I'm not familiar with it..

Anyway, bad biscuits and gravy could be a real mess.

Me, I like simple quesadillas (two tortillas, cheese in between, maybe with some olive slices, chiles, and whatnot) with a side of sour cream for dipping. Key being that it must be very very hot, even hard to handle, or .... no good.

In recent years, here and there, I see quesadillas with chicken and other items ensconced, on menus. I think of that as a chain restaurant maneuver.

Ah I misread and didn't realize it was the morning. So unless you're doing frittatas Mexican is probably out.

Hmm. I suppose mini quiches are kinda cliché but they are easy and you can do lots of things with them. There's also, I suppose hors d'ouevre-type riffs on traditional breakfast foods. Perhaps small versions of some sort?

Traditional breakfast foods (off the top of my head, there are probably some I'm forgetting):

• bacon
  
• eggs
  
• grits
  
• sausage
  
• toast
  
• ham
  
• polenta
  
• cereal
  
• oatmeal
  
• cream of wheat
  
• various fruits
  
• omelets
  
• croissants
  
• biscuits
  
• muffins
  
• hash browns

Plus of course juice, coffee and that sort of thing and alcoholic riffs on them like mimosas, Irish coffees, etc.

I can see, perhaps, small toasts with veg and cheese on them, or a small slice of bacon, as an hors d'ouevre. Or a teeny tiny muffin made of, I dunno, eggs and grits with ham kinda smooshed together.

I take it that small portable food is a necessity?

ta!

ehBeth, I just got the slightest hint that perhaps pulled pork would be a good choice! I must wholeheartedly agree that it would be a good choice....especially if I were to add a couple of sides of slaw and a recipe that has been passed down from a VERY old Amish friend.....Cucumber Salad ! Maybe some of you are familiar with it.....I use 3 of the long English cukes (or 6-7 regular ones)...peeled and sliced thinly. Using a large colander, layer the slices all around and sprinkle salt over each layer to help draw out the moisture.... I then place a plate on top of the cukes and add a couple of large cans of fruit or sauce for weight on top of the plate. Let this sit for at least a half hour or more.....In the meantime, I slice several sweet onions(my favorite being Vidalia)....Slice these very thin and set aside....In a 16oz. jar, I mix 1 part cider vinegar (approx. 3-4 oz.), an equal part of granulated sugar, and approximately 3/4 cup of mayo....screw on the jar cover and shake the heck out of it!!.Now, please keep in mind that this recipe is REALLY not one of weights and measures! It's done to taste! If you like a little more tartness, add more vinegar, or sweeten with more sugar....PLAY WITH IT!!! Now, back to the cukes....remove the weights and plate, run cold water over the slices and shake them around to remove excess salt. Get a large bowl and place it beside the colander. Using both hands, pick up a handful of cuke slices and squeeze them hard, getting a lot of the water out....Throw them in the bowl, toss in the sliced onions (I use sort of equal amounts of each veggie) and mix them up! Now, last but not least, add some of the sauce, (we all like the extra juice, so we add a lot of sauce! This salad stays very well for several days (that is, if it lasts that long!) We put it on top of burgers also! It's VERY simple, refreshing, and addictive! It is ALWAYS requested when we attend a BBQ....Let me know if anyone decides to try it....I'd be interested in hearing your opinions....As far as a revamp of the classic green bean casserole goes,.....it would have to be a COMPLETE MAKE-OVER for me to even consider it!!...LOL
I'm sorry, I get carried away with running my mouth when I am talking about a recipe! I guess I get over-zealous! You know what I mean, ossobuco??? The "Peeking Duck" still "tiptoes thru the caverns of my mind"!
Wy....Dividing the pork into a couple of different flavors is a GREAT idea! I have my own BBQ sauce that I developed and hope to some day market. It is made with ingredients indiginous to this area, all natural, and, as I have named it, "DAMN GOOD SAUCE" ! I've had over 500 people thru the course of a couple of years, taste test it and I have yet to find someone that really didn't like it....in fact, I'd be willing to bet that at least 75% of those people literally said, "this is DAMN GOOD!" So, that's what I've named it!!....I'm sorry, but I cannot divulge the recipe!.....
as far as breakfast goes, we will be keeping it simple.....fruits, yogurt, danish, coffee, juices, and some SINFULLY DECADENT thick, gooey, soft cinnamon rolls!! Biscuits and gravy is another great suggestion!
jespah,....August DOES mean heat, but we have some specially built tables that are about 5" deep, and angled a bit higher in the back with 2 drain holes in the front corners...they will be filled with crushed ice and the bowls will be comfortably nestled in its coolness!....By the way, what finger foods did you have in mind?....Remember, this has to be EASY and LOW BUDGET!!
littlek....I like the mole idea too. You're right, any type of meat will work.
ossobuco & margo....Pulled pork is basically a pork butt that has been lightly seasoned and cooked slowly 'til it is so moist and tender that it begins to fall apart....the meat is then pulled apart using 2 forks in opposite directions....thus the name, "pulled pork."....It is almost the same as "shredded", but I think shredding may make the meat a little too fine, and cause it to be mushy once the BBQ sauce is added....."pulled" has a little more substance to it.....There is no way to describe the flavor and texture of a GOOD pulled pork sandwich....you just have to experience it!!
Great ideas everyone....thanks! I'm really thrilled to be able to get back to A2K...I've really missed it!
OK, everyone....I'm not getting "PULLED" into a discussion about the definitions of "pulled meat"....that, my friends, is a topic that might get "OUT OF HAND" rather quickly! Pulling is a slooow, easy, moist method of achieving succulent, melt in your mouth meat, slathered with large amounts of indescribebly delicious sauce!!!....(See what happens once you get me going?)
GOOD GRIEF, I've talked so long that I'm only 2 minutes away from my birthday!!!! No problem,....age is mind over matter.....if you don't mind then it doesn't matter!!! Talk to you soon!

Well ... Happy Birthday Chun Chun!

Your cucumber salad sounds very much like a german cucumber salad that was served at a lot of community get-togethers back home. Onions, mayo, vinegar, sugar etc.

Pulled park with cuke salad, slaws ... yum.

The Cooks Illustrated green bean casserole is really different. I'll see if I can find it online - otherwise I'll run back out to the car and type it out for you. It really takes the old classic up a notch. Mebbe not for this event but you know people love that green bean casserole (the stats on how much of it is eaten each year were amazing).

thankfully, someone at Chowhound had already typed it out (phew)

Green Bean Casserole, serves 10-12
From "Cooks Illustrated" November & December 2006 issue

Topping:
4 slices white sandwich bread, each torn into quarters
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
1/4 tsp. table salt
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
3 cups canned fried onions (6 oz, about one can)

Beans and Sauce:
Table salt
2 pounds green beans, ends trimmed, and halved
3 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 pound white button mushrooms, stems trimmed, wiped clean, and broken into 1/2 inch ieces
3 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed (1 Tbsp)
Ground black pepper
3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1.5 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1.5 cups heavy cream

1. For the topping: Pulse bread, butter, salt & pepper in a food processor until mixture resembles coarse crumbs, about ten 1-second pulses. Transfer to large bowl and toss with onions; set aside.

2. For the beans and sauce: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Fill large bowl with ice water. Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large Dutch oven. Add 2 Tbsp. of table salt, and the beans. Cook beans until bright green and crisp-tender, about 6 minutes. Drain beans in colander and plunge immediately into ice water to stop cooking. Spread beans on paper-towel-lined baking sheet to drain.

3. Add butter to now-empty Dutch oven and melt over medium-high heat until foaming subsides. Add mushrooms, garlic, 3/4 tsp. salt, and 1/8 tsp. pepper; cook until mushrooms release moisture and liquid evaporates, about 6 minutes. Add flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in broth and bring to simmer, stirring constantly. Add cream, reduce heat to medium, and simmer until sauce is thickened and reduced to 3.5 cups, about 12 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

4. Add green beans to sauce and stir until evenly coated. Arrange in even layer in 3-quart (or 13x9-inch) baking dish. Sprinkle with topping and bake until top is golden brown and sauce is bubbling around edges, about 15 minutes. Serve immediately.

http://www.chowhound.com/topics/343761


and a tweak on the Cooks Illustrated version (looks quite good as well)

http://kitchen-parade-veggieventure.blogspot.com/2006/11/worlds-best-green-bean-casserole.html

Yes, definitely pulled pork! Even better if you have your own special sauce.

Some kind of buns. (I like my pulled pork in a bun with a vinegary coleslaw overtop of the meat.)

Smoked beef brisket goes well with pulled pork.

Baked beans?

How about deep fried turkey?


(I make the same version of that cucumber salad every summer. The recipe was passed on by my German mother.)