Thursday it all started again. I had to attend three 90-minute/2-hour
meetings. One of them I chaired. Yesterday I attended to numerous
small fires and got things mostly on an even keel for the first
classes beginning Monday. I left the office at noon to cook.

We hosted a dinner for faculty and grad students at our house last
night. A dean or two showed up, and I saw the odd librarian lurking
about, as well. I believe there were about 80 people in my place at
one point last night. I had a lot to cook.

D, our friend S, and I made these things:

Sweet potato casserole (spiked with orange juice and smoked jalapenos
-- none of that icky marshmallow-encrusted stuff)

--Smoked pork loin (S made that)

--Four smoked chickens

--Baked beans with chipotles

--Multi-bean salad with garlic-infused olive oil, lime juice,
cilantro, and cayenne

--Cole slaw with garlic-infused olive oil, lime juice, cumin, capers,
and mayo

--Assorted finger foods like pickled okra, chips, etc. (Okay, we
didn't pickle the okra or make the chips. We just set them out for
the multitude.)

For the meats, I made a chipotle/garlic/lime mayo and a Sriracha/green
onion mayo and a really hot Scotch bonnet relish for them as relish
that sort of really hot thing.

D picked up a trashy sheet cake at the market on her way home that
afternoon. Grad students love cake.

The wine flowed like wine. The beer did, too.

I was truly worried we'd not have enough food, but some sort of
loaves-and-fishes thing must have transpired because we had leftovers.
And I got a chance to get people to sample the results of my 2007 fig
jerky experiment. It was great fun, but I was exhausted by the time
the last guest left for home.

BTW, Tom Waits' "Foreign Affairs" at a respectable volume seems to
help people decide to call it a night. Just a tip.
--

modom

--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

modom (palindrome guy) > wrote in message
news
> Sweet potato casserole (spiked with orange juice and smoked
> jalapenos
> -- none of that icky marshmallow-encrusted stuff)
> [snip]
> --Baked beans with chipotles
>
> --Multi-bean salad with garlic-infused olive oil, lime juice,
> cilantro, and cayenne
>
> --Cole slaw with garlic-infused olive oil, lime juice, cumin,
> capers,
> and mayo
[snip]

As usual, a very impressive menu.

Do you have recipes for the above? The sound like true crowd
pleasers.

Many thanks.

The Ranger

On Sun, 26 Aug 2007 06:20:02 -0700, "The Ranger"
> wrote:

>modom (palindrome guy) > wrote in message
>news >
>> Sweet potato casserole (spiked with orange juice and smoked
>> jalapenos
>> -- none of that icky marshmallow-encrusted stuff)
>> [snip]
>> --Baked beans with chipotles
>>
>> --Multi-bean salad with garlic-infused olive oil, lime juice,
>> cilantro, and cayenne
>>
>> --Cole slaw with garlic-infused olive oil, lime juice, cumin,
>> capers,
>> and mayo
>
>Do you have recipes for the above? The sound like true crowd
>pleasers.
>
No real recipes, I'm afraid. For the sweet potatoes, I baked 12 till
they were done and peeled them. Then I mashed them with some frozen
OJ concentrate -- about 1/3 cup -- and stirred in three minced
jalapenos I'd smoked some time back and kept in the freezer for just
such an occasion. Salt and pepper. Spread in an oiled casserole and
cover with foil. I did that the night before and baked it a second
time the day of the dinner. I was out of chipotles Thursday night, or
I'd have used them instead of the homemade chiles. In the past I've
found dried chipotles (not the canned in adobo ones) work well with
sweet potatoes.

Our friend made the baked beans, so I can't help with that one.

The bean salad involved red beans, kidney beans, black beans, and
garbanzos. I added chopped celery, chopped red onion, and cilantro.
The dressing was lime juice, a dash of cider vinegar, and olive oil.
Seasonings were lime zest, salt and pepper, and cayenne. I microwaved
minced garlic (a generous amount) in the oil for three 30-second
bursts to flavor the oil quickly -- kind of like a lazy guy's mojo de
ajo.

The slaw used the same oil trick, but involved cumin, too.
--

modom

--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

In article >,
"modom (palindrome guy)" > wrote:

(pah-ty details snipped)
> modom

You could have used some help, modom. I could have made myself
available.
--
-Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
http://www.jamlady.eboard.com - Fair baking

On Sun, 26 Aug 2007 11:05:05 -0500, Melba's Jammin'
> wrote:

>In article >,
> "modom (palindrome guy)" > wrote:
>
>(pah-ty details snipped)
>> modom
>
>You could have used some help, modom. I could have made myself
>available.

With all those ribbons and awards hanging off your shirt, would we
have been able to move about the kitchen together?
--

modom

--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com