New European Food: cooking for a crowd

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Epic Cabbage Roll Day - Redux

I had a craving for cabbage rolls this week and cabbage was on sale at my favourite grocery store, T&T. Also, lean ground pork was on sale! Exciting times, let me tell you. So I spent Tuesday making a big pan of cabbage rolls, and they turned out fantastically! I didn't cook or par cook the rice first, I just put it into the filling mixture raw, and although it came out a bit mushy, it worked very well. I used the rice I had on hand, which was jasmine, but in the future I think I'll get a longer-cooking rice so I don't get the mush problem.

Here are some photos I took of my day.

Yes, I put half a package of bacon over the top - and it was great! I was too lazy to fry it up and add it to the filling. This worked just as well.

For previous Epic Cabbage Roll Days, check out this post from 2011 and this post from 2012.

Epic Cabbage Rolls!

So, when my mood is in the crapper food, eating, meal planning, cooking, and grocery shopping all become very challenging for me. The last bout left me scrambling for meals and it wasn't pretty, so I decided during a sunny spell of three days and the resulting lift in my mood to get organized, get prepared, and start stashing meals in my trusty new freezer so that the next time I don't feel great, I'm not living on scrambled eggs and oatmeal and junky stuff that's easy to grab off the grocery store shelves.

Enter the humble cabbage roll. Actually, enter that show we get in Canada every afternoon called Best Recipes Ever. I was flipping around recently and decided to watch this; I'd kinda turned my nose up at it before because it's a Canadian Living thing and I already get the magazine and the subject matter is...well...cue the snoot...simpler than I prefer in a cooking show. But, there really was nothing else on so I gave it a go. And the chick made a vegetarian cabbage roll recipe that triggered some memories. My mom used to make killer cabbage rolls when we were kids, and also, my good friend and fellow foodie Mr. Anchovy, also posted eons and eons ago his mother's cabbage roll recipe. Mr. Anchovy comes from a Polish background and he has been known to post delicious recipes from that culture from time to time. A quick email to him asking about the cabbage roll recipe resulted in a quick response and a trip to the grocery store after the next pay day. All of that resulted in an epic cabbage roll afternoon.

It was as lot of fun, and in the end, after a few hours, I got 46 cabbage rolls, which for me turned into about 15 meals. Total cost of the meal = $15.21! So, my budget was pretty happy, too.

There were a few issues. I ran out of cabbage, so I froze the leftover filling I had for another time. Also, I got long grain rice from the bulk bin at LOGS because I didn't want to use a whole bunch of my pricey scented jasmine rice in this, and the rice was terrible. I have no idea what happened to it, but it cooked up into a pile of mush, and when the cabbage rolls were cooked, the absorbed so much liquid from the sauce that the rice went even mushier in the roll. That was disappointing. I seem to remember my mom using raw rice in her filling, but I need to confirm that. Certainly, I'd do that the next time given this experience.

I made a few amendments to Mr. Anchovy's recipe. His mom used salt pork, but I didn't want to go around looking for something like that in the boonies, but I did have on hand some fatty home-made bacon my dad's friend smoked for him and so I used that instead. Also, Mr. A's mom used to put a pork rib on the top of her cabbage rolls, but I didn't do that either (not really a fan). Also, the original recipe called for ground veal, pork, and beef, but I'm not a fan of veal, and while I was looking for a lot of cabbage rolls, Mr. Anchovy's claim that this recipe makes enough for the entire Polish army wasn't far from the truth, and I didn't quite need that many cabbage rolls. So, I stuck with only ground pork and ground beef). My mom used to put green peppers in hers, so I added some to mine, too.

So, here is the adapted recipe I used. And yes, that is a gigantic turkey roasting pan!

Epic Cabbage Rolls

2 - 3 cabbages
1lb each ground beef & ground pork
1/2 lb bacon, chopped
2 cups long grain rice, cooked
1 - 2 cans (the big ones, 1.36L) tomato juice
2 chopped onions
1 chopped green pepper
salt & pepper to taste
ground basil & dried thyme

OK...This really is quite simple!

Take your cabbage, and dig as much of the core out as possible without de-leafing it. Steam until soft - about 15 - 20 minutes. Now, I had to keep steaming the farther into the head I went, so you might have to do that, too. Alternately, I've heard of people freezing their cabbages, then as they thaw the leaves come right off. Keep some of the cabbage leaves to line the bottom and sides of your pan.

Brown all meats with onion & salt & pepper to taste. Add to rice and mix until combined.

Now make sure everything is cool enough to handle, because this is where the hands-on part begins. Trim the fibrous spine out of the cabbage leaves. This helps flatten them & makes them easier to roll.

Make your rolls like you would a burrito (this is how the host of Best Recipes Ever described the process). Take a small amount of filling in your hand, put it at the top of the cabbage leaf, roll, folding in the edges. Then place seam down in the pan. Repeat. Layer the cabbage rolls at will. Repeat.

I sprinkled the seasonings and chopped green peppers between the cabbage roll layers.

When you're all done rolling, pour the tomato juice right over top. Make a lid with cabbage leaves, which will help keep things nice & moist. I ran out of cabbage leaves...

Bake long & slow: 325F for 2 - 3 hours, or until nice & boiling hot. Mr. A says it's OK if the leaves on the top & sides start to brown; they are caramelizing & turn sweet. Mine didn't do that; my oven was very slow and I actually wound up cooking the whole thing for about 4 hours in total. Keep checking for dryness. If your rolls are looking at all dry, just chuck in more juice. Bear in mind that you are braising here, so you'll need plenty of liquid.

And, voila!

These freeze excellently...Here are all the fruits of my labour...

Woo-hoo! I am so set!

Full Flickr set here.

Many thanks to Mr. Anchovy for the recipe & the advice!

Clam Chowder for a Crowd

Here is another work recipe that I have made a few times now. When I first looked at the recipe, I nearly had a heart attack! Bacon! Butter! Whipping cream! I thought, You want me to feed this to seniors? Seriously? I was a little shocked. But apparently, this is one of the most popular soups on the menu. And after I made it, I had a bowl myself, and it was sooooo gooooood. Sinfully good. No wonder it's popular!

Clam Chowder

8 slices of bacon, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
2 onions, diced
4 potatoes, diced
3 cans baby clams, with nectar
1 lb butter
2 cups flour
1 liter water
2 tsp chicken base
2 liters whipping cream
2 tsp each basil, parsley, and ground pepper

Cook the first five ingredients in a large pot until veggies are just tender. In a separate, smaller pot, melt the butter. Add flour and make a smooth paste. Add this to the veggies and combine. Add liquids, and the rest of the ingredients. Bring to a simmer to thicken. Serve.

OK, we don't use whipping cream where I work, but rather a mixture of 10% and milk. It works just fine and tastes great!

Ambrosia Salad for a Crowd

This is one of those dishes you find at church potlucks, in delis, and at my work! And, to be honest, I kinda like ambrosia. I mean, marshmallows, coconut, and mandarin oranges? That is a pretty delicious combination! This recipe makes a huge amount and will provide dessert for about 25 - 30 people, though I'm not sure this is an "authentic" ambrosia like you'd find at the deli, because mandarin segments in a can are pricier than fruit cocktail, but when I make it, I often just use the mandarin oranges anyway because I think it's better that way. But even with the fruit cocktail, it's good stuff, and the diabetics at work like it because they can have it, too.

Ambrosia for a Crowd

6 cups mixed fruit or fruit cocktail
3 cups mandarin orange slices
3 cups pineapple tidbits
3 cups miniature marshmallows
1 bag coconut
4 1/2 cups sour cream (we use light)

It's as easy as this: drain all the fruit very well. Combine all the ingredients in a big bowl, mixing lightly. Chill thoroughly. Serve.

Catering Capers

My SIL and her mom, C, have a catering business they do in addition to their day jobs. They are very popular, I can tell you, and I have eaten quite a bit of their excellent food! Last Friday, C was away in some exotic locale celebrating her birthday and Shan had an Xmas party to cater at a private home for 40 people, and she asked me to help her.

This was a big deal for me. It was going to be a very long day and an early morning for me, and I haven't had an early morning or a long day on my feet for 3.5 years, when I came down with my latest bout of MDD. My shifts at the place I bake for now are late in the morning and are very short, which is what I need because A) I always have a medication hangover in the morning that takes about 2 hours to overcome, and B) I have big issues with focus and concentration that make sticking to a task for long periods of time difficult for me. Also, I have a lot of problems maintaining physical energy for sustained periods of time. But, because I have been feeling so well these past few months, I really felt it was time to start taking on more challenges, and this catering gig with Shan was right up my alley. I was so pleased that she'd asked me to help her out!

The menu for the party consisted of appetizers and some sweets. Here is the list:

veggies & dip
tomato tart with a cornmeal crust
bruschetta and crostini
crab-stuffed mushroom caps
beef satays with peanut dipping sauce
yogurt marinated chicken skewers
baked brie & candied pecans on crostini
sushi: California rolls, smoked salmon rolls, and veggie
chocolate cupcakes

Shan had done a lot of the prep the day before, but there was still a lot of work to be done. She picked me up at 8am on the dot and we drove to her mom's place in Castlegar to do all the other stuff.

Here are some pictures! There aren't tons because we were very busy and also it isn't, obviously, professional to be clicking away with your camera while you're at someone's house catering their party!

Here is the veggie tray I put together. We made a lemon & dill dip to go with them.

Stuffing the mushroom caps. The filling was delicious!

Tomato tarts. Yes, those are olives.

Baked Brie & candied pecans on crostini. These were fabulicious!

And these were the cupcakes! Shan made them the day before, and I did the icing and the piping, and then Shan cut up fruit to garnish the platter. These were amazing!

Full Flickr set here.

The day went very well for me. My back was very sore by early afternoon, and I did get pretty tired, too. But I took a break at about 2:30 and had something to eat, and then after that I seemed to get a second wind.

At the house - which had a gorgeous kitchen that was a pleasure to work in! - there was a lot to do, too, but it went smoothly. I did have to stand outside in the -5C weather BBQing the beef satays and the chicken skewers, but I did get to do this grilling on the host's rather lovely Weber grill, so I wasn't going to complain too much!

It was a great day! I was sore and exhausted at the end of it, but I was so pleased and proud that I had such a successful time. It was fun, too! I hope Shan asks me again sometime!

Beef Stew & Biscuits, Commercial Style

Here are some shots I took at work the other week, when beef stew & biscuits were on the menu. I'm not a fan of beef stew, but this looked really good & smelled just great. My shift ends before dinner, so I didn't get to sample it, but the residents, I heard were happy. The biscuits, which I made, turned out great! Dessert was provided by one of the residents, who spent the morning making homemade apple pie for everyone.

First, the cook started off using the grill to brown about half a cow's worth of stewing meat.