Text 7366, 102 rader
Skriven 2008-05-19 19:12:00 av JOAN MACDIARMID (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av MICHAEL LOO
Ärende: fast food beer etc 307
==============================
 Hi, Michael,

 DS> As it gets closer to the time, we would appreciate knowing an
 DS> approximate head count in order to plan amounts to cook.

 ML> Actually, the head count should be not so relevant, as if the
 ML> participants all made exactly how much they would eat, there
 ML> would be no leftovers; of course, making 4 servings of everything
 ML> (one each for appetizer, main, and dessert equivalents, plus one
 ML> for overindulgence) is no fun. So we tend to make 8 or 10 or 12
 ML> servings, so that there's always enough food for two or three
 ML> echo picnics! Also, some foods are more popular, not necessarily
 ML> because they're better than others, but more because they contain
 ML> the most essential ingredients (pork mostly).

 I went to a nice potluck dinner at the home of a
 friend from work last night, and we had the same
 "too much food" problem! You would have been
 disappointed, as there was no pork at all! This
 was because our multicultual group included at
 least two Muslims (I think more, but I didn't
 know more than half the invitees), several Hindus
 and a Jain from India, and possibly some Jews from
 among my friend's wife's colleagues (she's a
 surgeon in residency.) Our hosts suggested people
 bring things from their own cultures, so that
 there would be a variety of things covering all
 needs. The host couple both are from Arkansas, so
 made Red Beans and Rice, both a vegetarian edition
 and one with beef sausage (and told our Egyptians
 the sausage was all-beef), but they made bucketloads
 of both. AND a big pan of southern-style cornbread
 (not sweet), the infamous Green Bean Casserole,and
 a pecan pie. And then they made a big bowl of plain
 rice because one of the Indians I hadn't known
 said he was bringing Chicken Curry (which was spicy
 and very good.) I made my Mom's version of Potato
 Salad, and also a Jello salad I got from my
 Grandmother involving cucumbers, onion, cottage
 cheese and lime gelatin (OK, guys, laugh it up,
 but I like this, and the Indians seemed to like
 it as it is somewhat akin to Raita). Two other
 ricy dishes showed up, too. My Jain friend
 brought Pakora, and wisely a small enough amount
 that his offering was mostly finished off. One
 of the Egyptians brought a bowl of steamed mixed
 vegetables, so our consciences about eating our
 vegetables was assuaged (and his was completely
 finished off, too). The desserts were very nicely
 assorted: The pecan pie was augmented with a Flan
 covered with fresh assorted berries from one of
 the M.D. crew, and a small, intense cake I called
 "Death by Chocolate"; another dessert showed up
 after I had trashed my plate, so I didn't try it,
 but it was very milky sweet balls in a milky
 sauce from an Indian girl, not golub jamun, but
 probably sort of related to it.

 Well! I tried a bit of almost everything, and
 I was stuffed! I took home about half of each
 of my salads, which is fine with me, I will
 enjoy them as no-labor side dishes this week.
 My host was sort of suggesting people take
 home some extra food, because there was so
 much left. I should have asked for a baggie
 of the leftover plain rice, so I could make
 fried rice, but that idea occurred to me way
 too late. My friend is going to be eating a
 lot of Red Beans and Rice for a while! He
 should freeze it in microwavable containers
 and nuke it for his lunches! Great party, as
 I enjoyed not only my friends but the very
 friendly others from other parts of the Chem
 Dept. and the medical friends of the wife.

 I think a partial reason for this party
 was to show off the house they bought a few
 months ago, now that they have fixed it up
 some to suit their preferences. Nice place,
 an older house on the only remaining brick
 road around Buffalo (though they might be
 just barely in Amherst), in good repair and
 with a modern kitchen to die for! Lots of
 cabinet space and a fair amount of counter
 space to work on. I am envious, but also very
 impressed with their taste in updating the
 place. I didn't know the wife had repainted
 the whole living/dining area in the previous
 week, so chose the colors herself, when I
 commented that the color scheme was very
 relaxing and refined. Glad I didn't
 criticize it presuming the colors were
 left over from previous owners! How do a
 surgeon in residency and a grad student now
 writing his dissertation find time for this
 home improvement stuff?
 Joan


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