Text 7623, 129 rader
Skriven 2008-05-23 08:41:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av JOAN MACDIARMID
Ärende: schweinhunden348
========================
 JM> I went to a nice potluck dinner at the home of a
 JM> friend from work last night, and we had the same
 JM> "too much food" problem!

The problem appears to be intrinsic to the potluck format.
In order to ensure scanty leftovers, all the guests would
have to provide merely enough calories to satisfy themselves
- but cooking for one is pretty silly, not to mention the
fact that it's fun to taste lots of different things at
such an event, and having a large number of tiny things
would have both distributional and satisfactional issues.
We've encountered this phenomenon at every echo picnic, and
I've suggested that such events might do well to designate
cooks and eats - dividing the alphabet would be the easiest
way, maybe having a three-year rotation. That would however
go against the values of spontaneity and generosity that
are so key to these gatherings.

 You would have been
 JM> disappointed, as there was no pork at all!

Pork, I remind myself in such situations, is not the only
food there is!

I've been spending much time with a family that keeps Kosher,
so I have been refraining from pork a lot of the time. This
family has been very kind to me, not least because they like
dairy food a lot and tend not to serve it when I'm around.

 This
 JM> was because our multicultual group included at
 JM> least two Muslims (I think more, but I didn't
 JM> know more than half the invitees), several Hindus
 JM> and a Jain from India, and possibly some Jews from
 JM> among my friend's wife's colleagues (she's a
 JM> surgeon in residency.)

Universities foster peculiar juxtapositions and the
consequent intercultural understanding. That's one of
the things that makes them essential in this increasingly
polarized world.

 Our hosts suggested people
 JM> bring things from their own cultures, so that
 JM> there would be a variety of things covering all
 JM> needs. The host couple both are from Arkansas, so
 JM> made Red Beans and Rice, both a vegetarian edition
 JM> and one with beef sausage (and told our Egyptians
 JM> the sausage was all-beef)

Had an RBR the other day that was seasoned up with smoked
brisket meat. If the brisket had been better, that would
have been a very satisfactory substitute for the traditional
pork products. I wonder if the Van Kamp's or B&M or Bush's
or Heinz 57 people ever produced a beef and beans to go with
their pork and beans and vegetarian beans? Wouldn't necessarily
be a bad thing.

 JM> Well! I tried a bit of almost everything, and
 JM> I was stuffed!

I try to do the same at such events; other than exercising
a bit of care with milk foods, pretty much everything goes
down my capacious maw.

 I took home about half of each
 JM> of my salads, which is fine with me, I will
 JM> enjoy them as no-labor side dishes this week.

Incentive to prepare shelf-stable foods for these events.

===

 JM> Well.... I am not cruel to animals (except invading
 JM> spiders and mice). But my kindliness to pet animals
 JM> is evinced more by not keeping one!

I understand. My lengthy absences and irregular schedule
preclude my keeping pets; and pet dander allergies seal
my fate in that department.

 I don't care for
 JM> dogs at all, though I am getting better at
 JM> tolerating other people's well-behaved dogs. I have
 JM> long wanted a cat, though, but as I worked long hours
 JM> in the lab for many years, I couldn't see leaving an
 JM> animal alone all day (at least now I don't go back to
 JM> the lab on evenings and weekends).

Though that level of solitude is not ideal, cats seem to
tolerate it better than dogs. Of course, the problem is
easily solved (from that standpoint) by getting two
animals who can keep each other company.

---------- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.01

      Title: Hungarian Letcho
 Categories: Pork/ham, Hungarian
      Yield: 6 servings

      2 md Onions, chopped                          Salt
      2 tb Oil                                      Pepper
      2 lg Green peppers                            -to taste
      1 tb Paprika                           1/2 ts Caraway seeds
      3 lg Tomatoes, chopped                   4    Franfurters
           -OR                                      -OR
     16 oz Tomatoes, canned                    6 sl Salami

  In a large frying pan, saute the onions in vegetable oil, until limp.  And
  peppers, and saute, mixing well, until limp, and the onions are slightly
  browned.  Add paprika and mix well for a few minutes.  Add tomatoes, and
  bring mixture to a boil.   Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for ten
  minutes.  Add salt and pepper, to taste.  the carraway seeds are optionl.

  In a separate sauce pan, boil frankfurters (salami) in water for five
  minutes.  Add boiled meat to vegetagle mixture.  Return to a simmer, mixing
  well.  (can be served immediated, or reheated)

  Source unknown. The "vegetagle mixture" is referred to as "lecso,"
  some funny accent mark on the o, pronounced "letcho." Walter Slezak,
  who I understand was a well-known actor of Hungarian origin, used to
  serve an almost identical dish under the name "Frankfurter goulash."
  

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