Need help please

[Ariel]

Hi all,

I want to bring a nice dinner to our friend's home but they don't eat Italian food. They live 45 minutes away and I want to cook it before we go there.

Any ideas?

Thanks ,Ariel

[doojable]

What do you mean by "nice?" I've brought salad, bread, wine, and steaks. The steaks will only take 10 minutes to cook (though this depends on how rare you like the meat.)

Casseroles can be dressed up.

With a 45 minute drive - no matter what - unless its a salad you will need to reheat. Consider something like the idea above since cooking steaks can be faster than reheating a casserole.

Wait to get there to put salad dressing on the salad and to cut the tomatoes.

To make it so that you arent' standing around waiting on food, you can bring some veggies and dip to nosh while the food is getting the finishing touches.

I'll get more ideas - just let me know....you can PM me if you think I can help. I'm sure there are others here with some more ideas as well.

[Ariel]

Thank you.

I don't want to cook steak there. A cassarole was what I was thinking or a stew in my crock pot. The veggies etc. are also things I will bring to nosh on before the meal. By nice I mean a supper that is homemade with love but more than pieces of chicken..we eat a lot of that so do they.

Thanks!

[bowtwi]

Easy Swiss Steak

• 1 to 1-1/2 pounds round steak
  
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
  
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  
• 1 4-ounce can mushrooms, drained (or use fresh sliced)
  
• 1 10 3/4-ounce can cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
  

Trim visible fat from round steak and cut into 4 to 6 serving-size pieces. Pound to flatten and tenderize. Season with garlic salt and pepper. Place meat in bottom of slow cooker. Spoon drained mushrooms on top of steak, then spread mushroom soup over.

Cook on low for 7 to 9 hours. Serve with rice or mashed potatoes and a salad or green vegetable.

Serves 4 to 6.

(I don't eat mushrooms, so I use cream of chicken or cream of celery soup and omit the mushrooms.)

Fix a lettuce salad ahead of time or make:

Broccoli Cauliflower Salad

Here's a recipe for a great do-ahead salad. The original recipe called for just broccoli, but I like it with broccoli and cauliflower. Also, the original recipe used five strips of bacon, fried crisp and crumbled. But, it seems that no matter how crisp I fry bacon, it always tends to get soft once it is combined with the dressing. I use about two tablespoons of "real" bacon bits or pieces you can find in a jar; don't use the soy version like Bacos.

Broccoli Cauliflower Salad

1/4 to 1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons vinegar

1 cup mayonnaise (you can use low fat, if desired)

1 bunch fresh broccoli, finely chopped

1/2 head fresh cauliflower, finely chopped

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

1 small red onion, chopped

2 tablespoons "real" bacon bits

In a large bowl, combine sugar and vinegar and stir until sugar dissolves. Mix in mayonnaise, stirring until well combined. Add in remaining ingredients, gently stirring until everything is well coated with the dressing. Chill several hours or overnight before serving.

If you make a pan of brownies the day before, you can travel with them right in the baking pan if you'd like.

A nice touch might be to bring a can of those crescent rolls and pop them in the oven 15 minutes before you want to eat - we've been enjoying them a lot lately.

Edited March 31, 2007 by bowtwi

[Ariel]

Thanks!!!! It is a strong possibility!!!

Ariel

Hi All,

Thanks for the 3 replys so far.

[waysider]

Roast duckling with orange glaze

Wild rice dish

Cranberry-Walnut relish

Old fashioned bread pudding

Relish and pudding can be made in advance/duckling and rice can be made at same time and travel well if covered to retain heat

[coolchef]

any thing you can do in a slow cooker will travel nicely

even one of my favorites

roast of ostrich with a nice tarragon/lavender sauce with shrooms

a nice side for this is fresh asparagus

i cook that in one of those plastic pasta cookers you see on tv

it works great and retains the color of the greens

[coolchef]

ps with one of those plastic veg/pasta cookers it will cook on the way and be fresh when you get there

[Outfield]

This is an old tried and true favorite of "most" people -- I have come across a few who have not liked it -- but to each their own.

Ground beef (like a 1lb. or so)

Jiffy cornbread mix (one box)

Chilli sauce (found near the ketchup at the grocery store)

2 cans of Campbell's vegetable soup (I have made this with homemade veggies before too -- it's just alot more work)

Brown ground beef (stir in some onion if you want - salt, pepper, all that jive)

Stir in both cans of soup without draining

Stir in chilli sauce

Place in oblong casserole dish

Mix Jiffy cornbread according to directions BUT DOUBLE the milk (I use soy milk and it works fine).

Pour cornbread mixture over meat

Bake according to Jiffy box -- like 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

Serve with sour cream and shredded chedder cheese

[Sushi]

Broccoli Cauliflower Salad

Also, the original recipe used five strips of bacon, fried crisp and crumbled. But, it seems that no matter how crisp I fry bacon, it always tends to get soft once it is combined with the dressing.

Couldn't you just add them AFTER cooking?