This Question's Been Asked Before...

...in various ways in various threads, but I'm gonna ask it again and pose it in a different manner now, since we've got many new members as of the last few days. So New Members in particular- this is where YOU jump in!

One of the BEST ways to find out things about new friends is to ask such a question- so here goes!

If you're invitin' folks over for supper who you don't know that well- what foods do you share from your kitchen to nourish their bodies, please their bellies and make them feel welcome?

Me? I love all foods. I've worked in some high-falootin' places where we served fancy food- and I've worked in others where the grub was just very basic meat n' potatoes stuff. My personal comfort level in my own home falls somewhere in the middle. I like to cook and serve fun casual food, presented handsomely on big family-style platters.

So on a rare cool/breezy late-summer night like tonight, for a casual patio supper I might serve:

Usually a double meal - homemade pasta with meatballs and braciole, homemade bread, large antipasto, roast beef, mashed potatoes, gravy, veggies and loads of various desserts.

Then you just roll 'em out the door..............

mama, damn... why can't you live closer? I wanna drop by your kitchen for a bite to eat SO BADLY, but I'm afraid you're just too far for me to easily "ROLL" home!

BTW- not being Italian... I have never eaten braciole... in fact- first time I ever heard of it was on an episode of "Everybody Loves Raymond", when Deb found Marie's old handed-down family recipe for it written down and then she made it- which led to all kinds of hilalrious family drama- as always. Do you watch that show- and did you see that episode? SO FUNNY!

Good lord Mama you make me drool on my keyboard lol.
Italian food is my favorite thing. I made lasagna and garlic bread tonight using your marinara for the sauce.

If I were making a meal for new friends I would probably make herb roasted chicken, gravy, garlic mashed potatoes, buttermilk biscuits, baked mac and cheese, coleslaw and maybe some pan roasted cherry tomatoes.
Dessert would be something like homemade ice cream with chocolate cake.
We dont do fancy meals in this house. Rustic country grub all the way.
I do Italian and even asian some of the time but mostly I cook country cooking like my Mama and my Mamaw before her.
Only I do it without the lard lol.

...your supper sounds fantastic too- like mama's, janie! dang you gals, anyway!

Hey where's my invitation ya' all I am sure I could feel right at home with any one of you

Mine would be a Roasted Pork Loin
Roasted Herb & Garlic Red skinned new potatoes
Grilled asparagus
Cherry Tomato Salad
Homemade yeast rolls

Iced Peach flavored Tea

Chocolate Lava Cake for dessert

Well....it's just plain 'ole country fixin here too.....
I would fix maybe a roast with potatoes and carrots....fresh purple hull peas from the garden...cornbread...cold sliced tomatoes...some of my tomatoe relish that taste great with peas....and my famous baked macaroni and cheese....Ice cold sweet Tea and peach cobbler for dessert....just simple homestyle food.

I love a good pasta salad with smoked sausage and cheese with some lite Italian dressing and veggies and I love Spanish olives with the pimento. I like black olives to. Make some garlic bread. Serve with chilled wine. Cookies for desert!

Cookie- your pasta salad sounds yummy- I love Hillshire Farms Smoked Sausage and I could eat pasta salad & cookies everyday of the week!

Cathy- your menu sound delish too! I LOVE me some good porkloin! Asparagus, also! And anything chocolate's got my vote!

...and Frannie- your pot roast and potatoes sound yummy too! And mac & cheese and peach cobbler- DANG!

As for your cornbread- I love it! I recently bought a whole case of Jiffy corn muffin mix for a measely $4.00 so I've been making lotsa corn bread, corn sitx and corn muffins this summer. In fact, I love the taste and health benefits of blueberries which are plentiful and cheap this time of year so I've been slipping fresh berries into my corn muffins every chance I get. It's a nice break from the super-sweet cakey blueberry muffins out there. I really enjoy the heck outta them...

OK Francie where is my invitation? I love down home good ole' country cookin!!! Also speckeled butter beans & peas with okra, and okra and tomatoes! And everything else you mentioned you're my kinda folks!!!

And Janie next time I come to KY I just gotta stop by and eat with you & Jon, dang girl I should've this time oh well I got a "senior moment" there!!!

Given those conditions, Kevin, I'd want to prepare a meal that looked impressive but which was really simple to do, with lots of things that are either quick to do, can be made ahead, or basically cook themselves. So I'm thinking something on the order of:

1. Mushroom pate as a starter. Serve this with crackers and crudities.
2. Rachael Ray's radish salad.
3. Tagine of lemon chicken
Saffron Rice
Zucchini fritters

For bread I'd put out a pair of fresh Epi loaves. Not a chore, as i make them often anyway.

Desserts are always a hard one, for me, because I don't bake, and we don't do a lot of desserts here. So chances are I would just do some commercial ice-cream, maybe with some fruit as well.

If I really wanted to impress, I'd scoop vanilla bean ice cream into chocolate cups, surround it with orange supremes, and drizzle with Sabra.

How about a basic lunch?

Southern fried chicken, gravy, mashed potatoes, homemade mac and cheese, homemade corn soup, buttered corn, butter beans, glazed carrots, homemade bread stuffing/dressing, a large relish tray with several homemade (relish-y) salads, a large salad of greens and goodies with a selection of homemade "house" dressings, cornbread, hot and steamy rye rolls and several luscious desserts.


Hey Kev - it's a long roll home from my end of the country! Part way there I'd have to roll you back to fatten you up cuz you'd get so skinny from all the rollin'!

Someday I'll visit Alaska - get out of the kitchen and let me loose - I'll cook - you eat - and do the dishes - so I can finish site seeing!

LOL

RE: "Hey Kev - it's a long roll home from my end of the country! Part way there I'd have to roll you back to fatten you up cuz you'd get so skinny from all the rollin'!

Someday I'll visit Alaska - get out of the kitchen and let me loose - I'll cook - you eat - and do the dishes - so I can finish site seeing!"

Ha- mama, you're a trip! However, I'm not up in AK much these days. "Retired" from my work up there a few months back and am now home here in central Illinois full-time again. I still have a cabin up there- and although I don't want to get rid of it, only time will tell if I'm able to get up there enuf to enjoy it properly. Also- your lunch sounds YUMMY!