Ideas for the Mess Hall.

[Sullybob]

What suggestions do you have for improving the mess hall? What would get you to hang out here more often?

I have a couple of ideas.

1. We could do a technique of the week thread. We could talk about different techniques like braising, grilling, poaching, sautéing and so on.

The next idea isn't mine, I am *cough* borrowing *cough* it from another site.

2. We plan to cook one dish, everybody cooks the same dish on the same day or close to the same day, if possible we also all use the same recipe. There are tons of recipe sites so it would be easy for us to plan to cook the same thing.

Then we post in the same thread:
What we liked about the recipe
What we didn't like about
What we would change if we cooked it again
What we learned from cooking it
Any mistakes that we made

3. We could also plan to cook the same thing but we use what ever recipe we want, so that we are all cooking slightly different or very different versions of the same thing. And then post just like in 2.

4. How about a kitchen tool thread or kitchen tools in general? What kitchen tool do you have that you couldn't live with out? What tool did you think you couldn't live with out that turned out to be a waste of money and time? What tool do you have that you thought was going to be a waste of time that turned out to be something that you can't do with out now?

5. Cook books. We could do cook book reviews.

6. I have several cook books, maybe we could do a cook book pass where each member gets the cook book for a week or two and agrees to cook one recipe from the cook book and post the results in the mess hall and then send it on to the next member. I think that for this to work the cook book would have to be small so postage isn't prohibitive but it would also need to be pretty diverse so that there is a large selection of recipes.

7. This is also an idea that isn't mine but it can be a lot of fun. We cook our way through a cook book.


What other things can we do to make the Mess Hall even better?

 

[beginish]

How about a thread that sets 3 parameters: cuisine, protein and vegetable, and we report back with the recipe and the other parts of the meal?

 

[Alacrity59]

I really like #3. Especially with things that are coming into season. For instance where I am Asparagus is just about done but I just had to trim my rhubarb back and I cut it into one inch cubes and blanch it so that when I get enough I can make a pie. The next big thing is strawberrys . . . shortcake . . .

Cool summer meals . . . what to eat and not heat the whole place up
BBQ . . . I think that is very well covered.
Aug-Sep . . . Corn. . . Peaches . . . cherries . . . apples. What do we do with that bumper crop of Tomatos . . . bruschetta, tomato sauce, blt sandwich, oven roasted
Oct . . . hearty soups and chowders - Thanks giving day
Nov. root veg - US Thanks giving day, roasting chestnuts
Dec. Chanukah, Brisket, latkes, Christmas,

Wines, breads, cheeses . . . as filler? Is their a month when chili is not a good thing?

Time saving kitchen tricks/tips.

I think Luc was on to a good idea when he created a wiki spot for recipes. There have been many many wonderful recipes posted.

 

[Sullybob]

Dang, I didn't even know that Luc created a Wiki spot for recipes. I'll have to check it out.

Great ideas so far. I like the idea of preparing something that is coming into season where we each live.

 

[davecmu]

What if we feature an ingredient of the week, similar to the Speakeasy Spirit of the Month? Everyone could share sources for finding the ingredient, and then we could each use it in a recipe that week, report the recipe, and talk about what we liked/didn't about it.

We would need to keep a list three or four weeks in advance of the ingredients to help with sourcing them (especially for people in small towns, like me), and it could be totally seasonal.

 

[Luc]

The Wiki Cookbook was intended to at least list the recipes/threads/posts in a list where Wiki will link them in an order. It would then be easier to read them instead of a mixed thread...

http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/index.php/Recipes

The review of the cookbook is good. I don't buy many of those but I have a few, like anyone. I often turned myself toward the net as 99% of recipes are online and for free.

Having a cook-off is interesting. It reminds me of an assignment that we had when I was in 3rd grade. We had to draw a picture (anything, animal, human, plant, etc.). Then, we were told that we need to write down some instructions to draw the picture again. Someone would get my instructions, I would get someone else instructions and we had to draw it. Out of maybe 40-50 kids, only 2 were similar...

Where am I going with this? I think that having someone posting a recipe saying here it goes, take a picture at the end and after, let say a week, the original poster will post a picture of the dish. It might be interesting to see how other present something. It also shows when a recipe make sense or not.

The more I cook, the more I try to stay local and buy seasonal. I have a chart at home, specifically made for Melbourne telling me when Cauliflower is in season and when it's imported.

 

[dpm802]

How about a thread on "Family Heirloom Recipes?" Stuff that your grandmother used to cook that got passed down through the generations?

For example:

I wasn't fortunate enough to get the actual recipes, but I have delicious memories of Bubby making Fried Matzoh. I've been trying for years to duplicate that taste by trial and error. I can make a good batch, but its still not the way she made it.

Another specialty of hers was Gefilte Fish made from scratch, starting with a whole fish. I won't even go there and attempt to duplicate it. I just have to settle for the pre-packaged Manishewitz brand at the grocery store, along with the store-bought red horseradish.

 

[RockyNomad]

I don't know if this is the appropriate place for this suggestion but I've noticed quite a few people make their aftershaves, witch hazels, etc. How about a place where members could post their recipes for homemade shaving products?

 

[eightysixCJ]

What suggestions do you have for improving the mess hall? What would get you to hang out here more often?

I have a couple of ideas.

1. We could do a technique of the week thread. We could talk about different techniques like braising, grilling, poaching, sautéing and so on.

2. We plan to cook one dish, everybody cooks the same dish on the same day or close to the same day, if possible we also all use the same recipe. There are tons of recipe sites so it would be easy for us to plan to cook the same thing.

Then we post in the same thread:
What we liked about the recipe
What we didn't like about
What we would change if we cooked it again
What we learned from cooking it
Any mistakes that we made

3. We could also plan to cook the same thing but we use what ever recipe we want, so that we are all cooking slightly different or very different versions of the same thing. And then post just like in 2.

4. How about a kitchen tool thread or kitchen tools in general? What kitchen tool do you have that you couldn't live with out? What tool did you think you couldn't live with out that turned out to be a waste of money and time? What tool do you have that you thought was going to be a waste of time that turned out to be something that you can't do with out now?

5. Cook books. We could do cook book reviews.

Hi Shawn, Thanks for working on this. These are great ideas.

I'd like to see some type of wine/beverage review. A place for us to share basic reviews of things tried; brand, type, vintage, price, flavor description, what food it goes with etc.

Perhaps the "thin blue smoke" thread can be a monthly sticky to keep shorter.

How about a "cut of the month" thread where each month a specific cut of meat, fish, etc. is selected and we post what we do with it?

Tom

 

[Luc]

How about a thread on "Family Heirloom Recipes?" Stuff that your grandmother used to cook that got passed down through the generations?

For example:

I wasn't fortunate enough to get the actual recipes, but I have delicious memories of Bubby making Fried Matzoh. I've been trying for years to duplicate that taste by trial and error. I can make a good batch, but its still not the way she made it.

Another specialty of hers was Gefilte Fish made from scratch, starting with a whole fish. I won't even go there and attempt to duplicate it. I just have to settle for the pre-packaged Manishewitz brand at the grocery store, along with the store-bought red horseradish.

Same here, I have my Grand-ma tourtiere recipe (traditional Quebec cuisine). No measurement when I got it, it was a bit of this of this and a bit of that!

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showpost.php?p=1322641&postcount=80

Great during cold months!

 

[Alacrity59]

It was very warm on the weekend. Time for a best lemon aid recipe . . . iced tea? . . . home made root beer?

 

[Uncle Erik]

How about a discussion of seasonal foods for each region of the country? Eating local is important to me. While it wouldn't necessarily apply to everyone, I'd love to know more about the other regions of this country and know what to look for when I travel.

Also, cooking over an open fire! No, I don't mean grilling. I'm talking about starting a fire out back, spit-roasting a whole animal, burying foil-wrapped potatoes and corn in the embers, that sort of thing.