Unexpected Visitors for Dinner…

If you've ever visited Edmonton in the winter, it's quite apt. In the summer, however, we put that nasty nickname to shame.

At least you are not known as "The Town That Fun Forgot".

I'd have to beg to differ. I grew up in Edmonton (nickname - Deadmonton), which is hardly a multicultural mecca, but there is a tremendous "foreign" cuisine scene there, as well as ethnic markets that I still miss. And according to Mom, it was that way from at least the 70's when my folks moved out there. Perhaps it's a Peterpatch thing?

My abject apologies, PanaCan. I cannot imagine why I said such an all-encompassing remark. You can't get much more multicultural then Toronto. I'm just lucky that no Torontonians read my foolish remark.

However....Peterborough? Not cosmopolitan nor multicultural. Except around the university maybe. We do well for Asian foods in our local Asian market...even some fresh things...but that's about it. Our daughter's BF is from Grenada and he always comes laden with stuff from the GTA and then he cooks for us.

Deadmonton...I like that.

I liked the abbreviation to PanaCan, seems like a +ve endearment. Like PanaCana! I've been reading the responses that said don't worry about your drop in guests, they should be grateful

for anything. But It's a bit like cleaning up before the cleaning lady comes, to me anyway. We all want the experience of our guests to be something +ve they remember, we want them to relax and enjoy themselves, not see the chaos and preparation that's gone before. And Darienne, anyone who's been a gulli member for 2 years is definitely a better cook than most. So whilst your humility made me think twice about my own pride and prejudices, I think your guests are lucky indeed to eat at your table.

If you've ever visited Edmonton in the winter, it's quite apt. In the summer, however, we put that nasty nickname to shame.

My family still lives in Edmonton...a couple years ago we spent 3 months of winter there, and my Aussie husband noted that even sound was dead thanks to the snow! He also learned what winter *really* is. But I found I had easier access to international foods in Edmonton than when I first arrived in the Sydney suburbs.

Regarding the worcestershire-sriracha aside, I have seen many people keep worcestershire on their kitchen table next to the tomato sauce bottle and use both liberally on their overdone chops. I'll take sriracha over those gladly, thanks!

Darienne, feel no shame in offering whatever food you have about to your guests, whether or not you feel it's perfectly cooked. In my experience last minute guests are usually glad to get potluck and simply enjoy the company, and I say that as a host and a guest. And if it all goes pear-shaped, you can always fill up on bread and cheese or dessert!

Thanks for all the encouraging words, fellow eGulleters.

I usually keep some duck confit tucked away for surprise visitors I really like. Quickly cook some potatoes in duck fat, brown the duck leg and you have a fantastic and quick meal.

Two more things I've done....

Last minute soup and bread: 'cream of whatever you have around' soup. I usually have carrots, frozen peas potatoes and onions and tinned tomatoes, all of them make a quick soup, especially if you have a few fresh herbs lying about. Pumpkin or sweet potato also work well (especially with a bit of ginger). To go along with it I make a rough yeast bread using double the amount of yeast as usual and as long to rise as the oven takes to heat up and the soup to be made. Spread the top liberally with soft butter and sprinkle with coarse salt before baking and serve warm. It has a cakier texture than you would normally like in a bread, but a nice flavor, especially with a little wholemeal flour mixed in. My mother used to make cheese biscuits to go along with soup for last minute guests. We have also broiled halved rolls topped with cheese and a slice of bacon as an accompaniment. Makes a great winter lunch or light dinner.

Potato pancakes: all you need is potatoes and onion. I grate then squeeze the potatoes, add a bit of grated onion, then an egg and a little flour (parsley too, if I have it). I love them with applesauce. Only done this once for guests, but it was a hit (there seems to be little experience of potato pancakes here).

If I had duck confit lying about (mmmmmm) it would only be used for very special guests! But what a great idea.

Darienne --

For me, the best super quick meal is this black bean soup recipe, which I have modified over the years from a Cooking Light recipe. It involves dumping stuff in a pot and cooking for 5 to 10 minutes, and produces some surprisingly delicious soup! Even better is that I always have the ingredients in the pantry. I'll usually serve this with a batch of cornbread, which can be whipped up in just a few minutes too...

Almost Instant Black Bean Soup

2 15 oz cans black beans (or 1 28 oz can)

1 cup good quality bottled salsa

1 16 oz can low-sodium chicken broth

2 tsp chili powder, 1 tsp cumin

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Dump these ingredients into a pot and cook for 5 or 10 minutes. Then partially puree in a blender or with a stick blender, until it is the desired consistency. Serve with shredded cheddar cheese, extra cilantro, and a dollop of sour cream.

More good ideas for me to add to my growing list.

Twyst and Sandra. Never even had duck confit. Never had duck for that matter. I could do the soup and biscuits. Bread and potato pancakes sort of defeat the purpose for me I'm afraid.

EmilyR: I'm going to try that tomorrow night (tonight is salad). With cornbread (have to check my cupboard) or biscuits which is one of my 'with my eyes shut and one hand tied behind my back' goodies.

Because we don't eat 'dinner' and most everyone else does, I don't often think about having the visitors fit in with our schedule...which as you might imagine makes for some problems for us. It's like having a dinner twice in one day unless we are very careful about how much we take on our plates which can make visitors a tad uncomfortable. Well, mostly females...not males. Oops. Not generally males. Have to be fair.

However, extra carbs, like bread, potatoes, biscuits, can often fill in the holes I guess.

We mostly have company for our noon dinner...my problems seem to crop up at the later hour: tiredness, not wanting to cook, not wanting to have a large meal...both physical and psychological hurdles. Hmmmm..... This topic has been so useful for me.

Darienne -

The only thing I forgot to mention about the soup is to watch the salt -- I find canned beans can often be very salty, and so (potentially) can bottled salsa... If you have the option of using one can of salt-free beans, its probably worth doing... Similarly with making sure your chili powder is salt-free...

Looking forward to hearing how you like it!

Emily

Darienne -

The only thing I forgot to mention about the soup is to watch the salt -- I find canned beans can often be very salty, and so (potentially) can bottled salsa... If you have the option of using one can of salt-free beans, its probably worth doing... Similarly with making sure your chili powder is salt-free...

Looking forward to hearing how you like it!

Emily

Actually, we're going to have it for lunch today. I always rinse the canned beans...or at least half rinse them...depends upon the beans.

I didn't realize that chili powder could have salt in it. Might use ancho powder plus chipotle or some combo.

Actually, we're going to have it for lunch today. I always rinse the canned beans...or at least half rinse them...depends upon the beans.

OMG. We loved it! Let's see what I changed. Well, it's in my nature.

I used ancho powder instead of 'chili' and more cumin because I adore cumin, 2 full cans of beans @ 19 oz each, and turkey broth because it was the easiest to reach in the chaos of the frozen broth compartment. Oh, and dried cilantro because I couldn't face trying to find the frozen fresh.

Anyway, it's still the same basic soup and we just loved it. It now joins the regular soup repertoire to be made from scratch when so inclined...or from cans. Thanks so much, EmilyR.

Actually, we're going to have it for lunch today. I always rinse the canned beans...or at least half rinse them...depends upon the beans.

OMG. We loved it! Let's see what I changed. Well, it's in my nature.

I used ancho powder instead of 'chili' and more cumin because I adore cumin, 2 full cans of beans @ 19 oz each, and turkey broth because it was the easiest to reach in the chaos of the frozen broth compartment. Oh, and dried cilantro because I couldn't face trying to find the frozen fresh.

Anyway, it's still the same basic soup and we just loved it. It now joins the regular soup repertoire to be made from scratch when so inclined...or from cans. Thanks so much, EmilyR.

Want to add that you can do the same thing with basically any kind of canned beans - red beans, great northern, pintos, etc.

Yay! I'm so glad you liked it! And ancho powder sounds great (as does chipotle powder if you decide to go that way -- I think in variations in the past I've added a little chopped chipotle in adobo)... I'm always amazed by how flavorful it is given how ridiculously little work...

Unbelievable - this sounds like my place. With a wife that works longer hours than myself and two children that have hectic social calendars, I am often confronted with additional mouths to feed with short notice.

I am a fan of sous vide and this has made my life so much easier. I buy meat at the right price in reasonable quantity and vacuum bag it with sauce, give it a nice warm swim and then put into the fridge or freezer as appropriate.

When visitors appear, hey presto a bag is defrosted and either reheated in the sous vide bath or charred on the BBQ. Did this yesterday with some rolled pork loin. Sous vide at 56C for 6 hours and into the fridge. Unbagged, dried it off, seasoned and onto the grill for a couple of minutes per side. Garlic butter over some boiled new potatoes, steamed veggies and all done in short order.

My chamber vacuum sealer and sous vide bath are in almost full time use now.

Another oldie is pasta with homemade bolognese sauce. I make one batch per year - grind up an entire rump, one kilo of onions etc and cook for the rest of ther day. When complete I bag it up and freeze into approximately 20 meal size bricks. Add garlic bread and a salad.

Spaghetti alla Puttanesca is something that can be made completely from canned/dried ingredients and I've pretty much always got the stuff on hand--plus as the name suggests, it's fast and easy and can basically be put together in the time it takes to boil water and cook pasta. My wife, a perennial skeptic of both olives and anchovies in all their forms, loves it, and I pretty much tend to not invite people over who don't have the adventuresome spirit (or at least manners) to eat what's placed in front of them. It's rare that we're caught so flat-footed that we have to resort to stuff like that but it's nice to know there's always something hiding in that back pocket.

Yay! I'm so glad you liked it! And ancho powder sounds great (as does chipotle powder if you decide to go that way -- I think in variations in the past I've added a little chopped chipotle in adobo)... I'm always amazed by how flavorful it is given how ridiculously little work...

It was hot and spicy enough with the ancho. Chipotle would have put it over the top for us. It probably rested in this case on the heat of the salsa.

Thanks again, Emily_R and to you too, Jaymes.

SL: Shame on me no doubt, but I know nothing about SV. I have just mastered shredded meats and they are our standby to date. Do recall that I was the world's biggest non-cook until just a very few short years ago.

TOK: Shall look up a recipe for Spaghetti alla Puttanesca asap, but could you honor me with your ingredient list please?

My favorite version comes from Saveur Cooks Authentic Italian, and goes something like this:

Heat 1/4 cup of olive oil, add a couple of cloves of minced garlic and about 4 anchovy filets minced and sautee til the anchovy begins to "melt"--about 20-30 seconds. Add a 28 oz can of drained diced plum tomatoes, a cup of pitted and olives (mix of black and green, or as you prefer), a couple of tbs of capers, a pinch or two of red pepper flakes, and salt. Cook for about 5 min to get everything happy. In the meantime you have cleverly been boiling water in which you should now cook a pound of spaghetti or other favorite pasta shape al dente, then toss with cooked and drained pasta. Be generous with the Parmagiano on the individual servings.

Lots of savory, salty goodness going on here.

My favorite version comes from Saveur Cooks Authentic Italian, and goes something like this:

Heat 1/4 cup of olive oil, add a couple of cloves of minced garlic and about 4 anchovy filets minced and sautee til the anchovy begins to "melt"--about 20-30 seconds. Add a 28 oz can of drained diced plum tomatoes, a cup of pitted and olives (mix of black and green, or as you prefer), a couple of tbs of capers, a pinch or two of red pepper flakes, and salt. Cook for about 5 min to get everything happy. In the meantime you have cleverly been boiling water in which you should now cook a pound of spaghetti or other favorite pasta shape al dente, then toss with cooked and drained pasta. Be generous with the Parmagiano on the individual servings.

Lots of savory, salty goodness going on here.

:laugh: Thanks. Now all I have to do is to get my DH to agree to eat anchovies, olives, and capers.

You are a better person than I am, Darienne...At these occations, we tend towards take-outs. With everybody working plenty full time and school and sports for the kids, time is in short supply, and I prefer to spend the time with the friends and not be exhausted by all the prep (doing the bathroom before they arrive is plenty). With takeout, you can also cater to everyone's dietary needs and whims.

And to echo an earlier poster - they come to see YOU, everything else is just a bonus

I'm reminded by talk of yoghurt that one of the easy dishes I cooked up is chicken joints, salted & scattered with sliced onion, and topped with good chutney stirred into yoghurt (a tray of 6-8 chicken joints, a 500ml tub of yoghurt, several heaping spoonfuls of chutney). Bake at 180C till done, about an hour.

My favorite version comes from Saveur Cooks Authentic Italian, and goes something like this:

Heat 1/4 cup of olive oil, add a couple of cloves of minced garlic and about 4 anchovy filets minced and sautee til the anchovy begins to "melt"--about 20-30 seconds. Add a 28 oz can of drained diced plum tomatoes, a cup of pitted and olives (mix of black and green, or as you prefer), a couple of tbs of capers, a pinch or two of red pepper flakes, and salt. Cook for about 5 min to get everything happy. In the meantime you have cleverly been boiling water in which you should now cook a pound of spaghetti or other favorite pasta shape al dente, then toss with cooked and drained pasta. Be generous with the Parmagiano on the individual servings.

Lots of savory, salty goodness going on here.

:laugh: Thanks. Now all I have to do is to get my DH to agree to eat anchovies, olives, and capers.

I'm tellin' you, my wife is phobic of all of these as well, but she requests this frequently. Of course she doesn't mind salty stuff so maybe that's what wins her over.

My favorite version comes from Saveur Cooks Authentic Italian, and goes something like this:

Heat 1/4 cup of olive oil, add a couple of cloves of minced garlic and about 4 anchovy filets minced and sautee til the anchovy begins to "melt"--about 20-30 seconds. Add a 28 oz can of drained diced plum tomatoes, a cup of pitted and olives (mix of black and green, or as you prefer), a couple of tbs of capers, a pinch or two of red pepper flakes, and salt. Cook for about 5 min to get everything happy. In the meantime you have cleverly been boiling water in which you should now cook a pound of spaghetti or other favorite pasta shape al dente, then toss with cooked and drained pasta. Be generous with the Parmagiano on the individual servings.

Lots of savory, salty goodness going on here.

:laugh: Thanks. Now all I have to do is to get my DH to agree to eat anchovies, olives, and capers.

I'm tellin' you, my wife is phobic of all of these as well, but she requests this frequently. Of course she doesn't mind salty stuff so maybe that's what wins her over.

Dear Husband likes salty and so maybe I'll just make it without any announcements and see what happens.

My favorite version comes from Saveur Cooks Authentic Italian, and goes something like this:

Heat 1/4 cup of olive oil, add a couple of cloves of minced garlic and about 4 anchovy filets minced and sautee til the anchovy begins to "melt"--about 20-30 seconds. Add a 28 oz can of drained diced plum tomatoes, a cup of pitted and olives (mix of black and green, or as you prefer), a couple of tbs of capers, a pinch or two of red pepper flakes, and salt. Cook for about 5 min to get everything happy. In the meantime you have cleverly been boiling water in which you should now cook a pound of spaghetti or other favorite pasta shape al dente, then toss with cooked and drained pasta. Be generous with the Parmagiano on the individual servings.

Lots of savory, salty goodness going on here.

:laugh: Thanks. Now all I have to do is to get my DH to agree to eat anchovies, olives, and capers.

I'm tellin' you, my wife is phobic of all of these as well, but she requests this frequently. Of course she doesn't mind salty stuff so maybe that's what wins her over.

Dear Husband likes salty and so maybe I'll just make it without any announcements and see what happens.

Good idea, just chop the olives small enough to be unrecognizable