Freeze It Week, Day 5: Entertaining

Posted by Caroline Wright

You (and your freezer) made it through the week without breaking a sweat, but now you might be stressing about company coming over on Saturday night.

Don't worry -- we've come up with some great ideas over the years at Everyday Food to help you with freezer-ready entertaining menus.

Top 10 Things to Bring to the Party

Posted by Regan Burns

It's Labor Day weekend -- perhaps the tastiest weekend of the year! I don't know about you, but for me the next few days are packed with backyard parties (and the food that goes along with them).

I love attending parties, but always spend so much time obsessing about what to bring. So over the years, I've come up with a PLAN that guarantees I bring nothing home but an empty dish!

PLAN is my acronym for all the elements that make a great potluck dish. Don't laugh -- there's a lot of sense to it!

Portable: Something that can be transported easily (covered) and served from the same dish is always preferred. (Don't forget to bring a serving utensil!)

Likable: No one wants to take their dish back home untouched -- stick to things that are familiar, but infused with your personality. (This might not be the right time to show off your affection for offal.)

Advance-Prep: Dishes that can be made at least a few hours ahead (or more!) will keep you stress-free and on time for the party.

No Assembly (or not much, anyway): If  you need to pack an extra bag in order to serve your dish, it might not be the wisest choice. Presentation is important, but if your contribution to the buffet looks more like a centerpiece, you might not get a lot of takers.

To remove any guesswork, here are our top recipe picks for the weekend:

Buttermilk Fried Chicken

Posted by Sandy Gluck

Across America, it's hard to find someone who'd turn down a piece of piping-hot, perfectly fried chicken -- especially when brought on a Labor Day picnic! Making it at home is easier than you think if you have the right recipe. 

A couple tips to remember when making your own batch:

1) Oil at the right temperature: A candy or deep-frying thermometer should read 350 degrees. If you don't have one, a small piece of bread will golden when it's dropped in the oil.

2) A great buttermilk marinade: This is essential for keeping the chicken tender and juicy. No buttermilk? No problem. Add 3 tablespoons of lemon juice to a cup of milk (low-fat or whole) and use that as a substitute.

That said, if you've bought a quart of buttermilk, why not make a batch of buttermilk biscuits to go with your chicken?

PREP: 30 minutes
TOTAL: 1 hour

SEE THE RECIPE:
Buttermilk Fried Chicken
Buttermilk Biscuits

Freeze It Week, Day 4: Single Servings

Posted by Caroline Wright

On Monday, I mentioned that, in my household, single-serving frozen meals are the way to go. With our busy schedules, my husband and I never know exactly who will be at the dinner table or, worse, who might have to scrounge up dinner.

Having portioned dinners on hand makes the most of your ingredients for a busy household, and takes little time to bring dinner to the table.

When it was time to fill my freezer with student-ready meals for my hubby, one of the recipes I used was our Turkey and Vegetable Hand Pies.

Best Garden Goodies (or What I Learned This Summer)

Posted by Deb Puchalla

My son starts first grade next week and has to bring a vacation show-and-tell -- a picture, a trinket, a book -- and describe to the class what it taught him. If the assignment were mine, I would bring a cloth shopping bag overflowing with veggies, fruits, and herbs from the farmers' market, enough to share. Because I'm not quite ready for summer to end. And because a single bag of the freshest produce can equal a whole bunch of delicious memories.

This year, our town hosted a weekly farmers' market just up the road, so I always had something superfresh to make close at hand, whether I was cooking weeknights for the boys or on weekends for friends. Each visit reminded me to use the brightest, just-picked ingredients. And coupled with a suggestion from my friend and mentor, Margaret at A Way to Garden, that our garden and food worlds ought to collide, a season-long online party was born.

Ratatouille with Eggs

Posted by Adina Steiman

At this point in summer, it's hard to find a fruit or vegetable that's not in season.  As Deb pointed out, there's a cornucopia of tasty, affordable vegetables crowding markets right now, and just like a certain Disney character in a movie earlier this year, I like to use them to make ratatouille.

Zucchini, eggplant, peppers, and tomatoes are the usual suspects, but ratatouille is nothing if not flexible.  It's just another name for a vegetable stew, so sometimes I skip the eggplant and zucchini and throw in Lima beans and corn instead -- it's a deliciously flexible way of making use of whatever's at the market (or hanging out in your fridge). 

To make it into dinner, just cook a few eggs right in the pan with the simmering ratatouille, and serve with a crisp baguette or toast.

What late-summer vegetables would you combine in your own version of ratatouille?

PREP: 15 minutes
TOTAL: 15 minutes

SEE THE RECIPE:
Ratatouille with Eggs

Freeze It Week, Day 3: 7 Easy Shortcuts

Posted by Caroline Wright

In Everyday Food's test kitchen, we're always considering ways to bring convenience to our recipes, whether through prepping ahead or learning what ingredients are the best to buy from the store.

Finding practical ways to make the most out of your time and money is what we're all about. (Many of you added to our list of favorite test-kitchen shortcuts, which is so exciting -- I learned a thing or two, too!) Freezing ready-to-heat meals is one way to cut down the time until dinner; keeping certain must-have at-the-ready foods in the freezer is another.

Read on for our ways (and some of our friends' ways) of bringing convenience to kitchen life without reaching for preservative-filled convenience products. Let us know which are your favorites!

25 Pounds of Tomatoes?

Posted by Sandy Gluck

The warm weather was a little late in arriving on the East Coast this year, and that means the tomatoes weren't as bountiful as they usually are earlier in the season.

But now they're in their glory. So a trip to the farmers' market was in order if I planned to make my mother-in-law's tomato jam.

Here's a tip -- ask your farmer if he or she has any seconds. I scored 25 pounds of tomatoes at $1 a pound instead of the $2.50 they were going for.

Turkey Sloppy Joes

Posted by Emma Feigenbaum

Sloppy Joes don't have to take you back to your cafeteria days.

These are much, much healthier, thanks to ground turkey, whole-wheat buns, and some hidden veggies.  And you know what?  I think they're better than the original, especially with a handful of potato chips and a wedge of watermelon. 

What's your favorite use for ground turkey?

PREP: 15 minutes
TOTAL: 30 minutes

SEE THE RECIPE:
Turkey Sloppy Joes

Freeze It Week, Day 2: Five Favorite One-Dish Dinners

Posted by Caroline Wright

In our monthly column "Freeze It," we come up with freezable meals you love for their flavor and strategy, and these dishes are some of my favorite examples.

So, think outside the pasta box and keep these meals on hand for variety, convenience, and value. Each link will give you freezing and reheating directions.

Now, without further ado, check out our top five one-dish dinners!