watertowerbbq
is Blowin Smoke!
would this be a dish where you don't have to worry about refrigeration like you do with mayo based salads?
Looking for some "Signature Sides"
- Thread starter tony76248
- Start date
would this be a dish where you don't have to worry about refrigeration like you do with mayo based salads?
watertowerbbq
is Blowin Smoke!
bump
StrikeEagle
Knows what a fatty is.
Was going to let Marsha answer, but I'll jump in since she seems to be away.
The only ingredient that would give cause to worry at all would be the cheese. Since it's cheddar, thus fairly aged depending on the specific type you use, I would not be too worried about letting this sit out for an hour or two. (ambient temp would be the watch note on this. I might adjust sit out time for very hot days.) Everything else would be safe to have out for two plus hours without much worry.
As you point out, mayo based salads are a nightmare for catering. IMHO this salad would have nowhere near the challenges of say a traditional mayo based potato salad. Which is a dish I simply avoid at all costs during the summer.
M
Marsha
Guest
Yep, I would only really worry about the cheese in this dish.
For salads/sides that I want to keep cold on a buffet line I normally use a big plastic bowl half filled with ice, then I place a smaller metal bowl inside the big one and put the salad,etc. in there. The metal will transfer the cold from the ice to the food more efficiently than if you put a smaller plastic bowl inside the big one.
watertowerbbq
is Blowin Smoke!
Marsha / Strike Eagle,
Thanks for the insight.
Thanks for the insight.
tony76248
is Blowin Smoke!
I wanted to follow up on the new sides we added to the menu. I do appreciate all of the input that I received on this post and via PM's and emails and I will use the pasta salad Marsha suggested in the future.
I ended up adding a slaw and a corn salad and both were huge hits. Both were inexpensive and easy to make. They also allowed me to add my signature.
SLAW
The slaw i used had an asian flair. I appreciated the simplicity of this recipe, as in I made it up at the super market. I didn't want to use mayo and I wanted something original that I hoped folks would like. Being from TX we normally don't use the vinagar based slaw, so I sort of winged it. Initially I tried to emmulate the KFC slaw(cream and sugar based), but all of the recipes I tried just didn't get me there. Perhaps it was me trying to adjust to make a small sample batch. Anyway, I ended up with the asian flair instead.
10lbs pre-shredded slaw (Sam's $3.29ish for 5lb bag)
1 bunch fresh cilantro ($.33 at wallyworld)
1 -1/2 bottles KRAFT Asian Toasted Sesame Dressing($1.59 bottle)
Allow to sit in the fridge or cooler for a few hours, really changes the flavor and allows the dressing to absorb into the slaw. I would say this is a requirement.
This made up two nicely filled half pans and I could have used about another 4 pans. I had planned on using more dressing but the amount I used seemed about right to me. Great price at less than $10 for both pans. One thing I may change in the future is to chop the slaw a little finer, don't know why, just a thought.
Corn Salad
I chose a cold corn salad because it was easy and it didn't require cooking. I wanted to offer an alternative to the normally heavy BBQ sides too. I also wanted something for the "I only eat chicken crowd". I liked this side because it was colorful and fresh looking. Again, I sort of made this side up on the fly. The hard part for me was not to add a bunch of cilantro and japs because I like them. I use white pepper because it is basically colorless but still offers a lot of flavor, many folks will say they don't like pepper not knowing that it is in the dish. I normally grind my own in an old coffee grinder.
1 large intitutional can white corn (lt looked yellow to me $4)
1 red onion diced ($1)
1 10oz can rinsed black beans ($1)
Garlic to taste
Fresh Cilantro to taste (included the stems)
2 finely minced japs without seeds (came close to adding more)
1 diced red bell pepper ($1 large)
Lime juice
white pepper and salt to taste (can't say it needed much salt, but I like to add it when I use japs)
Less than $10, but only made one 1/2 pan. I could have added diced tomato as well but basically the ingredients I used all had a good shelf life once prepared. I would imagine that there were a bunch of ingredients I could have added, but I think my idea is to keep it simple. The variations to this could be endless based on the ingredients you have available, your location and the season.
I ended up adding a slaw and a corn salad and both were huge hits. Both were inexpensive and easy to make. They also allowed me to add my signature.
SLAW
The slaw i used had an asian flair. I appreciated the simplicity of this recipe, as in I made it up at the super market. I didn't want to use mayo and I wanted something original that I hoped folks would like. Being from TX we normally don't use the vinagar based slaw, so I sort of winged it. Initially I tried to emmulate the KFC slaw(cream and sugar based), but all of the recipes I tried just didn't get me there. Perhaps it was me trying to adjust to make a small sample batch. Anyway, I ended up with the asian flair instead.
10lbs pre-shredded slaw (Sam's $3.29ish for 5lb bag)
1 bunch fresh cilantro ($.33 at wallyworld)
1 -1/2 bottles KRAFT Asian Toasted Sesame Dressing($1.59 bottle)
Allow to sit in the fridge or cooler for a few hours, really changes the flavor and allows the dressing to absorb into the slaw. I would say this is a requirement.
This made up two nicely filled half pans and I could have used about another 4 pans. I had planned on using more dressing but the amount I used seemed about right to me. Great price at less than $10 for both pans. One thing I may change in the future is to chop the slaw a little finer, don't know why, just a thought.
Corn Salad
I chose a cold corn salad because it was easy and it didn't require cooking. I wanted to offer an alternative to the normally heavy BBQ sides too. I also wanted something for the "I only eat chicken crowd". I liked this side because it was colorful and fresh looking. Again, I sort of made this side up on the fly. The hard part for me was not to add a bunch of cilantro and japs because I like them. I use white pepper because it is basically colorless but still offers a lot of flavor, many folks will say they don't like pepper not knowing that it is in the dish. I normally grind my own in an old coffee grinder.
1 large intitutional can white corn (lt looked yellow to me $4)
1 red onion diced ($1)
1 10oz can rinsed black beans ($1)
Garlic to taste
Fresh Cilantro to taste (included the stems)
2 finely minced japs without seeds (came close to adding more)
1 diced red bell pepper ($1 large)
Lime juice
white pepper and salt to taste (can't say it needed much salt, but I like to add it when I use japs)
Less than $10, but only made one 1/2 pan. I could have added diced tomato as well but basically the ingredients I used all had a good shelf life once prepared. I would imagine that there were a bunch of ingredients I could have added, but I think my idea is to keep it simple. The variations to this could be endless based on the ingredients you have available, your location and the season.
