Looking for some "Signature Sides"

[jtwisted13]

Bam's "Baked Red-Potato Salad"

like any recipe, you can very it to taste and appearance...

3lbs red potatos, baked and cubed
1 16oz container sour cream, none of that low fat crap
1/2 cup mayo or miracle whip
1 Tbls garlic powder - i also use roasted garlic/ 1 whole head
1/4 cup onion, minced finely
2 oz bacon bits
1 tsp Tony C's or Zatarains Cajun Spice
1/4 cup freshly chopped chives
1/4 cup celery
1 Tbls dill pickle relish
paprika for color
fresh cracked pepper
cheddar cheese

bake and cube your potatoes.

mix wet ingredients with the spices in a separate bowl.

combine potatoes,celery,onions,wet ingredients,stir in bacon.

sprinkle top with a little more bacon,chives and cheddar cheese.

Good when warm, Better when you eat 3 hours later, Great refridgerated overnight

[tony76248]

Ouch twisted..... that is 13 ingredients...

simple yet delicious...... I already do a variation on Surprise potatoes. so this is too similar and what I have already works, I am really looking for something other than taters and beans. Something already proven to be a catering favorite would fit the bill!

[Marsha]

My husband gets mad at me because I don't really have a recipe for my pasta or potato salad, etc. I just add the ingredients and go by taste and how it looks. Oooops! But, I can give you an idea of how I make the pasta salad.

These are the ingredients:
-Curly pasta
-Bernstein’s Italian Dressing
-Shredded Parmesan cheese
-Chopped fresh Italian Parsley
-Shredded Carrots (I buy pre-shredded from the produce section, or from our wholesale produce guy)
-Chopped Bell Peppers (you can use green, red, yellow for more color)
-Marinated Artichoke Hearts
-Kalamata Olives, pitted
-Sun-dried tomatoes, julienne (sometimes I substitute the sun-dried tomatoes with fresh grape tomatoes)
-Sliced Squash (crookneck and/or zucchini)
-Sliced mushrooms
-Chopped red onion
-Garlic Salt
-Pepper


I cook the pasta then put it in a container and add some of the italian dressing to it and mix it in. Just add enough dressing to coat the pasta. Then refrigerate to let it cool. Chop up all the vegetables etc. into small bite sized pieces. When the pasta is cool mix in all of the vegetables and add more italian salad dressing. Mix in the shredded parmesan cheese, add garlic salt and pepper to taste.
I always use Bernstein’s Italian Dressing because it has a really good flavor that I like and it works great in this pasta salad.

[Smokin J]

Originally Posted by barbefunkoramaque

LOL I have that DVD too!

HAHA.......Me too!

[StrikeEagle]

Are you looking for hot sides? Cold sides?

What main dish menu items do you want to match up with?

Help us, help you.

[Ashmont]

Originally Posted by Smokin J

HAHA.......Me too!

Hahahaha I dont.... Saw it here I think!

[barbefunkoramaque]

Originally Posted by Smokin Mike

are you serious, you won't give something out because,,,,, he's to close to you.

I just farkin with you,,, waiting for the call to you, from the bag phone.

Hey the guy seems like he knows what he's is talkin' bout! Seriously.

[jtwisted13]

Originally Posted by tony76248

Ouch twisted..... that is 13 ingredients...

simple yet delicious...... I already do a variation on Surprise potatoes. so this is too similar and what I have already works, I am really looking for something other than taters and beans. Something already proven to be a catering favorite would fit the bill!

yup i know its 13 ingredients..lol

13 is my lucky number...day my daughter was born on

i am not big for potato salads but when i make this one..well i like it alot

[Bigdog]

I make a cold broccoli salad. From what I see, looks like you need a cold cole slaw to add to the mix. For me, the beans, slaw and taters is the holy trinity of sides.

[C Rocke]

3 Cheese Green Chili Rice Bake - A sort of layered rice casserole.

[tony76248]

I am thinking towards going with a slaw or pasta salad, a few folks have sent me their recipes. I thank you all for that. I just try to avoid mayo if I can.

I went over to Restaurant Depot yesterday and wandered the aisles for a while debating on which way to go. Mostly I looked at your input from a catering point of view. I'll let ya'll know what I ended up adding.

Special thanks to Marsha for my peaks at her menu and her emails, I like several of the options on her menu and will look to incorperate some variations of what she has listed.

My menu sort of goes like this:

some variation or all depending on what the customer wants or what I have time for.

ABts, sometimes smoked bologna (cubed with honey mustard cayenne sauce)

Ribs, PP, Brisket & Chicken (thinking about adding my stuffed pork loin with a tex-mex flair)

Beans, Taters (adding slaw or pasta salad)

Texas toast, pickled japs, pickles, sliced onion (white and red)

Peach cobbler and brownies

[ushi]

Try playing around with your favorite easy bread recipe... especially ones that you can convert to rolls well.... You can't deny the greatness of fresh rolls/bread. People love that stuff. Unless it's completely out of the theme, I generally knock out a a couple tins of various flavors of focaccia with the food I am serving. If the dough is already made, all it takes is a little sweat over an oven to knock a few batches out. I've never really worked a job of more than 40 or so.. so I can't say if it's viable for the big gigs. I bet if you rent one of those crazy commercial kitchens I'm sure you can knock a ton out in one of those schnazzy ovens.

[tony76248]

Originally Posted by ushi

Try playing around with your favorite easy bread recipe... especially ones that you can convert to rolls well.... You can't deny the greatness of fresh rolls/bread. People love that stuff. Unless it's completely out of the theme, I generally knock out a a couple tins of various flavors of focaccia with the food I am serving. If the dough is already made, all it takes is a little sweat over an oven to knock a few batches out. I've never really worked a job of more than 40 or so.. so I can't say if it's viable for the big gigs. I bet if you rent one of those crazy commercial kitchens I'm sure you can knock a ton out in one of those schnazzy ovens.

Just easier to go with Texas Toast, stick with what works. The best part about texas toast is that I do absolutely nothing, therefore it costs me just $1.72 a loaf, therefore simple, yet people love it. I talked with a guy yesterday who owns an established BBQ joint and he recently hired a pastry chef, initially folks loved the seven types of specialty bread he was producing as well as the fancy desserts, but in the end, texas toast, hot rolls and peach cobbler is king in Texas BBQ joints.

[StrikeEagle]

Okay, since you said you wanted a pasta salad as an option, I'll post up the recipe I mentioned earlier. Again, this is a client favorite that I get requests to serve all season long.

It scales very well. (I've done this dish for a party of 150 with no trouble scaling the recipe.) The other advantage of this dish is that is does NOT create service concerns as would a mayo or dressing based salad. This makes it a perfect 'cold' side dish even for outdoor events in the heat of summer.

Tortellini Pesto Salad

Serving Size : 24

Preparation Time: 0:15 Start to Finish Time: 0:45

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
3 pounds Cheese Tortellini -- Fresh Pasta
16 ounces Pesto sauce -- Fresh or Packaged
1 cup sun-dried tomatoes -- drained and chopped
1 cup pine nuts -- toasted
1/2 pound prosciutto -- cooked and chopped
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Cook tortellini per the package directions, drain and allow to cool.

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and toss well to combine.

Chill for 20 minutes or overnight.


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

NOTES : If using dry tortellini, reduce the amount by a third (1/3) to half (1/2).

The prosciutto is an option for this dish. It is an modification I made from the original recipe. I like to add it for the salty flavor that it brings to the salad. However, it can add significantly to the cost. Costco or Sam's often have diced prosciutto available at a VERY good price. I have found this product is PERFECT for this recipe.

My local Sam's carries oil packed sun dried tomatoes in 32 oz jars at a great price.

Vac-Pac pine nuts and freeze for extended shelf life.

[Marsha]

Originally Posted by tony76248

I am thinking towards going with a slaw or pasta salad, a few folks have sent me their recipes. I thank you all for that. I just try to avoid mayo if I can.

I went over to Restaurant Depot yesterday and wandered the aisles for a while debating on which way to go. Mostly I looked at your input from a catering point of view. I'll let ya'll know what I ended up adding.

Special thanks to Marsha for my peaks at her menu and her emails, I like several of the options on her menu and will look to incorperate some variations of what she has listed.

My menu sort of goes like this:

some variation or all depending on what the customer wants or what I have time for.

ABts, sometimes smoked bologna (cubed with honey mustard cayenne sauce)

Ribs, PP, Brisket & Chicken (thinking about adding my stuffed pork loin with a tex-mex flair)

Beans, Taters (adding slaw or pasta salad)

Texas toast, pickled japs, pickles, sliced onion (white and red)

Peach cobbler and brownies

Any time! Yes, some of our sides are easy to make on-site only because of our bbq trailer. Heck, we have even made the garlic mashed potatoes on-site. We use the the turkey fryer to boil the potatoes, drain them, put them back in the big pot and use a long paint stirring attachment on the cordless drill to mash the taters.