Cooking On The Go: Delicious Fare To Share

 

By Janet Groene, F47166

November 2016

 

Want to be the most popular person at the potluck? Try these recipes.

 

Motorhome travelers love to break bread together at campground potlucks, tailgate parties, NASCAR tracks, and FMCA rallies. We all seem to be serving more covered dishes than ever before. Do you have a signature dish that is easy to cook on the go, one that everyone requests at every get-together? If not, let’s start a tradition.

 

These recipes are made easily in a small galley, yet are large enough to share.

 

Cheesies

 

Cheese wafers are another crowd-pleasing classic, often made with a pinch of cayenne pepper for extra zing. The dough keeps in the fridge for a month, so make a double batch into several logs and you’re always ready for an impromptu happy hour or potluck. 

 

2 sticks butter

1 teaspoon salt

3 cups flour

1 pound shredded sharp cheddar cheese

 

Let the butter warm. Stir in the salt and flour, and then the cheese. Form into logs, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and keep in the refrigerator. To bake, slice each log into thin wafers, place on greased pans or pans lined with nonstick foil or parchment, and bake at 325 degrees until light brown around the edges. Depending on wafer size and thickness, this makes six dozen to eight dozen wafers. 

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Sea Scallop Appetizers

 

1 pound jumbo scallops (U/10 to U/15, which is 10 to 15 scallops per pound) 

1 stick butter

1 sleeve buttery round crackers, crushed to crumbs

1 teaspoon garlic powder (not garlic salt)

 

Cut the scallops in half. Melt half the butter in a baking dish. Add the scallops and cracker crumbs and toss to coat the scallops in buttery crumbs. Sprinkle with garlic powder. Melt the remaining butter and drizzle it over the scallops. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes or until toasty. Put a toothpick in each piece. Makes 20 to 30 pieces.

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Aunt Janet’s Sweet-Hot Maple Mustard

 

At cookouts and weenie roasts, I bring this condiment in a labeled crock, and it is always a hit with those who like hot mustard. Warning: It’s hot! It can be made a week or more ahead. 

1 cup apple cider vinegar

1 4-ounce tin of English dry mustard powder, such as Coleman’s

1 cup sugar

2 extra large or jumbo eggs

½ teaspoon maple flavoring, such as Mapleine

 

The night before, stir together the vinegar and mustard powder. Cover the mixture and let it stand overnight. To proceed, whisk the sugar into the eggs in a cold saucepan until light. Add the vinegar mixture and stir over medium heat for about 20 minutes, until it’s thick and smooth. Stir in the maple flavoring. Cool, cover, and store cold. Makes one pint.

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Bingo! Salad

 

In the South, this is called a congealed salad, but it’s better as a dessert. For serving it at a potluck, make it in a 9-inch-by-13-inch dish and cut it in squares.

 

1 can or jar pitted, sweet Bing cherries

1 10-ounce can crushed pineapple

1 12-ounce can or bottle cherry cola

1 8-serving package cherry gelatin dessert mix

1 8-ounce brick of cream cheese, diced

 

Drain the juice from the cherries and pineapple. Add the cola to the juices and heat to boiling. Remove from heat. Stir in the gelatin until it dissolves, and then stir in the cream cheese until it melts. Add the fruit. Pour in a dish and refrigerate until firm. Serves 12 to 15.

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Jade And Rubies

 

This easy recipe makes a colorful side dish for 12 or a vegetarian main dish for eight. For a vegan version, substitute nondairy cheese. 

¼ cup olive oil

1 large package shredded cabbage (8 to 10 cups)

1 to 2 cups baby spinach

1 medium sweet onion, finely chopped

1 ¼ cups raw white long-grain rice

1 15-ounce can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

Salt, pepper

1 8-ounce package shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 32-ounce carton vegetable broth

 

Coat a 9-inch-by-13-inch casserole pan with olive oil. Add half the cabbage and spinach in an even layer. Top with onion, raw rice, and beans. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and add half the cheese. Add the rest of the cabbage and spinach, and then more salt and pepper. Pour the broth over everything. Cover tightly with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 60 minutes. Discard the foil, add the remaining cheese, and return the pan to the oven for 10 to 15 minutes. 

 

Cook’s note: To prepare the dish ahead, assemble everything except the broth. Cover and refrigerate. Add the broth just before baking. Allow extra baking time if the dish was chilled.

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Potato Filling

 

The fun thing about this traditional Pennsylvania Dutch dish is that it isn’t a filling for anything. It’s just a way to make mashed potatoes ahead of time. The mashed potatoes can be from scratch, made from instant flakes, or ready-to-heat mashed potatoes sold in tubs in the supermarket.

 

2 to 3 large ribs celery, diced

1 large onion, diced OR 1 bunch scallions, sliced

1/ stick butter

2 to 3 slices white bread, diced

8 servings mashed potatoes 

½ stick butter, melted

 

In a nonstick skillet, cook the celery and onion in butter until the vegetables are limp. Stir in the bread until toasty. Set aside. Prepare the potatoes according to package directions. Fold them in the vegetable-bread mix and place in a buttered casserole. Drizzle with melted butter. Cover and chill for future baking or bake immediately at 350 degrees, uncovered, until golden on top. Makes 10 servings.

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Rice And Red Beans

 

It’s always a good idea at cookouts and fish fries to provide some side dishes that can double as main dishes for vegetarians. With apologies to true Cajuns, this is a shortcut version of a Louisiana favorite. 

 

Butter

6 cups cooked rice

1 pint sour cream

1 16-ounce jar salsa (hot, medium, or mild)

1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes

2 15-ounce cans red beans, drained and rinsed 

1 16-ounce package shredded cheese such as Monterey Jack

Tabasco brand pepper sauce

 

Butter a deep 9-inch-by-13-inch casserole pan. Spoon in the rice, sour cream, salsa, tomatoes, beans, and half the cheese. Using a large fork, riffle through the ingredients to blend them roughly. Top with the remaining cheese and bake immediately until heated through. Or, refrigerate for baking later or heating in a microwave oven. Bring a bottle of Tabasco sauce for the table. Serves up to 12.

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Candy Bar Confection

 

6 regular-size candy bars such as 3 Musketeers, Snickers, or Milky Way

1 cup milk

1 4-serving packet French vanilla pudding mix

1 can apple pie filling

1 can pie-sliced apples, drained

1 12-ounce tub whipped topping

 

Chill the candy bars for easier slicing. Whisk the milk into the pudding mix and fold in the apple pie filling, apples, whipped topping, and diced candy. Chill. Makes 12 to 15 dessert servings.

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Peaches ’N’ Cream Cobbler

 

1 cup heavy cream

10 peach halves, drained

Cream cheese

1 cup sugar mixed with 1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 cups biscuit mix

1 stick butter, melted

 

Pour the cream into a buttered baking dish and arrange the peaches, cavity side up. Put about a teaspoon of cream cheese in each. Divide the cinnamon sugar into two half cups. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of cinnamon sugar over the peaches. Mix the other 1/2 cup cinnamon sugar with the biscuit mix and sprinkle over the peaches. Drizzle with melted butter. Cover and chill to bake later, or bake immediately at 350 degrees until the topping is golden brown. Makes 10 servings.

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Java Cream Torte

2 pounds chocolate chip cookies, homemade or store-bought

½ cup cream

½ cup coffee liqueur such as Kahlua

1 ½ large tubs whipped topping

1 cup finely cut-up toffee bar such as Heath

 

Dip the cookies in a mixture of the cream and liqueur. Arrange half the cookies in a deep 9-inch-by-13-inch dish and cover with whipped topping. Add another layer of dipped cookies, drizzle them with any remaining liquid, and frost with another layer of whipped topping. Sprinkle with toffee bits. Wrap and freeze for up to two weeks. Remove from the freezer 20 minutes before serving. Serves 10 to 12. 

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Road Rubble

 

2 store-bought pound cakes (total 1 1/2 to 2 pounds)

1 cup (or more to taste) honey-roasted pecans

1 stick butter

½ cup cocoa powder

½ cup cream or evaporated milk 

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 16-ounce box powdered sugar

 

Dice the pound cake and spread the pieces on a platter. Scatter with pecans. Bring the butter, cocoa powder, and milk to a boil. Remove the mixture from heat and stir in the vanilla and sugar. While it’s hot, drizzle it randomly all over the bits of cake. Provide tongs for serving. Makes 10 servings.

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Make-Ahead Ideas