Social Cooking for MIX

Cooking Connections Gather a group of friends and kick off the New Year with some fun ideas for social cooking.

B y J u l i e K endr i ck

D

inner parties are so last century. These days, very few of us have the time or energy to create a large, formal meal for special occasions. The new trend is toward more casual and collaborative ways to share a love of cooking and an appreciation of good food—and to have some kicked-back fun along the way.

Whether the objective is to give back to the community, to stock up on new meals, or to learn a skill, more people are finding ways to combine social time and food prep.

Give Back

photograph by Emily Rumsey

photograph by Travis Anderson

photograph by Travis Anderson

Emily Torgrimson founded Minneapolis-based Eat for Equity (E4E; eatforequity.org) in 2006, as a way to raise money for Hurricane Katrina relief. She made a big pot of jambalaya, invited friends over and asked for contributions. Her concept for a community-driven, participatory benefit dinner has now become a national nonprofit, with Torgrimson, serving as full-time director. The meals, which feature as much local and organic food as possible, generally attract up to 200 people. They are held in donated space, and attendees are asked to contribute to a cause. “It’s all pretty simple,” Torgrimson says. “In coming together and eating together, we manage to do some small good for a community larger than ourselves, with proceeds going to designated organizations.”

Torgrimson estimates that since its inception, more than 5,000 people have participated in E4E events. “There are lots of ways to give,” she says, “whether it’s time, ideas or money. We need volunteers [in every capacity]: hosts, cooks, dishwashers, artists, home brewers—whatever. In cooking for our events, I’ve found myself making apple pies with a group of pastry chefs, and I’ve taught college students how to make rice.” The organization recently bought an RV trailer, which it plans to drive cross-country to 20 cities next year as part of a training tour.

Fill Your Freezer The seventh annual National Soup Swap (soupswap. com) is Jan. 26, but you can host a soup swap any old day of the year. The idea began with Seattle resident Knox Gardner, who found that, as a single person, he grew tired of his home-cooked soups halfway through the batch. In a quest for variety he called upon his friends to prepare their own batches of soup to share.

The soup-swap concept is simple: Gather your soup-loving friends (at least six is recommended for variety, but no more than 15, which can make for a long night). Ask them to make six quarts of soup and divide it evenly into separate containers. Be sure to tell them to label and freeze the containers.

Invite everyone over, place the soups out for display, and let everyone take a turn choosing a soup until the containers are gone.

A highlight of many soup swaps is the stories participants tell about their creations. Minneapolisbased photographer Lisa Venticinque recently attended her first soup swap at a friend’s house. “I thought it was interesting how people had to sell their soup,” she says. “A little panache in the

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description could make all the difference in whether it would be the first or the last soup chosen. And I love that my freezer is full of soup. It reminds me of a warm and friendly evening in a circle of people who contributed experience, care, and laughter to the gathering.”

Learn a New Skill When Lorraine Frias, a West St. Paul resident, married a son of the founders of the famed Boca Chica Mexican Restaurante in St. Paul, she realized there was more to Mexican food than Taco Bell. “I loved tamales, but I honestly believed that I could never rival my mother-in-law’s version. A friend of mine suggested that we learn how to make tamales together. Even if they didn’t turn out, we’d still enjoy drinking wine and hanging out together.”

They invited a few other friends, found a recipe on

Folks from Eat for Equity (E4E), a Minneapolisbased nonprofit organization through which people come together to cook for various causes, enjoy meeting new friends, networking, and raising money for those in need. More than 5,000 people have participated in E4E events since its inception in 2006. The group is always looking for volunteers. Visit www.eatforequity.org to find out more.

the Internet (Boca Chica’s recipe remains a secret), and bought ingredients. The group split the costs evenly at the beginning of the evening.

“The fun was in sharing the experience of learning,” Frias recalls. “We viewed it as an experiment. My mother-in-law offered a few tips, but we quickly learned that it takes a lot of time and work to make tamales by hand. It’s like the wonderful, big Mexican family I married into— messy, down-to-earth, real and forgiving.”

Frias’ husband proclaimed the results almost as good as his mother’s, and each member of the group went home with four-dozen tamales, which freeze beautifully.

Julie Kendrick is a Minneapolis-based freelance writer who focuses on family, business and lifestyle reporting.

soups

Good Bones Soup Stock As much as everyone loves to eat it, there are soup-phobic cooks among us. It can be the ultimate four-letter word for someone who feels unsure in the kitchen. In reality, there is nothing easier than soup. And when you master the process for homemade chicken stock, you’re more than ready to host a swap of your own. Just follow this easy process: 1. Save all the bones from your next whole cooked chicken or turkey.

2. Place the bones in a big pot and cover with cold water. Add bay leaves, quartered onions, whole peeled garlic cloves, carrots and celery. To impart an Asian flavor, add slivers of ginger or a splash of soy sauce or sesame oil.

3. Cook on high heat until boiling, then reduce to a simmer. The longer it simmers, the more flavorful it becomes. Turn it on in the morning and let it cook until dinner.

4. Let the stock cook, then strain the bones and vegetables out of the stock.

5. Cover the stock and let it chill overnight. When you return, the chicken fat will have risen to the top of the stock. Discard it. Beneath the fat, the stock should be golden in color.

Use your stock immediately or freeze it in gallon bags that store flat.

salads

Eat for Equity Brussels Sprout Slaw Serves 6–8 ½ cup large pecan halves ¼ cup pure maple syrup 1¼ Tbsp. coarse kosher salt plus additional for seasoning ¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper ¼ cup whole grain Dijon mustard

2 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar 2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice 1 Tbsp. sugar ¼ cup vegetable oil 1.5 lbs. Brussels sprouts, trimmed

Preheat oven to 325°F. Cover a rimmed baking sheet with parchment. Whisk maple syrup, sprinkling of coarse salt, and pepper in a small bowl, and toss pecans to coat. Spread them on the baking sheet in a single layer. Pop them in the oven and stir after 5 minutes. Continue to cook until the nuts are toasted and the glaze is thick, about 6 minutes. Remove from the oven and separate the nuts. Cool completely.

Whisk mustard, vinegar, lemon juice, and sugar in small bowl; whisk in oil.

Season with coarse salt and pepper.

Bring large pot of water to boil. Add one tablespoon coarse salt. Add whole Brussels sprouts, and cook until crisp-tender and still bright green, about 4 minutes. Drain; rinse with cold water, and drain again. Using a food processor fitted with 1/8- to 1/4-inch slicing disk, slice Brussels sprouts.

Transfer to a large bowl. Toss Brussels sprouts with dressing, and let the sprouts absorb the flavors for 30–60 minutes. Mix in most of the pecans, and top with remaining pecans to garnish.

salads

Eat for Equity Wild Rice Salad Serves 16 1½ cup wild rice (uncooked) 2½ cup brown rice (uncooked) 1¼ cup red wine vinegar 2 cup olive oil 8 cloves garlic 3 Tbsp. marjoram 3 Tbsp. basil

Salt and pepper to taste 4 Tbsp. dry mustard ½ cup pecans 1 bunch scallions ½ cup cranberries 4 cups spinach

Prepare wild and brown rice, according to their individual cooking instructions. Cook brown rice with a 1:2 rice-to-water ratio. Cook wild rice with as much water as you like, and drain excess water when the rice is cooked. Try to cook rice so that it is tender, but with a little bit of pull—avoid splitting the kernels.

Prepare the dressing: Chop the garlic finely and mix with the spices, salt and pepper to taste, olive oil, and red wine vinegar. Let rice cool to room temperature, then pour the dressing over it. Let the flavors meld overnight.

Top with remaining ingredients: pecans, scallions (chopped diagonally), cranberries, and spinach. Mix well and serve at room temperature.

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