4.07.2009

funeral potatoes and green jello salad.

funeral potatoes and ham, a skeen family easter tradition.  what truly makes this picture a real treat (i googled funeral potatoes and this beaut popped up) is the paper plate on which the dish is served.  i think it was intended for authenticity purposes... the integrity of the meal is ruined if served on fine china.  you better believe i'm making this awesome garbage for easter dinner, complete with green pistachio jello and cool whip salad (a little pistachio/salmonella scare ain't gonna ruin my holiday).

matt's classmates are a diverse bunch.  his study group of five is made up of a korean, an argentine, a belgian, matt and a fellow american.  it's quite fun to get to know everybody and their respective significant others, and we've been doing so over dinner.  ethnic dinners.  last weekend we had korean barbecue, something i'd never had before, and it was scrumptious.  where have you been all my life, korean food?  next we've got argentine steaks up to bat, belgian fries on deck and philly cheese steaks in the hole.  yum, i heart diversity.  

matt and i are at the back of the hosting line, for which i'm grateful... what in the world could we pass off as ethnic utahn food?  presentable, GOOD ethnic utahn food?  something of which i can be proud?  we aren't exactly a sophisticated bunch, culinarily speaking.  i don't think i'd feel comfortable feeding a cream of soup casserole to our cultured friends, and although mormon muffins with honey butter are delicious, i'm not so sure those would count as a meal.  i thought maybe cafe rio pulled pork burritos would be a good idea.  they're always a crowd pleaser, the recipe will feed a small fiefdom, and all utahns seem to love cafe rio.  anybody have any bright ideas?  please?  utah food?  somehow i just can't think past squeaky cheese, homemade rootbeer, and sherbet-sprite cocktails.  maybe we should pretend we're texans.

23 comments:

Unknown said...

Cafe Rio works for both, right? Sort of Utah, sort of Tex Mex? And it really does feed an army.

Me, Myself and I said...

Sounds like you need the "Worldwide Ward Cookbook", as everyone in Utah who watched General Conference knows, available for a limited time only at Deseret Book.

Vause Family said...

Anything that will cause a heart attack would count, right? I'm thinking some Cox Honey (Logan derived) with cornbread, something from the crockpot and some kind of bundt cake. Really....I would go with the cafe rio deal.

Melanie said...

yeah.. I can totally relate. We've been switching it up with his study group too.

mmm.. when I think american, I think the classic sunday dinner with roast beef, mashed potatoes, and you could even do a cobbler or apple pie to complete it. Or just order shake shack :)

Lori said...

you'll have to introduce them to fry sauce with pickle relish. :)

a good pot roast and potatoes is always a good "mormon meal" ... as far as Utah? no idea. jello? hmm. let me sit on it and think.

Carlee Hoopes said...

Hmm...I'm gonna have to agree with the above. Roast, potatoes, gravy, fry sauce, cafe rio, potato salad, funeral potatoes...they're all good choices I think. I have always thought the same as you about Utah's cuisine, but maybe they all feel the same about their home town food and they might enjoy a good Mormon dish. A don't know a whole lot of people who don't enjoy a good helping of funeral potatoes every now and again!

i'm h.mac said...

one time i watched a food show (gasp) and it was showing utah cuisine. authentic. it talked about the eurpoean influence and all and what was served to wow the tv host? roast, potatoes, carrots and honey butter. cook a good 4-5lb. roast in a packet of brown gravy and 1/2 cup of water for 10-15 hours on low in the crock pot with the carrots in there too= happy and easy. and once i made cinnamon rolls with chocolate chips for our korean neighbors, they couldn't stop talking about them for 8 months....they were obsessed....

Savanna said...

ask lacy. she's got the recipes down... and she even has a comparable one to cafe rio's sweet pork. my stomach grumbles just thinking about it. just don't forget fry sauce whatever you serve... and maybe frog eye salad.

Laura B from the LBC said...

Ya, Texas has WAY more socially acceptable food than Utah. And I think the Cafe Rio idea is tops.

Is it bad that those funeral potatoes look really good right now?

Sine family said...

I think that jello sounds so yummy. A couple of months ago I thought I was pregnant when I craved (I mean really CRAVED) jello salad of any variety. Turns out I wasn't but instead I have rekindled my love for Jello. I say jello and cafe sounds YUMMY for your meal.

mandalynette said...

nothing says utah like a big family-size roast. classy!!! pair that with some tators, gravy, and homemade rolls, and you've got yourself a taste of utah!

dani said...

your blog makes me so hungry!

Jami said...

A friend of mine made cafe rio for my last "Utah get-together" so I think that totally works. I love that stinkin dressing as much as the meat. Man, I've gotta quit reading your blog when I'm hungry!

Megan said...

Cafe Rio, a pot roast, fry sauce, jello - really it all works as long as you serve some whacked out salad concoction that only someone attending a mission farewell would think of so as to assure that the same salad would not be served twice. Case in point: my family makes a 'shower salad' (yummy by the way), Chinese chicken salad, Winter salad, 7 layer jello salad, etc. My 2 faves? Snicker salad and cookie salad - only in Utah would candy be combined (along with cool whip and/or jello) with a single fruit to be called a 'salad'.

Kirk said...

Perhaps I am the only man who reads your blog Erin but I am secure with that-you seem to write about food and I and food have had a great long-standing relationship-thus exists the impossibility of ever reaching my 175 mark in HS. However, I have several suggestions as I am married to a culinary angel that keeps me fat and happy.
1. Whenever we have Austrians over, they go gaga for Dutch oven. Realizing that Dutch oven is probably an impossibility in mid-town NYC, put it in your back pocket for later. The pioneer flare is appreciated.
2. Stuffed Chicken rolls with gravy, sweet baby carrots and mashed potato. Divine-and very Mormon.
3. Beef Tamale pie-cornbread and cheese-also a hit and LDS influenced.
4. We have the recipe for the cilantro/tomatillo sauce for the Costa Vida/Cafe Rio sweet pork. Available upon request.
5. If you really want to blow a foreign national's mind-make them a homemade spudnut. You've had them fresh so you would know.
6. If your Mormon ancestors were of irish decent, try a nice corned beef brisket with a side of steamed red cabbage.
7. If you grill or smoke, the carnivore in you will highly enjoy an hour and a half of indirect heat on the grill to a 4 lb. Pork Tenderloin.
We eat all these things so if any sound like a winner for your diversity gatherings, let me know I will get you the recipes. I have to go eat now.

Anonymous said...

oh man...i was GOING to comment...but then i realized that kirk just blew me, a woman, out of the water! :P (haha) i *also have that cafe rio recipe...greg's second job is at fed-ex kinkos and someone brought in ALL these recipes for restaurants around town...*good restaurants :P so yeah, i'm sure that isn't legal, but i've got them, sue me :P (okay, don't please).

good luck! and i sure hope you have fun with them :)

Rosalene said...

Sorry...but I put funeral potatoes and ham on china (IKEA?) and feel totally fine about it:) I think Utah food equates grilled something or other...steak, chicken, etc....with some sort of potato. Maybe you'd feel better about baked????:)

Scott & Lindsay said...

i just thought of one ... hawaiian haystacks? is that utah? if not, it sure seems like it. did i spell hawaiian right?

audrey said...

i agree with the scott & lindsay person above--that hawaiian haystacks are equal to funeral potatoes&co. as far as mormonality goes.

but maybe you should surprise them (and yourself) with some totally different ethnic food. like...surprise! we're having ...cajun. or surprise! we're having... okay, i can't think of anything else. argentine, korean, and belgian kinda covers a wide range. hm. so maybe not : )

then again, you could always do a SUPER surprise and just order McDonald's (gasp)--doesn't get any more fat-american than that. and during dessert (McFlurry, processed apple pie slice, etc.), you can have everybody watch that documentary "SuperSize Me." which, knowing you even the littlest bit, i bet you've seen it : )

there you go...

ps. i've missed your blog. i have some catching up to do. we had some computer probs for a while there, and mm i've missed your erin-ness. be on guard for a slew of aud-comments coming your way... xoxo.

Beeswax said...

Was googling green jell-O salad recipes (to go with the ham and funeral potatoes) and found your blog. I stayed to read about the fires with the 15 dipping sauces.

All of a sudden these baked cheetos I'm eating don't taste so good anymore.

Beeswax said...

er, fries. Not fires.

eyre blog said...

oh Erin. squeaky cheese and rootbeer!

noelle said...

oh, this is so funny! like this post.

korean food is like a best-value meal. like the meal that keeps on giving. several days afterward.

old me.