Need trip & food pre-prep advice.

15 years ago

Hi --

Heading on a 5 hr road trip later this week: will arrive to go to 5pm Fri graduation ceremony then have party at 2pm the following day (Sat). My contributions are the cake and coleslaw for the 2pm party. Need advice on pre-prep because it will be crowded and hectic once we get there (i.e., I need to minimize food-prep there).

I'm thinking I'll bake the cake Thurs evening, but may put off til Fri AM if that makes more sense. It will be a double-size sheet cake that I'll transfer to a covered board to decorate. I'm planning to make my own version of marble cake (one yellow and one chocolate that I blob together. :) and thinking of a french buttercream frosting with some of the usual "congratulations" and such written on the cake. Would you bake and frost it Thurs night, or hold til Fri AM, or bring the frostings/tools and frost the cake there?

Re the coleslaw, I'm thinking I'll pre-shred the cabbage Thurs night and seal in plastic bags. Pre-make the dressing to bring and assemble everything immediately before the Sat party (adding last-minute apple, carrot, etc). Would that work fine?

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (5)

lindac
15 years ago
I make a marinated oil and vinegar style coleslaw...it's better for 18 hours of so in the refrigerator.
I would frost the cake there....a decorated cake won't like a 5 hour car ride.
Linda C
Teresa_MN
15 years ago
I would frost the cake there - but I am not much of a cake person. I'm sure there are many others with expert advice for you.

With regard to the slaw - I would mix the cabbage, carrots and dressing Friday night when you arrive and store it in gallon ziploc bags. I think the flavor will be better overnight. Add the apples when you put the slaw into the serving dish.

Good luck - I hope you have good weather!

Teresa
Related Discussions
Looking for advice on Pre Spring Needs
Q
Comments (4)
1. Lawn is not as lush and full as I would like/expect 2. Greenish yellow patches in a lot of the lawn I'm no expert on lawn diseases, but it doesn't look like you have anything to worry about from the photos above. Any yellow/brown bits are more winter-caused than disease issues. 1 and 2 are frequently caused by a shortage of nitrogen, although feeding right now isn't a great idea. Your lawn is trying to build roots during the spring and a heavy feed is going to force that growth up top instead. Ultimately, that weakens the lawn a bit instead of enhancing it. Sit tight for a bit. If I fed using a processed fertilizer, I wouldn't do so until mid-May here in Pennsylvania. Organics differ and I could feed it right now if I wanted (I did it in January, actually, and I'll use a high carbon, low nitrogen mix in March). Somebody on here who's local to you might have a better schedule. I can only wing it where you are. It's a bit late to frost seed for you guys, so reseed in fall if that's required (those of us in the NE still have a small window of opportunity to frost seed).
...See More
ok to pre-prep parts of salsa?
Q
Comments (18)
Thanks all! Last night I processed 4 quarts of hot packed whole yellow tomatoes (garden peach) and 2 quarts of "green" whole tomatoes (not actually green as in not-ripe, but variety called green zebra). They are beautiful (although one didn't seal)! Today I am doing batches of yellow tomato sauce (made from garden peach and yellow heirloom), orange tomato sauce (made from Pineapple tomatoes and sungold cherry toms), and red tomato sauce (from cosmonaut volkov, black krim, roma and rose de berne). Should be a lovely rainbow of jars. This is addictive... By the way, my name is actually Rachel. Screen name cindylouwho came from the grinch (long story...). Again, thanks for everyone's help. This site is a savior. Rachel P.S. How do you keep your kids from eating your labor-intensive canned peaches while peaches are in season? Mine have already gobbled down all but one quart. As much as I love that they love them, I cringe each time it takes them about 2 minutes to inhale a quart that took me hours to peel, cut, pack and process...
...See More
Need food processor advice
Q
Comments (42)
FOAS, I always admire your passion in the precision of mathematical exactitude, However, I do not feel that topics in food discussions necessarily lend themselves to constricted legal lawyerly approaches. I realized and did state and did apologize to the OP that I was not directly addressing her question, because I had a point to make that's related to the topic. I also feel that the issue of a FP for a single person was missed by many posters. That possibly will cause the OP to make the wrong choice. I am very puzzled that even for a family of four you have not that much use for a FP, and you feel it is wrong for me to suggest to the OP that there may be other options? After all, I never said not to get one, I am puzzled that you feel it is wrong to suggest to others to study options. I have not said a FP has no application for some single person who has physical limitations, or food preferences suitable for having a FP, such as for olychick, I have not said a FP cannot perform well chopping, slicing, shredding, mixing, ------ There is another whole aspect about the art of food preparation not using machinery, as in Japanese cooking, and the pleasure of tactile relationship with your food. but that is a little more off topic for this thread. "---The resurgence of handmade food is ultimately about a movement toward a more intimate connection with what we eat and where it comes from, what Paula Wolfert calls "the essential taste" of food. ---- "Without taste, smell,and feel, nobody can cook well." dcarch
...See More
Pre home sale prep anxiety
Q
Comments (16)
I've moved a number of times. I always start with the storage areas. Attic, basement, garage. They have the most stuff and are the hardest IMHO to clean out. Having them emptied or pared down to almost zero makes it easier to move stuff out of the house you at least then have a place to put stuff as you remove it from the rest of the house. Unless you have the time and help to do a garage sale it's much easier to either donate stuff or put it out on the curb with a big FREE sign. Hauling stuff to thrift stores or charity organizations is time consuming and costly especially if you have to make multiple runs a far distance from your home or work. If you have a storage space off property then only put into that which you plan to take with you but you'd prefer to remove to make rooms/closets look bigger. Have all the small stuff packed for a move. properly wrapped, labeled and sealed. NEVER write on a box that Grandma's china is in this box. Instead use numbers and a master sheet to identify what is in a box. It cuts down drastically on theft when moving. I like to have a spiral notebook when I move that all my important papers and notes go into. It stays with me at all times. I'm a big believer in tackling the harder rooms to clean first. Normally when you start decluttering your energy level is higher in the beginning as the days past and you work on this people have a tendency to get frustrated. So going from the hardest rooms to the easier rooms can help keep energy levels both physical and mental up It also helps if you have someone to help you do the decluttering. A good friend that will keep you on track, and maybe make you laugh a little as you do this very big chore.
...See More
party_music50
Original Author
15 years ago
ok. Thank you!
Cloud Swift
15 years ago
Linda, could you post your recipe? I prefer the marinated oil and vinegar style slaws better, but I've had difficulty getting the right balance of flavors.

As far as the cake, I'd be torn about decorating there or before the car ride. It helps that it will be a sheet cake rather than a layer cake as you don't need to worry about layers sliding. I'll assume that you don't have any kind of ice chest big enough to keep a double size sheet cake cool during the drive. If you plan to make any stops long enough for the interior of the car to get hot, definitely wait to frost it there. You can take the frosting along pre-made in an ice chest.

If you will be keeping the car a nice room temperature cool, you might do a crumb coating before the drive. Decorating usually goes pretty fast once the crumb coating is already done.
annie1992
15 years ago
cloud swift, I'm not Linda, but this is the recipe I use, I like it a lot better than the creamy coleslaw. It has no fat, but it does have sugar.

Marinated cole slaw

1 head cabbage, shredded
2 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cups water
1 tsp mustard seed
1 tsp celery seed
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1 medium carrots, shredded
1/2 medium sweet red pepper, diced

In a large bowl, combine cabbage and salt; set stand for 2 hours. In a saucepan, combine the sugar, vinegar, water, mustard seed and celery seed. Bring to a boil over medium heat; stir until sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat; cool completely.

Drain cabbage, add the celery, carrots and peppers. Toss with dressing to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or freeze for up to 3 months. Serve with a slotted spoon.

12 servings

Nutrition Facts: 1 serving (3/4 cup) equals 105 calories, trace fat (trace saturated fat), 0 cholesterol, 262 mg sodium, 26 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 1 g protein.

Annie

Need trip & food pre-prep advice.

Comments (5)

lindac

Teresa_MN

Related Discussions

party_music50
Original Author

Cloud Swift

annie1992

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Need trip & food pre-prep advice.

Comments (5)

lindac

Teresa_MN

Related Discussions

party_music50Original Author

Cloud Swift

annie1992

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

party_music50
Original Author