How about cheese straws?

Shelley

Well of course there's cheese-whiz and then candy corn, skittles, Reese's pieces and many other candies; and cheddar chips, cheetos, cheeze-its, cheeze-nips and Hostess orange cupcakes; and pretty much anything you put orange food coloring in.

But seriously (or just semi-seriously):

oranges
mandarins/tangerines/kumquats
mangoes
apricots
cantaloupe

I've made a fruit salad with a mix of most of the above, added golden raisins and dressed it with honey-lime-ginger sauce.

carrots
pumpkins
acorn squash
sweet potatoes
orange bell peppers

... baked, roasted, served hot or cold (maybe with a vinaigrette).

How about something curried? Lots of recipes for thigns you can keep warm in a crock pot or serve chilled.

And, for dessert: orange sherbet.

Joe

Cantaloupe pieces or slices, wrapped in prosciutto is a delicious summer food.

I was at a party recently where the hostess served a red pepper dip (you could use orange peppers) with horseradish, hot sauce and lemon in it, with cold shrimp.....which are kinda orange. It was surprisingly good.

Yeah, curry, that's a good one.

When I tried to think of what's orange the most orange thing I could think of is chorizo. Nothing oranges up a dish more than that. How about something egg based that you could bake up like frittata or squares or put into little pastry or phyllo cups? Cook off some chorizo, then in the oil from that saute some onions and garlic, diced potatoes would be good, an orange pepper would be perfect. If you can't find an orange one a red or yellow would be great. If you do find an orange pepper when you go to prep it for sauteeing, keep a bit of it aside to sprinkle on top of the dish or cups so they show. Ok when the meat is cooked off and the veggies are sauteed add eggs, milk and cheese if you wish. You probably want about 8 or 10 eggs and 2 cups of milk, 1 cup of cheese is fine. Nice orange cheddar would be good. Bake in a pan [9x13]or the cups, or a topping with the little pieces of pepper until set nicely. 350 for about 35 or 40 minutes. The cups would take about 15 to 18 minutes. Wait until it cools and cut into squares if going that route. These are good slightly warm or room temp.

I make a roasted red pepper hummus that is actually more orange than red. It's great with some pita chips and garnished with some pepper strips.

Tracey

A couple of "orange" recipes:

CHILLED PAELLA CURRY

Although this recipe calls for the paella to be served chilled, you may serve it warm if you prefer. The chilled paella, however, makes an excellent picnic lunch.

Serves 6

Ingredients

3/4 cup olive oil
1 1/2 cups paella rice
3 1/4 cups (26 fl. oz) vegetable broth
1/2 teaspoon saffron
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
16 oz skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into chunks (or chopped shrimp)
1 small orange bell pepper, chopped
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup sliced pimento-stuffed olives
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 cups (12 oz) bottled marinated artichoke hearts, undrained
4 stalks green onions, sliced
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1 1/2 tablespoons curry powder

Directions

Heat 1/4 cup of the olive oil in a paella pan. Pour in the rice and sauté for 5 minutes.

Add the broth, saffron, turmeric, and cook for 25 minutes or until the rice is tender and the broth has been absorbed. Set aside.

While cooking the rice, heat the remaining olive oil in a large skillet and cook the chicken until done and browned on all sides. Set aside.

Add the chicken to the paella pan with the rice, and combine with the remaining ingredients.

Refrigerate overnight and serve chilled.

CURRIED VEGETABLES WITH SHRIMP

4 Servings

Ingredients

1 Tbs vegetable oil
1 medium onion, finely sliced
1 Clove garlic, sliced finely
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon gingerroot, grated
1/2 pound shrimp, shelled fresh
1/2 small red chili, minced
1/2 pound cabbage, chopped coarsely
1/2 pound orange/yellow cauliflower, parted into florets
2 small carrots, diced
1/2 pound yellow wax beans, cut into 3 pieces each
1 medium orange bellpepper, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoon Salt
3 cups Coconut milk
1 Tbs curry powder

Directions

Heat oil in pan and sauté onion lightly.

Add garlic, coriander and gingerroot. Fry for 1 minute.

Add shrimp and sauté for 2 minutes.

Add chili, cabbage, cauliflower, carrot, beans, peppers and salt. Cover and cook over low heat for about 10 minutes.

Add coconut milk and curry and cook uncovered, stirring almost continuously, until vegetables are tender.

Serve with rice.

Joe

A revisit to the carrot cookalong thread might give you some good orange ideas.

Here is a link that might be useful: Carrot Cookalong

Skewers of grilled salmon with a teriyaki orange glaze would be good. Garnish with orange twists.

Joe,
Chilled Paella Curry looks like just the thing. Right after I typed in the request, I realized I had 2 lbs. of frozen shrimp I thought would be good to use. I was thinking about curry, but didn't want to have to keep things warm. And I think the only thing I don't have on hand is sour cream... easy enough!

Coconut-nj... My MIL is coming to visit next weekend. I think those frittata (or phyllo cups depending how stressed or not I am) will be perfect for Sunday brunch.

Two solutions in one!

As much as I'd like to do something more elegantly simple like the cheese straws or the cantaloupe/prosciutto, or a hummus or other dip, with a Trader Joes nearby, I also know that most people will opt out for whatever dip they can find and add carrots or orange peppers. I think I'm one of the few real cooks in the group...

Thanks everyone for responding so quickly. Now off to find something orange to wear...

Years ago I used to make a shredded carrot salad which had onion and crushed pinapple in it - I dont remember what else was in there but I remember it being good and refreshing. My slow dialup internet here at the cottage isn't conducive to searching - but maybe you could if you had any interest. It was not a jello salad, BTW, LOL, but being that it was from the 70's, it could have had something weird in there :)

CARMEL CHEETOS!!!!

Just search here for the recipe. Sounds awful, but they're rather addictive!

Deanna

Hi Ann!!!
It's me! How are you?? We need to catch up!

I hope I'm not too late for this thread. How about my famous Orange Meringue Pie?!! Ok, I'm the only one who likes it in my family, so maybe it's not so famous, LOL!! But it's a refreshing twist on an old classic. I think Nancy even tried it with a combo of orange/pineapple juice.

Orange Meringue Pie

1 C sugar
â C flour
¼ t salt
1 ½ C orange juice (fresh squeezed, preferred)
2 T lemon juice
3 egg yolks
2 T butter
1 baked pie shell
meringue

1. Sift dry ingredients together.
2. Add fruit juices. Cook slowly until thickened, stirring constantly.
3. Add small amount to beaten egg yolks. Mix well. Pour back into saucepan.
4. Return to heat. Cook 2 minutes. Add Butter. Cool.
5. Pour into pie shell.
6. Add meringue.
7. Bake at 350Ë for about 15 minutes.

Well,
The party was fun. I got lazy and ended up doing a shrimp and andouille sausage boil. I then had a spicy roasted red pepper dip to go with. I forgot to read the part on Joe's recipe to "chill overnight" and got too late a start to even chill for a few hours. Oh well, next time.

Carmel Cheetos... Deanna, I think I'd have to put that right next to Deep Fried Twinkies do not make or eat list. But I'm sure DH would have liked them. He's got a fascination with over-the-top junk food!

Hey Momto4kids! I'm well. Thanks. I'll fill you in via email. In the meantime, thanks for the pie recipe. Too late for the party, but we planted an orange tree last year, and we should have our first batch of oranges in a couple of months. I'll save it for then.

A