wow

Mexican street corn.

Grilled peach salad (tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, lemon vinaigrette)

I'm no expert, and everything sounds wonderful to me, but my first thought was what if you change the flavors of some of the old favorites, so you still have the expected selection, but with a twist - like Asian inspired coleslaw, chopped salad vs. tossed, or German potato salad - something like that. Sounds like a blast - have fun!

Some fruit salsas for the pork, or grilled pineapple, peaches, and plums.

For many years, we had a pig roast on our property to benefit a local organization. One side dish that was popular was what we called Red Kraut. The recipe came from our church, where they still serve it with hot dogs at their summer festival.

Sweet & Sour Kraut

1 1/4 cups butter or margarine

5 cloves garlic, minced
10 medium size onions, halved and cut into thin slivers
5 cups firmly packed brown sugar
1 1/4 tsp. black pepper
2 Tbs. salt
10 - 6 oz. cans tomato paste
10 - 1 lb. 11 oz. cans sauerkraut, undrained

In a large skillet, melt butter over low heat; add garlic and onions and cook
until tender, but not brown. Mix sugar, salt, pepper, tomato paste, and sauerkraut juice in a large roasting pan. Add cooked onions, garlic and
butter to roasting pan and mix. Stir in sauerkraut. Cover and cook over
low heat for 1 1/2-2 hours, stirring occasionally. Serve hot over hot dogs
in rolls. (Can be made in a large electric roasting pan ) . Makes 100 servings as a hot dog or pulled pork topping or 50 side dish servings.

Thank you for the ideas!

Love the idea of Mexican St. corn. I completely forgot one of the guys brings corn from his farm. He picks it Saturday morning then shucks it on site and cooks it in turkey fryer set up with water of course. We use the corn husks in the smoker, no waste here. I could prep the ingredients ahead and put a sign with directions so folks could help themselves. Yes some need directions. LOL

The Sweet Potato Casserole sounds amazing! That will be something the healthy eaters will love. Yes I cook chicken breasts for those folks. No vegetarians thank goodness! LOL Though I would be happy to accommodate them if there were any.

I can try to vary the standard fair but I do not make the cole slaw, potato salad and pasta salad, my cousin, sister in law and mother in law handle those. I am experimenting with a couple black bean recipes for something other than the two Boston baked bean sides I.e. Navy and Kidney beans.

Fruit salsas, great idea! I could make them ahead and can them. I have some good canning recipes.

I am invigorated, thank you!

I was thinking about a kale salad. Anyone have a good recipe?

Every year I get more and more excited for this event. This year family is coming from all over the country, my daughter's boyfriend's family is coming from Long Island plus a plethora of local friends, family, a few coworkers and who knows who else...

How can you have a picnic in summer....especially a pig roast without a vat of corn on the cob?
And for your signature drink, how about a rum punch....you can make it as potent as you like.
And how about a big watermelon bowl? Do you know someone artistic who could cut a melon in some fanciful shape? Then just have more cut up fruit to refill as needed.
Or how about a spiked watermelon....complete with straws etc.....and then have pitchers of a watermelon rum punch for those who don't want to stand at the melon and suck it down.....
Or you could infuse a melon with 180 proof rum....and cut it into cubes....for a different twist.
My signature and easy appy usually is a 2 or 4 pound wheel of Maytag Blue, and a 2 or 4 pound wheel of Maytag White cheddar and if I am really feeling magnanimous, I'll add a kilo of Brie. Just let people whack off what they need. All will stand being out for 5 hours or more....but maybe not the brie. Pricy but easy!....and any leftovers make great salad dressing, cheese balls and mac and Cheese.
Another thing I do for a long cocktail and snacky time is a ring of dutch baloney sliced with onions and a sort of pickling brine poured over. Delicious and keeps well. Shout if you want me to dig out the recipe.

Linda C

For decorating ideas, here is what I have done.

A glass bowl of punch, A submersible fountain pump ($10), and a vary color LED light ($10). Play a little back ground music with the display.

dcarch

We do have corn on the cob. I forgot to mention it because Pete, the farmer handles it from start to finish.

Rum punch sounds wonderful! I forgot it is one of my daughter's favorites; she has an awesome recipe. I have several bottles of Barilitos rum from our annual pilgrimage to PR. Adding watermelon chunks to the mix would be fun.

I already do a huge cheeseboard with crackers on the side. I'm curious what is a Dutch Baloney ring? Sounds intriguing.

It's a long day of eating so I rent a cold table so the cold food stays cold. I put out the hot food as needed and use chafing dishes, crockpots, etc. so hot stays hot. We go through a lot of ice and plug in the hot dishes but at least we stay within the safe range by using instant read thermometers.

This would not be possible without help from my family. We work hard and play hard. This event is a blast and everyone pitches in.

OMG dcarch that is a great idea! I have all the components. I could then use one of the drink coolers for Sassy Water.

Dutch baloney also called ring baloney seems to be a mid west thing....it's not fine textured like Lebanon baloney but coarse ground pork and beef, smoked and spiced in a certain way. I slice it and layer it with sliced onions in a crock or straight sided jar and pour over it a boiling mix of vinegar, sugar, mustard seeds and I forget what else. Let it sit and serve on slices of party rye or a cracker

Linda, that sounds like something this crowd would like. Any idea where I might find Dutch baloney or a substitute? And could I get the recipe?

Hmm...do you have a recipe from the actual Dutch baloney? I'm not opposed to making it from scratch.

Here ya go.... you will want the stuff called "Pella bologna"

Ok thanks.

Wondering....did the link I posted make it?

No.

https://intvelds.com/meats.html

You want the product called Pella bologna....their other stuff is good too!

Thank you. When you get a minute could you post the recipe?

Snackers

1 ring Dutch Balogna ( about a pound )

2 medium yellow onions ( about the size of a baseball)

Slice and layer in a crock or straihgt sided bowl

In a sauce pan place 1 c. cider vinegar, 1 cup water and 3/4
c sugar and 1 tsp mustard seed ( whole). Bring to a boil and pour over meat and
let stand un refigerated for 24 hours. Serve with cocktail rye.

Thank you Linda!