What World Do They Live In???

I spent maybe $70 at Thanksgiving for 7. And had enough leftover to feed us for days. As to a menu at $125, I'll have to think a bit.

I'm still baffled at the idea of deconstructed lasagna. My biggest question is...why?

Anyway, for $125, you could create a pretty lavish meal. Per my usual, I would gravitate towards seafood, which can get pricey. Here's the rundown.

Soup:  seafood gumbo

Price:  $20

Main course:  whole roasted red snapper, spicy boiled new potatoes, grilled asparagus

Price:  $40

Dessert:  Bourbon pecan pie

Price:  $15

All those costs are rough guesses, but assuming I'm in the ball park, we're still only talking $75 on a nice menu. For $125, I'd be working in some truffles or Iberico ham.

I missed the show but my father and I were just chatting on this subject over the weekend.  We were marveling at how my grandmother could always have an entire meal for 13 - 18 on the table from seemingly nothing and in no time flat.  Even further back than my years go, my father remembers that they would have a whole hog on a counter in a building in back of the house that they would pour salt all over.  The hog would just lie there in the salt and my grandmother would go out and cut off whatever she needed for meals until the hog was gone. 

Since I've never cooked for 8, I'm going to list the foods that my grandmother would have had on the table if she were still here to cook.  As she would have been depressed if only 8 people showed up for Christmas dinner, this will represent the amount she'd have cooked for around 15 people and I'll figure the 8 count at the end.

She would have made a German soup that was a staple for our family that we simply called 'The Soup'.  It's a Sauerkraut tomato soup made with a couple pounds of sauerkraut rinsed and drained, about eight medium peeled and stewed tomatoes (the liquid is part of the soup), around 3 potatoes cubed, 4-5 cups of water, around 4 oz of chipped beef, a little sugar, lemon juice, salt and pepper.  I estimate the cost at $12.

For a main meal she would have had two proteins, namely baked steak (cube steak) and a whole ham with sides which would have included mashed potatoes, green beans, pinto beans, rolls and light bread (regular white bread for the pintos), potato salad and deviled eggs.  I price all this at around $68.

For dessert she would have had available several homemade pies, namely chocolate, peanut butter and egg custard as well as sliced peaches (canned) and ribbon salad.  I price the three pies, fruit and ribbon salad at around $13. 

I'm also considering her pie crusts and rolls were from scratch, green beans would have been made from fresh beans, etc. (I did factor in the store prices of things like the fresh green beans, potatoes, tomatoes and eggs - although hers would have been from the garden and the chicken house).

That brings the grand total to $93 for 15 people.  That's about $6 per person, which would be around $48 for 8 people.  I'm going by today's prices as best I can remember and determine. 

It certainly isn't anything fancy, but you'd never know that by how much we all miss it. 

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChefBazookas 

We were marveling at how my grandmother could always have an entire meal for 13 - 18 on the table from seemingly nothing and in no time flat.

I remember many times coming home from school, opening the refrigerator and thinking there was nothing to eat. Then my mom would make dinner from what was in the fridge and all I could do was wonder where it all came from. I sure didn't see it when I looked in there. Mothers are magical.

For $150 I can make enough lasagna to feed 20-30, serve with garlic bread and a salad of some sort. And my lasagna is very heavy on the cheese which isn't cheap.

Deconstructed Lasagna:

Also known as Banquet Lasagna with Meat Sauce was on sale at Wal-Mart the other day for 88 cents. Get 8 of those and the cost is $7.04 which mean I have $117.96 to spare.

Way under budget.. I am, too, impressed.

img source: http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ03oNnPfzlIjH7CCorhyFx2HqtH2QZvYuQF9md5jPIy03tpkf-

Quote:

Originally Posted by KYHeirloomer 

My biggest question is...why?

 

My biggest question is...what? If I could figure out what a deconstructed lasagna is, I might have a shot and understanding the why.

Even if I knew what the "what" was, I don't think I could understand the "why". Is there something wrong with lasagna? How much more "elegant" could a deconstructed lasagna be?

with a 26lb turkey (way more then enough for 8) coming in at roughly 33.00 dollars (Raley's online price, off sale) and I have to buy s&p,oil, spices,flour, milk, yams,vege and pie makings, I'll go big and say it's another 50 bucks. I still have enough money left over for a couple bottles of decent wine and soda for the kids. It's got to be a New York price issue, I have heard of 6$ hot dogs from street vendors so it has to be a factor.

A peer of mine made what he called de-constructed lasagna.

He boiled the noodles then patted them dry and laid them out flat on a towel.

He spread the meat sauce and cheese in layers then rolled the whole thing up jelly roll style and placed them side by side in a casserole dish.

EH!!

Many of us can cook a dinner for 8 people and keep it below $150.00. Don't know where they're coming from.

I don't know about you, but chili and lasagna are not festive holiday dishes.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chefross 

 

I don't know about you, but chili and lasagna are not festive holiday dishes.

 

I'm going to have to disagree with you on this one. The most important dishes to my family around Thanksgiving and Christmas are seafood gumbo, duck gumbo, seafood casserole (we call it Blend of the Bayou), and cornbread dressing. Only one of those dishes would be considered "festive", but that's what my family eats, and that's what is traditional to us. If a family has a tradition of lasagna or chili, then more power to them. Holidays should be about enjoying what you like to eat, not eating what everyone else says is "festive".

Quote:

Originally Posted by tylerm713 

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chefross 

 

I don't know about you, but chili and lasagna are not festive holiday dishes.

 

I'm going to have to disagree with you on this one. The most important dishes to my family around Thanksgiving and Christmas are seafood gumbo, duck gumbo, seafood casserole (we call it Blend of the Bayou), and cornbread dressing. Only one of those dishes would be considered "festive", but that's what my family eats, and that's what is traditional to us. If a family has a tradition of lasagna or chili, then more power to them. Holidays should be about enjoying what you like to eat, not eating what everyone else says is "festive".

I agree with your statement that tradition dictates tastes. My ex had what I considered a pretty plain traditional Christmas dinner. It was fried ocean perch, mashed potatoes, corn, mushroom gravy, fried Peirogies, and a Polish dish made from sauerkraut mixed with yellow split peas. It was interesting the first few years but after it became quite gross.......to me.