# Crush Day food



## JohnT (Sep 6, 2016)

I am expecting 60 to 80 people on crush. I have most of them bringing food. My brother, for example, is bringing two traditional Hungarian dishes. At crush, it would be a total disaster if anyone walked away hungry. As insurance I always make up several pans of food. I make them up ahead of time and freeze them. This way, all I need to do shove them in the oven and serve. 

Here are two pans of lasagna (all from scratch) and two pans of sausage-n-peppers. I will try to make up 2 pans of meatballs next weekend..

How about you folks? What are all you having for Crush???


----------



## ceeaton (Sep 6, 2016)

John, I have no idea what I'm eating for my "crush" since it will only be about 200 lbs or so of grapes at two different times. But I will have to say that picture of your lasagna has inspired me to make up a batch for tomorrow nights dinner ( I can make it ahead so my wife can cook it before I get home from work ). Half will use ground turkey meat and the usually additives, the other half some italian sausage, will add spinach to the ricotta cheese, and use some real high test Parmesan I had left over from another meal.

Remember, pictures or your crush doesn't count and we will come an confiscate your carboys and demijohns!


----------



## Boatboy24 (Sep 6, 2016)

ceeaton said:


> Remember, pictures or your crush doesn't count and we will come an confiscate your carboys and demijohns!



You can have the carboys and demis, Craig. I'll grab the crusher/destemer, press, SS/VC tanks and maybe a barrel, if there's room in the car. On second thought, I'll just rent a U-haul to be safe. Then I'll probably have some room for bottled wine in the climate controlled car.


----------



## ceeaton (Sep 6, 2016)

Boatboy24 said:


> You can have the carboys and demis, Craig. I'll grab the crusher/destemer, press, SS/VC tanks and maybe a barrel, if there's room in the car. On second thought, I'll just rent a U-haul to be safe. Then I'll probably have some room for bottled wine in the climate controlled car.



Remind me if I ever decide to do a bank heist to hire you as the "brains" of the outfit. Gotta think big!


----------



## Boatboy24 (Sep 6, 2016)

Don't know what I'll be doing, if anything, for 'crush day'. My grapes are crushed for me. I'll have a 90+ minute drive each way though. This year, Dad's coming along for the ride. So he'll have to help me unload the buckets and empty their contents into the fermenters. Depending on timing, we may have lunch or dinner together after. Thinking I should plan on that. I'm hoping to make a Friday run again, but would like to meet up with other members if possible. So the weekend may make more sense.


----------



## JohnT (Sep 7, 2016)

ceeaton said:


> John, I have no idea what I'm eating for my "crush" since it will only be about 200 lbs or so of grapes at two different times. But I will have to say that picture of your lasagna has inspired me to make up a batch for tomorrow nights dinner ( I can make it ahead so my wife can cook it before I get home from work ). Half will use ground turkey meat and the usually additives, the other half some italian sausage, will add spinach to the ricotta cheese, and use some real high test Parmesan I had left over from another meal.
> 
> Remember, pictures or your crush doesn't count and we will come an confiscate your carboys and demijohns!


 

What I did: I took equal amounts of ground pork, veal, and beef, browned it in some olive oil, drained most of the fat, then added chopped onion, red bell pepper, celery, carrot, canned mushrooms, and minced garlic. 

I let that sautee for a while, then added crushed tomatoes (3 big cans), 4 teaspoons of sugar, a BIG bundle of fresh thyme, basil, some fennel seed, and a shot of water. Once simmering, I added in some smashed, dried porchini mushrooms (that is my secret and it really does make the sauce taste great!. 

I let that simmer and reduce for 3 hours, stirring every 30 minutes or so. I then add 3 cans of tomato paste, stir that in well, and continue to simmer for 30 minutes. The meat sauce ends up really thick and very tasty! The spoon will stand up in it. 

I then make the cheese with ricotta, mutz (shreaded), parmesan, and eggs. I boil the pasta for 7 minutes (undercooked so that the lasagna stays firm). 

Assembly is to lay down a layer of pasta, cover pasta with a nice 1/2 layer of sauce, then dollop with the cheese mix. Repeat until fully assembled, then top with a thin layer of sauce and more shreaded mutz. 

I do not cook it at this point. I simply cover with tin foil and toss into the freezer.


Sorry to say.. As always, I will post pics of crush (so no need for a U-Haul). lol

Actually, I set up a sticky for just this purpose. You guys be sure to post as well!


----------



## JohnT (Sep 19, 2016)

Boatboy24 said:


> You can have the carboys and demis, Craig. I'll grab the crusher/destemer, press, SS/VC tanks and maybe a barrel, if there's room in the car. On second thought, I'll just rent a U-haul to be safe. Then I'll probably have some room for bottled wine in the climate controlled car.


 
I am not worried. My press weighs about 650 pounds.


----------



## JohnT (Sep 19, 2016)

Made 3 dozen (two trays) of brazed meatballs... 

*Meatballs: *
50/50 mix of ground pork and ground beef (8 pounds approx.) 
chopped onion (large) 
chopped red bell pepper
8 eggs
bread crumbs
1 cup of parm cheese
salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, dried basil, thyme, fennel seed, and sage.

A made up the meatballs to about "golf ball" size. I then placed them (raw) into a roasting pan and added 1 bottle of white wine (about 1/2 covered). Then I cooked them in the oven (at 275) for about 3 hours.


*Sauce: *
sautéed 1 onion, 6 cloves garlic, and 1/2 red bell pepper (all diced), 
added 2 cans of beef stock and 1/4 cup of dried porcini mushrooms. reduce to 1/3. 
3 cans of crushed tomatoes, basil, fennel seed, 3 teaspoons of sugar. 
cook for 3 to 4 hours.

put meatballs in tray, cover with sauce, cover with tin foil and freeze! 

I tried one... YUM!


----------



## JohnT (Sep 19, 2016)

*Crush day menu (so far)*

So far, this is what we are having..

Lasagna (2 trays) 
Sausage and peppers (2 trays) 
Meatballs (2 trays) 
Eggplant Parm (1 tray) 

Chicken Paprikas (1 pot) 
Beef Goulash (1 pot) 
Spaetzle (1 heaping tray) 
Lecho (Hungarian veggie stew) 

Assorted breads and salads
Assorted desserts.

The only thing remaining to make up is the goulash and spaetzle. That happens this Sunday.

Note: This is just what My Brother and I are providing. All of the folks that attend crush like to bring something as well. I think that we have the food covered and nobody is going hungry!


----------



## JohnT (Sep 26, 2016)

Now that I have all of the Italian food ready for crush, it is time to prepare the Hungarian dishes that most of the family look forward to. 

My brother sent pictures of the chicken paprikash (pic 1) and lecho (a spicy veggie stew-pic 2)

I made the porkolt (beef/mushroom stew - pics 3-4) and spaetzle (pic 5)

Porkolt is a Hungarian staple that my grandmother always fed us. There is no finer one-pot comfort food in the world...

Here is how I made it (you may want to scale it down) 

- cube and trim 8 pounds of chuck steak. 
- season generously with salt/pepper and brown well in a tablespoon of olive oil. 
- remove beef and saute 4 very large finely diced onions. saute until very soft. 
- add 6 pounds of sliced mushrooms and sauté until all of the mushroom water has been evaporated. 
- take pot off heat add the meat back in, and stir in 1/4 cup of good Hungarian paprika and 3 tablespoons of caraway seeds. 
- add 2 cans of beef stock (optional) and enough water to completely submerge the beef. 
- add a large sprig of thyme. 
- simmer for 4 hours. 

you will find that the stew will greatly reduce and that the onions have broken down into this wonderful, thick sauce. serve over spaetzle. 


for the spaetzle, I take 7 cups of flower, 8 eggs, a dash of nutmeg, and some salt. I beat that in a stand mixer and gradually add milk until the dough is somewhere a bread dough and a pancake mix. It should be loose, but still rather stiff. 

Beat the dough for 15 minutes, let stand 1 hour, then beat again for 20 minutes. 

I then run the dough through a spaezle maker... 






into a pot of boiling water. I allow them to cook and then skim them off (with a slotted spoon) into a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking. When done, I strain the spaetzle into a colander and then rinse them well in cold water.


----------



## montanaWineGuy (Sep 26, 2016)

A big Crock Pot feeds an platoon, several and a battalion gets fully fed.


----------



## Steve_M (Sep 26, 2016)

John,
Remind me what time you need me over to lend a hand! ::
With the food restaurant I mean crush. LOL


----------

