Stump the cook: what is in your fridge?

Okay here goes, and great idea by the way!

Smoked German Sausage
Grape Tomatoes
Asiago and Havarti Cheeses
Green Onions
Pancetta (left over from roasted brussel sprouts over the weekend..YUM)
Cauliflower

Julia,

That was one of my favorite segments. But I don't recall what the "givens" were.

Thomas,

Cut up the cauliflower and parboil it until just underdone.

Slice the sausage into 1/4" rounds.

Cut the green onions into 1/2" lengths.

Slice the havarti.

Dice the pancetta and render it slightly in a skillet. Then saute the cauliflower and sausage with sliced garlic.

Mix togetherthe cauliflower/sausage mixture, some dried herbes de province, tomatoes, and green onions. Place in a casserole and place slices of havarti on top. Bake in a 400F oven for 25 minutes.

Kevin, the givens of the segment were (and will be soon - let me know if you're willing to play on the radio with Lynne...) a handful of ingredients, Lynne's ability to use oil or butter and basic seasonings, and I think at one point she insisted that onions or garlic would be available! I know she's also asked people to double check their pantry for an item, but it is all in good fun. By the way, that sounds like a lovely main dish! Melted Havarti is underrated and underused.

Now Thomas you shared some really tasty ingredients...I think I may have spread it out, like this:

*Cut the cauliflower into medium florets, toss with olive oil and a little salt and set to roast for 20-25 in a hot hot high, preheated oven.

*Create a sharp noted garnish with the green onions and nearly wedged shavings of the Asiago - the primary should be the cheese but little spears of the onion would be fabulous.

*Cube the Havarti, reserve.

*Dice the pancetta and start it in a med skillet, meanwhile giving each of the cherry tomatoes a single poke with a knife tip. Toss these into the skillet and bring the flame down to somewhere between med and low. Despite the counter-intuitive blackening, keep heating them. They'll break down and become very, very sweet with that nice pancetta note. This will be a nice side.

*Dry panfry the sausage whole and then slice into slightly chunky rounds. Fan on a large platter with the sweet tomatoes and roasted cauliflower piled next to it. Serve with a separate plate that has the Asiago/green onion and whatever mustards you have on hand. It only takes one or two mustards (I've even served condiments in short, wide shot glasses for each person) to give the feeling of plenty.

Eat! If this was just my sweetness and me, we'd have it off the same platter. The Havarti will stand alone as a last bite with whatever beverage you may have, which I hope is a refreshing beer. Dark beer and cauliflower don't ring well together for me, but I tend to taste the bitter in most things. A good bread would be nice, too, but I love bread and butter so I'd add it to nearly anything.

If you can get a dish out of this, you are quite good!

Fried Whiting
Green peppers
mac + cheese
califlower
curd cheese
pepper bacon
lemons
baby carrots
celery
coleslaw
sausage

Alright, a way to use leftovers (and I'm vegetarian). Just want to say that too was my favorite segment. Here goes:
Kalamatas
Mango
Cauliflower
blue cheese
cooked brown rice
quinoa

Julia S,

I'd be happy to play, but probably wouldn't offer much challenge -- my pantry is pretty well-stocked.

Whew, these are GREAT challenges. I can't wait to pass them to Lynne!

Now to try my own hand...Monique, I don't think anyone could incorporate all those ingredients in one dish and not have their apron revoked! You have a really good, varied taste in food. I will try to assemble a meal, tho...

*Chop the bacon into smallish bits and fire up the skillet - I love making bacon bits. Cook this side of crispy, drain and reserve. If they're too crispy they'll blacken under the broiler. Oh how I love the broiler...

*Preheat the oven for a medium heat. Steam smallish cauliflower florets until very tender. Toss with mac & cheese and reserve.

*The green peppers will be parboiled after they're seeded and halved - the long way. I'm going to push the envelope here and boil them a little longer than usual, and I want more surface area for the broiling action.

*The peppers are going to get stuffed with the mac & cheese mixture that is stretched with the cauliflower. Popped into the oven for 30-40 minutes to soften.

*Preheat the broiler. Meanwhile, grate up a couple baby carrots and dice some celery. Let's freshen and stretch the coleslaw into a lighter salad. Plate it, and consider using a cookie cutter to get a stacked crescent moon shape or something.

*When the stuffed peppers are pretty well done, pull them out and sprinkle with bacon bits. I think running them under the broiler will add a nice crispy layer.

*I'm hoping the whiting is simply pan fried in butter and there's enough to be a reasonable portion for each portion. Gently reheat and plate on very thin slices of lemon. Serve with oddly stuffed pepper alongside.

Was this kinda odd? It certainly wasn't a 30-minute meal. I suppose a sort of layered casserole might have worked, but I couldn't wrap my head around it and I call a freebie on not using the curd cheese and sausage *grin*

What do you think? The stuffed pepper will either really work or really tank, which is pretty much what happens with my kitchen attempts. I'm okay with culinary disasters if it is only me eating them *bigger grin*

Julia V, funny that you bring up quinoa. The other day I enjoyed a tomato-based soup that had a good amount of quinoa and I briefly wondered why it isn't more commonly used. It is pretty handy to have around, but I'm not sure if it can be incorporated...maybe someone else can punt as well!

I can't wait to see what Lynne makes of these challenges, Whew. Let's see if I can plate this into a meal. Since it is stump the cook I'm calling for sweet onions! And we need something... a note. You have three base flavors in the cauliflower, brown rice, and quinoa, but no other vegetables. We could assemble a simple bake but I will weep for a sauce.

*Plate the olives with a little blue cheese as delectables. If you had green olives I'd advise stuffing the olives with the cheese, but they're ok as single notes! You can serve with cubes of mango for a sweet note on the plate, or reserve the mango for dessert. Personally I can't seem to cut mango in those pretty fan slices but there you have it.

*Small, small florets on that cauliflower. (everyone has cauliflower so far! I LOVE it!) It doesn't have to be so small it resembles dust but not much larger than a fingertip either. Steam until fairly soft.

*I called for the sweet onion. We're gonna peel and dice it to a medium-large size. Sweat/lightly saute the onions in the oil of your choice or butter (you included cheese so I'm assuming other dairy isn't off-limits) until soft, but please please do not brown them. Reserve off heat.

*Gently re-warm the rice.

*Preheat oven to medium. Use a fairly nice pan - we don't want this to be so thick it takes a long time for the flavors to merge a bit Layer the following ingredients in two layers, reserving enough of the onions to sprinkle over the top: onion | cauliflower | rice | (repeat onion | cauliflower | rice ) light sprinkle of onion.

*Here's the trouble. Those are base flavors and I've merged them. Bah. Consider me stumped! Without incorporating other vegetables it is incredibly bland, and I can't seem to wrap my head around using the blue cheese in a dish. If you have tomatoes and garlic (or better yet red peppers/harissa on hand) we could have a nice draping sauce. If you include nuts or legumes in your diet we could make a sort of funky cassoulet.

Thoughts? Additions? Is it possible you have ingredients for a pesto or enough vegetables to make a yummy stir-fry?

Julia V, You've got the beginnings of a great Indian dish. You'd need one or two other things - tomoatoes, hot peppers (habanero, jalapeno, thai dragon ...) and, of courst some kind of Indian spices, But The rice, cauliflower, quinoa and mango seem to me like they'd be great together in a curry dish.

Assuming for a moment here you have a jar of curry powder, here's what I'd do:

Toast the quinoa in a toaster oven, or on a baking sheet in the oven till it just starts to show browning.

Dice the mango and stir fry with the cauliflower and quinoa in oil with a generous amount of curry powder and some water if necessary to form a rudimentary sauce.

Serve over the rice, gently re-heated in the microwave or on the stovetop with a little water.

To really make this kick, add a small chopped yellow onion, some garlic and couple of minced jalapeno peppers to the cauliflower and pour in a can of tomatoes after the onions have cooked.

I know this is getting pretty far away from the ingredients you listed, but hey, who can blame a person for dreaming?

Oh man, Jeff, that's a great point. Even without additional ingredients, the seasoning elements would completely transform this.

I loved Lynne's show, which, unfortunately, Chicago Public Radio no longer carries. I subscribe to Lynne's newsletter and love it, and often visit her website. "Stump the Cook" was one of my favorite segments - I was always amazed by the meals Lynne could concoct out of nothing!

WOW, I never would have thought to use the mac and cheese to stuff the peppers. That is something new to me. I will have to try it next time. My husband took the last of the mac and cheese to work this morning along with the whiting. (which by the way was beer battered and deep-fried) Thanks for the tips! I may just have another one for you in the morning.

I shop at the discount food store so I have too much food. ingredients I bought for a single recipe and then forgot why I bought them, or stuff that was cheap and I figured I'd use it sometime, but never did. So, a challenge! Come up with some recipes I haven't already tried that use some of these things:

Fridge:
Homemade Pink Lady Apple Cider
Homemade Applesauce
Grapefruit juice
Italian Dressing
Leftover pizza
Chicken Corn Chowder
Blackberry/Currant Fruit Spread
Milk
Lemon Juice Concentrate
Clam Chowder
Pistaccio Pineapple Cream
Onion Rye Bread
Catsup
Pomegranite Juice
Tomato-based Angel Hair pasta Salad
Rhubarb Cobbler
Cranberry/Almond Bowtie Pasta Salad
Thin-sliced salami
Cheddar Cheese Curds
Bread Pudding
Eggs
Mexican Melting Cheese
French Onion Soup
Horseradish Dip
Homemade Ground Turkey Chili
Mozzerella Appetizer balls
Margerine
Tzaziki Sauce
Homemade Pizza Sauce
Blue Bunny Lite 85 Yoghurts
Plain Yoghurt
Wheat Gluten
Tofu
White Corn Meal
Manzanilla Olives stuffed w/ Pimentos
Baking Soda
Yeast
Almond Oil
Real Capers
Fake Capers (which are which? I don't know but I have two kinds)
Ionian Green Olives (whole)
Barbecue Sauce
Leftover Fish Marinade-based meat dressing
Pickle Relish
Tartar Sauce (3 kinds???)
Mom's Sweet Pickles
Diced Garlic
Marachino Cherries

Freezer:
Green Onions
raspberry sherbet
Basil Pesto
Pepperoni
Cheddar
Mozerella
Bulghur Wheat
Turkey Salami
Lobster Bisque
Juice concentrates (apple/grape/orange/apple medleys)
Boneless Pollock filets
Bacon
Tortillas (corn or wheat)
Ground turkey
Wheat Germ
Swiss Cheese

Pantry:
Pasta (mostaccioli, shells, rice noodles, fusili, egg noodles, lasagna, orzo, spaghetti, penne, linguini, ramen)
Instant Wild Rice
Canned roma tomatoes
Canned pinto beans
Salad Dressings (Peppercorn Paremsean, Caesar, Honey Dijon, Ranch)
Dijon Marinade
Canned Peaches
Almond Butter
Canned Tuna in oil
Mincemeat
Peanut Butter
Cocktail sauce
Kosher Salt
Tomato Paste
Glass-Bottled Pepsi (well-aged)
Burgundy Cooking Wine
Canned Bean Sprouts
Oyster Crackers
Unsaltines
Marshmallow Creme
Chow Mein Noodles
Chocolate Stars
Yellow Corn Meal
Graham Crackers
Falafel spices
Muffin mixes
food coloring
TVP
Cous cous
Rice
Flour (Soy/Brown Rice/Whole Wheat/Rye/Unbleached White/Buckwheat)
Rolled Oats
Sugar (white/brown/Turbinado)
Popcorn
Split Peas (Yellow and Green)
Tamarind Juice
Apple Cider Vinegar
White Vinegar
Rice Vinegar
Balsamic Vinegar
Worchestershire Sauce
Hot Sauce
Corn Oil
Soy Sauce
Chicken Boullion
Various Spices
Baking Powder
Olive Oil
Dried Kelp
Other dried seaweed (Japanese???)
Powdered Milk
Bread Machine Mixes (wheat/Sourdough)
Malt-O-Meal
Grape Nuts

On my table I also have some Diced Citron, Juicy Juice, shredded Wheat 'n' Bran, Dried Apricots, and an assortment of jams and jellies (bilberry, starfruit, rose hip lekvar, homemade apple, pear/orange/pecan)

So find me something I can do with this stuff, before I have to throw half of it out!

--Gabe

Oh, I forgot! I also have small yellow onions and Vimto Cordial Concentrate (concentrated black-currant juice)

I swear I will not buy any more food until I get through some of this stuff! Help me please!

--Gabe

Gabe, I want to come to YOUR kitchen. The possibilities are what would stump this cook! What dishes are you "tired of"? Are there any cuisines or regular dishes we should avoid?

"Stump the Cook" was my favorite segment, too. I often wished she'd do a whole show of it. I am completely stumped by my pantry and fridge. It's toward the end of the pay period, and I have a pantry full of ick. I have the olive oil, some stick cinnamon, paprika, lemon pepper, nutmeg, ground yellow mustard, some steak rub, vinegar (white, red wine, rice, and apple cider) and 4-color peppercorn. My five ingredients? Geez. Canned mixed greens, canned corn, canned shellie beans, a little brown rice, frozen mixed vegetables, and a few coffee beans. Ick. McDonald's has become my new hangout. Please help me before I get supersized. Oh, and I have raw honey in several varieties (blackberry, which is almost black; clover, and locust). And some multigrain bread and cornmeal. No milk, eggs, meat, fish or poultry.

I loved stump the cook, and would love to hear it again. Here's a challenge: a can of lycee fruits, an 8 oz block of cream cheese, a kielbasa, a package of frozen green beans and a spaghetti squash. I also have various garlic, onion, spices and butter.

Scott

Just back from a two week trip out of town. Ran out of almost everything before I left.

I have 6 bags of Peet's French Roast beans in the freezer, 4 bottles of Vitamin Water, and some lemons (a little soggy) in the refrigerator and some onions and shallots on the counter. If you raid my dry goods drawer, there is also some pasta tubes, smoked almonds, and stale crackers. Can you come up with some thing or should I rush out to the grocery store???