Themed food night - easy to prepare

EWom

Hey all I have a family reunion coming up and each family is supposed to be responsible for a day of dinner, and everyone is supposed to pick a different theme. All American is taken (burgers/dogs) otherwise it's pretty open. The reunion is in a remote location with no access to a store, so the ingredients will need to be able to stay fresh in a cooler w/ ice, possibly for a couple days (replenishing the ice will be an option). Cooking options are a propane grill, a basic metal coil stove top, or a basic oven.

My initial thought was Luau themed, but really not sure what all that entails. If you have experience with this, and think it's doable in those conditions I'd love some ideas on foods to bring & cook.

Also open to any other themed ideas, just keep in mind it has to feed a wide range of people, including kids, so really exotic, strange foods, probably won't be doable.

Enc

Tex-Mex theme: Fajitas. Prep your peppers, onions, and meats beforehand, keep in a Tupperware container to marinade which is inside a cooler to keep fresh, and grill them (they taste better that way anyhow). Bonus points are that Flour Tortillas, canned salsa, and chips don't need special resources to keep fresh.

TychoCelchuuu

Assuming you can keep the meat from spoiling (which must be doable if burgers and hotdogs are on the agenda), TexMex/fake Mexican is easy as hell and edible by tiny children and other people who can't eat anything more exciting than Chinese takeout. Ground beef make-your-own tacos, taco salad, burritos, nachos, etc. Just buy a bunch of iceberg lettuce, cheese, chips, salsa, limes, refried beans, rice, and so on.

edit: well I just got destroyed by taking too long to post :P

illig

Lots of pasta dishes can be made entirely out of canned and dry ingredients. Look up a recipe you like and call it 'Italian'

Djeet

How about German? Brats (and other wursts), sauerkraut, German potato salad, Beer, and if you're feeling ambitious, schnitzel. You could also bring buns and veggies for Chicago dogs (though that'd be a little off-theme).

Of course my exposure to German cuisine is a bit thin so I may not be giving it justice, and I might be totally distracted by all the Oktoberfest brews coming out. Mmmmmmmärzens.

cmsamo

+1 for tex-mex.... really easy to do quickly, really easy to package and keep cool. Get some cans of refried beans, get some chicken/steak, pre chop the chicken and steak, marinade, and stick in the coolbox. Chop some peppers, onion, mushroom just before serving, and then cook it all up with the meat. Serve with fajita wraps, salsa, sour cream etc - all this stuff can be bought and kept fresh in the coolbox

mts

any meat, just put in a marinade and freeze and just thaw before use. it will be fine especially if you have a cooler. plus you look awesome whipping out fresh meat

DirtyDirtyVagrant

Chicken stock + frozen egg noodles + shredded chicken hindquarters = an amazing treat. Season with seasoned salt and serve over mashed potatoes. Seriously. It doesn't really get any easier.

JebusUD

Djeet wrote:

How about German? Brats (and other wursts), sauerkraut, German potato salad, Beer, and if you're feeling ambitious, schnitzel. You could also bring buns and veggies for Chicago dogs (though that'd be a little off-theme).

Of course my exposure to German cuisine is a bit thin so I may not be giving it justice, and I might be totally distracted by all the Oktoberfest brews coming out. Mmmmmmmärzens.

Spaetzle!

see317

Couple questions: How many people are you looking at feeding? How long is the reunion?

You could make a couple pans of lasagna, freeze them solid and keep them in an ice chest. So long as no one opens the chest before its time and it's kept out of direct sunlight they should remain plenty cold enough. Toss them in the oven when it's your night and call it good. For sides: A good sized bag of romaine lettuce, some shredded parmesean cheese, a bottle of Ceaser dressing and some croutons should be good in an ice chest for a week, toss them together right before you're ready to eat. Maybe some garlic bread to go with it (wrap it in foil and toss it on the grill since the oven will be full of lasagna).

EWom

the reunion is 5 days long, and we'll be feeding anywhere from 40 to 60 people. good ideas so far, but in the updated email, tex-mex has been taken also. I'm liking the lasagna/pasta & salad idea.

TychoCelchuuu

Yeah, Italian (or faux-Italian as it is of course going to end up being) is a great second choice. In addition to the lasagna, you can do tortellini and ravioli (cooked there and/or cold salads), basic salads with vinaigrette/olive oil dressings, a bunch of bread and garlic bread if you have some way to toast stuff, baked zitis, pasta out the wazoo, etc.

mts

lasagna is a good bet. will be cheap too bonus in that when frozen it can serve as a huge ice block in the cooler

TheLizbot

Does the theme have to be a nationality? If not, maybe you could focus on a type of food, like sandwiches/pizzas/casseroles/dumplings/noodles etc?

godmode

For an Oriental-ish theme, stir fry is very simple. Rice and vegetables can travel just fine without special care, and you can put any meat you choose in a cooler.