Expert: Teri Davis Newman - 3/20/2009

Question
QUESTION: we are having 2 weddings and a barbq for 150 people  since I am a bride I am looking for side dishes for the barbq I can make the day before and refrigerate till party  Do you have any ideas and recipes my wedding planner seems to have dropped the ball and isn't much help

ANSWER: LOL I don't know what it is with people these days--they go to a wedding and then decide that they are wedding planners.  Here's what I would serve for a barbecue side dishes and I have recipes for everything.  I'd go with my famous baked beans, pineapple cole slaw and my world famous German potato salad which unlike most potato salads is very balanced--not too tart, not too sweet, not too
onion-y and not to bacon-y and people fight over the last bite of it. Let me know if you'd like the recipes.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you please send me the recipes, that would be MARVELOUS!!!!!  Any more recipe ideas you have would be great as well.  The funny thing is my planner has been doing this for 20 years, you would think for $2800 I would be getting more for my money!!!  Thanks Kelley

Answer
You paid your olanner $2800?????????  OMG!  I never charge a fee, I take a percentage of the money I SAVE my brides! I am in Cleveland doing a wedding that I brought in for 11,000 UNDER the budget they had alotted for the event. This means that afeter everything is paid for, I will take the agreed-upon percentage of what I saved them and they will leave on their honeymoon with thousands of dollars left from a 450 guest wedding. Their budget for this wedding was 30,000 and I did it for 19K and they got everything they wanted. I'd suggest that you make a batch of each of these to make sure you like them (I'm sure you will) just to be SURE!! The slaw recipe is scaled for 120 people but I've also given it to you in small size.
Pineapple slaw
2 lbs shredded slaw mix (w/carrots&purple cabbage)
1 15 oz can crushed JUICE PACK pineapple, undrained
1  regular size can JUICE PACK pineapple TIDBITS (NOT CHUNKS), drained, juice reserved
1 qt mayo
2 TBS celery seed
1/2 c. sugar
2 tsp salt
Mix all the ingredients and use the reserved pineapple juice to thin the dressing to desired consistency.

PINEAPPLE COLE SLAW  Serves 120
25 lbs shredded slaw mix or cabbage (w/carrots & purple cabbage for color)
10 15 oz cans crushed pineapple, undrained
10 can pineapple tidbits, drained, juice reserved
10 qt mayo
20 TBS celery seed
5 c. sugar
6 TBS salt

GERMAN POTATO SALAD

6 pounds red or white creamer potatoes skins on
2 pounds bacon, diced and fried very crisp
2 cups white vinegar
2 cups water
2 tsp salt
1 tsp Accent
1 tsp pepper
1 box (16 oz) 10X powdered sugar
2 large (baseball to softball size) onions, chopped
Serves 20

Cut potatoes and boil till tender. After frying bacon, remove and set aside. In the bacon drippings add the onions and fry them in the hot drippings untilthey separate and begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Add water, sugar and seasonings and bring to a full rolling boil while stirring, then remove from heat. Drain potatoes and pour dressing over. Stir potato salad up from the bottom smashing the pieces a bit to aid in the thickening of the dressing. Stir
in the reserved bacon pieces and let sit on the counter for 4 hours before serving or chill overnight in the fridge and reheat before serving.

I have to hunt up my baked beans recipe--blast me an email at LimoBarbie@aol.com and remind me--I'm out of town and woking from a mini-laptop that I just got and haven't loaded everything into!!