A good, International, Non-Poultry Recipe?

[Biggie]

My work has come up with another excuse to cook and get fatter - this Friday we're going to have an International-themed cookoff, to stretch our guts for Turkey Day next week.

I was going to go with something like carnitas, but two others are cooking similar dishes. I was considering maybe doing a chicken curry, but I want to stay away from poultry, since we'll be gorging on turkey soon. Maybe a lamb curry, but I'm not sure how expensive lamb is at the moment, or how many people don't like lamb (from my experience, people either love it or hate it)

So, what I'm looking for is a good dish (that won't break the bank), that will re-heat reasonably well (I'll probably make it Thursday night, re-heat it Friday morning, and it will no doubt have to be nuked at times throughout the day). I want to stay away from anything you'd find in a traditional Thanksgiving meal, but I'm drawing a blank....

[Biggie]

I'm now leaning towards a Spanish-inspired fritatta with serrano ham, green onions, and manchego cheese, since I can quickly cook this before going to work

[pattisue]

Thai curry made with pork tenderloin is absolutely delicious!

[cackalackie]

I was going to suggest Thai Curry as well - but made with either shrimp or veggies.

[Biggie]

great recommendations so far....it doesn't have to be hot - room temperature recipes are great too

[pikawicca]

How about a tortilla Espagnole? Traditionally served at room temp.

[mothrpoet]

Does it have to be hot? How about a lavish Greek Salad or Salad Nicoise? If you need to take a hot dish, Greek moussaka or pastitsio have slightly different ingredients from your generic Italian pastas--eggplant, cinnamon, etc.--that just might set your dish apart.

[megek]

mothrpoet - Do you have any good pastitsio recipes? I am looking to make a Spinach Pastitsio, and am uncertain about some of the seasonings.

(Here is my recent question: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/...

)

Many thanks!

[FlavoursGal]

I've done a great, easy lamb tagine with prunes. You could substitue beef or even dark meat turkey for the lamb. By the way, you don't need a tagine - that's a whole other discussion going on now in Cookware.

[Candy]

Frittatas are nice and there are infinite varieties. Good at room temp so reheating is not an issue. Eggs are cheap too!

[Diane in Bexley]

How about stuffed cabbage rolls? You can make it ahead, ground beef and cabbage are cheap and you can leave it in a crock pot all day to keep warm and it will only get better. If you need a recipe, let me know and I can post one for you.

[ghbrooklyn]

I made a cassoulet-inspired dish for Christmas Eve dinner last year that could work well. Cannelini beans, chunks of toasted stale bread, a variety of sausages, pieces of slab bacon, leeks, garlic and thyme. Cook the beans with the bacon, leeks, thyme and garlic and throw them along with the bread and sausages into a baking dish. It dissappeared quickly, but it seemed like it would reheat well.

[heatherkay]

How about chana masala or dal? It can serve as either a main dish or a side dish. You can cook it in a slow cooker (easy to heat up in the break room), and it's often better the second day. You can make it low-fat or not, spicy or not, tailored to the group.

[Val]

I think lamb is risky for a big crowd, not everyone likes it; last time I bought lamb shoulder cubes from Fresh Market (2 weeks ago) it was $7.99/pound. I only needed a pound so it didn't kill me but that would be pretty expensive if you were to buy for a crowd! The veggie curry is a good idea and I have a delicious recipe, link below, for Fragrant Beef Curry in case you'd like to consider it...recipe from epicurious and I always use 1/2 can of coconut milk instead of the regular milk called for in the recipe. Is anyone bringing lasagna? Or stuffed shells? You could do that, too and everyone loves it.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/rec...

[Biggie]

the last dish I brought in was a pumpkin/sweet potato lasagna, and I wanted to show my versatility

that beef curry looks great, and I can easily serve it and keep it warm in a crockpot

[Hungry Celeste]

Why not a veggie curry? Cheaper than meat and a good counterpoint if you know that others are doing meat-centric dishes. I'd do potatoes & peas and/or cauliflower, or perhaps a saag paneer/palak paneer dish.

[Karl S]

Well, mid-November is traditional hog-slaughtering time in northern Europe and N. America. So, how about choucroute or some other fatty sausage/greens dish? These types of dishes reheat well.