More on Group Projects

R

richard-in-cincy

Well-known member
Mimi and I had an exchange in 699.9 (I think after most had already left that thread) about the use of the old Group Project and the issues of putting it here in favorites since Epi might "object" to that. So I thought, why not do a new Group Project to properly break in the new place. Then we could integrate the old group project with the new and create an entirely new presentation that incorporates our previous work so that it's not lost.

I was just musing over the deficiencies in the old one...German, Indian, Japanese...so many possibilities.

That said, I don't have the time to organize it like I did last time, but I certainly would love to contribute.

Thoughts?

 
This sounds like a great idea...

thanks for reintroducing the topic. For some reason, I'd never checked out the Group Project on Epi (despite being on the board practically since it started). I was amazed to see all those recipes--such a fabulous resource.

How did you organize it the last time?

Amanda_Illinois

 
I'd love to contribute but..........

not sure that my recipes hold much with the palates on this board.
It would be great to have a group project and intergrate it with the previous one.

 
Info on managing the first one...

I was the central clearing house for everyone to communicate with, i.e. the "project manager."

I asked everyone who was interested to send me their specialty areas. I took all this information and the groups that we all know and love just naturally "fell out" of what was contributed.

I organized the groups by the defined specialty area, assigned people to a group or groups (some wanted to contribute to more than one), appointed a leader of each group, and coordinated communications, logistics, and issues (and believe me, there were a lot of them--it took a lot of time).

At the time, it was a nebulous idea that formed as it grew, some people were a little unsure of what they needed to do and submit on behalf of their group and needed some hand holding. Although I'm sure it will go a lot smoother this time as everyone will know what the finished product will be since we now have a prototype.

That's basically it; we need a project manager.

 
I have been wondering just this...we do have some deficiencies, even on this site. Indian, for

example. I love Indian food, am definitely not (East) Indian, make it fairly often and live in a city that has endless resources for all ethnic cuisine, including Indian.

but I really never see anything related on our site here. I would guess that we just don't have the ethnic backgrounds in our group, that would lead to sharing on this cuisine. Japanese seems to be the same. Seems as though we have a bit of German here, however.

Would we assess the interest first, then the capabilities of the group to contribute on a knowledgeable basis?
I might be reticent to propose recipes that I love since I am not Indian (for example...did I mention that I love Indian food?), but I have been to some of the best of the restaurants and have eaten mama's cooking in Indian homes. What qualifies me to submit a recipe?

 
I think you just qualified yourself : ) more...

Not being an expert has never stopped me once from plowing into something and giving it a try. That said, with all your experience and love of Indian food, I think you would be a valuable resource for an Indian group. The way I see it, even if we have people forming a group that aren't native or natively familiar with a cuisine, they can still do some valuable research and menu planning that would be a vaulable resource for the rest of us if we should decide to attempt that cuisine.

I love Indian food too, but don't make it that often because we have a southern Indian family restaurant around the block and many times we are the only occidentals in the place, the rest of the patrons being Indian families. But every once in awhile I do get the itch to dive into my Indian cookbooks just for the fun of it. Having a resource of pre-planned menus and recipes to start with would be a valuable time saver.

So if we have interest in groups were people just love that food, or want to learn more about it, think of it as a big research paper where the group will report back to the rest of us on their discoveries.

 
forgot to add...

I pick out a cuisine every year around this time and dive into it with both feet. This year it's Japanese. Having only previously experimented with sushi and tempura, I am amazed and delighted at what constitutes "Japanese home cooking." It's a huge learning curve. Everything has to be researched, menus put together, trips to the Tokyo Market, etc. it's a slow, but very fun process. I put my first big meal together last night and was delighted with the results, but every step has to be so painstakingly researched, and I've got 5 cookbooks arrayed around the kitchen for constant reference.

It's this kind of research that would be son wonderful to capture on cuisines that we're not that familiar with as a group. Yes, the internet is filled with info, but it still has to be assimilated and synthesized, and that takes a lot of time. Doing this work as a group would be a valuable resource for all of us.

 
Now I've gone through the intermediate and advanced......

cooking courses for (East) Indian cooking and of course (practically grew up with) Cape Malay (African) type cooking and Zuri knows this kind of cooking too...and ethnic African dishes too.....the really tried and true recipes I use are well received whenever I make them but can others produced great dishes when they try to cook them from my recipes, I hope so.

 
perhaps we could....

furnish you with a recipe ie Indian that we think works great and your contribution would be to test it, make comments on ti perhaps say if the true ingredients can be found in your areas etc!!!!! I'm sure there are many ways of joining in and working on a group project like this.

 
I'd love something on THAI...and

German,Hungarian,Austrian, Japanese,Chinese, Swedish, Jewish...did I say Thai, Philipines...
I cook Thai quite a lot but still need to refer to cook books, can't quite whip up an authentic meal just like that....Oh and how about Caribbean?

 
Mentioning Caribbean...does 'heavy cake' start appearing near Easter there? I'm beginning to realize

that it is eaten around the world in tropical countries using various main ingredients as available? What do they make it with there, if at all?

 
Not sure where you were going with this...BUT...I am all for someone suggesting an entree and we

all contribute our recipes/tweaks/sides to go with etc...

As an example, (to build off Richard's suggestion...) If someone is up for trying Japanese Rolls during a week, let me know, I could do my research, go to the asian market, etc...and report results..

Is that what you were thinking???

Barb

 
I was one of the original team leaders...

Hi again, Richard!

...and it was lots of work but great fun! Just by chance I ran across my hard copies of the Mexican and Asian menus. I'm so glad they were preserved and re-submitted to this forum.

 
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