Poindexter Party serves Collard greens

What do you serve 300 guests who are athletes, coaches and just big eaters?

This is the question Kim Poindexter had to ask herself in planning a celebration for her hubby, Anthony.

The answer is 'good ol' home-style southern cookin' and that's how she ended up working with Mel's Cafe in Charlottesville to feed the hungry crowd that came to celebrate Anthony's Jersey Retiring Evening.

The Party?

The party had such great energy from athletes to coaches, fans to family all mingling together and fussing over Anthony. People wore Poindexter jerseys ordered especially for the evening. People also wore fun name tags, which asked 'How do you know Dex?"

Who doesn't know DEX?!

What about the food?

Fried chicken, chicken wings, baked chicken, mac n' cheese, collard greens, green beans, mashed potatos, vege platter, and plenty to drink.

But let's talk about the collard greens.

Collard greens are from the cabbage family and is loaded with the good stuff. It has vitamins B6 and C, carotenes, chlorophyll, and manganese & vitamins B1, B2, and E.

Plus, it's known to help protect against cancer, heart disease, cataracts through it's antioxidant properties.

So it's all good stuff. The only problem is the way it's cooked.

The traditional way is to boil it and simmer it slowly with a piece of salt pork (bacon or ham hock) for a long, long time to smooth out the bitter flavor and soften it. It will simmer until it turns into a highly concentrated broth. But to me, drenching it in bacon or ham hock makes it too fattening.

I boil my collard greens in water first to soften it, drain it out, and boil it again with chicken broth.

Eileen's Collard Greens:

2 pounds of rough chopped collard greens

2 cups chicken broth

1 tsp basil

1 tsp oregano

5 garlic cloves chopped

1 cup chicken breast chopped into tiny pieces

1 can (14.5 oz) tomatos, chopped and drained, save the juice

Boil the collard greens in water then simmer for 30 minutes.

Drain then add chicken broth, chicken breast, garlic and bring to a boil. When it starts to boil, add basil, oregano and tomatos and simmer for 30 minutes. Add the juice from the tomatos and continue to simmer for another 30 minutes or until it reduces to a concentrated liquid and greens.

That's how this Asian in the south likes her Collard Greens!

Check out what happened hours before the party:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1cHg84zz80