Convention Food

Over the past few years, my husband and I had run a booth at fantasy conventions. The problem with running a booth, especially when you are essentially the only booth staff, is the shortage of good food options. Sure, you can order a pizza, or maybe pay $20 for a burger from the hotel bar, but ultimately con food, is probably worse than road food. The other problem I've found after 3 years of vending, is the fact that I just don't get hungry. Between the excitement, the stress, and the constant flow of friends and aquantances stopping by to say "hello", I forget to eat; and eventually forget that I'm hungry!
This past convention, knowing that I am prone to practically a 3 day fast, I planned ahead, and not only ate realatively well, but also managed to feed a couple of starved con participants.
Convention survival food:
Ramen noodles: First off, you can cook the noodles/ very easily with if you have a coffee pot and a thermos coffee mug. Run hot water through your coffee maker, break up the ramen into your coffee cup, add flavour packet, top off with hot water. The key to having a good experience with ramen is not to settle of the stuff they sell in the pasta section of the grocery store. Check the international food section, or go to an Asian grocer.
Peanut butter and jelly: This is a great source of energy, even if it is a little bit messy. A loaf of bread, a jar of peanut butter and a jar of jelly will get you through a convention. If you bring a couple of bananas with you, that makes even better easy food.
GORP: grab some trail mix. Find the good stuff, that you want to eat, and keep the bag somewhere you'll see it. This way, you can graze your way through the convention.
Summer sausage or jerky: since the above foods are carbohydrate heavy (not to mention can be a bit sweet) I tend to get a little tired of them towards the end of the second day. Summer sausage or beef jerky make a welcome savory snack, or, if you brought some cheese, you can make a tasty sandwich. Hard cheeses like chedder can usually withstand a few days without refrigeration, however use your own judgement on weather your want to ignore the "keep refrigerated" label from the fine folks at the USDA.
Fresh fruit and veggies are also a welcome snack, just make sure that you don't leave him in a hot car!
You know, writing this makes me wonder if I can come up with a completely savory trail mix... Check back later, there may be shenanigans in the kitchen!

Lastly, if you're not afraid of having very angry hotel staff, you can always sneak in an electric skillet. Do this at your own risk, some hotels have rules against cooking in your room. For me, by the end of the second night, I'm near willing to sell my soul for something hot (especially if all I've eaten in the past 36 hours is PB&J), so the risk is worth it. You will want to have a cooler handy to keep this food cold, fortunately hotels provide free ice!


Cooking utensils:
Electric skillet
Knife
Plastic spatula
Cutting board
Plates and forks
Cooler
Plastic or metal bowl (able to hold at least 3 cups)


Convention Comfort Food
The best part about this recipe is that you can add pretty much anything you want to it. Last time I made it, we happened to have kale around, and it didn't taste half bad. If you don't want to worry about having to keep the precooked sausage on ice, you can always use summer sausage instead, since that is shelf stable.
1 package pre-cooked polenta
2 medium tomatoes
1 tsp Italian seasoning
4 precooked sausages of your choice (chorizo works really well)
1/2 block of 8oz cheddar
salt and pepper to taste
oil or butter (generally you can snag a pat of butter from the hotels restaurant)

Heat oil in the skillet at the medium setting. Chop up the tomatoes and saute them with the seasonings until they become tender. Crumble the polenta into the skillet, and slowly add between half to a whole coffee cup of water. It's okay if you add too much, you can always cook the polenta longer. Chop the sausage and cook with the polenta tomato mixture. Let everything cook together stirring occasionally. Meanwhile finely chop the cheese, when the mixture is close to being done, stir in the cheese, and turn off the skillet.
Feeds 4

Just Want Eggs
By the last morning of the convention I generally feel like a zombie, this little number is a life saver if you have time to cook it before check out.
6 eggs
3 slices of bread, cubed (remember that bread you packed for PB&J?)
2 oz cheese
salt and pepper to taste
your favorite seasoning blend
butter or oil
pre-cooked sausage (if you have any left over from the previous night)

Heat the skillet to its medium setting, and toast the bread cubes and left over sausage. Beat the eggs with a little bit of water salt, pepper and seasonings, depending on the size of the mixing bowl you brought, you might need to do it batches. Pour the eggs over the toasted bread, add cheese, and cover. After about a minute remove the lid and lift the edges of the egg (which should have begun to puff up) and allow any still liquid egg to run underneath the cooked egg. Cover again and cook until there is no more runny egg in the middle, and the bottom is nicely browned.
Feeds 4