Rachel Perlow

Reboil it now, before chilling it properly then put it away. If you wait to reboil it later, you're giving all those bacteria a lovely pool to reproduce in before the next boil, reducing storage time, if nothing worse. Kill them now. Then chill quickly in small containers in an ice bath.

Believe me, I've been thinking about it for days and weeks now. We have some vacation time coming and figured to go anyplace warm, even back to (yawn) Florida. Heck, what do we do on vacation other than sit by the pool, read, and check out the local food scene? Our timeshare (next deposit expires in Nov '06 anyway, gotta use it soon) even has a couple of locations with availability. So, maybe, there'll be another installment of the Perleaux Eating New Orleans sometime next quarter. I know that Upperline is open, and we can get a roast beef poboy at Parkway... Is Crabby Jacks open? Love and Kisses, Rachel PS - JetBlue has 2 flights a day between MSY (New Orleans) and JFK (New York) for $69-89 pp each way.

OMG - captions of above, please! Is that last pic of fruit strudels or something? :drool:

Is there no way to return them? You could always tell said friend that they got broken. The concern there is they could decide to replace them! If you do return them, I suggest you just be honest and say they didn't fit with your existing glassware and you really needed a new ___ (whatever you exchange them for). I'm sure my nephews are going to be disappointed in the (mostly) books they're getting for hanukkah. If I get any complaints, I'll suggest next year they make a wishlist on Amazon! My mother got us the perfect gift. A gift card to Fortunoffs, where we chose a mandoline that we've been longing for, and an electric pepper grinder that really seems to work!

Do only the Popeyes in Japan have that crawfish poboy? I want one! I'll have to check to see if our local Popeyes plans on serving it. Their jambalaya is pretty good.

For those who would like to see the Parkway Bakery before Katrina, click here for Jason's entry in the "Eating New Orleans Po-Boys" thread. Just to tempt you, here's a pic of the roast beef po-boy mentioned in the article: I was also pleased to see our friend, Joanne Clevenger quoted in the piece.

I had some. (I didn't do the hacking. Rachel did) It was delicious. It's Jello! ← Actually, I think Katie's had it more than once. I've made it for the NJ Picnic in the past, although the picture above is from Varmint's Pig Pickin'. One of my friends has said it's a shame I made it because I'm such a good cook (quoting someone else here, don't want to appear immodest) and could do so much more. Usually I do, just to prove I can make more than Jello (at the NJ event I've made baked beans, for example, and for the Pig Pickin pre-dinner, I made risotto as well as being an all around prep cook & helper, and grower of tomatoes and pickler of cucumbers ). But as for eating it... I really encourage that first person to go right ahead. People stare at it and don't want to be the one to break the spell or something. It does take a while to make, but it's pretty simple, the recipe is on the Jello website. And, while it does take hours, it's not a labor intensive and just takes a few minutes of attention out of every hour. As for the taste - since you're getting a variety of flavors in each bite, it just sort of tastes like Jello, as opposed to a specific flavor. Thanks for the compliments all. I for one, can't wait to see the picture of an actual Shrimp Mold. I like fruity additions to Jello, but can't stomach the idea of using sweet Jello for a savory application.

I've only been to Silver Pond during a weekday for lunch once, and then I ordered from the lunch menu. I've never attempted to have dim sum there during the week. I'm sure you'll have a much better experience if you go on Saturday or Sunday and arrive around 11:45. By 12:30, there will be a long wait, so try to get there before noon. I wouldn't even bother going there if I were going to arrive at nearly 2 PM.

I would heat them in a low oven, like 275-300 F, on a rack. That way, if possible, any oil can drip out, and you want to heat them for 10-15 minutes, until they are good and sizzling. That may crisp up the edges at least.You're welcome for the advice. If you ever come visit me, I promise to teach you latkes if you help improve my baking! Edit: Oh, I thought of something else... If you are heating them in a gas oven, they are less likely to crisp up. Something about how the combusion of natural gas creates water vapor. Use an electric oven, convection if possible, like a toaster oven, for drier heat.

I agree that the andouille is not overly hot, however the tasso we used from Poche's in last week's jambolaya was coated in a reddish seasoning, and tasting an individual piece, it was quite hot to me. However, you just use a little to flavor a recipe, so I think using it to spike cheese grits would be an excellent way to perk up a relatively bland dish. (Don't use as much salt as you might otherwise, as it is salty too.)

Of course, pictures always help illustrate the problem, we're here to help you. Meanwhile, did they soak up all your grease and come out limp and greasy? That would indicate that your pan wasn't hot enough when you added the batter to the pan. Turning up the heat after the pancakes are in the pan doesn't eleviate this problem. I turn the heat to medium and allow the pans to get hot before adding any fat. Add the fat, about 1/2 and inch or so, then allow that to come to temperature for 5 minutes or so before attempting to test the heat, longer and at a lower temperature if you are using schmaltz. Start one test latke. It should sizzle immediately and be GBD on the underside within 2-3 minutes. In fact, I keep my timer set for 2 minutes and just keep restarting it, it seems a good amount of time to use as a reminder, in case you get distracted by a phone call, spouse, kids, etc. On a medium flame, a pancake that wasn't ready to flip, won't have burned in another 2 minutes, in 3 or more, it might have. Never add oil while there are latkes in the pan. That oil isn't hot enough and the pancakes will just absorb lots of it, rather than frying more. If adding more fat becomes necessary, add it between batches, and allow it to come fully to temperature before attempting to fry more latkes. Don't overcrowd the pan. In both my large cast iron skillet and my 12 inch All-Clad, I only fry 5 latkes at a time. I have used Yukon Gold before, but Russets are better for this because they are starchier. Add a little salt to the shredded potatoes to help leach out liquid. Squeeze them in a tea towel, cheese cloth or use a salad spinner to get out more liquid. Allow the liquid to sit for several minutes before discarding the water, pour slowly and with care to reserve the potato starch to add back to the batter. Don't worry about cooking them all the way through in the pan. Once they are GBD on both sides, set them on a rack in a low oven. They'll finish cooking while you fry the rest. If you increase the heat in the pan, you are less likely to cook them through before they are GBD. You want a nice medium heat, so they are constantly sizzling, but the oil isn't smoking. Hmm, that's all the advice I can think of for now. What specifically did you not like about your latkes? That may help me think of more.

I'd reboil it, and make sure to quick cool it afterwards. Also, in future, if you have to go out, just turn your flame down as low as it will go to maintain a safe heat, but not boil your pot dry.

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Jason and I composed a little ditty last year that many of you might find interesting, click.

I think tuna casserole is more "white" than green bean casserole. I guess that's because it was never made in my house growing up. But the gbc certainly was. My mom adds chopped water chestnuts and bean sprouts to hers. I've tried making it from scratch, and it was universally disliked. The only change I've made in recent years is substituting Vietnamese fried shallots (you can get them in most asian markets) for the Durkee onions, the really are so much better, and you can use them in other ways too. They are even good straight ouf the jar -- the Durkee ones leave a shortening film on the palatte eaten straight.

Hmm, Mexican for Christmas sounds unusual, I think because a lot of Mexicans are Catholic, and you would think they wouldn't be open on Christmas. Like many have said... you need a restaurant to be open in order to go there. So Chinese isn't as much a tradition, as a necessity!For quite a number of years, my family and another family we were close with would go to Atlantic City every year for Christmas. It's the least crowded time of the year, when all the Jews and Asians go play blackjack. I was just slighly underage at the time, but I had no problems getting in to the casino, as long as I stuck to slot machines. However, my (same age) girlfriend was much younger looking, so for the first couple years we usually had to hang in the arcade. I remember feeling very grown up the first time I was of age and had a weekend in AC with my dad and I got to go to the craps table with him for the first time (I won too). Then we had dinner at the fancy restaurant at the hotel, with tableside Ceasar salad, etc. But that's a story for another thread.

It was the first time there for some friends of ours, four adults and one child at the table. After the complimentary soup, Caldo Galicio (sp?), we started with the Mushrooms Ajillo, Shrimp Ajillo, and Grilled Chorizo. Followed by three mains of Paella Marinara, Pollo Ajillo, and Whiting with Shrimps and Clams in Green Sauce. Our god-daughter loved the soup, so much so that she ate it all and it pretty much filled her up, although she tasted and gave thumbs up to the garlic shrimp and clams in green sauce. If you like to finish your meal with coffee and dessert, I recommend ordering one less dish than we did. We couldn't finish everything, and left stuffed to the gills. Although, maybe getting drunk on a couple pitchers of red sangria was partly to blame. Even with a reservation, we had to wait about 15 minutes in the crowded, smoky bar area before our table was ready. So, that's something you always need to be prepared for when going to one of the most highly recommended Spanish restaurants in the Ironbound. However, the staff is obviously used to having a packed house. It doesn't seem to faze them and the service is efficient yet solicitous.

Yes, but they are on the paper board menu near the entrance rather than the printed menu. We must not have noticed them until now. Tommy, do you eat the peel on the fava beans or do you peel as you go? Jason and I were of differing opinions on this. Oh, and the Chinese New Year dinner will be on Sunday, January 29, 2006 starting at 5 PM. We are working on the menu and pricing and will announce shortly in a separate thread for RSVPing.

Hey, omit the soy sauce and add a little paprika or saffron and it sounds like Spanish food to me.

No, it means they were frozen with the head on and haven't been defrosted for more than a couple days. At least, that's what it means it my local H-Mart.

This looks great, a must try. Have you tried using kitchen shears to cut the shrimp in half?

I think next time, we'll use commercial almond flour instead of grinding our own almonds. I was concerned about over processing the almonds, so the cake has a very nutty texture. If anyone tries this with commercial almond flour, please let us know how it turns out.

Did you look at the ingredient lists? They used Crisco to fry those latkes! Oy.

The schmaltz I use is a byproduct of stock making. I strain while degreasing, etc. I'll keep the used schmaltz/oil by the stove for a week or so, for sauteeing where appropriate, then get grossed out and toss it. I've edited the captions in Jason's post above to conform better to my recipe as posted.

Fritters are "main ingredient" in a batter and deep fried, IMO. Latke = pancake. Hence, the spinach latkes, matzo meal latkes, and zucchini latkes my mom used to make. Ahem, I posted my Make Ahead Potato Latkes recipe almost three years ago. Jason begged and pleaded and I made some latkes (with home made apple sauce) this evening. He'll post some pics soon. I adjusted my usual from-my-head recipe to more modest amounts than the above linked recipe calls for. They came out really well, and the batter did not seep copious amounts of liquid as it usually does. I've just added the recipes to RecipeGullet: Potato Latkes, Shredded & Ground Apple Sauce If you'd like to see pics of all the steps in the latke recipe, click here for Jason's album.