Rachel Perlow

In lo mein?!

Just curious, but why did you go all the way to the other end of Manhattan when you were much closer to the Arthur Ave area location? (60 blocks vs more than 100) Also, what was the price? And, does anyone know if there is actually a Roberto running Roberto's? (BTW - we've been there 3 times and LOVE this restaurant, it's worth going to the Bronx just to go there and get some pignoli cookies from the Madonna bakery.)

Officially, this is how I make the green bean casserole now. The modern variation was universally hated (I even used fresh green beans), but I still can't bring myself to use canned green beans. A lot of recipes call for adding milk, but I find that even if you drain all the veggies thoroughly they don't need the extra liquid. Additional salt isn't needed but I'm sure I grind in some black pepper. The onions now come in cans twice the size as the original. So that I didn't just eat them straight from the can last time I made this I just used up the whole can in the casserole (same half & half proportions) - it was so good. 1 large bag frozen green beans, french cut (very important), thaw & drain 1 can (12 or 16 oz?) bean sprounts, drained 1 can (8 oz.) water chestnuts (sliced or whole, doesn't matter cause you have to chop them up), drained & chopped 1 can Campbells condensed Cream of Mushroom soup (I can't even get away with using the healthier version of this!) 1 can French's Fried Onion Rings Mix all the ingredients together, reserving half a can of the onions. Spray a 2 qt casserole with oil and pour in mixture. Bake at 350F for 30 minutes. Sprinkle on reserved onions and bake for 5-10 more minutes until they get a little browned & crispy. You can make this ahead up until baking, bring to room temp first or add a few minutes to the cooking time.

Sorry for any confusion. I didn't mean commercial flash freezing, but by spreading them in a single layer on a cookie sheet to freeze them they do freeze pretty quickly. Once frozen hard they can be re-packaged for better storage. When I do make them, I tend to make way too many latkes, so I've done this for years. After they are frozen I package them about six to a sandwich bag and put all those baggies in a larger freezer bag. Then when we just want a few as a dinner side dish or snack, they can be reheated & crisped in the toaster oven. re: separating. I think you may be thinking of frozen mashed potatoes or potato pieces in soup. I have heard of people freezing mashed potatoes successfully, but I've never tried it. I have made twice baked potatoes and frozen them. They are a great way to have a fancy side dish waiting in the freezer. When I'm making something in the oven and have a lot of potatoes on hand I'll make up a batch as long as the oven is on. I'll post instructions in a new cooking thread, here's a link to Twice Baked Potatoes.

It's not that brining isn't kosher, it's that the kashering process involves soaking & salting meat to remove blood. Brining would be redundant. See http://www.egullet.com/ib3....+turkey for a discussion about brining and why kosher poultry tastes brined. The only kosher dietary restriction for your guests would be that if they keep kosher, they wouldn't want to eat meat that was not from a kosher butcher.

That's what the winks are for! Anyway, I have a very poor sense of humor. And, I'm tired of everyone picking on NJ!

No, not true. I actually kind of resent your post criticising that dinner. It was not an "all you can eat buffet" or anything. In fact, several people did not order the rodizio, including myself. However, it was a fun, convivial kind of place where we could be as loud as I knew we would end up being after several glasses of wine or sangria. That said... I agree with Fat Guy (and I'm sure others) that there should be a range of dinners, from the lavish to the funky and/or "ethnic". No, eating in the boroughs should not be relegated to "that other board" (ch0whound, I assume?). This is the New York City & State board, not the Manhattan board. Obviously, the first few dinners will center themselves in NYC, but the city consists of five boroughs! Boy, I usually try to be quite civil on this board, but the more I type, the more I'm getting pissed by the comments denegrating New Jersey. To continue, I'm sure Jason and I would want to participate in any NY dinner that is planned, either high-end or low-brow (even if SP is there ). I have tried to stay out of most of the planning discussion, because I've been organizing the NJ dinners and I'd like to go to the NY one as a regular guest. But someone needs to step up to the plate and be willing to organize it. Stefanyb very generously offered to plan one type of dinner. I think that a smaller dinner like this needs to be done after a bigger, lower cost, blow-out. So, anyone willing to plan that type of dinner, please post that you are willing to do so. Fat Guy's schedule is obviously too full for the next couple of months, so anyone else up to the task? It really isn't that hard a job, and we are run by volunteers here...

Elsewhere I was posting about cooking for Hillel at the University of Delaware, and it reminded me of one of our biggest kitchen disasters. A couple of the other board members had planned this elaborate Etheopean meal for Shabbas dinner (Friday night) as part of a whole program related to Etheopian Jewry. They prepared almost everything on the Thursday before during the day. I came in Thursday night and prepped some of the side dishes (and tasted some of the delicious chicken curry the other people had made). Meanwhile, the news reports on Thursday evening were talking about a local restaurant which was being shut down because of a hepatitis (I think that's what it was) outbreak had been linked to one of their workers. You guessed it! One of the board members who had cooked the chicken curry had been to that restaurant just a couple days before. The chicken curry had to be thrown out and I was called on Friday morning by the director asking if I could remake the dish (since I hadn't been to the restaurant or participated in making it). Of course, I had to admit to having tasting it, so I couldn't remake the dish, and the side dishes I made were now considered contaminated. Oy! We were probably being over cautious, but a third string of students were called in to remake the entire dinner and the three of us had to go get gamma globulen shots in our butts!

I used to cook for 25-50 people on a regular basis when I was in college. As the Hillel food event coordinator I ended up cooking a Shabbat meal about once a month. Generally I would make a whole turkey or a braised beef brisket. Naturally, the meat was always kosher so brining was never considered (nor had I heard of doing that 10+ years ago). Accompanying the meat would be 2-3 sides, plus salad, challah bread and dessert. Roasted potatoes and simply steamed veggies were usually among the sides. Sometimes I'd get inspired to make a tzimmes (stewed carrots, yams & prunes), parve mashed potatoes, various bread stuffings. I made so many turkeys during the 2+ years I made those meals that I find it one of the easiest things to prepare for a crowd. People get so crazy when they only make it once a year for Thanksgiving. I've made turkeys lots of different ways, and the best one I ever had was when we (at home with my family) were late starting it for a holiday meal. The Empire brand bird was unwrapped, rinsed, thrown in a roasting pan & shoved in the oven. Never ever had I made a bird that drew bigger raves! Hmph! (Wasn't there a thread elsewhere complaining about people raving over the simplest or storebought things, while barely noticing the dishes that took the most effort?) Oh no! I just remembered my biggest kitchen dissaster, I'll post it in that thread.

Malawry - latkes can definitely be made in advance. I find that they need to be more of the shredded kind, rather than the finely ground kind. Shallow fry them until medium golden, cool/drain on a rack then individually flash freeze them layed out on a sheet pan (it helps if you have a chest freezer, if not use a lot of smaller flat pans/trays). You can place them in a freezer bag after they have frozen hard. To reheat, do not defrost, but heat at around 400-450F for 15-20 minutes, preferably on a rack over a sheet pan. You don't want to over color them during the initial cooking because to re-crisp they'll need enough time in the oven to take on some additional color.

The recipe just mentions using a large skillet. What is everyone's opinion, is using cast iron appropriate?

Yes, I have to try steak that way. I usually do it in a cast iron pan, but I tended to sear the edges after cooking the flat sides. His advice to brown them first, rendering the fat for cooking the sides was a total AH HA! moment for me. Here's a simple preparation for winodj I'm planning to try soon. When in DC recently I had the best chicken dish. It was roast baby chicken served over quinoa with okra. Quinoa is a grain that is similar in taste/texture to cous cous (which is actually a pasta). In fact cous cous could easily be substituted if you can't find the quinoa. Here is a link to a webpage with additional quinoa info & cooking instructions. Cous cous is also very easy to cook: Boil 2 cups salted water or preferably stock, add 1 cup cous cous, stir, put lid on pot, turn off heat, let sit for 5 minutes. The baby chicken was stuffed with sauteed mushrooms, but these could be served on the side (or mixed into the grain) if you substitute chicken parts. The grain really soaked up the chicken juices and was a delicious accompaniment. The baby chicken was about half the size of a cornish game hen, but that would be a good substitute, or even just chicken parts or preparing a whole bird stuffed with mushrooms would be delicious. Plain white button mushrooms would definitely be acceptable. Once you saute them with garlic and olive oil they are delicious. I usually cut them in slices or quarters depending on size. Adding a small amount of dried porcini towards the beginning of the saute (while they are rendering a lot of liquid) flavors the whole dish. Don't buy the dried mushrooms in the tiny packets at a regular grocery store, it is worth a trip to a specialty Italian market to get buy them from a bulk bin. I usually get a quart size plastic container of them when I got to Mike's Deli on Arthur Ave in the Bronx. It doesn't cost as much as you'd think because they are very light and a little goes a long way. I would probably skip the okra, and instead serve some lightly sauteed spinach. Or even raw shredded baby spinach - the heat and juices from the chicken will wilt the leaves - good idea Rail Paul!

What about adding an extra yolk or two to the recipe?

Well you guys covered everything! Only thing I could add is that we've been tempted to go to Baumgarts many times but never did. We'd look at the menu outside, it sounds like Gourmet Americanified Chinese and head across the street to Bennies. I will note here our favorite Chinese take out place in Tenafly is called Tea Garden. The owner & chef used to work at Baumgarts, they serve very fresh and simple chinese food and have the same type of homemade ice cream as Baumgarts.

Dear eGullet.com Members, Today is Purim, make noise with your groggers and bake some hamentashen!

I'm sure asopao is all those things, but I'm recalling from a trip to Puerto Rico about three years ago! I had asopao relatively recently at a fancy Dominican place in NJ, Casa del Faro, but it wasn't what I remembered. All recipes welcome. Perhaps a new thread in cooking would be best.

re: Malawry's post above... Me too! (only we're going this fall so I need a reading list soon). Thanks! Rachel

From my Cooks Illustrated email: SANITIZING SPONGES The reality is that most of us use and re-use kitchen sponges despite warnings about lurking bacteria. We found a simple way to ease our worries about this kitchen safety conundrum. First, squeeze sponges in hot soapy water to clean, then microwave on high power for one minute to kill any remaining harmful bacteria.

You don't mean us, do you? 'hic

It's a type of fish soup/stew. Where are you going in Puerto Rico? There's been some discussion over on the Caribbean board about the restaurants there.

Like I mentioned, most of the wall is going to the American Institute for Wine & Food, including the copper pots. However, at least a portion of the peg board wall with implement outlines is at the Smithsonian. I know cause I saw it propped up against a side wall like it had just been unpacked.

What's Cooking? Julia Child's Kitchen at the Smithsonian In doing my research for our trip to Washingon DC, I learned that they have begun the unpacking process of the Julia Child's kitchen exhibit and that the curators give talks about the exhibit on Wednesdays & Fridays from 11:30 AM till Noon. I arrived early at the Smithsonian National Museam of American History and headed straight for the exhibit: It is on the first floor on the West End, you see that blue star to the right of "Science in American Life"? That's it. It's behind the display of Archie Bunker's chair and the Fonz' jacket (see TV Objects to the right of the escalator). The exhibit is currently being unpacked and documented behind glass walls. I got there around 10:15 AM and looked at what is currently displayed. Most of what they have unpacked so far consists of the larger appliances: the Garland Commercial Range, the Kitchen Aid fridge & dishwasher. Also the stainless steel double sink and surround and the largest morter (sans pestle) I have ever seen (more about that later). There really wasn't that many smaller items out on display yet, although there is a very cute picture of her cooking at school when she was around 20 years old. I knocked on the door because I thought I saw another visitor walking though behind the scenes, but it turned out to be a volunteer, so I went to get our Washington Monument tickets and came back at 11:30. I found one of the curators, Paula Johnson, waiting by the exhibit for someone to talk to and I happily had a private discussion with her about their progress for about 15 minutes until more visitors showed up. She had laughed and said I "had it bad" when she saw my rapt expression about seeing all of Julia's things close up. When I saw the smiles on the others' faces I knew what she meant! By noon I had learned many interesting tidbits about the various pieces in her collection. Paula told me about their interviews with Julia, scheduled for the morning of Sept 11th. They watched the news for a little while then Julia set the tone by turning off the TV, saying they had work to do and could check in on the news throughout the day. I particularly appreciated the tale of that oversized mortar. Julia bought it at a flea market in Paris years ago. Then made her husband, Paul, carry it around for hours! Over the years it eventually found a permanent home place underneath the portable butcher block chopping table and collected quite a bit of dust from disuse. By noon I had met the other curators, Rayna Green and Nanci Edwards. All were very friendly and answered all the other visitors questions. There were some ladies there from a local gourmet club who wanted to arrange a private curator talk on a Monday in May and they were very accomodating. Paula also told me about the packers and drivers (all men) who were all big Julia fans. They were so happy when Julia's assistant gave them one of her books! If I lived closer to DC I'd try to stop by every few weeks to see the progress they are making, but since I don't have that opportunity I'll have to be satisfied with reading the curators' diaries online. They expect the finished exhibit to have a step in area so visitors can have a closer look. Her wine glasses and one wall (primarily her copper pots) was given to The American Institute of Wine & Food, which was founded by Julia Child, Robert Mondavi and Richard Graff. This is the area which will be the entrance to the finished exhibit. They are planning on a grand opening of the exhibit in August in time for Julia's 90th Birthday. Maybe I can make it back down to DC for that! "She asked for all her knives and then talked her way through which three she would select as critical to a well-equipped kitchen, "Or maybe four -- well this one is handy -- so maybe you could get by with three, but these others are certainly useful!" --NE (from the curators' diaries 9/11/01).

Please, I need your recipe for Asopao. I haven't had a decent version since our trip to Puerto Rico and I've been pining for it. You could email it to me if you don't want to post it, but if you are willing to post it, a new thread in cooking would be appropriate. Thanks in advance, Rachel

That's why I made sure that not only the wine & sangria were included in our Spanish dinner, but all the soft drinks were too. If you didn't want the wine, you could have Brazilian sodas. :) That's an Brazilian orange soda jhlurie's drinking, he reported that it is better than orangina. The upcoming Chinese dinner is BYO (more normal American soda, like Coke), but the soft drinks are included. I checked on Zagat.com. If you are searching in NJ, you can select BYO as a category, that option is not available for New York City! There's got to be some BYOs in Manhattan.

I don't know about wine deals, but if I recall correctly, Cite validates parking at the Hippodrome garage nearby. I'd like to try Les Halles.