Rachel Perlow

I made Mayhaw Man's stewed okra and tomatoes yesterday. Jason had picked up some frozen whole baby okra and some sliced okra at the supermarket and he wanted me to cook it for him. After consultation with MM, we decided that the sliced was for the next batch of gumbo and the whole would be prepared as mentioned above. I tried to find the thread where this "recipe" appears, and can't. There's too damn many threads with okra in them. And that's saying something, if I can't find it. Or, perhaps it doesn't exist? Anyway, this seems like an appropriate a place as any to post.* I made it based on a Skype call with MM, so here's what I did: Stewed Okra and Tomatoes 2 oz piece thick Bacon, diced 1 med Onion, diced 1 lb bag frozen whole baby Okra 1 28 oz can Italian Plum Tomatoes 1 concentrated Chicken Stock ice cube herbs & seasoning (dried oregano, salt & pepper) In a large saute pan (with a lid), slowly cook the diced bacon to render the fat. Remove crisped pieces of bacon and set aside on a paper towel. Saute the onion until it begins to get translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the okra to the pan and combine with the onion. Lower heat. Shove the okra and onions to one side, pick the tomatoes out of the can with a fork, add to skillet a couple at a time and use a couple of butter knives to roughly chop them. (Strain the remaining seeds out of the leftover tomato juice in the can and make a Bloody Mary or Bloody Bull with it.) Stir up with the okra. Add the stock cube, some oregano (or whatever herbs you like, thyme & basil would be good too, I think), salt & pepper. Over high heat, bring to a simmer. Reduce heat, cover, simmer for 30 minutes. Serve with something that can absorb the juice, like rice or pasta. I still don't love the slippery texture of the okra, but Jason loved the dish. This was a damn fine preparation of okra and will go on our regular rotation. Oh, the bacon bits? I put them in with the seasonings and allowed them to stew (and get soft), next time I think I'll add them as a crispy garnish at the end. Brooks, what do you do with the bacon? *If there's a better place to put this, please let me know and I'll move it. Note: found the better place and this is it, so I moved it. Dammit! I forgot the garlic. This is what happens when you get a recipe orally and don't write it down. Oh well, next time it'll be even better.

I'm looking forward to using it for Mexican Hot Chocolate. I figure it will not only blend in the chocolate, but heat the milk and froth it up. Has anyone tried it for this?

My favorite Haagen Dazs flavor is Chocolate Chocolate Mint. Which is chocolate mint flavored ice cream with nice thin chips (I hate large chocolate chips that get gritty when you chew them). Unfortunately, it has only ever been available at scoop shops, never packaged at the grocery store.

It's not from the heat of the motor, it's from the friction of the water movement due to the incredibly high RPMs. Now I feel stupid for not getting the extra container with the dry blades for grinding grain and making dough. I've sent the company an email hoping to add it to my order at the show price ($40 off the website price). More ideas people! Can we keep this an ongoing, "I have a Vita-Mix and here's what I did with it today" thread?

I saw a demo of the Vita-Mix 5000 today at the NJ Home Expo. Really really cool product. First, the guy made peanut butter and smoothies (he called it juice, but it was like a thin smoothie (grapes, orange, pineapple, banana, strawberry)). Sure, any blender can do that, but the strawberry seeds were emulsified into the smoothie. I asked about raspberry seeds and he said they get ground up too -- I know when I make smoothies with a regular blender (which recently died, btw) the seeds end up at the bottom of the glass. Then he proceded to make soup -- a delicious tortilla soup. Hot water, a carrot, a tomato, some cabbage, celery on high until the soup was steaming hot, oh and a chunk of cheese. Then he lowered the speed to mix in some seasonings, corn and black beans -- stuff he didn't want to puree -- and finally some tortilla chips. Dessert was fruit sorbet (like a thick smoothie or soft serve) with frozen and fresh fruits and ice and vanilla ice cream. The presenter used a gimmick of putting both raw cabbage and carrots in both and asked if you could taste them, you really can't. He suggested it as a way to sneak some extra veggies to your kids. My mom and I both noticed how well it poured, most blender canisters dribble, I've found. I like how you don't have to disassemble it to clean it. OK, fine, I splurged. Well I didn't splurge, thanks for the anniversary present, Mom! So guys, tell me what else to with my new wonder appliance? It should arrive in a week or so.

Checking the sprouts after 10 minutes (covered, low flame), they were already more cooked than I like them. So I scooped them out, leaving any liquid behind. Reduced the liquid to a glaze, and returned them for a brief time on high to coat. They were OK. I'll try doing it again, but for less time covered, maybe 5 minutes. Roasting them is easier and just as good.

That's probably the same brand that I buy the family-sized (~10 lbs) bags of leg quarters when I make stock. I haven't seen the whole chickens at that price before. However, a different brand was on sale last week, I'm think Aaron/Adam/some male name that begins with an A, maybe. Anyway, these roasters were quite large, but I think they were .69/lb.

I was just going to do my regular mushroom soup, but I'll check out the Les Halles cookbook to see if I want to make a change. (the baby bellas were still on sale today, I checked my receipt)

Re the Mark Bittman article recommending frozen veggies, here: Frosty the Vegetable (NY Times) From the article: I was disappointed that there was no recipe for this accompanying the article. Could someone suggest a technique? I'm going to make this tonight. Well actually, very soon, like in 20 minutes. I suppose I could just put a spoonful of my concentrated stock and a lump of butter in a covered frying pan with the (frozen) sprouts. I would think they'd need to cook on low for about 15 minutes, then a blast of high heat a the end to reduce the liquids and brown the sprouts. Sound right? Any differing suggestions?

From the article: I was disappointed that there was no recipe for this accompanying the article. Could someone suggest a technique? I'm going to make this tonight. Well actually, very soon, like in 20 minutes. I suppose I could just put a spoonful of my concentrated stock and a lump of butter in a covered frying pan with the (frozen) sprouts. I would think they'd need to cook on low for about 15 minutes, then a blast of high heat a the end to reduce the liquids and brown the sprouts. Sound right? Any differing suggestions?

Yeah, but I'll bet you let him put some before and afters in his portfolio. Those'll be some cool pages in his book. And he can promote it as an online, long distance, client.

From the NJ forum ShopRite thread, where we make notes of particularly good specials at this supermarket chain: So, anyone have a theory about why the stripped chicken backs are usually more expensive than legs? And, as noted above, I'll probably be making mushroom soup soon. (I have plenty of dried porcini to boost the flavor of the cremini.)

Items of note today at ShopRite. 1) Eggs - Large eggs, 2.5 dozen packages, 2 for $5. That's $1 per dozen. I go through about a dozen a week, so I stocked up. Takes up half a shelf in the fridge, but they're pretty fresh, so they should last the month+ it'll take to use'm up. 2) Stripped Chicken backs. This is for the stock makers. Usually, I buy the family pack of leg quarters at .59/lb to make stock. Sometimes I suppliment with the stripped backs and/or wings. However, both of these are more expensive than the legs. In fact, the stripped backs were .69/lb last time I bought them (seems weird to me, being that there's so little meat on them). Today they were .41/lb. I would have stocked up or just bought them to make more stock, but I just made stock recently and there's no room to store the bones in the freezer (because it's full of soup and frozen brussels sprouts and tater tots! ). 3) Mushrooms - 10 oz packages of white or "baby bella" (cremini) mushrooms for .99. I think this was an in-store special though, it wasn't in the circular, so your store may not have them on sale. Guess I'm making mushroom soup soon.

FYI, I've been roasting them, without defrosting first. When making a whole bag, I just drizzle some OO and salt into the bag and squish the sprouts around until coated. Spread out on a baking pan and into a hot oven for about 15-20 minutes. I prefer Hanover Premium brand frozen Brussels Sprouts (and Petite Peas). However, I stock up when they are on sale, $1.49/lb. This is much cheaper than fresh, and better tasting, I've found.

They're plastic deli containers. The carton is labeled "Delitainer." So, yes, "a thicker version of the light weight plastic containers." In the picture below, the clear lidded containers (minestrone & matzo ball) are the lightweight ones, the opaque ones are the HD (heavy duty) containers. The problem was the restaurant supply store would only sell these lightweight plastic containers in smaller amounts, so I bought some of those. The package was labeled "microwavable," but they warped. I knew the kind we get from the deli or soups from Chinese takeout would be good. Those had to be bought by the case (quantity=250), but the cost per unit was almost the same, within a penny. And I figure I'll eventually go through them. The main thing was that they had to be freezable, microwaveable, and disposable. I'm sorry that they're not more environment friendly, but you can blame Jason for that -- he usually either completely forgets to bring home the Rubbermade or Tupperware, or they sit in his car until moldy. We tried using a thermos for a while, but his lunchtime is variable, so sometimes the soup cooled off too much by the time he ate it -- and, again, he had to bring the thermos home. This way, I pop a frozen soup portion in his lunch bag. It keeps everything else in the bag cold, while at the same time it defrosts just enough to allow for quicker microwaving.

I think gumbo counts as a soup. I think spaetzle would work in a fresh soup, but I don't know how it would freeze. Which, as you know, is how most of my soups end up for a while. Jason requested a thicker soup, as opposed to the stock w/matzo balls I made a few weeks ago. This didn't really come out thick as I went light on the roux, which is why I added a touch of cream at the end.

Tonight, I made a Creamy Chicken Noodle soup. Roux, diced carrot, celery and onion, peas, and parsley, chicken stock, diced chicken meat, egg noodles, s&p, finished with a little cream. Anyone else out there still making soup?

Moderator Note: I've merged several of the Melt threads into this one. After Melt officially opens, this one will be closed and we can have a new thread discussing Glenn's place.

I thought of this the other day, but didn't think to post about it because it seemed so obvious. This is more of a comment about Fat Guy's comment about notes, "no observation is too small to document." If I had thought to post this recommendation on Saturday, poor Steven wouldn't have been juggling hot pots.

Yes, I have a Brother label maker. However, I've decided to only use that for containers that I want back. Jason hates having to remember to bring the containers home. Now that I have a case of 16 oz* heavy duty deli containers in the garage, I'm sticking to the sharpie, since the lids are destined to be tossed. Always label your lid before placing it on the container. Whether the soup is hot or cold, having a differing temperature or condensation on the lid will effect the pen's performance. But ALWAYS label your soups. Although it doesn't look it, because they are in two different types of containers, the Escarole & Bean and Minestrone look very similar. In a month or so, you wouldn't be able to tell which is which if they weren't labeled. *The containers are 16 oz, but I fill them with 10-12 oz of soup. You need stirring room when microwaving them.

I think I have to wait until I clear out a weeks worth of Jason's lunches before I can make more soup. Or at least soup for the freezer. That's the basket in my chest freezer I have alloted for soup. They are in pint sized containers, stacked 3 high. So that's 18 portions right there. Not that there aren't a few other containers stashed here and there as well. Current soups in storage, from the top: Gumbo, Pasta e Fagiole, Minestrone, Split Pea, Escarole and Bean, and Chicken Soup with Matzo Balls. My next soup will probably be a chicken and vegetable noodle soup, that's been requested, and I have the stock ready to go and all the other ingredients as well. For those who are curious, yes, I eat the soups too. I had some of the gumbo for lunch on Thursday, mmm mmm. But Jason really likes soup, he orders it quite frequently in restaurants as an appetizer. For me, a bowl of soup could be the whole meal, so I just take a taste of his soups, usually. As long as he has a microwave available to him at work, it just makes sense to give him soup in his lunch bag. It is economical, filling and healthy all at the same time. As a bonus, the defrosting container keeps his sandwich and drink cold. PS - I think it's time to defrost the freezer. When's the next sub-zero day?

Actually, since it was printed in the Star Ledger, it is specifically not to be reprinted here. However, if they did not include instructions and you write up your procedure in your own words, you could post that. Lists of ingredients are not copyrightable.

Hmm, did you crack them directly into the water, or into a small bowl first? Eggs are cheap. Buy a dozen and practice. :)

What size are the eggs you were using? And they do need to be quite fresh to form perfectly, that seems to be the most important factor. A lightly fried, over-easy egg would also have been perfect with that stew, and then you wouldn't have to worry about nippley vs golf ball formation.

He reads eGullet, doncha know!