Rachel Perlow

Another great brunch at China 46 yesterday. In addition to many regular favorites there were several standouts, especially the steamed vegetable dumplings, scallion pancake with egg, and this new baked scallion studded bread that Cecil called "pizza bread." The crab made a reappearance after not being available the last few times we were there. Also, we sampled a dish that Cecil recommended for the New Year's banquet that we hadn't had before, Shrimp Wou-ba -- we all enjoyed it and it is on the menu for New Years. Speaking of, we hammered out the last details for the menu, that will be posted soon in the Chinese New Year banquet thread.

Coincidentally, I made this earlier this week, inspired by the 52 1/2 weeks of soup thread. Here's what I did:

Yeah! I win! lol Glad you and your guests had a good time. We miss TOPH that used to be in Paramus, maybe some day we'll make it down to the West Caldwell location.

Ah, you did what I did with my soup... Soaking after cooking. That rest in the fridge, or off heat on the stove, finished everything up to the same doneness. Also, in a way, these are stews, and everyone knows that stews taste better after a couple days in the fridge.

After an hour in the oven, the small white beans I used (actually, great northern) today were still quite toothsome. Even after another hour with the other soup ingredients, not all were meltingly soft. So, I think that hour of precooking won't harm the recipe any.

Does the book have any guidelines on the type of beans used? That quantity seems to indicate a can of beans to me. If you're using dried, I'd do the hour in the oven method to get them most of the way cooked before starting the rest of this recipe.

You guys inspired me. Why not make more soup? Jason loves it too. So, even though it's not the proscribed soup of the week, I made some pasta e fagiole today, one of his favorites. I used the quick oven method for the dried white beans in my pantry (reminder: preheat oven to 250 F. Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil, add 1 tsp salt, and one pound of dried beans. Return to boil, cover put in oven for 1-1.5 hours). I also added some garlic and a tied up bunch of thyme to my bean cooking water. After the beans cooked for 1 hour, I added a cup of dilitini to the pot, allowed to par cook for 5 mintues, then added a can of crushed tomato and a can of water and simmered for 30 minutes. Adjusted seasoning (another tsp salt, some ground pepper, 1 tsp vinegar, 1 tsp sugar, 1/4 tsp smoked paprika (I had forgotten to fry up some bacon to add, using the paprika also keeps it vegetarian, not that we really care), hmm, I also added a spoonful of onion confit ) and allowed to sit with the heat off for another 30 minutes (some of the solids stuck to the bottom of the pan, and allowing it to rest with the heat off, they became unstuck w/out burning or scraping to mush). I had some for lunch, the rest is all packaged up in 1 or 2 portion containers, so I can have them in the freezer for him to bring to work for lunch or reheat for a future dinner.

Jahn's is gone? I guess I haven't been to that area in a while. Last time we had a UK guest, we brought them to a local mexican diner (in Bergen county). He loved the huevos rancheros, chilequilles, and mexican hot chocolate -- he said it was definitely something he'd have a hard time finding in England. I'm wondering what Toro Loco in South Orange or Mexicali Rose in Montclair do for Saturday brunch?

I stopped in last week just to have a look. It is a very pretty spot to meet up for coffee and dessert and they have some nice sounding/looking sandwiches. I haven't eaten anything from there and they didn't have a take out menu available, so I don't have their hours handy. However, nothing is actually baked/cooked on premises, according to the counterperson (I assume the sandwiches/wraps are at least assembled on site). Some of the pastries look distinctly Bindi. They have gelato. The prices on the pastry seemed high to me. I think Shugga should try it after the movies and Menton should have lunch there and report back.

So The Hilton at Short Hills and The Manor are out? Those would be my two fancy brunch recommendations for that area.. Hmm, what about dim sum? You could go to Noodle Chu in Parsippany (Rt. 46 West). How about the Original Pancake House in West Caldwell? I guess it's not much higher than the local diner, but I love TOP (although I haven't been to that location).

I was thinking the price for the garbage disposals was high, but I looked up what I paid for my Insinkerator 777ss (1.0 hp) and it was closer to $200. So good job.

I've been wanting to post about frozen Brussels sprouts for a while, this seemed like a good thread to revive. I used to only keep petite peas and green beans in the freezer. They were the only vegetables I thought were as good frozen and prepped fresh myself (actually, you can't really buy petite peas fresh, can you?). I recently bought some frozen Brussels sprouts* when they went on sale at my local supermarket, and I've fallen in love. Well, as much as you can with a small round vegetable. Jason got me into Brussels sprouts. I assumed I didn't like them, but the truth is, my mother never cooked them, and I bought into the common perception of them as icky. However, lightly steamed or roasted, they are a very delicious green veggie and now we eat them quite frequently. I guess other people have rediscovered Brussels sprouts as well, as they are getting expensive to buy fresh. In addition, you lose quite a bit of the volume of the vegetable when cleaning them. I'd say at least 20%. You need to peel off the outer leaf, cut the stem, clean off the dirt. In fact, I usually quarter them to make sure the inside isn't rotten. Well the frozen ones are usually smaller, and smaller veggies are sweeter than larger ones. Plus, you don't have to clean them, you pay for a pound, and that's what you end up cooking. All I do is drizzle on a little olive oil and a sprinkle of salt, toss, and into a hot oven for 10-20 minutes (depending on whatever else you are cooking). You want them just cooked, with a little brown on the edges. Yum. I'm a convert. * Specifically, the Hanover Premium Petite Brussel Sprouts (IQF in a bag). I haven't tried the store brand yet, I suppose I should.

I think the cook ahead thing must be a lifesaver for parents. I do it and I don't have children. Make a list of what you frequently like to eat, for example, do you make a lot of stir fries? Buy a lot of meat and chicken breasts on sale, clean and portion and cut to proper size the dish, package in freezer bags portioned for 1 family meal. Move from freezer to fridge before bedtime the next night's meal. The most important part of utilizing your freezer is reportioning whatever is going in there. There's no point in freezing the whole package of meat. Especially if it's a larger size due to the sale. Hamburgers (and turkey/chicken burgers) can cook from frozen. Wrap them individually, heat up a cast iron skillet and they cook for about 2-3 minutes per side. Less chance of over cooking them if they're frozen, too. Pre-wash a couple days worth of salad greens and store in an airtight bag or container lined with paper towels. Pre-prep fresh vegetables -- make carrot sticks and store in zipper baggies. They can be steamed or sauteed, eaten raw, or further chopped into dice when doing the actual meal preparation. May as well blanch Tuesday's cauliflower and Wednesday's broccoli when bringing the water to a boil for Monday's green beans. When it comes time to eat the other vegetables, you can either simply reheat them with some butter in the microwave, or saute with some OO and garlic. When blanching a lot of vegetables at once, start with the lightest, most innocuous. Do broccoli last. Why bake 2 potatoes, when 6 or 8 can cook in the same oven? The leftover ones can be made into hashbrowns or sliced for a quick gratin. Frozen Veggies -- keep petite peas and other veggies you like in the freezer for quick side dishes. If you like Brussels sprouts, I've found the frozen ones are cheaper, actually taste better and are easier to deal with (no last minute cleaning) than fresh. Double up -- whenever you are cooking something substantial, cook double. Stews, braises, soups, casseroles all freeze beautifully. Portioned as individual servings (healthy homemade TV dinners) or family meal portions, they will be a lifesaver on those days when you get home late. Also, you will be saving fuel by not having to heat the oven twice, or bring a pot of water to a boil twice. It takes some planning, but you'll be happy on those days when you wonder where the time went.

Oooh, that pressed potato sounds good. I'm going to have to try that. ← OK, I made pressed potatoes last night. I did them simply. I baked some potatoes in the oven, then cut two in half. Added butter to a hot cast iron skillet, potatoes on top, cut side down. Cool cast iron grill pan (same size as skillet) pressed down on top of them (really hard), bung into oven for 20 minutes. Both the skin and the cut side crust were nice and crunchy, while the interior potato was still fluffy like a baked potato. These were Yukon Gold potatoes btw. An interesting variation on a baked potato, Jason and I felt, but not a replacement for a hashbrown.

His recipe calls for "marc de champagne" (in addition to champagne). What is that?

Oooh, that pressed potato sounds good. I'm going to have to try that.

(Onion seed naan with cream cheese is good. Jason said, "mmm, an Indian bagel!")

I just had a sprinkle of the pink salt on a hard boiled egg. It is pretty, you can see where the salt is, and it has a nice crunch.

My full quote should be "We ordered and ordered," Rachel said of their early visits. "Everything is so cheap, if we didn't like it, so what?" That was the visit when I learned they now accept credit cards. I'm always hearing negative comments about the Penang in NYC among others, but we've always enjoyed in the one in East Hanover, and went there very often when we lived in the area. Everytime we go back, I remind the manager that they need to open one in Bergen country. That's how he remembers me.

We let our host, Andy, order for us last evening, and he did an abundant job of it! I particularly enjoyed the black chick peas and the fried poori bread to go with them. The kati rolls were excellent, the pastry-like wrap was flaky and rich. Jason hit a whole chili or something, because he found these much spicier than I did (and I'm the wimp). As example of my wimpitude, I could only eat a couple bites of the shrimp goa -- that was HOT. Andy said that shrimp appetizer had habaneros in it. I have no idea what was in the goa curry, but it was WAY hotter. We were also intrigued by the massive onion seed naan. I plan on toasting a bit of the leftovers this morning and seeing how cream cheese works on it. Just so you don't think we ate all that in one sitting, Jason's having at least two Indian lunches this week!

I told you, the corner of Bedford and Portland Aves. You cannot make a left onto Bedford from Washington, it's one-way towards Washington. Turn at Clinton, make a right onto Portland and it is the second intersection (or turn at RiverEdge, it depends which direction you are heading on Washington), look for the big green sign Migdalia's sign on the Portland side of the building. Park in the lot to your right or on the street. But good to know the actual address too.

You said to "save the liquid" from the squeezed out mushrooms. You never mention adding this liquid back to the duxelles. What do you use it for?

The reason Jason hasn't made this in 7-8 years, is because it fits the worst dish for the results/tasting reason, and I haven't let him make it since the first time he did! Maybe we'll try Jinmyo's version.

Actually, they recently started accepting credit cards.

That's what frustrated me about the old location. That, and never being able to get a table. ← My quote from last night: "It's exactly like the old crazy Migdalia's. You never know what they are going to have available, but the food is still great." And, with more than five times the seating, you are much more likely to be able to get a table. Last night, we arrived around 8, and the place was about half-filled. [rant] But they had also run out of beans. Frijoles, I tell you! Black or Red! The leftovers can be reheated the next day! Make More![/rant] They said Saturday night is their busiest night, and if you have your heart set on a particular dish get there early. However, we usually went to the old Migdalia's (which was a tiny corner take-out with 3 tables) early enough, and only half the menu would be available, so who knows? Just to reiterate though, we are highly recommending this place for the food. I'm sure the service issues will someday, with enough popularity (i.e. more of a guarantee that she won't have to throw out unordered food), be worked out.