mark922

The primary difference between shrimp gumbo and shrimp etoufee is the thickness and amount of the liquid (think gravy versus broth) and the okra or file in the gumbo (neither has a place in etoufee). Shrimp creole is completely different, being a primarily tomato-based sauce made without a roux.

Here's my crawfish etoufee recipe. 1/4 cup olive oil 1/4 cup flour Mix flour and oil in large skillet over med heat to make a roux. Once the roux is formed, turn heat to low and cook about 40 minutes, until the roux is a peanut butter color. Then add: 3 cloves garlic, smashed 1 large Vidalia onion, chopped med. fine 1 large greem bell pepper, chopped med. fine 3 stalks celery, sliced fine 1 good handful parsley, chopped fine 2 sprigs thyme, leaves stripped one bay leaf Sweat about 20 minutes over med-low heat, until onions are translucent and the flavors blend well. This also allows any remaining floury taste to cook out of the roux. Add the following: 1 bottle clam juice or 20 oz. shrimp, fish, or crawfish stock 1 cup white wine Frank's Red Hot Sauce to taste* Simmer about 30 minutes, until the etoufee has the right consistency. You may want to let it go longer if it's too thin or add some more wine if it needs thinning. Add: 2lbs crawfish tails Turn heat to med-high, stirring fairly regularly, about 15 minutes until crawfish is heated through. Serve over long-grain white rice and garnish with chopped parsley and more Frank's Red Hot Sauce.* * You may substitute your favorite hot sauce. I like Frank's because it has as much of a vinegar note as it has heat. My personal feeling is that if your hot sauce is too firey, it drowns out the other more subtle flavors.

The main reason is that the constant stirring and slow addition of the broth lead to a greater breakdown of the starch in the rice. This is what gives risotto its creamy texture, if you do it right. I have never once used cream or butter at the end to make my risotto have a nice, creamy texture. The reason for that is that I am scrupulous about constant stirring and never adding the broth more than a cup at a time.

Boiling water is a constant 212 deegrees. However, once you add salt, you no longer have just water. Salt has the effect of raising the boiling point and lowering the freezing point of water. That's why you add salt to water before you boil pasta and also why you add rock salt to ice when making ice cream. Try picking up a copy of The Science and Lore Of Food, by Harold McGee. It's a wonderful reference work. You will learn more about the whys and wherefores of food than you ever knew theere was to learn.

For Father's Day, I did a pork butt in my smoker. I used a rub made up of garlic powder, onion powder, kosher salt, black pepper, cinammon, paprika, cayenne, brown sugar, thyme, cumin, and a little bit of Old Bay. I smoked it for about 10 hours, and served it with roasted vegetables. MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!! I loves me some barbecue.

I mop ribs. But then, I grill them, I don't barbecue them. My family and I all like the sauce to get nicely carmelized on the ribs as they cook. This means basting with a thinned-out sauce for about the last 20-30 minutes.

1. Capers come in all sizes. The smaller ones are actually better for flavoring and texture. It sounds like you have fairly large capers. These can easily be used up in tartar sauce or in tuna salad. 2. If you don't know what the meat is, then just toss it. You have said you couldn't have paid very much for it, and if it's that unidentifiable, it's probably way past its prime. 3. With burgers, the trick is to form a ball, then gently flatten it out, working from the center. Try to work the meat as little as possible, but make sure the patty holds together before you put it in the pan. Also, don't be afraid to use just a little bit of oil to lube up the pan, if you aren't cooking in a well-seasoned skillet (and if you aren't, you should be). Last but not least, don't try to flip too soon. Let the burgers form a nice brown crust before you try to flip them.

Here's a trick I've tried with my jambalaya. If I can't find tasso (and I live in the Chicago subrubs, so it ain't easy to find tasso) I use some thik-sliced cappicola as a substitute. It works remarkably well.

I occasionally add it at the table, if I got lazy with the roux, or if I was reduced to using frozen okra, and I want to thicken my gumbo up a bit. I never add it to the pot, because I'm the ony one in my family who likes it.

It's placing the food in a vacuum sealed package and placing the package in simmering water for a lengthy period of time. Bruce Cole has great piece on it over at Saute Wednesday. Thanks for the explanation.

I have been dragged to Culver's repeatedly by my sprogs, who go for the custard, although they also chow down on the burgers. In my opinion, culver's burgers are disgusting. They're nothing but smashed grease served on toasted grease. I can actually feel my arteries harden as I eat. I usually go for the pork tenderloin sandwich, or in a pinch, the turkey and cheese melt.

I love prosciutto, smoked mozzerella, grilled eggplant and tomato.

I apologize for my ignorance, but what exactly is sous vide?

Ranch dressing is my preferred way of setting off the hot sauce. Blue cheese dressing is kind of a love it/hate it food, and I bet you can now guess which category I fall into. Incidentally, We're huge fans of Market Day as well. I'm not sure if this is a widespread phenomenon, but the Sara Lee Outlet near us carries Market Day as well. A handy thing to know in the summertime when school's out.

Yep. Same time and temp. I think it's just the way the broiler pan allows hot air to circulate under the nuggets, instead of them sitting on a baking sheet that does the trick.

This weekend, faced with a budget crunch and two crabby children, I was reduced to improvising in the kitchen. The little monsters insisted on frozen popcorn chicken nuggets, a prospect I normally find as appetizing as library paste (the typical consistency of the breading when these things come out of the oven). In an attemtp to make them soemwhat more palatable, I cooked them on the broiler pan. Well, the slots in the pan, along with heat from above and below, did the trick. They came out crispy and crunchy. Feeling more confident, I grabbed a bottle of hot sauce and a mixing bowl; instant buffalo nuggets for Dad! I realize this isn't going to put Chefg out of business, or force him to rethink his new menu. I just wanted to pass along a suggestion for a quick and easy kid-friendly meal that doesn't make Dad feel like he's getting punished.

Thanks, Ronnie. Yes, we survived the move. I finally got a lawn about a month ago, so I'm even relatively happy with all the rain. What Mother Nature supplies, we need not buy. We're in the process of scoping out new restaurants and finding a few good ones. What I'm currently searching for is really good chinese food on Route 59. The family is not always willing to venture too far for a good meal. What can I say, when you're 7 years old and hungry, you're hungry NOW!

I will have to throw in a nostalgic yes to the Hackney burger. I love the dark rye, and grilled onions, the onion loaf, and the feel of the place. It may be that the place brings me back twenty-five yearss just walking in the door, but it will always be a place I find myself returning to. On the other hand, the best burger I can find right now, without cooking my own, is at the Towne Tap in Warrenville. The place is tiny, only open at lunch, and doesn't seat more than about thirty people. But they have a good, hand-formed quarter-pound of beef, charred nicely (although the buns could do with a little toasting) and they are juicy enough to require two napkins at least. All for $3.75, $1 more for fries instead of chips. Portillo's are good too, but they're a bit more spendy and the fries are unpredictable.

I like Mr. Beef and Al's is pretty good, but for me, the quintessential beef can be had all over town, if you look for two sings in the window. The first one is Scala's italian beef. It's the best, hands-down, and any number of places carry it. My local is Luke's in Lake Bluff, but there's also a Luke's in Mundelein, and one downtown on Jackson. The second magic ingredient is Gonella bread. It's baked locally, delivered daily, and always has a good, chewy inside and a nice crust that holds up well to the dip that makes "wet" the best way to order your beef.

I like Greek Isles, myself. It isn't the best place in Greektown as far as quality goes, but I find them to be the most accomodating if I want to order something that's not on the menu; put together my own combo, or have a small plate of beets, peppers, and olives as an appetizer or something. For the best cooking on Halsted, I would go with Costa's. They do an excellent job with everything, but they specialize in seafood. The thing I love about the place is that they avoid a common tragic Greek flaw. They don't overccok the fish.

I wasn't sure if the South Side location was still around. My Leon's was the one on Clark, just North of Fullerton. I can remember many a youthful evening, wrapping up a night of pub-crawling by sitting down on the curb right outside the joint with a bucket of rib tips, and some squishy white bread to soak up too much beer. I don't know if it was the bread, the ribs, or just fool luck that staved off many a hangover. But I knew it was a good combination that I was smart enough to stick with.

I like Carson's ribs. While they aren't the best I've ever had by a long shot, they seem to be a fairly good exam[ple of what I call the Chicago School of Rib cookery. What I mean by that is the ribs are cooked with the sauce added sooner in the cooking process, so you do get fairly heavy carmelization, there is no smoke involved in the cooking, and the meat tneds to take on a chewier texture rather than the FOB that comes with slow cooking and collagen degradation. Their ribs remind me of the late, great Leon's Ribs. As for the sides, I am a big fan of the au gratin potatoes, although I agree with Ronnie that the seasoning could be more aggressive. One disappointment in the last few years is that their house dressing, which used to be very piquant, with a good solid note of anchovy, has become more bland. The cole slaw also lacks the same crisp bite it has had in years past. I also agree with Ronnie that their steaks are generally on a par with steakhouse quality, at a slightly more reasonable price. On balance, my feeling is that while Carson's is not as good as it was 15 or 20 years ago, they still deliver a solid, more than merely acceptable product.

Well, I finally got to Luong Loi last night for dinner. Thanks for the recommendation. I enjoyed it so much I went back for lunch today! Last night I got a bowl of pho, after starting out with the beef lemongrass skewers. Both were truly excellent, although I had to ask for extra lime for the pho, and I was disappointed that they had no fresh mint. On the other hand, the Thai basil was fresh, fragrant and filled in nicely. The broth was aromatic, not too salty and had a wonderful note of five-spice powder. At lunch today, I got the spring rolls and found them to be as good as any I've ever had. The first bite bought me back to the Little Saigon area of Houston, where I first discovered Vietnamese food many years ago. For the main meal I had the Bun Thit Nuong, barbecued pork with rice noodles. The dish was prepared with all the right accompaniments: fresh cucumber, shredded carrot, bean sprouts, lettuce, and chopped peanuts. The dipping sauce was very tasty, a good belnd of fish sauce, vinegar, and a hint of pepper that was easily supplemented with Sriracha chile sauce. I can easily see myself becoming a regular.

I tried Sakura last night. It was very tasty, but I like the fish just a wee bit colder. Also, I'm used to bigger pieces as well. But then, I've been spoiled. My current house (we're building one in Plainfield) is about 10 minutes away from Sushi Kusi Toyo, on Waukegan Road just north of Everett Road in Lake Forest. Hands down, Sushi Kushi is the best sushi I've ever eaten anywhere. On the Greek front, I went to the Greek Isles Lombard location, 300 22nd Street. It's as good as the Halsted Street location.

I have been to Cuisine of India a number of times. I always enjoy my meal, which, since I go at lunch, is always the buffet. Of late, however, the quality seems ot have dropped off just a bit. They used to bring chicken tandoori hot straight to the table. It suffers a bit from its move to the buffet line. Also, they used to have cauliflower mandarin at least every other time I went, which is one of my favorite dishes. I haven't seen that in a couple of months now. Still, it is good enough to bring me back.