Chris Amirault

Another vote for Muir Glen tomatoes, which consistently win tastings (I first read about them in a Cook's Illustrated taste test. They are consistently very good, and since here in New England, we are forced to use canned tomatoes much of the year (Jeremiah Tower be damned), we stock up whenever they're on sale.

Why, it's being considered at this moment over at the gumbo cook-off!

Glad you've enjoyed it -- and I will say that for me, and I'll bet for a bunch of other folks, you've made it far more enjoyable! While I agree that croissant making is a worthy endeavor -- and if you haven't made them yourself, you really should; all you need is a cool kitchen and patience -- I think that we should leave baking out of the cook-off, in general. But perhaps someone would like to start an eGullet Bake-Off???

Well, now that we've spread the gumbo gospel throughout the world, what is next? Just to remind, the Cook-Off is intended to be a forum at which we all can cook the same dish and share our experiences in a non-competitive, collaborative manner, making a dish: -- that you've always wanted to make at home (and may enjoy out) but rarely have made, or haven't made successfully; -- for which special but locatable ingredients may be used, but for which expensive special equipment is not required; -- that includes techniques, ingredient combinations, or other elements that intrigue you; -- from a different cuisine than that of the previous Cook-Off dish; -- that demands some time and effort, but that rewards that effort for even those first approaching it; and -- that motivates you to try it out, ask questions, serve it to friends, and share photos and stories. Prior to gumbo, we did cassoulet and char siu bao. Earlier I had mentioned pho and a thai curry; I'm about to cook up a big batch of chili (though the thought of doing a chili cook-off fills me with visions of e-steel-cage battles between cooks from adjoining towns in Texas) to freeze; a while back, someone wisely suggested choosing an Indian dish of some sort (biryani? a curry?). What say y'all?

Yeah, been there. There's always that moment where I have to decide between excoriating pain and grasping the skillet until the precious food gets to the stovetop. Food always wins, and I've got the scars to prove it....

Yep, they're a version of good ol' RI johnny cakes -- or perhaps johnny cakes are a version of them.... As usual, eGullet to the rescue with a thread on hushpuppies! I know Prudhomme has a recipe for them in Louisiana Kitchen, but are they good gumbo accompaniments? FistFulla? Mayhaw? What do you say?

A previous thread on food and partners, with an eerily similar title.... And my 500th post on eGullet!

Damn.... I misread this.... I just got a Mona kettle off of eBay for not much.... Here's the story. Does anyone know any updates about this? Also, how does one determine whether or not one's Russell Hobbs is poisoning one's family??

My goodness, take a few days to do actual work and lookit what happens! You folks are amazing! A question: Are we talking about hushpuppies here, or something else, when you say "corn cakes"? Here in RI we take our stone ground corn thingies pretty seriously!

Evidence: The eGullet Q&A with Steve Jenkins.

I, of course, have all the guts I need. Cajun Napalm is now my preferred method. It works great. Just make sure that you have the veg ready to go in at the instant it gets dark enough and be prepared to blow it and burn the stuff up every once in a while. Other than that, I love it. ← I agree. This is the way that I've done it since I started making gumbo from Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen cookbook. It's one of those methods that absolutely demands perfect meez prep, but it's a thrill to have it all come together so quickly. Having said that, it's also nice to do it slowly and watch that color and flavor come ease on through....

Hmmm.... One advantage to good crabmeat (again, rare in these parts) is that it doesn't really dry out the way that fish can if you're not careful. Is that the reason you're so adamant, FFR, or another, or do you just feel like fish is a bastardization?

Wow! This is amazing stuff! I'm so impressed with just about everyone's gumbo. (Yeah, I gotta say, italian sausage and low-carb "flour" roux doesn't float my boat.) A few thoughts: Isn't the aroma amazing? I think that nearly everyone has mentioned this. In the favorite smells thread, I listed the trinity hitting the roux as mine. Now I think some of you gumbo newbies know what I mean! Thanks Fifi; I'm wondering this myself. I brought fish up in the initial post of this thread. I can't get decent crab meat here and I won't use bad crab meat -- the first time I had dungeness crab in Newport, Oregon the scales were lifted -- so I like to add a meaty fish like monkfish to my shrimp gumbo. (My partner won't eat oysters, and, yes, I have seriously considered a shellfish reeducation program as a condition of continued cohabitation....) So, what do y'all think?

Oooh! I have made the popovers in the NYT Cookbook for years. Why do you like the KABB recipe?! Do tell!

What specific recipes do you use there?

A few years back, there was some reference text that had a compilation of indexes for about fifty common cookbooks. It didn't do too well, I believe, but I've always thought that it was a good idea: a place where you could look up and find, say, seven recipes for brownies or carbonara from Joy of Cooking, NYT Cookbook, Fannie Farmer, etc. Problem was, you didn't know which one was actually a good recipe -- unless you tried all of them. Lately, I've been thinking that we on eGullet could do something like that. I mean, I know that the proportions in How to Cook Everything are really great for the meatballs I make, and Kenyon's corn meal has a great cornbread recipe on it. I also believe that the collected wisdom of eGullet far, far, far surpasses that of Christopher Kimball and "America's" Test Kitchen. So I ask you: what cookbook or label recipe do you turn to for pancakes? Souffle? Chicken soup? Oatmeal cookies? Why that one? Do you tweak it?

Crabby cook alert: This topic consistently gets my panties in a twist. Allow me to introduce a distinction so that I may explain. I think that most of these examples involve personal choice in a perfectly non-offensive way: Tabasco on your eggs, that sort of thing. Adjusting seasoning by adding salt and pepper to most savory dishes doesn't change the dish in any fundamental sense. Furthermore, throwing sriracha or chutney on mediocre stuff at diners, on crap from the freezer section of your local grocery, or on bad french fries from your kid's meal is a way to make the less palatable palatable. Everyone does it all the time. But if you accept an invitation to someone's house for a meal and bring your condiments, that's another story. (Andiesenji, I realize the responsibility of a professional chef is an exception.) That's not seasoning; that's bastardization. The entire point of my making food for people is having them try and, at least among my friends, enjoy different things, having them experience new tastes, talking about what is good and bad about it. It's about sharing an experience. If someone wants to destroy a meal I've spent hours to make for them by turning it into that night's "ketchup food," well, fuck that: I'll put some oats in a bowl, pass the Heinz, and hold the door open. Grrr.... OK, rant ended. edited to restore parallel construction in one paragraph and to eliminate a bizarre reference to mustard in the final one -- ca

Hmmm.... I'm a bit afraid that some people are going to bail on our gumbo cook-off because of all of this fear-mongering. Since I contributed to it greatly, I would like to say the following: If you are on eGullet and thus, presumably, know how to use a sharp knife, how to open a pot of boiling water, how to take something out of a 500F oven, and so on, safely, you probably possess the ability to stir a pot with really hot shit in it for 30 minutes. N'cest pas? So go for it! Just be careful, give yourself plenty of time, have your trinity meez nearby, make sure that the dog/kid/Tonka truck/ball bearings aren't underfoot, and put a Dixie on ice for the instant you're done. Besides, if you get a burn, you'll have a wicked cool scar and can post on the "I will never again..." thread.

Hmmm.... Tough choices. Thanks for the input, and I'll let people know.

I knew that there was a way to serve gumbo for breakfast!

Yeah! That's what I'm talkin' about! Make 'em! Smoke 'em! Cook 'em! Avec photos, mais oui, mon cher! A true eGullet Recipe Cook-Off long-distance dedication to Kristin, y'all!!

You done good, I think -- but I believe, with gumbo, it may be mo bettah to sin....

Gross-out alert: Just to second, once again, that bit of advice. The stuff ain't just as hot as frying oil can get; it also bonds to whatever it hits, especially skin. It's bad news. I was once stirring a roux with a wooden spoon that got jammed somehow and sent a lil clot onto my knuckle. In the three seconds it took to get to the sink, every bit of my skin had been burned, and it washed off in the stream of water, revealing the bone. While I'm all for trying it yourself, you certainly don't want to try it unless you can devote your full attentions for a full half-hour-plus to the roux. This isn't about scorching the risotto, friends.

In RI the okra is about two inches long (sniff). I got them smallest state in the union blues.....

Your namesake demands participation, methinks!