RECIPE: Smothered okra

[lina]

This is a rehash of a recipe I posted on WikiCookbooks a while back. It's good as a side dish, served over rice, or as a base for gumbo. We usually make this in large batches and freeze most of it into 2-4 qt portions, which can be used as a base for one's next gumbo (seafood or greens).

Ingredients

• 1 Lb okra, washed and sliced into 1/4 - 1/2 inch wide pieces


• 4-5 medium tomatoes, diced


• 1/2 medium-large yellow onion, diced


• 2-3 stalks celery, sliced or diced


• 1 green bell pepper, diced


• 2-3 cloves garlic, sliced or diced


• butter (1 stick/113 g)


• Salt, pepper, etc. to taste

1. Saute onion, celery, and bell pepper in butter until soft over medium heat, adding garlic to saute shortly before the onion is soft.


2. Add okra and tomatoes. Stir a few times to incorporate. If the mixture seems a bit dry, add a small amount of water.


3. Simmer over medium heat until the okra is no longer sticky and stringy. (The okra will change to a darker green color.)


4. Serve over rice or use in your next gumbo.

TIP: Flipping the bird, or how to get a perfect roast every time.

[cathouse_mary]

Start out with your turkey or chicken, or even a game hen. Remove the giblets, then rinse inside and out in cold water, patting fry with paper towels afterward. Salt and pepper the cavity, and truss for roasting. Take softened butter and loosening the skin of the breast from the meat with your fingers, spoon the butter under the skin and then smooth the skin back into place. I use a tablespoon divided for a game hen, two for a chicken of four or five pounds, use your best judgment on a turkey. Seasoning the butter is optional, but I like to flavor my butter with garlic, lemon, and rosemary.

Rub the whole bird with olive oil, then season the skin as desired. Preheat the oven to 350F, and rack the bird - then insert some stainless steel item with some heft into the cavity. I use a pair of butter knives. Stainless steel conducts heat and helps the bird to cook more thoroughly. Cover the roasting pan and cook for 25 minutes per pound.

During the last hour of roasting, turn the heat up to 400F uncover the pan and brown the breast skin for 30 minutes. Then remove the pan from the oven, and carefully flip the bird breast-side down and return to the oven for another 30 minutes at 400F. Remove from oven, allow to sit for fifteen minutes, then remove the stainless steel before carving and serving.