IS IT A KEEPER?

I tried one of the recipes from my new cookbook last night. That's always a scary thing for me because, truth is, everyone's palate is different, and if you really don't like the way something in a new cookbook tastes, chances are, you will feel the same way about a lot of their other recipes as well. That's why I have several cookbooks each from all my favorite cooks -- Jamie Oliver, Ina Garten, Giada de Laurentiis, Susan Branch...I trust their palates.

So, for my first Gullah Cuisine adventure, I tried the Okra Pilau recipe. A pilau is the same thing as a rice pilaf. For this one you fried up a little bit of chopped bacon and ham, both of which I already had in the freezer, then add some chopped onion and garlic and saute a little longer. Next you add some sliced okra, either fresh or frozen. I just happened to have a bag of PictSweet's okra and tomato blend in the freezer which needed to be used up soon, so I tossed in the whole bag. I keep it around for whenever I get the urge to make some chicken stew/gumbo, just in case okra isn't in season when the urge hits. Once everything is tender, you remove it from your big heavy-bottomed pot and set it aside.

Next you bring some chicken stock to a boil in that same pot, add your rice and seasonings, then cover the pot and let it simmer until the rice is tender. The recipe called for Uncle Ben's Converted white rice, but I had some short grain brown rice on hand, so I added some extra broth and cooked it a little longer to compensate. When done, you stir the okra mixture back into the rice, heat through, et voila!

Adding enough Tobasco to scorch your mouth, as my hubby always does, is totally optional. Is it a keeper? Why yes, I do believe it is!

Speaking of chicken stew, I think that is the recipe I plan to try next. I'm curious to see how the S. Carolinian version compares to the one my Cajun sister-in-law introduced me to almost 40 years ago, and which was one of the first meals to ever make me moan out loud!