patrickamory

For the history of chili I highly recommend reading John Thorne, "Serious Pig." It's deep and fascinating. He would argue that beans were of course a presence at all times. The question is whether they went in the chili or were served on the side. Doubtless both happened. For him, it all starts with the chiles, as the name of the dish suggests. Beyond that everything is improvisation. Meat, fat, and fire.

Just be willing to smoke up your kitchen. If you get your wok black and slick it will be good.

@liuzhou Wow.!

Thanks Kenneth. One of those early-in-the-pandemic pastes I made a ton of and now I have stuff in the freezer that needs to be used. Lost very little of its fragrance and depth. Recipe from eatingthaifood dot com.

I froze a ton of southern Thai curry paste in the early days of the pandemic, and just defrosted for khua kling with chicken

Beautiful rack of lamb.

I love the Jewish version with caramelized onions and chicken fat. My mom used to make it when I was growing up.

To New Yorkers and visitors, please try Katsu-hama on E. 47 Street between Fifth & Madison. Sublime tonkatsu, chicken or pork. If you eat pork, I recommend the Berkshire.

Obe ata: my first attempt at a West African dish... and I've never eaten real West African food. So while it was delicious, I have little context for it! I can perceive similarities to elements of North African and Caribbean cuisines. I also have a feeling that the leftovers will improve overnight. The process as is interesting as the ingredients: roast an assemblage of vegetables and aromatics; blend; season and reduce. I followed the Serious Eats recipe closely, albeit divided by 4. Only changes were subbing jalapenos for fresnos, increasing the Lion's curry powder slightly, and salting and browning the uncooked chicken in advance, and then adding it to finish in the sauce as it cooks down. I didn't have Mediterranean basil, so I used Thai, which matched very well. I passed a bowl of pounded grains of selim at the table. The red palm oil flavor is the most unfamiliar element. Beyond that, it's a rich, sweet, spicy, braise. The Cameroon pepper is superb, smoky and dark, and I think essential to this dish. The recipe suggests that the heat level is negligible. I wouldn't call it that (allowing for the huge variation in heat in jalapenos and habaneros), but it's not very spicy. I have a feeling upping the capsaicin level might complement the sweetness of the roasted vegetables and palm oil better, so I will try that with the leftovers. But in any event, very good (and very chicken-y through the rich sauce).

Mitch - I had the same concern. However I have since read that they turn over all their spices in 3 months. I have to admit that I have rarely bought anything that seemed old besides some hole-y crumbling bay leaves once (even the cashier seemed taken aback by how they looked - probably a signal I should have noticed). But you do pay for the privilege compared to the neighboring shops. Well, and they also stock a much wider variety of spices.

There is only one food processor, right? the 14 - cup Cuisinart classic two button... https://www.cuisinart.com/products/food_processors/dfp-14bcny.html

P.S. Don't ever buy or eat smelly fish. It won't hurt you but it also won't be tasty. Throw it out - life is too short.

Sadly, I think this is true, of one of the world's premiere cities that was built on fishing. Boston Harbor is part of the Gulf of Maine, an enormous catch basin defined by Cape Cod, the underwater islands of Georges Bank and Browns Bank, and the coasts of New Hampshire, Maine, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. When the first European colonists arrived, the cod was so plentiful that early accounts described sailors scooping fish directly out of the water with nets. It is now so overfished that "groundfish" as the Atlantic fisherman call them are essentially gone from inland areas, so far as commercial fisheries go. Even the tasty, tiny coldwater shrimp of the gulf have been depleted to the extent that fishing has been cut back or prohibited in recent years. Only the lobster fishery is sustainable in these waters now - which may or may not be a result of overfishing of other species (it could also have to do with warming waters, algae blooms, troubles relating to spawning fish not able to migrate upstream and return to the sea, pollution, or other factors - likely a combination of all of the above). rotuts I realize that you're aware of all of the above! But it's worth reiterating that some of the world's finest fish came from Boston until recently: cod, haddock, halibut, mackerel, salmon - and it's so depressing that that's no longer the case. Fortunately a few miles' journey north or south will still get you some of the best shellfish the world has to offer: lobster, peekytoe crab, mussels, Ipswich soft shell clams, Maine shrimp (if you're lucky), scallops. Consume it while it lasts...

rarerollingobject welcome back! great to see your awesome meals again. Patrick S. that orange chicken looks totally decadent.

View from the terrace in Manhattan this afternoon. Quite a bit more snow has fallen since then, but it seems to be tapering off. Very nice to have all the streets closed to traffic. I stocked up on wine, chicken and pork chops. And I'm making no-soak black beans right now, possibly with fried chicken later on if I feel up to it. (I got Marcella beans too! Trying to figure out what to do with them - thinking simple / salad is best... ?)