Shaya

Wow, there has been some amazing food going on here. This week we started with Khemee, a delicious Persian stew made with veal, split peas and dried lime. Topped with crispy fried potatoes. I made a lamb/veal bolognese for moussaka (we haven't eaten it yet) and decided to make one of my little guy's favorites with some of the sauce. Topped with a light bechamel, as I'm not a fan of the thick eggy version typically topping this dish: Pasticcio

Megan, I'm loving these photos of the city, it feels like I'm right there. I've been in that Dean and Deluca so many times. Keep 'em coming. That apple galette looks really tasty. I hope the shots don't bug you too much. I've been there. Also good luck remembering to take your malaria pills every week.

Hey Megan, I was beginning to wonder where you were. It's great to see you here. I love Manhattan and I love to see it through your eyes. Your dinner tonight looks fabulous. The veggies look hearty and the chicken is gorgeously golden, and the potatoes, well, yum. But where is the new copper gratin pan? As for the dessert, it's amazing. My kind of dessert. Must try that next time. Show us some shots of the streets of the city - skaters, food vendors, ice skaters.... I don't think I'll get there this Spring and I really miss it!

Easier-said-than-done when you have a kid (or two) in your arms while you are cooking, eating, washing up.... The dishwasher can be a blessing for those tools that get forgotten in the chaos of a busy home. I almost always peel cucmumbers with a knife - usually I cut a segment and go around in a circle. It comes off like a charm. I do the same for zucchini.

Judith, you've been doing some beautiful cooking up there in those hills. That octopus swimming it its gorgeous sauce almost made me want to cook and eat again. Almost. Love the quail with beans idea, too, although they do look a bit - ah - lean? Bruce I love the look of the fish dish. Too bad you couldn't get fresh snapper. I love fresh snapper (especially grilled ) but my husband finds it a little bland - I can only imagine the frozen ones didn't have much flavor. These Asian renditions are great though, as they add a ton a flavor. Tilapia has been my fish of choice lately for these dishes.

I really enjoyed this blog. Each day I felt like I was checking in with a few good old friends. You three have great harmony and are very warm and welcoming women. Thanks for sharing!

Daniel, what an amazing home-cooked feast. You have so much energy, my goodness. How much shrimp did you deal with? How large was that pork belly? The wings, you stuffed each one? I wish you had photos so I could see the chili, the belly, the pizza, the empanada (not really sure what these are) - well all of it really! Hope your ladies are healing up nicely. My bug is still holding on tightly to me - I'm going to see the doc today. With the lure of all this great food, you could - almost - get me to watch the superbowl some day.

This blog is fabulous, ladies. The soup and bread makes me feel cozy and comforted. Pam, we made a sauce like this last month when we made a hot pot. It was awesome. I will pm the details to you.

Wattacetti, that meal looks absolutely gorgeous. Lucky girl. I'm sick with a flu. Stuffy nose, head and brain. So what does a family of 4 who is accustomed to eating reasonably good food every night do when Mom is under-the-weather? (I got on the couch, in a horizontal position, at 4:30 pm and didn't get off until midnight!). Just before 6pm I asked the kids to go and get themselves something to eat for dinner. From what I could overhear, I think my older guy made them some sandwiches and cut-up fruit, and a cup of milk each. Then when my sweetie came home I mentioned I had done some prep for a Korean rice dish; he jotted down some notes, got into the kitchen and put a gorgeous bowl of bibimbap in front of me one hour later. It was so tasty, funny how that is when someone else cooks. Made me think I should be sick more often.

Great looking food, shengcai. I've never had fried chicken, real or fake. Yours looks great. Liveitup glad to hear you made the sesame cakes. Daniel, I love that dinner. The tartar-endive combination is just perfect, and I am a reall sucker for nice-looking frites. I love the bacon and beans idea as well. Pretty pasta too. Great meal! Wendy, the Indian meal looks great.

I buy radicchio and red-endive very frequently. Pretty much whenever I see them and they look healthy. The photo at the opening of this thread has, to my eye, the delicate tip and veins that I associate with endive. In fact, it looks very much like an endive that has been dipped in beet juice. The radicchio de treviso leaves that I have seen are more hardy, less pointy at the tip, and less smooth: That said, I see no reason why the two could not be used interchangeably in most recipes - except perhaps my radicchio fritters, which involves deep-frying, something the delicate endive may not appreciate.

Just gorgeous, Bill. The pizza AND the oven.

Great blog, all. It's warming my cold bones just reading about all the great soups you are creating. Pam, your quiche dinner looks perfect. I love the idea of using phyllo as a crust. I definitely don't use phyllo enough. Your kreplach are beautiful too. I've never had them, it's not part of our sephardic culture, but now I know why I'm always drawn to making piles of tortellini (or as Hathor re-named them, shaya-llini). Your kreplach look a lot like my tortellini! I was also looking at the color of your chicken stock - you make it look so easy, I love the pictorial format you are using - and notice it looks a lot more yellow than mine. With the meaty version you seem to leave the skin on (I remove it) - do you think this is the reason for the bright yellow color? Did your version with only bones have a paler color? Snowangel, you are running a busy household while cooking all the while. Very impressive. It's nice to see your method for making lists - using yesterday's list to create today's. My problem is I can never find yesterday's list after I've taken it out shopping. I also love the Bread Baker's Apprentice. Peter Reinhart is brilliant at explaining the process of breadmaking. Good for you for mastering sourdough. I absolutely love Thailand and Thai food. Regarding your time spent in Thailand, do you cook much Thai food these days? Might we see a thai soup on the table this week? I have a hankering for one and could use some inspiration!

Chufi, the sambousak look amazing. I can smell them all the way from here! I love the way you paired them with lamb and cucumber mint salad. It's perfect.

LMF: I love the look of that bok choy. Very clever to grill it. It looks so nicely caramelized. Dejah, The dipping sauce is simply a Vietnamese nuoc cham dipping sauce : garlic, chilies, sugar, fish sauce, lime juice and water to thin it down. Yeah, I know, I can't explain it but the stuff is completely offensive to me. Your chicken looks amazing. ChryZ, Domestic Goddess, here is how you make the Korean Sesame Chicken Cakes: combine finely chopped chicken, green onion, sesame seeds, sesame oil, soya sauce, ginger, cayenne. Form patties, refrigerate if you have time, then shallow-fry on medium-high heat until golden on both sides. For the dipping sauce combine soya sauce, vinegar, green onion, sesame seeds, sesame oil, and Thai chilies.

Abra this meal is so gorgeous. It is also really original. What a treat for your guests to enjoy.

Ann, those pains au chocolat are just gorgeous. Is croissant dough hard to make? I love to make bread dough but I've never made puff pastry (nor would I want to).

Here they are in a risotto dish I made last summer with wild mushrooms and pancetta. You can leave out the pancetta of course . They added a lovely bitter note, and the color, I think, is gorgeous until they become cooked. Then they turned a brownish color. If I had been cooking for an "audience" I would have left some raw and them into the warm mushrooms to retain the vibrant color.

Gorgeous pasta dish, Megan. From one pasta lover to another.

Last night we had an Asian feast to celebrate a friend's birthday. I made some of my favorites: Korean Sesame Chicken Cakes - I used finely chopped chicken rather than ground chicken, because I like to know exactly what I'm eating Vietnamese Beef Rolls - these were outstanding; the beef was marinated overnight in lemongrass, finger, garlic, shallot, fish sauce, sugar, chilies and briefly grilled to bring out the flavors Dipping Sauces - for rolls on the left, chicken on the right Char Siu Bao - I still had some left over from 2 weeks ago; I baked them this time as they were a bit sticky after steaming last time, and this worked much better. And our friends brought some of my favorites : Shrimp in Coconut Peanut Sauce - the sauce was incredible, homemade of course; note the cilantro topping for color - I am with Bruce's boys, I find it tastes like soap, so I ate the shrimp from the pan (I can't even stand if my food has touched the stuff) Vietnamese Noodles with Veggies

Chufi that dinner looks amazing. I just bought buckwheat noodles today - I've been having soba noodles for breakfast all week and love them! What sauces go into the dressing aside from the gochujang? You also got gorgeous pleats on your potstickers. Great meal.

Becca, I hope you can post a photo when it's done. I adore chestnuts and caramel-chocolate cake is divine. I can only imagine the combination of the two.

Judith, I love your chicken and artichoke dinner. At first sight I thought it was something I had made; it's right up my alley. Great color on that chicken, too. Daniel and Alicia, that dinner is OUTrageous. Wish I'd been there. Bravo! Markk, I love your duck dinner. How do you get truffled foie gras - do you just whip it up or add something to it? Chufi, that dinner looks great. I love the colors in the salad. Bruce, regarding the Thai curry, I've been making it this way for years - it's got red curry paste, coconut milk, thai chilies, thai basil and fish sauce. Simple but really full of great flavors. Last night's dinner brought back memories of flavors we used to eat all the time bk (before kids ). Very fresh and clean food, yet tantalizing to the tastebuds. Must do this more often. Both dishes have lots of the usual suspects: fish sauce, lemon grass, shallot, thai chilies, sugar, salt Vietnamese Beef Lettuce Wraps Mung Bean Thread Noodles with Lime Juice, Shrimp, White Asparagus and Peppers

hzrt8w thanks very much for this tutorial. I bought my new wok a few months ago and procrastinated for many weeks before finally jumping in yesterday to season it. I used pork fat that I'd been saving all along. I also used your chive trick - only I used leeks; not sure if it still worked but I figured it was worth a try. The end result is a nicely browned wok, but the inside defintely has drip marks. Do you think this is because I didn't get the fat well-distributed (I believe I did) or because of the upside-down-in the oven method?

Red Thai Curry - with Chicken and Eggplant, and oh, that lovely Thai Basil