C. sapidus

Leftovers from yesterday's family holiday meal: spinach soup (palak shorva) mixed with stir-fried cabbage with fennel, my brother's scalloped potatoes, and some crumbled feta. Too late, Mrs. C pointed out that we also had leftover ham, which would have been nice. Mrs. C will only eat palak (or saag) dishes with the lights very low, claiming it looks too much like messes she had to clean up in patient rooms at the hospital . . .

Interesting - looks like a vegetarian mash-up of the two versions in 'Land of Plenty' Thanks for the link, I love ya cai and will give it a go.

Mushroom, zucchini, and chile Poblano tacos with chorizo. Yogurt cream sauce with white onion, garlic, serrano chiles, thyme, and Mexican oregano.

Mrs. C made carrot and ginger soup with lots of warm spices for dinner. I added crumbled feta to mine. Cayenne and Aleppo peppers made it a little spicy (which I didn't mind) so she will probably cut it with coconut milk for the family gathering this weekend.

Lamb keema with peas: Cinnamon stick, bay leaves, green coriander, turmeric, garlic, ginger, and onion for flavors. Simmered the lamb with crushed tomato and yogurt, finished with lemon juice, chile serrano, and basil (sub for nonexistent cilantro). Rice with black coriander, cloves, and a bay leaf, topped with chives.

This threw me for a loop. I am more familiar with a different kind of dive hotel . . . Thank you so much for taking us along on your travels. Now you just need to figure out how to send rendang (or even gulai) through the internet. 😋

Fried rice with leftovers (deboned pork ribs, long beans on oyster sauce, red bell peppers), vegetables (shiitake mushrooms, zucchini), flavorings (fish sauce, shallot, garlic, ginger), and an egg to bind. Should hold me until dinner.

Thanks for the clarification. I definitely prefer tortillas over the gas burner if available. Occasionally I will steam tortillas for a crowd.

Five-spice pork ribs: Marinated the ribs with soy sauce, fish sauce, 5-spice powder, garlic, sesame oil, sugar, cilantro, and whiskey. Grilled the ribs and then finished in the oven, mopping with marinade from time to time. Meat was chewy, which I expected, but quite delicious. I would love to try slow-smoked ribs with a similar marinade. Friend brought over green beans, and Mrs. C made falafel and tahini sauce. Sliced cucumbers, red bell peppers, and scallions to round out the meal.

Leftover larb lettuce wraps, topped with a fried egg

Chicken larb, from the dinner thread. I was late getting groceries so I opted for ground chicken to save time.

Chicken larb: Mix ground chicken (I was in a hurry) with fish sauce, lime juice, and shallots. Cook the mixture, then finish with roasted rice powder, roasted chile powder, chopped scallions, and cilantro. Salad fixings included red leaf lettuce, poached long beans, mint leaves, basil leaves, and more roasted chile powder. House guest had never larbed before, and is now a fan.

Bricklayer's eggs (huevos al albanil): Toast pasilla and guajillo chiles, soak in hot water, and then blend with chopped garlic and shallot. Fry the sauce, stir in eggs, and cook until set. Serve on corn tortillas, topped with minced shallot and crumbled feta. A long-time favorite.

Scrambled eggs with roasted chile Poblano, sauteed onion and garlic, and feta cheese. Seasonings included cumin, cayenne, and Mexican oregano Used the Tramontina non-stick pans that @rotuts kindly suggested and they worked a treat. Thank you!

Leftover smashed potatoes and mustard greens with sauteed sausage, shallot, garlic, and Fresno chile. Seasoned with cumin, ancho chile powder, and Mexican oregano, then crambled in an egg and Feta at the end.

Shrimp with a fried spice paste of shallot, garlic, Fresno chiles, cumin, cloves, and cinnamon stick, seasoned with fish sauce and black soy sauce. Frying the paste brought out the flavors nicely. Mustard greens stir-fried with garlic, Fresno chiles, oyster sauce, and fish sauce. Cucumbers to go with.

Today's breakfast concoction: Seared shrimp, mushrooms, roasted chile Poblano, and a little crumbly sausage, topped with a fried egg. Started by sauteing shallot, ginger, garlic, and Fresno chiles with black cardamom, cinnamon stick, and star anise. Blended the soft stuff but saved the aromatic oil and spices to sear the shrimp and saute mushrooms, roasted Poblanos, and a little sausage. Stirred in the blended sauce and finished with fish sauce, cilantro, Thai basil, and a splash of half-and-half to mellow the heat. Topped with a fried egg. None of our nonstick pans are nonstick any more. Makes frying eggs an adventure.

Continuing to use up holiday leftovers. Neighbors order rotisserie chicken, eat the white meat, and donate the rest to us. Mrs. C picked off the dark meat and made stock with the carcass. So tonight's meal used the dark meat chicken, tossed in leftover homemade BBQ sauce. BBQ chicken fried rice with onion, ginger, garlic, chiles, cilantro (leaves and stems), fish sauce, soy sauce, a squeeze of lime, and two eggs. Sliced cucumbers to go with. Shoot, now that I think of it we had some mushrooms that would have gone nicely. Oh well, breakfast.

That sounds like an amazing soup stock @Duvel And wow, quite the cookie extravaganza @chromedome

Pulled pork from yesterday, smoked overnight and then finished in the oven. Chilly last night so it was easy to keep the smoker around 225', which yielded a nice smoke ring but also used up a lot of charcoal. Mopped the butts every few hours, and finished with a glaze of homemade BBQ sauce. These were huge pork butts, probably took 17 hours or so, and even so the meat near the bone was more in slicing than pulling range. Still, no complaints. Pulled pork sandwich with homemade BBQ sauce and coleslaw on a potato roll. Leftover bacon and chorizo potato salad to go with, courtesy of Mrs. C. The BBQ sauce was a Paul Kirk recipe, jazzed up with ginger, lemon zest, and lemon juice.

Boys are home and invited friends over, so I BBQed pork butts for 12. Mrs. C made potato salad with bacon and chorizo, I added mustardy Cole slaw and BBQ sauce. Potato rolls to go with.

More meals for the boys' visit: Bombay curry: Marinate boneless, skinless chicken thigh chunks with garlic-ginger paste. Make the spice paste of garlic, ginger, dried red chiles, peanuts, cumin, coriander, white poppy seed, canela, cloves, and turmeric. Saute onions and curry leaves, add the chicken and spice paste, and then simmer in coconut milk and chicken stock. Halfway through remove the chicken (to avoid overcooking) and add halved baby potatoes, Finish with tamarind juice. Sambal ulek to spice it up as desired. Braised Savoy cabbage: Saute minced onion with sliced jalapeno, sequentially add ginger-garlic paste, cayenne, turmeric, crushed tomato, and sliced Savoy cabbage. Braise until done. There were fights over this. Mrs. C made a delicious loaf of sourdough bread.

Boys are visiting so we have been doing our holiday cooking this week. On Xmas day we will be dropping eldest and GF at the airport, then visiting with friends. Tomorrow should be fun - a bunch of the boys’ friends will be stopping by for dinner so I plan to BBQ a couple of pork butts and do pulled pork with all the fixings. Best of all, the electrician stopped by today and installed Mrs. C’s present to me - fixing the wonky under-counter lights! I could not have asked for anything better.

Dinner from ‘My Bombay Kitchen’ Mulligatawny: Toast white poppy seeds, coriander seed, cumin seed, cinnamon stick, cloves, turmeric, and uncooked basmati rice, then blend with cilantro, jalapeños, almonds, garlic, and ginger. Brown-fry onions, add the masala, and then simmer with Mrs. C’s chicken stock and cubed chicken thighs. Finish with coconut milk and serve over basmati rice. Optional lemon wedges for squeezing. Butternut squash with curry leaves: Toss butternut squash cubes with garlic, olive oil, and snipped dried red chiles. Strew with curry leaves and roast in the oven. Always surprisingly good for how simple it is. Mrs. C made a particularly good loaf of sourdough bread, which was wonderful with the soup.

Breakfast concoction for a full house: This started as a simple breakfast and kept growing as more expressed interest. Separately sautéed shrimp, mushrooms, plantains, and green beans. Fried crumbly chorizo with onion and garlic, added some sambal ulek from last night, and finished with chopped parsley, Mexican oregano, and garam masala. Scrambled in eggs and feta and mixed everything together. Younger son said it was too spicy. I told him he needed to build up his tolerance before coming home for a visit.