C. sapidus

Chorizo, roasted Poblano chile, takeout potatoes, onion, garlic, and Serrano chiles, topped with diced avocado. White pepper, cumin, and red Hatch chile powder for spices, and a little heavy cream to mellow things out a bit. Still fiery!

Tom kha talay with shrimp and bay scallops. Stir-fried bok choy with garlic and dried chiles

Larb fried rice with chorizo and shiitake mushrooms

Larb gai. Not pictured - sprinkled cayenne over top.

Good luck with the buck! One of my hunter friends only hunts does, mainly for the more tender meat. I may have told this story before but - his daughter became a vegetarian, but her one exception was venison because that is what she grew up eating.

Haha This version had red curry paste enhanced with chiles and garlic mashed up in the mortar. Other ingredients included sliced shallots, black soy sauce, fish sauce, roasted chile paste, white pepper, cilantro, and lots of Thai basil. Grapao in all its various transliterations means Thai (or holy) basil, so that is the key ingredient.

Chicken grapao ("kapow") topped with a fried egg. We had some leftover broccoli so I tossed it in.

Yes, rancheros salsa is usually a cooked sauce of tomato, garlic, chile serrano, and white onion. Fry a corn tortilla fried until pliable, top with a fried egg, and then top that with the sauce. Finish with crumbled dry cheese, chopped cilantro, roasted chile Poblano strips, etc. If you like chile-sauced egg dishes, Mexican cuisine has an abundance. Can you get Mexican dried chiles (ancho, guajillo, pasilla, chipotle, etc.) in Australia? I have never made shakshuka, so I will trust the wisdom of the internet.

Crying tiger and coconut rice. Later this evening I will grill a ribeye for a friend who is stopping to see us on the drive from Cape Cod to San Antonio. 😬

Gong bao chicken with cashews; roasted acorn squash glazed with maple syrup, ginger, and butter; and roasted potatoes. The squash was ridiculously yum for how easy to make.

Huevos rancheros

I wonder if crab ravioli is a thing?

Improvised green curry with bay scallops, peas, and leftover plantains. Pureed cilantro, jalapeno, garlic, and ginger for the curry paste. Seared and removed the scallops, fried onions with the curry paste, seasoned with fish sauce, cumin, pepper, and garam masala, and then finished with basil and half-and-half. I'm probably forgetting something but that was the gist.

More Thanksgiving leftovers: Turkey, mashed potato-stuffing-gravy, and bro's delicious cranberry relish. The sullen mound on the right is my creamy braised Brussels sprouts that, uh, got extra-Maillarded 'cuz I forgot to turn off the simmer for an hour. Baker friend's buttery shortbread with macadamias and cranberries. Yum

Lovely meal, @Shelby. You can send any excess cranberry Mandarin salad our way. Thanksgiving leftovers made by a visiting friend who had lived in Alaska: Halibut cheeks with onion, cream, and lemon. Beautifully done, very tender. Friend had also been a baker, so Mrs. C requested one of my favorite desserts: carrot cake with cream cheese icing

Thanks for posting that video! I used to post food pics to a photography web site. Someone who did commercial food photography mocked me for using real food.

Time consuming but not difficult, and best to start a day ahead. I use Julie Sahni's recipe from 'Classic Indian Cooking'. Bring milk to a boil and add acid (lemon juice, yogurt, vinegar) until the curds barely start to separate. Line a colander with cheesecloth, drain the curds, and rinse gently with cold water to remove the souring agent. Tie up the cheesecloth, twist the knot to extract as much water as possible, and then hang the cheesecloth to drain for an hour or two. To press the crumbly curds together, put the curds (still in the cheesecloth) on a flat surface and weight down with a large pot of water for 30 minutes or so. Do not skimp on this step - my first batch fell apart. When the paneer is a solid mass, remove the cheesecloth and then cut into neat rectangles with a sharp knife. Should keep in the refrigerator for a few days. Apparently the traditional way to separate curds is to use the whey from a previous batch of paneer. I have not tried this because a batch of paneer usually lasts several meals. But if you can find good paneer at an international market . . .

'Gertie's crab cakes' is a recipe from 'Chesapeake Bay Cooking' by John Shields. I have tried a number of crab cake recipes, and that is the best I have found. Haha. I shall call her 'Gertie' from now on . . . and blame you

Mrs. C found jumbo lump crab meat from Virginia, so . . . Gertie's crab cakes, carote in scapece (mellowed out with a little maple syrup), Vietnamese cucumber salad, and Mrs. C's tartar sauce. I was a little surprised the crab cakes held together, the hunks of crab meat were so huge.

Ha. Request was in jest - she also asked for Antarctic food. I said we had ice in the freezer.

House guest requested African food so this was the best I could do. Yassa (chicken with lemon mustard sauce): Chicken thighs, slashed and marinated with pureed garlic, habanero chile, oil, S&P). Chicken was grilled then simmered in a sauce of onion, grainy mustard, olives, lemon juice, and habanero chile. Seems like an unusual combination but really good. "Vegetarian" Joloff rice: Slowly sauteed onion with diced carrots, sliced red bell pepper, crushed tomato, and tomato paste. Added chicken stock. basmati rice, and a bay leaf. When the rice was done, folded in peas. Will make again.

Caldo de siete mares: farewell meal for one of our houseguests. The soup had shrimp, catfish, and bay scallops (so, maybe dos mares plus a river?) with chayote, zucchini, and potatoes, simmered in chicken stock with a pureed and fried spice paste of guajillo chiles (toasted and soaked), garlic (roasted), Mexican oregano, cumin, and black pepper. Served at the table with cilantro, chopped white onion, and lime wedges. Arroz verde al Poblano: jasmine rice fried with white onion and garlic, then steamed with a blended mix of roasted chile Poblano, cilantro, parsley, and chicken stock.

Only 7 this year so we will go traditional. Mrs. C makes the proteins - probably a small turkey / capon / big chicken, plus nephew's favorite salmon with a soy-maple glaze. House guest used to own a bakery shop, so she will be doing mashed potatoes and desserts. I'll make my usual vegetables: bourbon sweet potatoes with orange sauce, creamy braised Brussels sprouts, and green bean salad. Maybe something else, we shall see if inspiration strikes. Our main family get-together will be between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and that will have more people and fewer tradition-based constraints. The only sure thing will be palak paneer for vegetarian sis. Probably make my own paneer again.

Leftovers for lunch: Andrew's Goa curry with catfish, Thai eggplant, and zucchini. Spice paste of garlic, dried chile, coriander seed, cumin seed, black pepper, and turmeric, with curry leaves and sauteed onion. Simmered with coconut milk, chicken stock, and tamarind, seasoned to taste, and then added the fish at the end.

You both make fair points. As a comparison, chilli varieties are legion, they can be harvested ripe or unripe, and they can be prepared in myriad ways (pickled, dried, smoked, etc.). But they are all chilies. So in my world, pepper includes black and white, despite the fact that they are harvested and prepared differently.