C. sapidus

Patrick, I thought your Malabar shrimp looked familiar – that Camellia Panjabi recipe is a good one, and yours looks fantastic. Steamed fish fillets with sautéed garlic and ginger – with red chiles, fish sauce, soy sauce, and a little sugar. Stir-fried Napa cabbage with garlic, fish sauce, fermented soybean paste, cooked in the oil from sautéing the garlic and ginger. Coconut rice and eternal cucumbers

Chicken was wonderfully tender. Sauce needed a bit more flavor to my taste - next time I'll increase chiles, soy sauce, and vinegar. Younger son and Mrs. C liked the sauce and chicken as is. I am interested to try the other version of Gen. Tso in RCC and compare. Kouign - That sounds delicious! I love that combination of flavors.

Dinner from Revolutionary Chinese Cooking General Tso’s chicken (Taiwan version) – Chunks of chicken thighs, marinated with light and dark soy sauce, egg yolk, potato flour, and peanut oil, and then deep-fried. Stir-fried garlic, ginger, and dried chiles with a sauce of tomato paste, potato flour, light and dark soy sauce, rice vinegar, and stock, boiled to thicken, tossed with the chicken, and then finished with scallions and sesame oil. Steamed snow peas with ginger – with salt and chicken stock. Simple and good. Jasmine rice and unpictured salad.

Eggs with chipotle, tomato, onion, and garlic on corn tortillas

Kim – No searing, just roasted in the oven. Pickled green tomatoes sound very fun, and happy birthday to Jessica! Emily - That sounds really good! Improvised sorta-Thai meal here. Red curry fish – with ginger, garlic, shallots, coconut milk, Thai basil, and slivered lime leaves. Cucumber salad – with Thai chiles, garlic, fish sauce, sugar, and ketjap manis plus lemon juice (best sub for tamarind I could think of . . .) Coconut rice – younger son’ favorite carbohydrate source

Tai bai chicken (tai bai ji) – with a twist. Dried chiles, chile bean paste, scallions, chicken stock, Shaoxing wine, dark soy, Sichuan peppercorns, sugar, and white pepper, plus I accidentally added chopped garlic and ginger, all simmered down to concentrate the flavor and then finished with scallions and sesame oil. Wonderfully fragrant and very spicy! Fish-fragrant eggplant (yu xiang qie zi) – Deep-fried Asian eggplant with scallions, simmered in a sauce of chile bean paste, ginger, garlic, chicken stock, sugar, soy sauce, Chinkiang vinegar, and sesame oil. Jasmine rice

Munchymom - Starting out the day right, eh? Jason – Nice! Are those pickled red chiles? Fettucine with tuna, garlic, and cream sauce. Younger son had seconds, to my great surprise.

Rotus - Thank you. Both chicken dishes are from Andrea Nguyen's Into the Vietnamese Kitchen (highly recommended!). The first is "garlicky oven-roasted chicken", and the second is "chicken and ginger simmered in caramel sauce". They should be readily available via search, but if not shoot me a PM.

robirdstx – Classic! Akuri with shrimp on leftover coconut rice. Slow-scrambled eggs with fried onions, garlic, chiles, lots of cilantro, cream, and ghee. Rich!

rod rock - Thanks! Dejah – Thank you, too! Yes, lately the boys seem to prefer their eternal cucumbers mixed in with other vegetable matter. Chinese salty chicken? Do tell! Caramel chicken with ginger, fish sauce, and scallions, over coconut rice. Unpictured salad. Simple but effective.

Scotty, that swordfish looks delish! Oven-roasted chicken thighs, marinated with garlic, soy sauce, black pepper, and oil. Coconut rice, salad, and store-bought sourdough bread.

I agree with bague25, this is a wonderful book. Particular favorites: Lamb curry, madras style Chicken and cashew nuts in black spices (kaju chicken in kaala masala) Malabar shrimp curry (konju curry) Fish in coconut milk (fish molee) Also good: Goa lamb vindaloo Parsee red chicken curry Madras fish curry Particularly good side dishes: Fragrant rice Lemon rice Stir-fried French beans (beans porial) Peas and carrots with cumin (gajar mutter) Many of the other side dishes - green chutneys, red chutney, cabbage koshumbir, okra with onions, cauliflower with shredded ginger – are easy to make and very good.

You are quite welcome, Kim, and I am glad you liked the dish. BTW, your pancakes sound fantastic - I love a good, fluffy pancake. Mrs. C is on a work trip, and minus her civilizing influence the boys and I have reverted to bachelor food (spaghetti and meatballs, frozen pizzas, etc.). I hope to do some real cooking later this week.

Quick, someone bring me char siu bau for breakfast! Blue cheese and ham omelet. Again. Yeah, I’m probably in a rut. A good rut, but still. Toasted everything bagel to go with.

Patrickamory, you are piquing my interest in that book Old friends visited for dinner last night, and we cooked Italian. No pics at meal time, and few leftovers survived. Penne with mushroom sauce – Thinly-sliced mushrooms cooked down with sautéed onions and garlic, cooked down with white wine, and then cooked down again with chopped anchovies, tomato, and parsley. Grilled eggplant with garlic, rosemary, black pepper, and olive oil. Mrs. C planted rosemary in a protected spot in the back garden, so we have been enjoying fresh rosemary frequently. Mrs. C set out assorted salame beforehand, and ended the meal with a delicious pear dessert, baked and served with a sauce of orange peel, ginger, cinnamon, and honey, and topped with Greek yogurt, honey, and probably some other stuff. Oliverhill Winery 2006 McLaren Vale Jimmy Section Shiraz Blurry pic of leftover eggplant

rod rock and huiray – Thanks! Spinach was stir-fried in batches until barely wilted and then dumped in a colander over a bowl. After stir-frying the shallots and scallions, I added the stock and other liquids and reduced until it “tasted right” (not long), and then mixed in the spinach and spinach liquor. I hope that helps, it wasn’t very precise.

Prawn – You are killing me! Garlic-black bean pan-fried fish: One of my favorite ways to make fish. Partly fry the fillets and remove. Stir-fry the topping – a whole head of garlic, ginger, cilantro root, fermented black beans, dark soy sauce, rice wine, sugar, and cayenne – and then finish cooking the fish with the topping. Another fine recipe from Dancing Shrimp Stir-fried spinach with shallots and scallions, plus chicken stock, soy sauce, and rice wine. Quoth younger son: “It wasn’t horrible.” High praise for spinach. Jasmine rice

Kim - Great spread! Pictures? No, I am glad the damage was limited to breakfast. Blue cheese scrambled eggs on whole-grain toast

Slipper burgers – Lamb with onion, ginger, garlic, chiles, cilantro, coriander, cumun, cayenne, and black pepper. Potato rolls and Sriracha mayo added after the picture. Grilled zucchini salad – Dressing of olive oil, lemon juice, parsley, cilantro, cumin, white pepper, and smoked paprika.

RRO - Wow, Australia has had more than its share of extreme weather lately. Looks like a nice, cool meal! Crock pot beef barbacoa with potato wedges, pureed ancho chiles, chicken stock, roasted garlic, cumin, black pepper, and a shot of cider vinegar. Served over insta-quinoa. Mrs. C put together a green salad with buttermilk cilantro dressing. We are in the heart of swim season, and this meal met the prime directive – it was ready within seconds after we walked in the door.

MIP - Wow, that looks fantastic! What recipe did you use?

Soba – nice! Creamy scrambled eggs over fried potatoes. Eggs scrambled with half and half and ghee; leftover roasted potatoes fried in ghee with onions and Thai chiles.

1. Buy some new cookbooks 2. Cook from new cookbooks Modest goals, true, but I would like to try something new. Maybe Jacques Pepin or John Besh, either of which would be new for me. I would like cookbooks with a mix of weeknight and weekend recipes, because weekends are in short supply. I seek new, memorable meals to share with the family.

Southern Mussaman curry of beef from Thai Food, served with steamed eggs and raw vegetables. This was “best” because it reminded me how ridiculously good Thai curries can be with homemade curry paste. Quoting myself:

Rare RO: You have been missed, so I am glad to hear that things are looking up. We hosted the family’s holiday meal on Sunday. Lotsa vegetables but no pictures, and as we speak roaming teenagers are consuming the leftovers. The menu: Pollo con oregano: chicken poached with chicken stock, onions, and garlic, marinated with a paste of garlic and Mexican oregano, and then grilled to crisp on the Big Green Egg. Steelhead trout two ways: one with a ginger-maple glaze, and the other with a concoction containing olives, also cooked on the Egg. Even the youngest guests raved over Mrs. C’s fish. Braised potatoes with rosemary (Mrs. C) Arroz blanco with chicken stock, white onion, garlic, and chile Poblano Root vegetable soup: This was delicious. I know Mrs. C used parsnips, cauliflower, and maybe potatoes. The soup tasted rich and creamy without any cream. Broccoli with garlic and anchovies Creamy braised Brussels sprouts Bourbon sweet potatoes with orange sauce Mulled cider with orange zest, honey, and warm spices Beer, wine, and juices Cheeses, nuts, crab dip, and crackers for snacks Baklava (pictured upthread) Shortbread Chocolates