C. sapidus

Ah, yes, but the “snuggle in the fridge for several days” part is the problem for me. That, and I have the typical male inability to find things in a less-than-relentlessly-organized refrigerator. DS#2 loves store-bought sweet gherkins, the sweeter the better. I have printed your instructions - the cloves and allspice sound delicious. Hmm, perhaps I can interest DS#2 in a cheater pickle project . . . Broom. Mop. I'm listening to the voice of experience.

As always, your rich imagery and well-turned phrases cause considerable delight. Growing up, my best friend’s father made pickles and tied his own fly-fishing lures. Somehow, those two activities seemed to spring from a common source. Younger son loves sweet pickles, but tonight spat out a dill pickle with disgust. Apparently sour and dill conflicted with his sweet expectations. By disposition, I am unsuited to pickling. A confirmed planner in most other aspects of life, I cook for immediate gratification. Current activity to address future hunger does not come naturally. The closest that I come to pickling is making Thai/Vietnamese/Sichuan cucumber salads – sort of an instant pickle, with rice vinegar, salt, sugar, and chilies. When asked why she emigrated to America, my British-born mother responded, “Because it was always cold.”

Um, grubs in wood shavings?

Gruzia: Welcome to the Dinner! thread – your chicken in red curry sauce looks delicious. What do you think of Great Curries of India? We made grilled chicken (ga nuong), grilled zucchini, and jasmine rice with salt, pepper, and lime dipping sauce (muoi tieu chanh), from Into the Vietnamese Kitchen. More information in the Vietnamese food thread (post #252 - click).

Grilled chicken (ga nuong), grilled zucchini, and jasmine rice with salt, pepper, and lime dipping sauce (muoi tieu chanh), from Into the Vietnamese Kitchen. We deboned skin-on chicken thighs, marinated the chicken (and the zucchini) in black pepper, fish sauce, lime juice, salt, sugar, and peanut oil, and then grilled the chicken (skin-side down) and the zucchini over medium-high heat. The dipping sauce was white pepper, salt, lime juice, and muddled chilies. Everyone loved the chicken, and even my zucchini-indifferent spouse loved the zucchini.

New York Times: Guide to Choosing a Ripe Pineapple I usually sniff the base of the yellowest pineapples, and buy the one with the best aroma. Seems to work pretty well. Have you ever tried the half-sheet paper towels? The rolls last a lot longer for us.

Little Miss Foodie: Isn’t that HSSS pomelo salad delicious? We made it once – it was time-consuming but worth it. Nishla: Definitely make a bucket, and, um, send over another bucket of the arugula walnut pesto pasta. A very late semi-pseudo-Thai dinner tonight. Surprisingly good, although our judgment may have been impaired by hunger and a bottle of viognier. Fish fillets with viognier, coconut milk, green curry paste, fish sauce, and Thai basil (from James Peterson's Fish & Shellfish). Wilted spinach with blood orange vinegar and more of the green curry sauce.

This is wonderful – I’m learning a lot. We rarely use a whole chicken, so stock is usually a byproduct of poaching chicken for Chinese appetizers (ma la chicken, chicken in red oil sauce, etc.). The only aromatics are a piece of bruised ginger and a couple of scallions. Mrs. Crab does make chicken stock from rotisserie chicken carcasses, though. Susan – (if I’m not too late) Kao soi! Kao soi! (ba mi sounds good, too). Kao soi! Congrats on conquering sourdough, too. How did you get your starter? Pam – I like the look of your shopping list! The photo mélanges are really nice, too – probably greatly appreciated by those with a slow internet service. Judith – I hope you feel very much better very soon.

Malaysian pan-seared fish fillets with slivered red onion, chiles, ginger, and garlic (chuan-chuan), from Cradle of Flavor. The sauce was the pan juices mixed with soy and black soy sauce, black pepper, and a touch of sugar, finished with rice vinegar. Jasmine rice and cucumbers on the side. The recipe calls for mackerel, but we used frozen fillets. The topping is delicious on any fish - I would love to bottle the aroma of sauteeing onions, garlic, and ginger as an eGullet perfume.

Like Kerry, I consider myself “soup impaired.” The family loves soup, so I am excited to see what the talented trio of bloggers produces this week. You have probably made coconut chicken soup (tom kha gai), which would stoke the internal fires nicely. Andrea Nguyen has a delicious Napa cabbage and shrimp soup (click). Adding rice makes the soup more suitable for a northern climate (maybe on one of your warmer days ). Susan: Drywalling (and even thinking about drywalling) is completely incompatible with a clean house, so you are off the hook.

LMF: Mmm, grilled bok choy sounds intriguing. We have some in the fridge, so I may try that. Thanks for the idea!

Thanks, Teepee! Yes, the rice was not cooked in the soup, but added at the table.

Katie: No problem - you should have a PM in your inbox. Enjoy!

Shaya: Wow, another incredible dinner! Sorry to hear that you are afflicted with the cilantro = soap gene, though. We made Tai Bai chicken (Tai Bai ji – from Land of Plenty); Napa cabbage and shrimp soup (canh cai kim chi nau tom – from Into the Vietnamese Kitchen); and jasmine rice. More information about the chicken on Chinese eats at home (post #775 – click), and the soup on Vietnamese food (post #249 – click)

If I didn’t come here for the food, it would be worth visiting this thread for the fascinating cultural and linguistic insights. Tonight we made Tai Bai chicken (Tai Bai ji), from Land of Plenty. This had tingly Sichuan peppercorn ma; plenty of la from the dried chilies, pickled Thai chilies, and chile paste; rich flavor from a cup of chicken stock reduced to its essence; and nutty fragrant Sesame oil. The absolutely delicious flavors lingered pleasantly after the last mouthful, like a guest that can’t bear to leave a good dinner party. Served with Napa cabbage and shrimp soup (canh cai kin chi nau tom) and jasmine rice.

Napa cabbage and shrimp soup (canh cai kim chi nau tom), from Into the Vietnamese Kitchen. This simple soup packed a lot of flavor. The soup base was sauteed onions and dried shrimp, seasoned with salt, fish sauce, and white pepper, and garnished with scallions. Rice was a nice addition, and the boys loved the soup. Very WW-friendly, too. Served with Tai Bai chicken (Tai Bai ji) and jasmine rice.

Dianne: Your shrimp in spicy tamarind sauce looks good (in an upside-down sort of way ) - how did it taste? [ulterior motive - I am also starting to work my way through Into the Vietnamese Kitchen].

Lonnie: Yes, Trung Nguyen coffee is a remarkable bargain. Today’s breakfast: omelet with a filling of sauteed chilies, shallots, garlic, cilantro, and sweet-salty ketjap manis. Fuji apple and buttered whole-wheat English muffin. I’m narrowing down on my favorite omelet fillings, and this is getting close for a non-cheese, non-meat omelet.

Percy: Thanks! That batch of coffee was from Starbucks, but this morning we received two Trung Nguyen coffees: Passiona (naturally low-caffeine, but unfortunately only available pre-ground); and Legendee (whole-bean). We made Passiona coffee in the special filter this afternoon – it was excellent with sweetened condensed milk. My wife loved the coffee black – its chocolate and caramel flavors gave the coffee a natural sweetness. Filters are often available at Asian markets, or you can order them from Trung Nguyen Coffee Online (click) in Massachusetts. Aluminum filters are $2.50 USD, and stainless steel filters are $4.00 USD, a remarkable bargain IMO.

Abra: Wow, that all looks so good. Friends spend a month in Georgia, and came back raving about the food and wine. Did you have any Georgian wine with your feast? Special shout-outs:

I debated where to post this – coffee or breakfast – but this was this morning's breakfast. Vietnamese coffee with sweetened condensed milk (ca phe sua nong): Dripping through the special filter: Finished dripping: Mixing the coffee and SCM: Mmm - ready to drink (with a few extra coffee chunks, 'cuz of the blade grinder):

Hmm, you notice the smaller skillet without the potholder thingie? That's because potholder thingies on small skillets catch fire (or at least smolder in a threatening manner) when used on a gas stove. Bring back asbestos potholders?

I’m not very good at describing flavors, but galangal seems to have more of a woody or muddy flavor compared with the clean, sharp flavor of ginger. If you find frozen galangal, thaw it and use it like fresh galangal. I have heard that dried galangal loses a lot of flavor. You can mail order fresh galangal from Temple of Thai (click) in New York. Until I found a local source, I frequently substituted ginger for galangal in Thai curries. The taste is different, but the end result can still be very good. YMMV, especially if galangal is dominant flavor in the dish.

Mmm, that looks delicious, Shaya. Did you use a particular recipe? ETA: better to reply on the Thai cooking at home thread. My bad.

Rachel - I cannot take credit for the skillets. The small one was a present from my MIL, and came with several decades of seasoning. The other, a recent addition, was seasoned by the good folks at Lodge. Why thank you - you are too kind. Ah Leung's mapo tofu is definitely on my to-do list, and please thank Carol for her questions and excellent suggestions for future stir-fries. Definitely - but probably after a few days of spaghetti with pre-formed meatballs and jarred sauce (one of the boys favorite dinners, by the way).