C. sapidus

Leftover palak paneer, made with onion, ginger, garlic, ghee, cinnamon stick, cardamom pods, coriander, garam masala, dried fenugreek leaves, and a little yogurt. Finished with a tadka of dried red chiles and paprika fried in ghee.

Family holiday meal pics: Manchamanteles ("tablecloth stainer") is usually considered one of the 7 moles of Oaxaca. Sauce was dried ancho chiles (toasted and soaked), onion, garlic, peanuts, almonds, and stale bread, plus ground cloves, canela, and black pepper, all blended, strained, and fried. Meats included pork butt, chicken thighs, and chorizo. Simmered the meat in the sauce and homemade turkey stock until tender, and then added cubed pineapple sweet potatoes, and pears. Finished with cider vinegar, a little sugar, and fried plantains. Served with chopped pickled jalapenos. Takes a while but so worth it. Quinoa salad Palak paneer and carrot salad with pomegranate seeds. Palak paneer is sis's favorite, so we have it every holiday meal. One of my favorites, too. Mrs. C's steelhead with honey-sriracha glaze. Nephew caught in the act, grabbing some before anyone else was even seated. Baked sweet potatoes with a maple-ginger glaze Last of the baklava and store-bought cheesecake and cookies for dessert. Pre-meal goodies included mulled cider, and cheese, salami, and crackers.

Dinner for the boys, one GF, and two of their friends: beef rendang, masoor dal, turmeric rice, cucumber and carrot pickle. Mrs. C made carrot and pomegranate salad, and at least one other salad. I was hoping to take pics of leftovers, but the vultures had a second dinner and finished everything. Family is coming over today, so I'm working on manchamanteles, palak paneer, and sweet potatoes with maple-ginger glaze. Nephews adore Mrs. C's steelhead with either soy-maple glaze, but I think she's making a honey-sriracha glaze this time. No promises about pics for any of that, either.

Made ChefCrash's baklava with a modified syrup of water, sugar, and honey, flavored with canela ("true" cinnamon), cloves, and lemon peel strips. Out of the oven and drenched in syrup. Should be at its best in a day or three, if it lasts that long (we have dinner parties all weekend).

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.