C. sapidus

Yesterday: Grilled five-spice chicken with grilled zucchini salad Today: Carnitas tacos! With guacamole (uh, would have looked better if I removed the plastic wrap), sliced radish, minced white onion, house guest's salsa verde, corn tortillas, and fried (burned, sadly) plantains. Cubed pork butt was simmered with white onion, garlic, pickled jalapenos, and Mexican oregano, sauce reduced, and then baked at 450°F with orange peel, orange juice, Coca-Cola, and black pepper.

I have exactly zero paid food biz experience, but I did get to help in the "kitchen" at a wedding I attended. I say "kitchen" because the food was cooked on a grill in the alley. Southeast Asian, maybe Burmese, and quite delicious. I started out walking around with trays of sate and whatnot, and ended up prepping some sort of wrapped rolls. The funniest part was the reaction of the guests. There were some very high rollers at this wedding - people everyone here has heard of - and they were very confused about a guest helping out with the food. 😆

Bay scallops, Merguez sausage, green beans, and baby butternut squash, each separately seared and removed. Deglazed the pan, sauteed onion, garlic, and bird chiles, then finished with roasted Poblano chile, black pepper, fish sauce, Mexican oregano, thyme, garam masala, a splash of half-and-half, and crumbled feta. Lovely, spicy, complex mix of textures and flavors.

Credit to @Tropicalsenior for the shriveled gonads 😆 Those all sound good to me!

I like LGBoD / shriveled gonads of ancient hedgehogs. Creamy braised LGBoD / SGoAH from 'All About Braising' is our holiday go-to.

Chicken in cilantro, spinach, and mustard sauce: Saute bay leaves, cinnamon stick, cardamom pods, and whole cloves. Brown chicken drumsticks in the flavored oil, and then simmer with yogurt, black pepper, and cayenne. Finish with a blended sauce of ginger, green chiles, cilantro, spinach, and stone-ground mustard. Cucumber raita: Thinly-sliced cucumber, yogurt, sliced shallots, minced green chiles, shredded mint leaves, and cilantro. Garnished with cumin and smoked paprika (should be cayenne but dinner guests were chile-averse). Basadi dal: Simmer red lentils in water until tender. Fry sliced onion in ghee then add panch phoran (equal parts freshly-ground cumin, black cumin, aniseed, coriander, and fenugreek), turmeric, paprika, cayenne, cumin, and crushed tomato. My favorite dal of all time.

House guest cooked dinner the other night - this was leftovers for breakfast. Pork loin on a bed of onions and home-grown sorrel, and a delicious cranberry chutney with apple and pineapple. The actual dinner also included bulgur wheat, plus roasted chickpeas and chopped walnuts for crunch.

Grilled beef salad (yam neua): Marinated strip steaks with garlic, ginger, soy sauce, fish sauce, and sugar, and then grilled over charcoal. Rested, sliced against the grain, and served with Boston lettuce, sliced cucumber, sliced shallots, cherry tomatoes, cilantro, and crushed dry-roasted peanuts. Dressing was cilantro, serrano chile, garlic, lemon juice, palm sugar, white pepper, and fish sauce, whizzed up in the blender. No pictures of the final product and no leftovers.

I cook green beans similarly, except tossed with fermented black beans and garlic, maybe with a splash of rice vinegar and chicken stock, and finished with sesame oil. Riff on a Fuchsia Dunlop recipe for bell peppers.

Roasted chile Poblano, seared bay scallops, Merguez sausage, white onion, red bell pepper, garlic, and chile Serrano, sauteed and deglazed with chicken stock. Finished with ancho chile powder, Mexican oregano, thyme, and a splash of half-and-half. So now the pantry is officially empty. Time to get groceries.

Welcome! Also interested in Bengali food, and your personal twists on it.

Chorizo and butternut squash fried rice with onion, garlic, ginger, jalapeno, red curry paste, cumin seed, fish sauce, and an egg.

Leftover apple crisp for breakfast. Mrs. C made it with equal parts apples and crisp - the perfect ratio.

She says she based it on this recipe: Za'atar roasted carrot dip - Serious Eats (clicky)

Brown shrimp and sausage and remove. Saute sliced shallot and jalapeno with minced ginger and garlic, cumin seed, and black pepper. Deglaze with chicken stock, then wilt equal parts spinach and cilantro with a splash of half-and-half. Return shrimp and sausage to the pan and finish with thyme, Mexican oregano, garam masala, and crumbled feta. I am told this smelled good from the basement, which perhaps is a subject for the "kitchen hood" thread. 😆

Vietnamese grilled chicken (ga nuong): Chicken thighs marinated with lime juice, fish sauce, black pepper, sugar, salt, and olive oil, and then grilled over charcoal. Used the same marinade with zucchini. Served with cucumber salad (not pictured), made with rice vinegar, lime juice, sugar, salt, sliced shallots and ginger, and cilantro, and half a jalapeno. Mrs. C and our house guest made brownies (also not pictured) made with cherry brandy and sourdough discard, served with a variety of ice creams.

House guest arrived with salsa verde from her garden so that inspired breakfast. Chorizo, white onion, spinach, cilantro, and salsa verde, finished with a scrambled egg and crumbled feta. Apologies for the poorly lit cell phone pic.

Chard with chorizo and potatoes (acelgas con chorizo y papa): Brown chorizo, remove, and then saute white onion, garlic, and cubed potato in the rendered fat. Simmer with chard, blended tomato and chipotle, and the browned chorizo, then finish with Mexican oregano and thyme. Mrs. C made a roasted carrot dip with zaatar and pistachios, enjoyed with pita chips

Scrambled eggs with broccolini, white onion, and roasted chile Poblano, finished with thyme, Mexican oregano, and crumbled feta. Still using up produce that I purchased before being away for a few days. This batch of chile Poblano had good flavor and a little heat so I did not use any jalapenos. 🙂

Tacos with roasted Poblano chiles, Shiitake mushrooms, and shrimp. Other flavors came from sliced jalapeno, sliced white onion, garlic, cumin seed, thyme, Mexican oregano, cilantro, fish sauce, and ancho chile powder, finished with crumbled feta and a splash of half-and-half.

Leftovers from last night's dinner, which was served with whole-grain bread to mop up the sauce: Chicken curry with carrot and sweet potato (ca ri ga): Rub skinless chicken thighs with curry powder and salt; set aside. Saute shallot, garlic, roasted chile paste, and curry powder, and then brown chicken. Simmer with chicken stock, fish sauce, sugar, bruised lemongrass, and bruised ginger. Add sliced carrots, and then add coconut milk, sliced onion, and cubed sweet potato. Finish with cilantro, Thai basil, and scallions. Layers of flavor. The recipe called for Three Golden Bells curry powder but I used a masala for lamb, which had a more robust flavor that I liked. Table got very quiet, in a good way, once folks started eating. Cucumber salad with sliced shallot, cilantro and a sauce of rice vinegar, lemon juice, sugar, salt, and a little fish sauce, seasoned briefly with half a jalapeno chile (house guest has limited chile tolerance). A little worse for wear but still crunchy.

Keema matar: Saute onion, ginger, and garlic, add cayenne, cumin seed, coriander seed and turmeric, mix in crushed tomato and yogurt, add ground chicken, garam masala, and a cup of water. Simmer for 25 minutes, then finish with chopped jalapeno, cilantro, and frozen peas. Basmati rice with peas and dill: Saute sliced shallot with cloves and green cardamom until browned, then add rice, garam masala, and chopped fresh dill. Steam with chicken stock and finish with the peas. House guest mentioned liking dill, so . . . Cilantro and mint chutney: Blend cilantro and mint leaves with yogurt and lemon juice. Very refreshing.

Four 25K BTU burners sounds nice - our 17-year old Bluestar cooktop just has two. We have had at least five burners going at once for holiday meals, but usually most are simmering over low heat. Yes, you want the range hood to be a bit wider than the range for good capture. Ours is 42", which provides 3" overlap on both sides. But keep in mind that the recommended hood installation height is about where your forehead is if you are around 6'-0" tall. Banged my head on the hood corners a few times before adapting. Will one of your high heat burners be front center? On our older model the 25K BTU burners are on the front left and back right corners, so the front left is what we use for high-heat searing and wok cooking. Remote blower should reduce noise, but keep in mind that a lot of hood noise comes from air turbulence in the filters and ductwork. Large ducts, short and straight duct runs, and gentle (if any) curves make a big difference. You should also ask your installers how they plan to isolate fan vibrations from the ductwork, if noise is a concern. When a fan is rated at 900 CFM, that refers to its performance with no resistance. In the real world, filters and turbulence in the ductwork will reduce the actual airflow significantly. As mentioned above, using larger ducts and short, straight runs reduces airflow loss. But the filter is probably where you lose the most airflow. Give some thought to filters location, too. You want the filter near the range for access/cleaning and to limit grease buildup in the ducts, even though that will increase noise a bit. 900 CFM should work great, assuming make-up air is not a problem. If your house is super-tight, you don't want your hood sucking air from the furnace exhaust and whatnot. In nice weather you can always open a window to provide make-up air. Our 17-year old Vent-A-Hood unit pulls 600 CFM, which is good except when hot wok oil releases capsaicin fumes from dried chiles. The 600 CFM is "equivalent" to a 900 CFM blower because the Vent-A-Hood uses centrifugal force rather than a filter to capture oil fumes.

Merguez sausage, sliced Napa cabbage, and "super-spicy" kimchee, flavored with gochujang and doenjang, then finished with feta cheese and over-easy eggs. Sometimes it is nice to start the day with a breakfast that makes your nose run. Yolk contained: Yolk running free:

As I am sure you know, nitrogen and protein correlate because amino acids contain nitrogen.