C. sapidus

Improvised green curry shrimp with spinach, cilantro, peas, and green beans. Curry paste from a tub, supplemented by shallots, garlic, lemongrass, green chiles, and ginger. Coconut milk and turkey stock for the liquid. Finished with palm sugar, lemon juice, and fish sauce. Jasmine rice.

Starting point was Fuchsia Dunlop's Liuyang black bean chicken, a favorite. Added dry-fried shiitake mushrooms, cubed zucchini, and turkey stock, and skipped the deep-frying. Everyone preferred this variation. Flavors included fermented black beans, ginger, red chile flakes, and a head of garlic. Jasmine rice to go with.

Palak paneer, with spinach, dried fenugreek, green chiles, ginger, garlic, and the last of the homemade paneer. Topped with slivered and fried ginger. Yum Palak paneer is the dish that first piqued my interest in Indian food. According to the internet saag paneer is more of a dinner course, and palak paneer is more of an appetizer. I think I prefer the simpler, easier to make palak paneer.

Pollo en escabeche with carrots, white onion, garlic, pickled jalapenos, cider vinegar, homemade turkey broth, and a mix of allspice, black pepper, and Mexican oregano. Mrs. C’s cabbage salad Borscht, leftover from dinner with Russian friends. I added a dollop of yogurt to mine

I had no idea this product existed. How is it? Zucchini, Poblano chile, and green bean tacos with toasted garlic, white onion, jalapeno chile, Meyer lemon and Mexican oregano. Zucchini was "sweated" beforehand to keep the texture firm.

Yum, I love spanakopita Green bean and roasted Poblano chile scrambled eggs with feta cheese, cumin, and a chipotle-garlic-tomato sauce.

Wisconsin in-laws use the same terminology for stuffing vs. dressing. We called it stuffing whether stuffed or not. Shrug

I associate mac and cheese with Thanksgiving meals that include glazed ham. I think you are right - probably a southern thing.

Thanksgiving leftovers for breakfast, counterclockwise from bottom right: Maple-ginger-soy glazed coho salmon and steelhead for fish-fiend nephew, courtesy of Mrs. C Stuffing with giblet gravy Creamy braised Brussels sprouts Bourbon sweet potatoes with orange sauce, made with Cointreau and about half the brown sugar specified Green bean salad in the middle Saag paneer with homemade paneer (fresh cheese) – very popular but I shall spare you the picture . . . Also not pictured: Moist and tender turkey (nice job Mrs. C) - apparently we gave it all way, except for the big pile of bones simmering in a stockpot Mashed potatoes, courtesy of SIL Store-bought pumpkin cheesecake We interspersed gluttony with two long dog walks, so I’m sure the day was calorie-neutral.

Seven seas soup with shrimp, flounder, potato, zucchini, and corn, seasoned with epazote and guajillo chile sauce. We may serve the leftovers at Thanksgiving Grilled strip steak and red onions with guajillo chile marinade and sauce. I planned to spread the guajillo sauce over two meals but sometimes life happens.

Shrimp bisque mostly from The Catch: Sea-to-Table Recipes, Stories, and Secrets. I don't make many soups but this was ridiculously good, perfect for a rainy day.

Shrimp bisque Fairly elaborate - sautee, simmer, strain, rinse and repeat - but one of the more delicious things I have eaten in a while. Recipe, mostly followed, from The Catch: Sea-to-Table Recipes, Stories, & Secrets. Bagged salad to go with.

Huevos rancheros variant with sauteed onion and garlic, roasted chile Poblano, and chipotle-tomatillo salsa

Swiss chard and Poblano chile tacos, served with chipotle-tomatillo salsa featuring roasted garlic. We had some spare pate so Mrs. C suggested adding some to the tacos. Apologies to any Mexican grandmothers out there but - pate enhanced tacos tasted really nice. Meanwhile we made a big batch of guajillo chile salsa (yes, with more roasted garlic) to simplify pre-Thanksgiving cooking this week.

Omelet with sauteed green beans, broccoli, feta, garlic, and chiles. Overfilling provided the desired veggie/egg ratio but would probably not meet Jacque Pepin's approval.

Shrimp steamed with a paste of garlic, bird chiles, oyster sauce, and fish sauce, finished with cilantro, a squeeze of lime, and a little sugar to round out the flavor. Broccoli with oyster sauce, fish sauce, white pepper, and lots of garlic. Rice to go with

Whoops - pls delete

Couple more: Kasma Loha-Unchit - Dancing Shrimp: Spicy charcoal-roasted catfish salad (lahb bplah doog) - galangal Northeastern-style crispy whole catfish seasoned with Thai herbs, chillies, and toasted rice (lahb bplah doog tawd gkrawb) - no galangal Thailand the Beautiful Cookbook (various authors): Ground beef salad (laab nuea) - galangal powder I should note that the latter cookbook pages stick together at the recipe for laab nuea.

Interesting. I have never been within thousands of miles of Thailand so all I know is recipes. But I checked my cookbooks and found that galangal or ground dried galangal were listed in most larb laab larp recipes: David Thompson - Thai Food: Spicy minced chicken salad (larp gai) - no galangal Chiang Mai-style larp of pork (larp Chiang Mai muu) - galangal in the spice paste Andy Ricker - Pok Pok: Northern Thai minced pork salad (laap meuang) - galangal and ground dried galangal Isaan minced duck salad (laap pet Isaan) - galangal in the galangal paste (!!) Isaan minced catfish salad (laap plaa duuk Isaan) - galangal I have also seen laap recipes that call for "lesser galangal" with ginger listed as a substitute. So I dunno.

Fried rice with broccoli and preserved mustard greens. Leftovers - repurposed!

Do you ever explore the Mexican side of the border?

Spinach and cilantro with shrimp, egg, coconut cream, and feta

Chorizo and egg tacos with guajillo salsa, feta and Mexican oregano. Some of the guajillo sauce was mixed with the fried chorizo, and some was drizzled over the tacos. Guajillo sauce was blended, strained, and fried guajillo chiles (toasted and rehydrated), garlic (roasted), Mexican oregano, black pepper, and cumin. Simmered the sauce with turkey stock and finished with a little salt and brown sugar. Sauce turned out really well - I should have made more.

Chorizo and egg tacos

Interesting - opposite here. I keep looking for mutant 8-legged turkeys with no breast. At our house Mrs. C cooks the proteins. Bird is usually capon but probably not this year. She might ask me to partly smoke the bird on the Weber bullet for her to finish in the oven. We shall see. She also makes steelhead or salmon with a maple-soy glaze (nephew's favorite). In-laws contribute mashed potatoes and stuffing. I cook the veggies. Vegetarian sis always requests palak (saag) paneer - I hope to successfully make my own paneer this year. Other staples include Brussels sprouts braised with lemon and cream, green bean salad, braised carrots (sometimes with endive), and Bourbon sweet potatoes with orange sauce. Haven't decided whether to shake things up this year. Before dessert, if the weather cooperates we walk through the historic district downtown. Not sure what to make for dessert this year - baklava is popular, but I have been hankering for flan and Mrs. C makes killer fruit crisps. After the feast and cleanup, Mrs. C makes a big batch of stock with leftover bird parts.