C. sapidus

Beef and mushroom tacos – Beef chuck cubed and braised in pasilla-mulato chile paste and Mrs. C’s chicken stock. Portobello mushrooms cubed, dry-fried, and added to the braise. Seasoned to taste with a little honey, and then served on corn tortillas with sliced radish, diced white onion, and crumbled queso seco para frijoles. Same chile paste from the other day, just cooked down further for tacos. Unpictured salad to go with.

Dejah – If I am out of Mexican oregano I substitute regular (dried) oregano without much change in flavor. I do prefer Mexican oregano, though, although I can’t say exactly why. You can mail-order from Penzeys or Spice House, but I’m not sure about their policies/costs on shipping to Canada. I have not tried fresh Mexican oregano. My understanding is that there is more than one similar plant species that is called by that name in the kitchen. Do you have a recipe for this? Sounds fantastic! MikeHartnett – Thanks! Recipe was adapted liberally from “seared lamb (or pork) in swarthy pasilla-honey sauce” in Rick Bayless Mexican Kitchen. The recipe pops up pretty readily on a search.

Dejah – We are getting some of your weather (and, um, you can have it back ), otherwise I would have been out making ribs with pineapple sauce. Patrick – I love seeing your bean dishes Made a batch of chile paste with toasted pasilla and mulato chiles, roasted garlic, Mexican oregano, black pepper, cumin, and some of Mrs. C’s chicken stock. Chile paste should show up later this week. Beef and butternut squash with pasilla-honey sauce – Seared beef chuck and fried chile paste simmered with chicken stock. Cubed butternut squash added about half-way through, and honey drizzled in at the end. Garnished with cilantro and served with diced white onion. Supremely popular. Cucumber, orange, and radish salad – Tossed with lime juice, salt, cilantro, and mild chile powder, and topped with pickled red onion (parboiled red onion slices, cider vinegar, cumin, garlic cloves, S&P, and Mexican oregano)

Can you provide more details on the smoking process? I've been meaning to cook a turkey in my hot smoker for ages. Keith – Thanks for the pic. Worth a thousand words, give or take. Chris - Mrs. C cooked the turkey on the Big Green Egg at 350F (165C) using indirect heat, lump charcoal, and soaked cherry wood for smoke. For indirect heat she used a pizza stone suspended between the fire and the grill grate. In case you are not familiar with it, the BGE is a kamado-style ceramic cooker. I am not sure what to call this type of cooking. Smoke-baking? If Mrs. C followed the recipe she pulled the turkey at around 165F (74C). The turkey rested in a cooler until time to serve. I have hot-smoked chicken on a Weber Smoky Mountain (250F / 121C). The meat turns out fantastic but the skin never crisps up. In contrast, the higher temperature from smoke-baking the turkey yielded a smoke ring, plenty of smoke flavor, and wonderfully textured skin. This evening Mrs. C is making a smoky turkey stock from the carcass. I need to think about how best to use this particular bounty.

From Harold McGee, via NPR's Terry Gross: I hope that helps. Mrs. C used ice cubes in plastic baggies.

Thirteen for Thanksgiving this year. More food than pictures, so I am probably forgetting some of the food. Mrs. C made babaghanoush (eggplant smoke-grilled on the Big Green Egg), chicken liver and cashew pate, cranberry sauce, stuffing with mushrooms, grilled salmon with soy-maple glaze, and the turkey. More about the turkey anon. Our neighbor is starting a catering business, so she provided mac and cheese, pear salad with blue cheese and raspberry dressing, buttery rolls, pumpkin pie, and a fantastic curried butternut squash soup. Friends and family provided mashed potatoes, salad, cookies, chocolate cake, and strawberry trifle. I was in charge of vegetables, and made creamy braised Brussels sprouts, green bean salad, braised shallot confit, stir-fried bok choy with fermented black beans and garlic (a special request), and Bourbon sweet potatoes with orange sauce (sweet potatoes smoke-grilled on the Egg) . My favorite was the braised shallot confit, browned in butter, flamed with cognac, and then cooked down with red wine and fresh thyme. Younger son, to my surprise, went straight for the Brussels sprouts when he got hungry again after dinner. Grown-up drinks included beer, wine, hard cider, and dark & stormys. The star of the show was Mrs. C’s turkey. She brined it overnight, iced the breasts, put Cajun butter under the skin, and then cooked it on the Big Green Egg with cherry wood for smoke. Best turkey I have ever eaten, with the possible exception of the practice turkey she made a few days ago. The picture does not do justice to this juicy, smoky fowl.

Whoa - gorgeous, flaky biscuits.

Shrimp vindaloo – cinnamon stick, bay leaves, and onions fried with a vinegary paste of garlic, ginger, fenugreek leaves, red pepper, ground cumin, ground black mustard seed, and turmeric. Add pureed tomato, reduce, and finish with shrimp and cilantro. Yum. Green basmati rice – with pureed spinach, fenugreek leaves, cilantro, green chile, and S&P, finished with garam masala. Fresh fenugreek leaves were a pleasant find at the Asian market.

Whitefish pate – smoked whitefish, cream cheese, crème fraiche, butter, mustard powder, Chinese chives, black pepper, and roasted Poblano chile. Served with crackers and raw Belgian endive spears. We will definitely make this again. Browned Savoy cabbage with bacon, ham, and onions – cooked down with chicken stock.

Love the pizza at the beach pic. I like seasons, although I have not yet adapted to freezing temperatures and 30 mph winds. Give it time, though. Dog days and a little icy chill are necessary to fully appreciate spring and fall. Looking forward to the remainder of your foodblog.

Lovely breakfasts, all! I had my favorite breakfast today - leftovers. Keema aloo and garlic naan, in this case.

Dejah – Curry wings sound fantastic Ann – Beautiful chicken! Keema aloo – Black cardamom, cinnamon stick, bay leaves, cumin, and ground beef, cooked with potato wedges, green chiles, ginger, garlic, and a spice mix of ground coriander, garam masala, fenugreek, and turmeric, simmered with yogurt and finished with ground cardamom. Mrs. C kindly did most of the prep work while I was stuck in traffic. Spinach with sliced almonds – red bell peppers, panch phoran, ginger, garlic, chile, and asafloetida, finished with garam masala. Mrs. C said this would be a good Christmas dish. Garlic naan – store-bought, baked, and brushed with butter. Yes, again – it is quite good and ridiculously easy.

Thanks, all, for the very kind comments. I had plans for tonight, but Mrs. C was well-fed at her book club so I made guy food for younger son and I - spaghetti and meatballs with jazzed-up spaghetti sauce, and frozen peas with butter and thyme. Younger son was just as happy as if I had spent way more than 20 minutes on dinner . . . Paul - that looks really good. What is it?

Same here. For formal meals we fold the paper towels in a triangle.

Stephen – Welcome to Dinner! I would be very happy eating at your house . . . Smoke-grilled Buffalo wings – marinated with Tapatio salsa, lemon juice, garlic, oil, Worcestershire sauce, and S&P. Grilled with apple wood on the Egg; basted and sauced with a mix of melted butter, Tapatio, and Sriracha. Tossed with the sauce after picture time. Blue cheese dressing with jicama sticks (um, it was white - no picture ) - Blue cheese forced through a mesh and mixed with mayo, sour cream, minced onion, vinegar, S&P, and served with jicama sticks. Roasted potatoes with rosemary and garlic and an un-pictured salad, both courtesy of Mrs. C.

Beef kabobs with chimichurri – Marinated cubed strip steak in half of the chimichrri (two bunches of parsley, oregano, garlic, jalapenos, red chile flakes, and S&P, pureed with olive oil, vinegar, and lime juice). Charcoal-grilled kabobs to medium-rare and served with the remaining chimichurri. Cider-braised endive – with butter, thyme, S&P, and apple cider, cooked down to a glaze. This was remarkably good for minimal effort. Store-bought bread and leftover salad, with chimichurri as bread dip and salad dressing.

Mushroom-potato crema with crab meat and roasted Poblano chile – Mrs. C’s fantastic smoked turkey stock, thickened with potatoes and simmered with sliced shiitake mushrooms, corn, crab meat, and a little heavy cream, and then garnished with cilantro. Definitely having leftovers for breakfast . . . Mexican red rice – with chicken broth, carrots, corn, peas, and mild enchilada sauce. Our usual unpictured salad.

Franci – Thanks! Now I have a hankering for sweet potato fries Ann_T – Gorgeous chicken! Indian tonight Chicken baked with green chiles and onions – Flavored oil with cinnamon stick, cardamom, and cloves. Salted and peppered chicken thighs, browned and removed. Topped the chicken with fried onion, slivered ginger, and sliced jalapenos. Fried mustard seeds and garlic with a sauce of heavy cream, tomato paste, cayenne, garam masala, and lemon juice. Added the sauce to the chicken and baked until done. Yum. Stir-fried green cabbage with fennel seeds – Fried onions with cumin, fennel seed, and sesame seeds. Added slivered cabbage and cayenne and cooked until done. Finished with lemon juice and garam masala. One of my very favorite vegetable dishes. Store-bought garlic naan, heated in the oven and brushed with butter.

One technique you might try - for braised dishes slice chiles (fresh or dried) in half lengthwise. The chile heat will build as the dish braises. Taste as you go and remove the chiles when the dish reaches your preferred heat level.

Roasted Poblano-potato salad with smoked salmon – with sautéed red onion, olive oil, black pepper, Mexican oregano, cilantro, and rice vinegar, served over Bibb and Romaine lettuce. Excellent flavor to effort ratio.

Sigma - care to elaborate? Mrs. C made pizza dough from scratch, pre-heated cast iron pans, pre-baked the crusts, and then orchestrated make-your own pizza night. Mrs. C topped hers with mozzarella, sliced tomato, broccoli, black olives, Thai basil, and roasted garlic. Younger son had tomato sauce, pepperoni, mozzarella, and cheese. Mine had my favorite pizza toppings – pickled jalapeno and anchovy – with mozzarella, sliced yellow tomato, Thai basil (the regular basil has already lost its leaves), and a thin layer of tomato sauce. Mrs. C did a fantastic job on the crust!

Very sad news indeed, and heartfelt condolences to Dave's family and friends. His presence will be felt and missed.

Dejah and Ann_T, thank you both, you are very kind. I can only get a good browning on chicken if I leave the kitchen for a while. Otherwise I turn the chicken too early, usually to its detriment. Tilapia with zucchini, lime, and garlic; arroz blanco; and green bean salad with red onion

Now I’m hungry for fajitas and zucchini salad, despite just finishing a nice Indian meal. Maybe a little duck leg, too, to fill in the nooks and crannies. Mint-cilantro chicken – fried with onions, ginger-garlic paste, black pepper, and turmeric, and then cooked until done with lemon juice, minced green chile, and heaps of chopped cilantro and mint. Definitely making this again. Mixed vegetable pilaf – soaked basmati rice; onions fried with cumin, black cardamom, ginger, chiles, garam masala, yogurt, and chopped carrots, yellow bell pepper, and cauliflower; and garnished with cilantro.

Indian tonight, from Neelam Batra Chile chicken – Dried red chiles, slivered ginger, and onions fried together. Add chicken, paprika, and garlic, and then simmer with vinegar and water until liquid has evaporated and chicken is done. Um, tasted much better than it looked . . . Cauliflower and potatoes – Fried cubed potatoes and cauliflower florets separately, added minced ginger, turmeric, and cayenne, and then cooked over low until quite tender, finishing with cilantro and garam masala. Younger son liked this, mostly because of the potatoes. Pureed watercress raita – Watercress pureed with scallions, cilantro, and chile, whisked with yogurt, and then topped with chopped tomato, black pepper, and freshly-ground cumin. Beautiful green color when everything was mixed together after picture time. Garlic naan – Heated in the oven and brushed with butter. Not bad for store-bought!