C. sapidus

The issue with TSP and scallops is it causes them to retain water. This works against a good sear. Look for “dry packed” scallops to avoid excess water.

Liuyang black bean chicken: chicken thigh chunks marinated with soy sauce, twice-fried, and removed. Stir-fry a whole head of garlic, sliced ginger, fermented black beans, Shaoxing wine, red chile flakes, and rice vinegar. Finish with scallions and sesame oil. This is a long-time favorite. Stir-fried Chinese spinach leaves with garlic: Yup, its that simple (plus a pinch of salt). I liked the Chinese spinach - nice flavor, and a bit more robust vs. regular spinach.

Tuna salad with kimchee, pickled jalapenos, Tony Packo's sweet hot pickles, capers, mayo, white pepper, cayenne, gochujang, and hot sauce. Served on potato rolls with butter lettuce. I like the proportions roughly equal parts tuna and pickly things.

Kielbasa and roasted chile Poblano with cilantro, Mexican oregano, and a sauce of sauteed onion, garlic, and long red chiles, blended with chopotle in adobo and crushed tomato. Toppped with minced red onion, crumbled feta, and fried ripe plantains. Nice mix of hot-smoky-sweet-salty-pungent flavors.

I have used pre-chopped frozen lemongrass. Not quite the same as fresh but it will do in a pinch. For frozen lemongrass stalks, I would either: 1) thaw and slice thinly; or 2) thaw at least partially and bash up with a heavy object, followed by tying into a knot if practicable. I am curious, though - if you simmer a whole frozen stalk in liquid, do you get the flavor you want, or does the lemongrass need to be sliced or bruised to release the flavor?

Neua naam tok (Issan steak salad, from Pok Pok): Marinated NY strip steaks with soy sauce and a paste of lemongrass and black pepper. Grilled over charcoal, rested, and sliced thinly. Dressing was sliced lemongrass, lime juice, fish sauce, quick beef stock (made from steak trimmings), cayenne, smoked paprika, and a little sugar. Salad was mint leaves, cilantro, sliced shallots, and toasted rice powder. Cucumber relish, with rice vinegar, sugar, salt, long red chiles, cilantro, and crushed peanuts. Served with coconut rice and butter lettuce to make lettuce wraps.

For the okra, any shape that you could fry the pieces to crispy should work just fine. And thanks!

"Delicious chicken bits" from Madhur Jaffrey: Cubed chicken breast, tossed with black pepper, turmeric, cayenne, cumin, ajwan, garlic powder, smoked paprika, and oil. Chicken is browned in the wok and then baked under parchment paper. Someone kindly posted Suvir Saran's recipe for Crispy Okra Salad (clicky), so I had to give that a try. Thumbs up from Mrs. C, who is typically a non-okraphile. I had mail-ordered amchur powder (dried green mango) and the package arrived just before dinner, along with some hiking socks (not included in the meal).

Thanks! By US lingo, the eggplant is broiled (heat from above). If it was grilled (heat from below, by US lingo) all of the olive oil would run out. 🙃

A rare Italian(ish) dinner: Baked stuffed catfish fillets: Filled and topped with panko, grated parmesan, garlic, chopped anchovies, S&P, and cilantro (sub for parsley ). Flavor was good but 2 layers made cooking tricky. I would do single layer if I do this again, probably combined with Mrs. C's pistachio and panko coating. "Grilled" eggplant: Slashes stuffed with garlic, rosemary, S&P, and copious amounts of olive oil. A favorite that I haven't made for a long while.

Cabbage stir-fried with fennel seed, cumin seed, sesame seed, sliced onion, habanero and long red chiles, and red Hatch chile powder, finished with garam masala. I usually add a squeeze of lemon but forgot. Topped with an over-easy egg.

Wasn't planning on cooking but I slapped together a quick meal. Camarones a la diabla: Sautee white onion and sliced garlic, then blend with chipotles en adobo, crushed tomato, and Mexican oregano. Sprinkle shirimp with S&P, then sear and remove. Blend and simmer the sauce, then finish with the shrimp, chopped cilantro, and a little leftover pinot grigio (some for the sauce, and some for the cook). Shrimp turned out particularly tender. Quick guacamole with chopped jalapeno, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime.

Potato rendang: Spice paste of lemongrass, shallots, garlic, long red chiles, bird chiles, fresh turmeric, ginger, and galangal, all whizzed up in the blender. Reduce coconut milk with the spice paste and Thai basil leaves, adding slit baby potatoes about halfway through. Continue reducing and scraping the pan until potatoes and sauce are browned to "the color of a well-roasted chicken." I could have browned more, but sometimes discretion is the better part of valor. Braised cabbage with dried shrimp: Peel cabbage leaves and cut into squares. Soak dried shrimp in warm water. Saute garlic and then add the cabbage, shrimp, soaking water, black pepper, and a little sugar. Stir until cabbage has translucent spots, then cover and braise until cabbage is barely tender. Remove lid, raise heat, and boil off most of the liquid. Simple and good. Both from 'Cradle of Flavor'

Leftover collard and mustard greens with deboned pork ribs

I had leftover habanero BBQ sauce so I decided to smoke baby back ribs in the Weber bullet. Ribs were rubbed with magic dust overnight, and then glazed with the BBQ sauce in the last hour of smoking. BBQ sauce on the side but not in the picture. Mix of collard and mustard greens, simmered for a couple of hours with fried bacon, apple cider vinegar, mustard powder, red chile flakes, black pepper, and a little sugar. A mash-up of several recipes so unfortunately unlikely to be repeatable.

Italian sausage and yard-long beans with onion, habanero, garlic, cumin, thyme, fish sauce,and tomato paste.

Welcome home meal for Mrs. C 😄 Goan shrimp curry: Saute bay leaves, cinnamon stick, and sliced onion. Add a spice paste of garlic, ginger, bay leaves (sub for curry leaves), black mustard seed, cumin, red pepper flakes, garam masala, turmeric, rice vinegar, and a little sugar. Add crushed tomato and cook down. Toss shrimp with the sauce, cook until done, and finish with cilantro and more graram masala. Good stuff. Carrots with spinach ribbons: Saute cumin seed, minced ginger, and serrano chile. Add sliced carrots with ground coriander seed, turmeric, and crushed tomato, and then cook covered. Add spinach ribbons and cook covered. Finish with garam masala.

^ This. And if you used a container with a narrow neck (test tube, or even better, a volumetric flask) the weight-per-volume measurement will be more accurate.

Bacon? 😉

I was craving seafood and greens, so: palak paneer, but substituting bay scallops for paneer cheese. Seared bay scallops and removed. Briefly fry fenugreek and cumin seeds, then saute with onion, ginger, garlic, chiles, and tomato paste. Add spinach (frozen, microwaved, chopped). When spinach is done, stir in the scallops and a squeeze of lime.

Clean-out-the-fridge breakfast: Italian sausage, cubed zucchini, chiles, shallots, and garlic, sauteed and then mixed with tomato paste, half-and-half, and fish sauce. Made a pit in the middle, fried an egg, and then finished with cilantro, Asian basil, feta cheese, and a squeeze of lime. Fridge is ready for a fresh batch of groceries.

Anguillan BBQ chicken: marinated chicken thighs overnight with a blender mix of shallots, scallions, garlic, onion, habanero chiles, thyme, black pepper, salt, olive oil, and dark rum. Grilled the chicken over charcoal with cherry wood for smoke. Brushed the chicken with Anguillan BBQ sauce (see next) in the last few minutes of cooking. Anguillan BBQ sauce: saute onion, garlic, and habanero chiles, then simmer with crushed tomato, tomato paste, habanero salsa, BBQ sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, dark rum, oregano, thyme, and black pepper. Bahamian (pigeon) peas and rice: jasmine rice with bacon, onion, zucchini, garlic, thyme, tomato paste, and lime juice.

Welcome, @Irishgentleman! I hope one of the chocolate folks here can yelp you out. You might get a better response if you post this question in the Pastry & Baking forum: Pastry, confectionery, ice cream, desserts, jams & jellies, and baking techniques and ingredients (clicky) Good luck!

Fried some bacon and added last night's taco filling (potato, sausage, Poblano chiles, mustard greens) along with pickled jalapenos and leftover rotisserie chicken. Topped the lot with a fried egg

Nontraditional tacos with Italian sausage, potato, mustard greens, and Poblano chile rajas. Sauteed sausage and white onion, added minced garlic and jalapeno with thyme and Mexican oregano. Simmered cubed baby potatoes with chicken stock, added to the Poblano chile mixture with the mustard greens, and then cooked everything until dry. Finished with yogurt and served with corn tortillas, feta cheese, and habanero hot sauce.