C. sapidus

From Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking: chicken fricassee with red cabbage; sauteed peas with olive oil and prosciutto, Florentine style; and sauteed mushrooms with olive oil, garlic, and parsley (method 1). Sauteeing the mushrooms in the pan where the chicken had been browned gave the mushrooms a particularly nice flavor.

The crew from Maine has outdone themselves again. Thanks for capturing the festivities in such death-defying detail, JohnnyD!

Doddie, thank you for the bitter melon tips. I need to try cooking that again. Ann_T: Beautiful, beautiful steak, and I can just imagine the cracklings on the pork. Thanks for the kind words, and we have missed your gorgeous meal photos. Shelby: I now have a hankering for frog legs, which I haven’t eaten in *cough* years. Tuesday with Marcella, leftovers tonight: rigatoni Bolognese; Venetian style smothered cabbage; and braised carrots with Parmesan cheese. I made dinner for the family and then left to pay volleyball, so no pictures. The carrots must have been popular because they were gone before I returned.

Doddie, do you have a trick for moderating the bitterness of bitter melon, or do you enjoy it as is? We had a guest Saturday night, and cooked again from 50 Great Curries of India. Younger son was off camping, so he will have to fight me for the leftovers. Malabar shrimp curry (konju curry): Tomatoes and coconut milk, flavored with fried onions, mustard seeds, curry leaves, turmeric, coriander, cumin, and three kinds of chiles. Just before serving I added huge (U-15) shrimp, simmered until the shrimp were barely cooked, and then topped the curry with quickly-fried shallots and curry leaves. Fragrant rice: jasmine rice with cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, bay leaf, salt, and a dollop of ghee. This is my new favorite basic rice. Green chutney: coconut, cilantro, mint, chiles, garlic, ginger, cumin, sugar, salt, and a squeeze of lime juice, all ground in the Preethi. Mrs. C turned excess zucchini into “zucchini raita” and grilled spice-rubbed zucchini (not pictured because all disappeared). Viogner and entertaining conversation accompanied the meal. Leftovers for breakfast:

Fried rice or an omelet.

Lovely breakfasts, all. Tolliver, sun-dried tomato omelet sounds like it would hit the spot. Fried rice with leftover Sichuan dry-fried chicken: I flavored the cooking oil with garlic and Sichuan chile bean paste, and then finished the fried rice with chile oil and sesame oil. The wonderful numbing aroma of Sichuan peppercorns came through loud and clear. That should hold me until dinnertime.

Thanks for the kind words, much appreciated. Lochina: your dishes look great, and this thread inspired me to revisit an old favorite: dry-fried chicken (gan ban ji), stir-fried with celery and bell peppers. We also made long beans in ginger sauce (jiang zhi jiang dou), which was very simple and quite delicious.

Land of Plenty is one of my absolute favorite cookbooks. Other than fish-fragrant pork slivers (which was just OK), everything else has ranged from delightful to revelatory. If you have not already done so, check out Chinese Eats at Home (click). Lots of mouth-watering food and knowledgeable posters. Tai bai chicken; stir-fried shiitake mushrooms; stir-fried Swiss chard with garlic; and jasmine rice. La zi ji (chicken with chiles); gan ban si ji dou (dry-fried green beans); hong you qie zi (steamed eggplants with chile sauce); and jasmine rice. Sichuan dry-fried chicken (gan bian ji) Gong bao chicken Dry-fried beef slivers (gan bian niu rou si), chicken in red oil sauce (hong you ji kuai), and tiger-skin peppers (fu pi qing jiao) Spicy braised rainbow trout with whole garlic (da suan shao yu); stir-fried spinach with chile and Sichuan pepper; Sichuan “water-boiled beef” (shui zhu niu rou) Red-braised beef with daikon radish (hong shao niu rou); dry-fried green beans (gan bian si ji dou); spicy cucumber salad (qiang huang gua); and jasmine rice. Dan dan noodles Fish-fragrant eggplant (yu xiang qie zi)

Looks great, Nate. We rubbed a big butt and a little butt (5.5 and 4.5 pounds, bone-in) with Mike Mills’ “magic dust” (paprika, mustard powder, chilli powder, cumin, black pepper, granulated garlic, cayenne, sugar, and salt). The butts rested in the refrigerator overnight and went on the WSM around midnight (Minion method, hickory smokewood). In rain and gusty winds, keeping the fire stable proved difficult. Around mid-morning I gave up, wrapped the butts in foil, and popped them into a 250F oven. They reached 195F after about 16 hours, so I rested the butts in the turned-off oven. The pork pulled like cotton candy. The family and four guests devoured the big butt, making pulled pork banh mi, pulled pork salad, or traditional pulled pork sandwiches with coleslaw. The fixings: Mustardy coleslaw North Carolina-style vinegary barbecue sauce Quick-pickled bean sprouts and carrots Mrs. C’s Asian salad Potato rolls Hard rolls Liver pate Sliced cucumbers Sliced jalapenos Cilantro sprigs Mayonnaise Maggi sauce Mrs. C and her somewhat reluctant sous chefs grilled steelhead trout slathered with mustard-mayo-dill sauce; fried polenta with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and herbs; and roasted vegetables that had been tossed with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Guests brought red wine, Russian blini (thin crepes), and jam. For dessert, Mrs. C and da boyz made a nontraditional trifle with fruit, madelines, and maraschino liqueur.

I will never again economize on paper towels when seasoning a wok. Standard procedure: heat the wok to smoking, add oil, and wipe the madly-smoking oil around with paper towels. Yeah, I know, but I have never had a mishap before. I usually grab two paper towels for this procedure. For whatever reason, the other night I only used one paper towel and dipped my finger in smoking-hot oil. Yes, this is as painful as it sounds. The blister is developing nicely. Would anyone like me to explain the concept of “false economy”?

Kalypso, thanks for the reminder. I knew that I had read about chayote greens somewhere, but I could not remember where. Welcome, Mario! I look forward to hearing what you bring to the table (so to speak ), and a native's perspective is always valuable.

Dinner adapted from Fuchsia Dunlop’s Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook. Farmhouse stir-fried pork with green peppers (nong jia chao rou): Cubanelle, Anaheim, and Poblano chiles, stir-fried with bacon, garlic, fermented black beans, and pork chops (sliced and marinated in dark soy, light soy, and Shaoxing wine). I cooked the pork until barely pink inside, and it remained nicely tender. Stir-fried green beans with bacon and preserved greens, seasoned with dried chile flakes and Shaoxing wine. Served with jasmine rice. The boys must have been hungry, because they gave everything 9.8 to 10 across the board. Cooking everything in bacon grease might have helped, too.

Reanimating a very old thread, we made lamb vindaloo from Camellia Panjabi’s 50 Great Curries of India. Meltingly tender lamb with brown-fried onions and a masala of red chile, cumin, cloves, cinnamon, black pepper, star anise, poppy seeds, ginger, garlic, tamarind, and cider vinegar, finished with curry leaves. Lots of flavor, but quite different than my usual pork vindaloo, from Julie Sahni’s Classic Indian Cooking. Served with date and coconut chutney, cucumber raita, and rice.

House guest requested grilled five-spice chicken. Served with soy-lime dipping sauce, carrots, kohlrabi, green salad, and jasmine rice mixed with leftover turmeric rice.

PercyN, we adapted Madhur Jaffrey’s “ground chicken or turkey with peas” (murghi ka keema), substituting ground lamb and increasing the spices and lemon juice. My long-time favorite, though, is sookha keema from Julie Sahni’s Classic Indian Cooking. Actually her safaid keema is quite nice, too. Dang, now I’m hungry for keema again.

mip, thanks! We adapted Madhur Jaffrey’s recipe for gingery cauliflower soup (click), leaving out the heavy cream. If you make the soup without cream you may wish to reduce the ginger a little. Or not, depending how much you like ginger.

Kim Shook, I have probably mentioned this before, but the salads at your house always sound so good. Kudos to Mr. Kim! Lamb keema, gingery cauliflower and potato soup, and turmeric rice. Mrs. C mashed up the soup (rather than pureeing), leaving a nice variety of textures.

Yes, white poppy seeds. They give sauces a nice, nutty flavor. With only six dates in a generous cup of sauce, the chutney’s sweetness was not overwhelming. Anyway, chutneys are typically strongly flavored and used in small amounts, like a salsa. Next time, though, I’m adding more chiles.

menuinprogress, that’s beautiful! Madras fish curry: the sauce contained grated coconut, ginger, garlic, tomatoes, and brown-fried onions, soured with tamarind, thickened with ground poppy seeds, and spiced with curry leaves, mustard seeds, coriander, turmeric, fenugreek, cumin, and (mild for the young ‘uns) chile powder. Red chutney with grated coconut, dates, ginger, garlic, onion, cilantro, chile, and lime juice. After reading the list of ingredients, I had a hard time picturing how this would taste but it turned out nicely. Served with leftover rice and an assortment of vegetables – eternal cucumbers, avocado, and cherry tomatoes. First time cooking from 50 Great Curries of India, but it won’t be the last.

You chose well. Bricklayer’s eggs (huevos al albanil) with shaved parmesan cheese, Mexican oregano, and Cholula hot sauce, served on a toasted multigrain English muffin. Pasilla chiles definitely make my list of favorite things.

In addition to the release of liquid that Ben Hong pointed out, Harold McGee states that boiling and stirring can thin out starch-thickened sauces by shattering fragile starch granules into smaller particles. The thicker the sauce, the more dramatic the thinning effect. Similarly, acidity can thin a sauce by breaking starch molecules into smaller fragments. McGee rates corn starch as having “moderate” stability to prolonged cooking; arrowroot-thickened sauces are less prone to thinning out. Edited to clarify.

Welcome to eGullet, Steven! Here are a few topics on outdoor cooking equipment. Grill Recommendations: Gas, charcoal, both? Merged topic. Food Smokers: The Topic: What type to purchase? Wok Burners: The Topic Edited to add one more for the truly committed: Homemade Tandoor

Smoked beef short ribs with Dave the Cook’s ancho chile rub (clicky), which we read about in Rochelle “malawry” Myers’ column, reprinted here (click). We were short of ancho chile powder so I made up the difference by toasting and grinding a handful of dried New Mexico chiles. We smoked the ribs for about five hours on the WSM. The crust was delicious, but the meat remained a bit chewy. I should have fired up the WSM earlier instead of watching NCAA hoops. Somewhat worse for wear reheated for breakfast.

For an electric stove, you can pre-heat one burner to high, one to low or medium, and switch the pan back and forth as needed for rapid temperature control. If your stove is weak, your best recourse is to strictly limit the amount of food added at one time when stir-frying. A flat-bottomed pan is best for an electric stove. Ah Leung (hrzt8w) used an ordinary frying pan to produce an amazing array of Chinese food – see Chinese Food Pictorials (click) .

Yeah, we also made Melissa Clark’s roasted shrimp and broccoli (clicky). The squeeze of lemon makes the flavors pop. This is a delightful weeknight meal – simple, healthy, and kid-friendly. Thanks for the recommendation, meredithla! Accompanied by arroz blanco, guacamole, and lemon wedges, with a rye Manhattan for dessert.