C. sapidus

Improvised green curry with bay scallops, peas, and leftover plantains. Pureed cilantro, jalapeno, garlic, and ginger for the curry paste. Seared and removed the scallops, fried onions with the curry paste, seasoned with fish sauce, cumin, pepper, and garam masala, and then finished with basil and half-and-half. I'm probably forgetting something but that was the gist.

More Thanksgiving leftovers: Turkey, mashed potato-stuffing-gravy, and bro's delicious cranberry relish. The sullen mound on the right is my creamy braised Brussels sprouts that, uh, got extra-Maillarded 'cuz I forgot to turn off the simmer for an hour. Baker friend's buttery shortbread with macadamias and cranberries. Yum

Lovely meal, @Shelby. You can send any excess cranberry Mandarin salad our way. Thanksgiving leftovers made by a visiting friend who had lived in Alaska: Halibut cheeks with onion, cream, and lemon. Beautifully done, very tender. Friend had also been a baker, so Mrs. C requested one of my favorite desserts: carrot cake with cream cheese icing

Thanks for posting that video! I used to post food pics to a photography web site. Someone who did commercial food photography mocked me for using real food.

Time consuming but not difficult, and best to start a day ahead. I use Julie Sahni's recipe from 'Classic Indian Cooking'. Bring milk to a boil and add acid (lemon juice, yogurt, vinegar) until the curds barely start to separate. Line a colander with cheesecloth, drain the curds, and rinse gently with cold water to remove the souring agent. Tie up the cheesecloth, twist the knot to extract as much water as possible, and then hang the cheesecloth to drain for an hour or two. To press the crumbly curds together, put the curds (still in the cheesecloth) on a flat surface and weight down with a large pot of water for 30 minutes or so. Do not skimp on this step - my first batch fell apart. When the paneer is a solid mass, remove the cheesecloth and then cut into neat rectangles with a sharp knife. Should keep in the refrigerator for a few days. Apparently the traditional way to separate curds is to use the whey from a previous batch of paneer. I have not tried this because a batch of paneer usually lasts several meals. But if you can find good paneer at an international market . . .

'Gertie's crab cakes' is a recipe from 'Chesapeake Bay Cooking' by John Shields. I have tried a number of crab cake recipes, and that is the best I have found. Haha. I shall call her 'Gertie' from now on . . . and blame you

Mrs. C found jumbo lump crab meat from Virginia, so . . . Gertie's crab cakes, carote in scapece (mellowed out with a little maple syrup), Vietnamese cucumber salad, and Mrs. C's tartar sauce. I was a little surprised the crab cakes held together, the hunks of crab meat were so huge.

Ha. Request was in jest - she also asked for Antarctic food. I said we had ice in the freezer.

House guest requested African food so this was the best I could do. Yassa (chicken with lemon mustard sauce): Chicken thighs, slashed and marinated with pureed garlic, habanero chile, oil, S&P). Chicken was grilled then simmered in a sauce of onion, grainy mustard, olives, lemon juice, and habanero chile. Seems like an unusual combination but really good. "Vegetarian" Joloff rice: Slowly sauteed onion with diced carrots, sliced red bell pepper, crushed tomato, and tomato paste. Added chicken stock. basmati rice, and a bay leaf. When the rice was done, folded in peas. Will make again.

Caldo de siete mares: farewell meal for one of our houseguests. The soup had shrimp, catfish, and bay scallops (so, maybe dos mares plus a river?) with chayote, zucchini, and potatoes, simmered in chicken stock with a pureed and fried spice paste of guajillo chiles (toasted and soaked), garlic (roasted), Mexican oregano, cumin, and black pepper. Served at the table with cilantro, chopped white onion, and lime wedges. Arroz verde al Poblano: jasmine rice fried with white onion and garlic, then steamed with a blended mix of roasted chile Poblano, cilantro, parsley, and chicken stock.

Only 7 this year so we will go traditional. Mrs. C makes the proteins - probably a small turkey / capon / big chicken, plus nephew's favorite salmon with a soy-maple glaze. House guest used to own a bakery shop, so she will be doing mashed potatoes and desserts. I'll make my usual vegetables: bourbon sweet potatoes with orange sauce, creamy braised Brussels sprouts, and green bean salad. Maybe something else, we shall see if inspiration strikes. Our main family get-together will be between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and that will have more people and fewer tradition-based constraints. The only sure thing will be palak paneer for vegetarian sis. Probably make my own paneer again.

Leftovers for lunch: Andrew's Goa curry with catfish, Thai eggplant, and zucchini. Spice paste of garlic, dried chile, coriander seed, cumin seed, black pepper, and turmeric, with curry leaves and sauteed onion. Simmered with coconut milk, chicken stock, and tamarind, seasoned to taste, and then added the fish at the end.

You both make fair points. As a comparison, chilli varieties are legion, they can be harvested ripe or unripe, and they can be prepared in myriad ways (pickled, dried, smoked, etc.). But they are all chilies. So in my world, pepper includes black and white, despite the fact that they are harvested and prepared differently.

I learned a new phrase from our house guest - "mustgo" meals. As in, this is in the fridge and "mustgo" So, this is a "mustgo" red curry with bay scallops

I hereby declare that chillis are vegetables. I'll stick with fresh chillis if I must, to meet this thread's parameters. I am also going to declare that fresh herbs are not spices. That gives me oregano, thyme, cilantro, etc. And garlic is not a spice, in my world. So, probably pepper. White pepper is just black pepper with the coating removed, yes? If so, I get both.

Fried coconut rice with sausage and leftover ginger chicken

Ginger caramel chicken, coconut rice, baked sweet potato, and sauerkraut with caraway. Bit of a culture clash meal, which is not unusual 'round here.

Sausage-fried rice with leftover eggplant curry

A jam of food trucks? Welcome to the site @paulrook-society. I look forward to hearing about your food world.

Asiyah's eggplant curry, from 'Cradle of Flavor'. I have always wanted to make this for a friend named Asiyah, even though she is from a completely different part of the world. Anyway, lovely flavors from shallots, garlic, turmeric, sliced chiles, coriander seed, fennel seed, cumin seed, cinnamon, cayenne, and coconut milk. Jasmine rice to go with.

Red curry bay scallops with French beans and roasted chile Poblano. Pureed red curry paste with garlic, ginger, shallots, and jalapenos. Seared the scallops and green beans, fried the paste with cayenne, white pepper, and turmeric, added coconut milk, and then adjusted to taste with tamarind, palm sugar, and fish sauce. Fresh Thai basil or cilantro would have been nice additions, if we had any. With a houseful of mild eaters at the moment, I needed a spicy Thai curry fix.

Leftover turkey keema with peas, spinach, and leftover roasted potatoes, plus the remaining leftover turmeric rice. House guests seemed pretty happy with the keema and rice for dinner last night.

Visited Skyline Brewery in "Little Washington" VA for the disc golf course, but hey, no sense turning down a flight of beer. In fairness, I did have a big breakfast of "huevos gringos"

Between rounds of Frisbee golf we stopped at a Bavarian restaurant in Madison VA. I had: Bavarian Game Teller: Bier-braised wild boar shoulder, venison medallion, duck sausage w/ chanterelle mushroom sauce over sweet potato mousse, served w/ a cocktail pretzel & lingonberry garnish Yum. I skipped dinner.

Seafood salad (yam po taek) with poached shrimp and bay scallops. Salad was red-leaf lettuce, cucumber, mint, sliced lemongrass, and cilantro. Dressing was roasted chile paste, lime juice, fish sauce, sliced garlic, bird chile, and lime zest. Coconut rice to go with. Gosh I love Thai salads