C. sapidus

Penzey's The Spice House Kalyustan's

Beautiful pizzas, Shelby – I’ll take a slice with razor clams, please. Barbecued ribs with an ancho rub, and side dishes from Smoke & Spice - buttermilk biscuits, smoked Portobello mushroom salad, and smoked sweet potatoes with orange-walnut butter. More about the ribs on Pork Ribs – Baby Back and Spare (clicky).

We rubbed three racks of ribs last night, and then smoked the ribs with hickory smoke wood in the WSM. For the rub, we modified “magic dust” from Peace, Love, and Barbecue, substituting ancho chile powder for cayenne to reduce the spice level for house guests. Guests loved the juicy, smoky ribs, but I prefer ribs with a touch of cayenne heat. Edited to make sense.

Janet, we followed Marilyn Tausend’s recipe in Cocina de la Familia – 1 cup all-purpose flour, salt and pepper, and about 2/3 cup room-temperature beer. Mix to the consistency of pancake batter, and then rest the batter for at least ten minutes. Dredge large chunks of firm-fleshed white fish one piece at a time, and deep-fry in small batches at about 375F. Good luck!

Chris' question reminded me of the Ensenada-style fish tacos that we made a while ago, accompanied by quick-pickled red onions, guacamole, salsa, limes, cabbage, and jalapenos.

Gai yang, beef larb, and jasmine rice, from Thailand the Beautiful Cookbook. The chicken was marinated, baked, and then grilled to crisp the skin.

Could you point me in the direction of that recipe? I've not run into it in the past and it sounds right up my alley. pat ← Pat, my memory let me down again – Diana Kennedy should get the credit for a modified version of her hongos al vapor. Based on Fat Guy's recommendation (clicky), we roasted the mushrooms in a very hot pan to concentrate the flavor, and then added chopped onion, garlic, and chiles, salting at the end to keep the mushrooms from getting slimy. We loaded up the tacos with the mushrooms, roasted Poblano chiles, roasted red bell peppers, and tomatillo salsa. I still want to know what Chris served his guests.

Susan, the family did pretty well with the sour orange curry, even though the broth turned out spicier than intended. The boys generally like cabbage in soups, so that helped. A respectable amount of the curry disappeared without major complaints or kudos. I used whole bamboo shoot tips from a jar, boiled in salted water, sliced, and then simmered in the curry for a while. The bamboo shoots had a nice texture and a slight (but not unwelcome) bitter taste. When you have fully recovered, I would love to hear about your “catering” experience. I can’t imaging cooking for more than a hundred hungry teens.

OnigiriFB, you are too kind. Please do come to dinner – I would love to have someone with an experienced palate taste some of our experiments and let me know how they *should* taste.

Dinner from Thai Food: sour orange curry of trout with bamboo shoots, Napa cabbage, and white asparagus (geng som pla) . . . . . . and shrimp simmered in coconut cream (lon gung). Cucumbers and jasmine rice completed the meal.

Elder son was away at basketball camp this week, so we welcomed him home with grilled rib-eye steak, sliced into salad for the grown-ups. For the dressing, we gave cilantro, garlic, palm sugar, white pepper, lemon juice, and fish sauce a whirl in the blender. Leftover rice to fill any lingering empty spots.

So what did you make, Chris? For future such occasions, you may find Madhur Jaffrey’s Quick and Easy Indian Cooking helpful. I particularly recommend her stir-fried green cabbage with fennel seeds; spinach with ginger and green chiles; cauliflower with ginger, garlic, and green chiles; green beans with mushrooms; or new potatoes with cumin. I hope to report on the mushroom curry this week. Stir-fried okra from My Bombay Kitchen or Classic Indian Cooking is also quite satisfying. Quick-cooking masoor dal for protein, and rice pilaf, chutney, and/or raita to round out the meal and you are in business. Mango lassi for dessert if you like. Jumping on djyee100’s taco idea, Rick Bayless has a delicious mushroom taco filling. Mushrooms add a meaty punch to a vegetarian meal.

Looks good, Ce’nedra! Grilled chicken (ga nuong), vegetable garnish plate (dia rau song), ginger-lime dipping sauce (nuoc mam gung), and basmati rice steamed with chicken stock. We marinated boneless skinless chicken thighs in fish sauce, lime juice, black pepper, salt, sugar, and olive oil. Even skinless, the chicken turned out nice and juicy. We cooked for seven, but five diners polished off nearly 15 chicken thighs. Teenage male metabolism at work.

Whoa, crab and chorizo quiche – man, that looks good. Chicken fried rice (in the back) with eternal cucumbers and nahm prik ong – a relish of chiles, shallots, garlic, tomato, and shrimp paste.

Kalyustans has khee lek leaves in brine (click and scroll). Perhaps Austin can find a recipe - he once mentioned khee lek curry in his blog.

Thank you very much, heidih. The Belgian endive was dead-simple – clean, remove outer leaves, slice in half lengthwise, submerge in salted coconut milk, and simmer until tender. A spicy relish contrasts nicely.

Dinner from Thai Food: Southern Muslim chicken (gai goria), steamed eggs (kai neung), and jasmine rice. We also served a relish of garlic and chiles (nahm prik gratiam suk) for dipping assorted vegetables - Belgian endive simmered in coconut milk, eternal cucumbers, iceberg lettuce wedges, and luridly-colored pickled ginger. The chicken was marinated overnight with coconut cream and spices. We made a thick coconut cream curry and repeatedly dipped the chicken in the curry while grilling. Our coating never looked like the picture in the book, but it tasted good anyway. The curry would have been delicious on it own – it seemed a shame to waste it basting the chicken. For the relish, we simmered garlic cloves with palm sugar, salt, lime juice, and water. When the garlic was soft, we pounded it to a paste with reconstituted dried chiles, and then seasoned the relish with tamarind, fish sauce, and the garlic syrup.

Two favorites from Land of Plenty: spicy braised fish with whole garlic (da suan shao yu) and dry-fried green beans (gan ban si ji dou), served with jasmine rice. Butterflied trout, three heads of braised garlic, and a delicious spicy sauce – what’s not to like? I hand-chopped boneless pork rib meat for the green beans – I prefer the texture compared with ground pork.

Thank you, Katie. Here is the recipe, I hope you enjoy it - shaking beef (click).

No help on before-and-after butt weight, but (heh) I can offer a single data point: 15 pounds of boneless, skinless butt provided pulled pork sandwiches and banh mi for twelve adults, teens, and near-teens with plenty of leftovers. If you have lots of fixings, a half-pound to 3/4 pound of raw meat per person should be sufficient (but go for the high end for "young adults").

Nakji, I am looking forward to your trip, photos, and always-entertaining editorializing. Shaking beef (bo luc lac), store-bought French bread, and eternal cucumbers. We marinated cubed flank steak in oyster sauce and soy sauce, stir-fried the beef with sliced garlic, and then tossed the stir-fry with pineapple, red onion, Thai basil, and a dressing of lime juice, sugar, fish sauce, and bird chiles. The beef was served as a salad with watercress and sliced tomatoes. Recipe from Mai Pham’s Pleasures of the Vietnamese Table. Note to self: next time, stir-fry the beef in batches for better browning.

Enthalpy of fusion (Wikipedia). Good luck!

Thank you, Megan. I am so glad that you are finding time to share your cucumber- and pasta-filled meals with us again. One of my friends used to despise cilantro, but has become addicted. There is hope for you yet!

Beautiful dinner, Prawn. I also spent a relaxing Father’s Day afternoon cooking, in our case from My Bombay Kitchen. Bombay curry with chicken and potato: Younger son declared, “I’m in love!” What’s not to love – browned onions, curry leaves, and coconut milk simmered down with a masala of ginger, garlic, dried chiles, peanuts, coriander, cumin, white poppy seeds, cinnamon, cloves, and turmeric. Tamarind extract added just before serving gave the gravy a lovely tang. Basmati rice: Steamed with black peppercorns, cumin, bay leaf, salt, sugar, and ghee. Watercress salad with ginger vinaigrette (back left): Diced green mango and cucumbers provided a lovely variety of textures. Onion kachumbar (back middle): A simple mixture of diced sweet onion, cucumber, chiles, cilantro, lime juice, and salt, this complemented the rich curry nicely. We mixed in the cilantro after the boys took their serving.

Nah, the law-makers could respond by requiring restaurants to broil or pan-fry burgers to shoe leather, avoiding E. coli and PAHs. Veggie burgers would be even safer, of course. Life is full of trade-offs. Burgers don't do much for me, so I don't have a "steak" in this battle, so to speak.