C. sapidus

David, that is a pretty plate. Kim, mmm, chicken pot pie. Chicken kabuli: A fried puree of garlic, ginger, tomatoes, and yogurt, simmered with chunks of chicken breast, thickened with ground almonds, spiced with mace, nutmeg, cardamom, cumin, coriander, and fennel seed, and finished with heavy cream, black peppercorns, and cilantro. We made the chicken this morning and reheated for dinner. The sauce tasted wonderful, but next time I will reduce the amount of oil and use smaller pieces of chicken thigh meat. Patiala pullao: Basmati rice pilaf with onions, garlic, cumin, black cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, and bay leaves. Broccoli smothered in garlic oil: Whole garlic cloves sauteed until golden, with turmeric and peeled broccoli spears. Younger son grabbed an extra piece of broccoli while leaving the table – high praise for a vegetable.

Thanks, Kalypso. Yes, we also found the dish a bit oily, so after the first time I reduced the oil from 1/2 cup to 1/4 cup. I would love to hear about what you are cooking, whether at home or at work. Any mole verde tips to share?

From The Classic Italian Cookbook: Fillet of flounder with piquant tomato sauce (filetti di sogliola con pommidoro e capperi): No sole, so we used flounder. Onions, garlic, capers, oregano, tomatoes, s+p, simmered down to a sauce in olive oil. We dipped the fillets in the sauce, folded them over, and then baked until just done. I liked the tangy sauce very much, and would have preferred a higher ratio of sauce to fish. Spaghetti with garlic and oil (spaghetti “ajo e ojo”): Lots of garlic, simmered until golden with salt and lots of olive oil. Toss with spaghetti, parsley, and pepper. Dead simple and very good. Green bean salad (fagiolini verdi in insalata): Blanched green beans tossed with olive oil, lemon juice, and salt. Again, simple and very good.

Indian tonight: Chicken and potatoes in spicy red sauce (lal shorve vala murgh): ginger-garlic paste, dried chiles, chopped tomatoes, and a cupboard full of spices. Nice flavors, but I should have reduced the sauce more. Served with warm whole-wheat tortillas. Green peas in creamy sauce (matar makhani): sizzled cumin and mustard seeds with a sauce of heavy cream, tomato paste, lemon juice, cilantro, chiles, cayenne, ground cumin, and a little sugar. A definite make-again.

Do you hear that scratching sound? That is the sound an asterisk being inscribed next to that recipe. I love choo chee hoi shel, and yours looks great, especially the beautifully-seared scallops. Mrs. C brought back a similar haul of apples and pears from a local orchard -- mostly Steadman apples, which have a crisp texture and plenty of tart to balance the sweet. They were delicious in an apple and pear crisp.

Pollo en adobo: Poached chicken thighs, baked with a sauce of ancho and pasilla chiles, garlic, vinegar, sugar, S&P, and topped with chile seeds. Perhaps it was Chufi’s southwestern tour, but I had been craving ancho chiles for days. I hope to make enchiladas with the leftover sauce. Served with heated flour tortillas. Tipsy carrots: Parboiled carrots, baked with melted butter, brown sugar, warm spices, and rum. Spinach with ginger and green chiles: OK, this is an Indian dish, but we didn’t get time to make it last night.

Percyn and NancyH, those are inspirational breakfasts. Curried tuna sandwiches on toasted multigrain English muffins. Onions, garlic, ginger, cilantro, curry powder, and thinly-sliced Serrano chile provided the flavor.

I still think that a laboratory hot plate with magnetic stir bar would be quite useful in the kitchen.

Hot fudge? Baklava? Coffee? Anyway, thanks for the kind words, Marcia. MiFi, beautiful sausage and 'kraut.

Crab fried rice (kao pad bpoo), from Dancing Shrimp. The recipe only called for a cup of crab meat, but crab meat comes in pound containers. Oh, well. We stir-fried generous quantities of garlic and crab paste, added the rice, fried the eggs, and finished with scallions, fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, and white pepper. Served with cucumbers, lime wedges, and Thai chiles in fish sauce (prik nahm bplah). From the other night: improvised green curry with chicken and mushrooms; stir-fried gai lan with garlic and oyster sauce; jasmine rice; and cucumbers.

We turned leftover green curry paste into a quick sorta-Thai meal: green curry with chicken, mushrooms, and Thai basil; stir-fried gai lan with garlic and oyster sauce; eternal cucumbers; and jasmine rice.

Lordy, Erin, can you ever tell a tale. How can I follow that? (and the soup looks gorgeous). Conchiglie with sausage and cream sauce (conchiglie con il sugo per la gramigna): The Classic Italian Cookbook, p. 104. I had my doubts about this dish, particularly while pouring heavy cream into a saucepan of sausage frying in butter, oil, and rendered sausage grease. Not to worry. When the small amount of ultra-rich sauce was tossed with pasta and parmigiano, the results tasted deceptively light. Hey, cardiologists need work, too. The boys could not stop eating this pasta and singing its praises. Elder son finished two heaping plates full, occasionally lying down to digest before reviving to eat more. I remember being able to eat like that while remaining rail-thin. Sigh. Chicken fricassee with green peppers and tomatoes (pollo alla cacciatore): The Classic Italian Cookbook, p. 299. Also quite popular, and definitely worth making again. Just the boys and I, so vegetables were notably lacking in tonight's meal. The Classic Italian Cookbook was one of my first purchases when I started cooking, but the book sat largely untouched for *cough, cough* years. Apparently, learning that Italian differed significantly from Italian-American came as quite a shock way back when, so I redirected my cooking explorations elsewhere. Props to Erin for triggering a much-delayed exploration of Italian cooking.

Thanks! Here is an article and the recipe from The Washington Post -- click and scroll

Sichuan tonight, from Land of Plenty: Xie Laoban’s dan dan spaghetti; dry-fried eggplant with green bell pepper and sesame oil; eternal cucumbers.

What kind of chiles did you use? ← We used three serrano chiles, which provided a nice glow without making the sauce too fiery for younger son.

Shaya, thank you for the kind words way upthread. We have missed your meals and the progress of your young sous chefs. Everyone has posted a ton of gorgeous meals lately. Arnab’s Aunt’s chicken curry: (click for recipe). The boys raved about this. Fry a cinnamon stick in oil and then brown chicken thighs with a paste of onions, ginger, garlic, and chiles. Add water, braise until done, remove chicken, and reduce sauce to desired consistency over high heat. Pullao with carrots and peas: Fry cumin, black cardamom, onions, and ginger. Add chiles, carrots, peas, and garam masala. Mix in yogurt, add basmati rice and soaking water, and steam until done. Garnish with cilantro.

Salmon poached in green curry sauce with baby eggplants and Thai basil (gkaeng kiow wahn bplah salmon): Recipe from Dancing Shrimp; green curry paste from It Rains Fishes, and props to djyee100 for inspiring me to try this. Chunks of raw salmon are placed in a heated tureen, covered with boiling curry, and then poached for a few minutes. This yields a remarkably delicate texture and flavor. Thai eggplants, Thai lime leaves, Thai basil, slivered chiles, peas (no pea eggplants to be found), fish sauce, and palm sugar rounded out the flavors. Served with jasmine rice and eternal cucumbers.

Peppered shrimp (camarones a la pimienta), with slivered onions and Serrano chiles, garlic, lots of black pepper, and a finishing shot of mayonnaise. Medium-low heat and short cooking time kept the shrimp tender and juicy. Zarela's Veracruz falls open to this page. White rice pilaf (arroz blanco), with chopped parsley and cilantro, onions, garlic, chicken broth, and peas. Hard to believe that no one has been Making Mexican at Home since last April.

Makes perfect sense to me. Expectations strongly influence perceived value. Oh my, indeed. That is exactly the burger that I would have chosen, because roasted poblanos make everything better. Beautiful photography, wonderful writing, and you look very happy. I can't wait to read more.

Wow, what beautiful meals – those mussels, the tom yam goong, ong choy, and especially that gorgeous green curry. I had hoped to make that green curry tonight, but events intervened. Anyway, we did make smoked trout salad from Thai Food, one of our favorite salads. Grilled, peeled, and sliced shallots, garlic, apple eggplants, ginger (sub for galangal), and red chiles. Shredded green mango, Thai basil, mint, and roasted rice powder, tossed with a dressing of fish sauce, lime juice, and a little sugar. We rounded out the meal with leftover penne pasta with red bell peppers and bacon.

With parent-teacher conferences scheduled for Tuesday evening, we jumped the gun and enjoyed Sunday dinner with Marcella’s Italian Kitchen. Fricaseed chicken wings (ali di pollo in fricassea, page 196): We doubled the recipe and our boys couldn’t get enough. Tender butter-browned chicken, mushrooms, pearl onions, and a delicious sauce of reduced milk, finished with lemon juice. Yum. Slow-browned carrots and endive (carote e belga in padella, page 255). This dish wrung an incredible amount of flavor from four ingredients (carrots, Belgian endive, butter, salt). The secret is time – the carrots were slowly browned in butter for more than an hour. Penne with peppers and bacon (penne con pepperoni e pancetta affumicata, page 133). Butter, onions, bacon, red bell pepper, s&p, grated parmigiano-reggiano. Not bad. We probably went through a month’s worth of butter with this meal. Good thing we only cook like this once a week. Edit: typo

Erin, I was not eating analytically but I expect that the anchovies in this recipe are like fish sauce in a Thai curry – not noticed specifically, but missed if absent. If a substitute was needed, I would try a similarly fishy-salty product, perhaps even fish sauce. You could argue that fish sauce has historical legitimacy props on the Apennine peninsula. Anyway, I would be shocked to hear that Japan lacked some sort of salty fish product. Regarding rosemary – a little googling suggests that rosemary may need supplemental lighting when grown indoors. Looking forward to your next adventure.

Sichuan tonight: 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. All from Land of Plenty.

I hope that Charles can occasionally tear himself away from the bosom of his family to compose his typically witty and erudite posts. Also, props to Busboy (and Mrs. Busboy) for graciously hosting What makes a perfect crabcake? (click), a delicious and delightful evening. My favorite line from his write-up: Such writing should not be wasted on politicians.

Laura, thank you! The mushrooms are from Marcella’s Italian Kitchen (page 132). Here is a link: penne with mushroom sauce (click).