C. sapidus

Shelby: Thanks! Hey, up until this morning I would have been jealous, too. Rick Bayless suggested having two cast-iron pans, one heated to medium and one heated to medium-high. Put the tortilla on the medium pan for 30 seconds; flip onto the hot pan for 30 seconds until lightly browned; and then flip again on the hot pan for another 30 seconds. After the last flip, if you press the tortilla with the spatula it should puff up. If it doesn’t puff, try making the pan a bit hotter. Good luck, I hope that works for you. Heck, I hope it works again for me.

Second try at corn tortillas, first time producing a tortilla-like result. Heck, most of the tortillas even puffed! The cast-iron skillet must not have been hot enough before. This time, I set off the smoke detector and the tortillas turned out nicely. Started with masa harina, not corn masa, which doesn’t exist around here. We don’t have a tortilla press, but our bread board has pads on the bottom that happen to produce tortillas of just the right thickness. Score one for serendipity. Enjoyed with Mexican scrambled eggs jazzed up with chipotles in adobo.

Susan: Good suggestion about mangos. My problem with putting things in the freezer is that I can never find them again. Tonight we made the “world’s best braised green cabbage.” I don’t know about “world’s best” – there is a Sichuan recipe I prefer – but it disappeared very quickly. The olive oil/chicken stock-infused onions were particularly nice.

Nakji: Lovely caramel pork, and that tofu sounds nice. Tonight we made bo kho. Tender beef chuck in a tomato and onion broth, bubbling with the aromas of lemongrass, ginger, bay leaf, star anise, and five-spice powder. Delicious, even without chiles! Edited to further expound.

MiFi: That salad is beautiful, and I would love to dig into your shiitake and beef stroganoff. Mizducky: Nice ribs! suzilightning: I love the brightly-colored carrots and Brussels sprouts. Kim Shook: That looks like a lovely Thanksgiving meal. Tonight we made beef stewed with star anise and lemongrass (from Into the Vietnamese Kitchen), “world’s best” braised cabbage (from All About Braising), and jasmine rice. Sort of an odd combination but they went together nicely, probably because both dishes included carrots and onions. Younger son’s “meat and potatoes” friend ate a healthy portion. Bo kho Braised cabbage and jasmine rice

Crab pots, the full Monte, er, English, and beautiful bagels - nice! We had a late breakfast of Veracruz-style scrambled eggs with shrimp, onion, tomato, green olives, capers, jalapenos, pickled jalapenos, and Mexican oregano. I finished the eggs with a little half-and-half, and served El Yucateco habanero chile sauce at the table. Huevos con camarones

We have this exact wok, and love it. I definitely prefer thin cast iron to the carbon steel wok that it replaced. We do have a gas cooktop with lots of BTUs, so a thin wok works quite nicely.

In Mexican cooking, tomatoes, garlic, onions, and fresh chiles are often roasted in a dry griddle to enhance and concentrate their flavors. The charred skin is typically peeled before use. Similarly, spices and dried chiles are often toasted on a dry griddle.

Tonight we made orange-flavored chicken (pollo con naranja) and mushrooms in herbed vinaigrette from Zarela’s Veracruz. Chicken thighs were marinated in a garlic and black pepper vinaigrette, browned and braised in a mixture of fresh-squeezed orange juice and Cointreau, and finished with a thinly-sliced onion and butter. We also slowly simmered shiitake and baby bella mushrooms with sliced onions and carrots, a slivered jalapeno chile, vinegar, bay leaves, and a sauteed paste of thyme, oregano, black peppercorns, and a half-head of garlic. Jasmine rice and eternal cucumbers rounded out the meal. When we returned from walking the dogs after dinner, the house smelled amazing. Edit: sentences need subjects.

heidih: Thanks! Yes the green stuff is cilantro vinaigrette. We coated the flesh side of the trout with chipotle mayo and grilled the fish skin-side down with the cover closed. No fish-flipping required. You can see the color difference between the darker cooked and lighter uncooked chipotle mayo. Sounds pretty similar to the Hawaiian baking method, with a bonus of crispy fish skin.

Bella S.F. You are quite welcome, I hope you enjoy the chicken. Marlene: Beautiful tart! Tonight we grilled skin-on rainbow trout, butterflied and coated with chipotle mayonnaise. We also made a salad with cilantro vinaigrette, romaine lettuce, jicama, and julienned cucumber. Flour tortillas and extra chipotle mayo for those inclined to make tacos.

Bella S.F. Thanks! It was actually chicken, but I expect that the recipe would work with thinly-sliced flank steak or chunks of tender beef. I sent you a PM.

Caveat: I have not read the book, so my comments are based on the excerpt and Mr. Ruhlman’s comments in this thread. If Mr. Ruhlman had clearly opined that the French culinary tradition is the only one that produces worthwhile food, fine, we will agree to differ. Instead, he assumes that his opinion is universal. For example: Mayo is fundamental, but soy sauce is not? Two billion of the planet’s occupants might disagree, and another billion or two might not consider either to be fundamental. Mr. Ruhlman further states: The fundamentals of Western cuisine are universal only if one views other cuisines as inferior. Which Western fundamentals underlie the harmonious riot of Thai flavors or the sophisticated use of spices in India, chiles in Mexico, or textures in China? I like opinionated writing, especially when the opinions are well-supported. I can also appreciate well-executed hyperbole. Mr. Ruhlman writes with power and passion, and I would certainly not suggest hobbling his prose by qualifying every statement. He has no obligation to explore beyond the confines of Western cuisines; he does have an obligation to characterize the book’s limited scope accurately. I do applaud Mr. Ruhlman’s ambitious undertaking, and his willingness to discuss his book with the quibbling masses. Who knows – perhaps veal stock will do wonderful things for my tom yam gung or mole Poblano.

HappyLab: Looks good - what kind of chorizo did you use? Tonight we launched into another new cookbook – Susana Trilling’s Seasons of My Heart: A Culinary Journey Through Oaxaca, Mexico. We made roasted chayote, chicken in red sesame seed pipian, and served the lot with flour tortillas and lots of napkins. The chayote was chunked and roasted with olive oil, salt, and a whole head of chopped garlic. Toasting the ancho chiles, sesame seeds, cumin, and Mexican cinnamon gave the pipian a rich, smoky flavor. Tomatoes added a hint of sweetness, and roasting nearly another head of garlic made the house smell wonderful. The Preethi ground everything to a smooth paste, and frying the sauce intensified and deepened the flavors. We were short of sesame seeds, so I made up the difference with tahini. Boiled new potatoes and blanched green beans were added towards the end. The pipian had a mole-like flavor, but didn’t take all day to prepare. I absolutely love seed-thickened dried chile sauces, so we will definitely make this again. The boys liked it, too! Pipian rojo, chayotes asados

My brother and SIL hosted the feast, so our only contributions were a little chopping, a vegetable tray, and our annual contribution - walnut-topped bourbon sweet potatoes with orange sauce. I fiddle with the sweet potato recipe every year, and the 2007 version had two changes: First, I diluted the frozen concentrated orange juice just enough to dissolve and reduced the amount of brown sugar. This gave the sweet potatoes a nice, strong orange flavor without too much sweetness. I should try fresh-squeezed orange juice, but I suspect that cooking would kill the freshness. For the sauce, I used the concentrated orange juice, reduced the amount of brown sugar, and added a big slug of Cointreau. The reduced sweetness and stronger orange flavor improved the sauce greatly. Bourbon is also nice in the sauce – it just depends which flavor one wishes to echo. Next year, perhaps I’ll try a little orange zest with the sweet potatoes.

Marlene: Don’t let them mess with you – please post away. Tonight we tried a new cookbook - Zarela’s Veracruz: Mexico’s Simplest Cuisine. We made peppered shrimp, fried plantains, and Mexican white rice. Guess which ingredient I forgot with the peppered shrimp? You guessed it – pepper. I’m such an idiot sometimes. Yes, only sometimes. Be nice. The shrimp were still delicious, with onions, garlic, slivered serrano chiles, and a finishing touch of mayonnaise. We fried the plantains in a mix of butter and peanut oil, and served them with Mexican crema. Eternal cucumbers to stave off the hungry hordes before dinner, and zero leftovers. Camarones a la pimenta, platanos fritos, arroz blanco

Ooh, I had missed those recipes. Thanks for posting and describing them, Donna, they look beautiful. I just updated my "must make" list. Dejah, thanks for suggesting water spinach substitutes. Bak choi tips - would that be just the green part? Beef rendang is pretty ultimate. Have you tried the potato or chicken rendangs?

I don’t see that happening. The problem (a pleasant one) is that I also love to cook Thai, Mexican, Indian, Malaysian, Indonesian, Vietnamese . . . Enjoy your Hong Kong homecoming trip, Ah Leung, and please keep your camera batteries charged.

Ce’nedra: Yes, Fuchsia Dunlop wrote Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook (Hunan) as well as Land of Plenty (Sichuan). Both are excellent. If I had to choose one, I would lean towards her Sichuan book because I love Sichuan peppercorns. Prawncrackers: Mmm, crab porn.

I haven’t cooked Chinese for a while, but love seeing all of the beautiful baos, crispy ducks, and comforting congee. To satisfy a craving for fermented black beans, we cooked from Fuchsia Dunlop’s Hunan cookbook last night. Chicken soup with cloud ears and ginger (lao jiang yun er dun ji) Liuyang black bean chicken liu yang dou chi ji

Prawncrackers: You have had a run of particularly beautiful meals, starting with that gorgeous butternut squash soup and crab quiche. Lovely fish tonight! Tonight’s dinner was from Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook. First, we had chicken soup with cloud ears and ginger. First time cooking with cloud ear mushrooms (apparently the Burmese name translates as “mouse ears”). The grownups loved the texture, but the boys were unimpressed. Any dish that allows me to hack chicken bones with a cleaver is a winner in my book. The main course was Liuyang black bean chicken. This is a favorite, but I should have rinsed the fermented black beans more thoroughly. Served with jasmine rice and eternal cucumbers.

That looks delectable. So, is bokkumbap something that one can make at home? Peter, I will be sorry to see this end. Mad props for your engaging narrative, formidable appetite, and wonderful pictures. Pages and pages of “evil” chile-red food – what could be better? Our local Korean restaurant closed a few years ago, but I have always enjoyed Korean food. Please, someone write an up-to-date guide for cooking Korean food in American kitchens (and if anyone hears of a good Korean cookbook, please speak up). Thank you!

Prawncrackers: Creamy crab pots – more mouth-watering words were rarely spoken. Shelby: I love the runny egg yolk waterfall. Breakfast tasted a lot better than it looked. For the sauce, we charred and peeled Poblano chiles and cooked them down with shallots, tomatoes, and garlic. Turn down the heat, break a plate, shoo the dogs out of the kitchen, pick up plate shards, wipe the floor with a damp paper towel, and then scramble the eggs with the sauce. Serve over English muffins with guacamole and feta cheese. Simple.

Wow. That looks soooo good, I must try that curry. I also wish we could get water spinach locally.

More Mexican tonight: grilled chicken with oregano; guacamole; Mexican white rice; and eternal cucumbers. We simmered the chicken with onions, garlic, and chicken broth, and then rubbed the chicken with mashed garlic and oregano before grilling. Interesting – the simmer, rub, and grill method turns up in SE Asian cooking, too. Pollo con oregano, arroz blanco, guacamole We also made swordfish ceviche with pickled jalapenos, green olives, tomatoes, red onion, black pepper, and Mexican oregano, mixing in cilantro and cubed avocado just before serving. We devoured the ceviche with Tostito scoops and sauvignon blanc. First time making ceviche, and it was delicious. I let Mrs. C have most of the ceviche because she looked potentially dangerous. Swordfish Ceviche