patrickamory

Hello kwankapang, that looks delicious. And I am intrigued. How does the Malaysian version differ, if it does, from the Indian dishes called chicken korma?

Shelby, thank you. I'm embarrassed to say that my babaghanoush recipe is ordering take-out from my local Turkish place!

huiray, thanks for the RX - now would you recommend powdered over fresh turmeric for this purpose - better, worse, neutral? Marinated some chicken thighs at room temp for about an hour in a mixture of orange and lemon juice, sage, smashed unpeeled garlic, sweet paprika, dried oregano, salt, pepper and olive oil then roasted them on a sheet pan rack at 400F. Served with rice and peas and babaghanoush.

huiray, please tell me more about the turmeric wings.

The opposite of the simple GMS beans I made earlier this week. This was with cannellini beans from Purcell Mountain, and not at all a judgment on the beans that I decided to go all ballistic on them. Soaked a cup of the beans overnight in cold water with a bunch of bay leaves a pinch of baking soda and fresh tarragon. Drained the beans, reserving water, and put the beans in a dutch oven with plenty of salt and some more tarragon. Then I browned two meaty pork neck bones aggressively in lard in a cast iron pan. Removed the bones to the bean pot, added chopped half-onion, browned in the fat, added some crushed garlic cloves, continued browning, then deglazed with some of the soaking liquid, and added contents of pan to the pot with the rest of the soaking liquid plus 4 filleted salt-packed anchovies and 1 tsp shiro miso, plus plenty of black pepper. Brought the pot to the boil, then simmered for 2 hours, adding hot water as necessary, adjusting seasoning. Toward the end I added about a teaspoonful of hot chili oil as per F. Dunlop - it's a nice well rounded jar that has been marinating for months. Boiled it down a bit toward the end to make it really saucy, the beans are almost falling apart. Allowed to come down to room temp while I made the rice. The stupid picture shows a bunch of fresh tarragon and an unpeeled onion for some reason - ignore these, I did not use any more of the herbs, and the onion got removed. I can't recommend this preparation highly enough.

Well, that lasagna is ridiculous.

Mostly leftovers… I was given some RG Good Mother Stallards and planned to kick them up. I soaked them overnight with basil leaves and half an onion, defrosted some pork neck bones and was ready to throw in some salt-cured anchovies. My plan was to render the neck bones in a cast iron pan, sweat some more onions in the oil and pour the lot in with the beans and the soaking water with the anchovies, maybe add some fresh tomatoes. But you know what - I wanted to get a headstart on cooking the beans, so had them coming to a boil in a heavy pot with the soaking liquid and some salt, and the kitchen filled with a heavenly smoky bacon-y flavor. I decided to sideline the pork and the anchovies, and just went straight beans. Nothing added except salt and pepper, and long, slow cooking. The GMSes have that much character. I've cooked them a million times before, but forgot how perfect they were on their own. Not even any olive oil. Served on rice, with leftover cold chicken, and some more heirloom tomato salad.

Haven't been taking enough pictures lately… The al fresco dinner below with the heirloom tomatoes contained the best dish of all, shell steaks from Eataly (what I would call bone-in strips or Kansas City strips), dry-aged prime grass-fed, grain-finished beef from Diamond Creek Ranch in Wilsey, KS, about an inch and a half thick, sliced while raw, pushed back together with the bone, and grilled to tingling perfection. But they were gobbled down before the camera came out! The chicken was a pasture-raised bird from Cascun Farms in upstate New York. Roasted Marcella style, the only twist being plenty of tarragon and then all those little red onions that I bought at Drumlin Farms in Lincoln Mass and brought back to New York… they sit and caramelize in the slowly dripping chicken fat and seasoning and are just the best thing ever. Then just a couple outside meals with the bounty of the season… those last two pictures are taken on film btw, a restored Leica IIIf from 1955, loaded with Fuji C200!

That is intriguing. So do you fry the dry pasta in the oil like carnoli rice? And slowly add liquid, stirring?

Bhopali rice pilau… I used to make this all the time, a Madhur Jaffrey recipe, and it is an absolute favorite I'd forgotten about. Highly recommended (from A Taste Of India).

Always like that Ottolenghi eggplant dish...

Pasta e fagioli … again. This time I substituted dill for the celery.

Eh, having read your previous food travel diaries and knowing the restaurant, you don't need to go to Dim Sum Go Go. Long past its prime, and its prime was just pretty good. I think generally what I like is fairly far removed from what you're into so I'll let others comment on the rest of the list.

The Royal Coronas rule. I take back everything I said about RG Midnight black beans after trying the SE cooked from dry recipe.

radtek: agreed! I think the OP is on to something - not just about peas either.

FauxPas, dying for your pasta e olio. I made the least Ottolenghi-esque (and least summery) dish from Jerusalem, but man do I love it. Chicken with caramelized onions, cardamom and barberries, cooked in rice like a biryani. Forgot to add the greens and the yogurt before the photo.

Ranz those pies look mind-meltingly delicious...

There's also that incredible Naomi Duguid recipe for Shan chicken in tart garlic sauce from Rivers of Flavo(u)r… you gotta hack up some chicken on the bone but that's not that tough.

Thanks for that scuba - I've also read that in Mexico people do not soak their beans. Trying it tonight with some ayocote negros. It does take hours and hours but the results were definitely worth it. I'll report back on tonight's experiment (I will definitely be eating dinner around 10 PM). That first batch of black beans was revelatory. It makes me wonder whether there are other beans that cook better long & slow from dry?

Midnight black beans cooked from dry (not soaked but not Russ Parsons either). This incredibly simple serious eats recipe with a halved orange (the acid doesn't seem to retard the rehydration) is more than delicious. It gets better the next day and the day after in the fridge. In fact it's so good I can just eat it cold with a spoon straight from the fridge.

Vote for thighs too. All of huiray's ideas are great. I also second Lisa's method. I marinate in a mixture of citrus, salt, paprika, herbs and olive oil for at least an hour, then roast at 400F on a sheet pan, turned halfway to skin up, crisped at end for a couple minutes under the broiler.

In NYC: brown mustard and sauerkraut In New England: yellow mustard and raw onions and/or sweet relish In Western Mass / Upstate New York: chili and raw onions In Chicago: full salad with pickles & sports peppers

ninagluck thanks, that pissaladière looks incredible. It made me think of franci, who seems to have been absent over the past few months - I hope she's doing okay.

Broccoli is the equivalent of Kim's bell peppers for me… but I think I would eat that sandwich !

For reds, I drink mostly pinot noir and gamay, and I find that they keep quite well in the fridge - somtimes for 3 days or longer. Decent recent Burgundies often improve after 24 hours' exposure to the air. For whites, Savennières definitely gain in complexity and length once opened… 24-48 hours in a decanter does them wonders. Experiment - you may be surprised.