Our move from Manhattan to the country thirty one years ago coincided with the release of Rick Bayless’s Mexican Kitchen. Tom gave me this book for our first wedding anniversary probably in hopes that I would learn something about food and cooking. To a certain degree, that worked.

To this day, I have never seen recipes better organized, explained, and laid out as in this book. For me, it is the best, most authentic, comprehensive, interesting, gimmick-free, doable book in my now Mexican cookbooks library.

In the book, this recipe is called a “very, very good chili.” And it is. There are no tomatoes involved, no beans. It’s a chili chili. Tomatoes and beans are mentioned as a suggestion for those who like less intense flavor. The base for this chili is a sweet and spicy ancho seasoning paste made with charred garlic, flavored with Mexican oregano and a touch of cumin and cloves.

For two pounds of meat — a mix of pork and beef — a half a pound of toasted rehydrated anchos are used. An interesting touch here is masa harina mixed with water and whisked in during the last minutes of simmering to thicken the juices. The result is unique burgundy colored stew with deep earthy fruity flavor, rich and unctuous.

#food #cooking #mexicanfood #chili #ancho #inmykitchen #myhappyplace

Chả Cá Lã Vọng, fish cooked with turmeric, dill, garlic, and scallions.

This Vietnamese recipe got my attention with the unexpected addition of my favorite herb. Honestly, I do not remember seeing dill in Asian recipes at all. Never mind in these quantities. Correct me if I’m wrong.

Here, lemon sole is marinated in a mix of turmeric, galangal, and chili powder, then fried with a mix of dill, scallions, garlic, and chili peppers. Once plated over the rice noodles, it is dressed with the lime-mắm tôm-sugar-garlic dressing and chopped peanuts.

Not very dexterous at frying fish, I succeeded when it was cut in 2” chunks.

#food #cooking #vietnamesefood #fish #dill #turmeric #homefood #inmykitchen #ricenoodles #tasty

Fast and furious. And hot. And garlicky. Pad Prik Khing Gai from Kiin — chicken thighs silkened with tapioca starch and cooked in red curry paste with loads of garlic and chilies. At the end, they are sweetened with a touch of palm sugar and oyster sauce and flavored with kaffir lime leaves.

I couldn’t come up with a better pairing than papaya salad.

#food #cooking #thaifood #homemade #inmykitchen #chickencurry #papayasalad

Northern Thai Nam Ngiao from Kiin, spicy, sour, and hearty soup based on the pork ribs broth with a nice addition of ground pork to the mix of spices. Rice vermicelli at the base, pickled mustard greens, bean sprouts, scallions, and cilantro at the top.

Perfect as we past the spring of deception and are entering our third winter of the year.

#food #cooking #thaicuisine
#soup #noodles #homemade #inmykitchen

A Pakistani dry lamb curry from The Curry Guy that started suspiciously and turned outstanding.

At first, the meat is marinated in yogurt, mixed with vinegar, garlic, ginger, chilies, chickpea flour, and extremely pungent mustard oil. Which is not unusual.

Then this meat with all the marinade is plunked into the boiling water and lots of it.

For a while, you’re staring into the pot with suspended pale clumps rolling in a murky liquid, thinking: what did I just do and why. Who is going to eat that? Tom peaked into the pot and silently walked away with the look: “I hope you know what you’re doing.” Tom, I don’t.

After a while, this mush thickened a bit. When the liquid reduced to about a cup, the pot contents went into a bowl. Still looking questionable.

Now empty pot is filled with what seems to be an unreasonable amount of ghee and sliced onions. You begin to question The Curry Guy, yourself, publishing industry but follow with garam masala, Kashmiri chili powder, and dried fenugreek anyway. At this point, there’s no turning back and you’re determined to go through with the mess to the end.

Once the onions are deep brown, meat with that white liquid goes into the onion mix. And you start thinking how to hide the fiasco.

Suddenly, after a few minutes on high heat, you are staring at the beautiful glossy curry just like the one in the picture in the book where crispy tender bits of lamb are shining with just a touch of thick and creamy sauce. And you can’t restrain yourself from tasting. And tasting. And tasting.

A truly outstanding recipe.

#food #cooking #lambcurry #pakistanifood #homemade #thecurryguy #inmykitchen

Last week in our neck of the woods, we beat cold temperatures of the North Pole. This week, the blizzard of the century promises 2 ft (more than half a meter) of snow and 50 mph (about 80 kmh) winds. New York mayor issued a travel ban on city streets tonight into tomorrow — no cars, no trucks, no e-bikes.

Meanwhile, warm and sunny Panama is on our table.

The Center of the Americas, the Crossroads of the World, Panama appropriately soaked up and adapted culinary influences of all the peoples surrounding it.

Choosing between hearty soups and stews, fried and roasted meats, rice and beans, we zeroed on fish ceviche. In Panamanian version, along with lime, fish was flavored with grapefruit and habanero. This added some softening sweetness to the dish without making it sharp.

Paired with green plantain patacones it made a nice light dinner.

#food #cooking #panamanian #ceviche #corvina #fishceviche #inmykitchen #myhappyplace #latinocuisine #patacones

For saucy recipes, I do love Chinese cauliflower. Its moppy florets — they look like someone stuck cauliflower into an elect outlet — catch sauces so much better than tightly packed ordinary ones. At the store, I always try to get the biggest head — I can live on cauliflower.

This is Cauliflower Manchurian from Hetty McKinnon’s Tenderheart. This recipe is perfect for a complete dinner entree. It satisfies even a die hard carnivore like me.

Battered in a mix of cornstarch and rice flour that is spiced with Kashmiri powder, light soy sauce, and black pepper, cauliflower florets are fried in a neutral oil sort of shallow deep fry style.

And once they are done, then there is a sauce to toss them with that has strong Asian flavors: ginger-garlic-Thai dragon-scallion whites sautéed with chopped red pepper, celery, and dressed with a mix of soy sauce, rice vinegar, ketchup, and white pepper.

We did not have any rice or roti as the recipe advises. It was perfectly fine and filling as is.

#food #cooking #cauliflower #vegetarian #asianflavors #homefood #inmykitchen #myhappyplace