Home for dinner again, finally. nothing all that inspired - made the chinese spiced chicken again, this time with thighs and pan fried and finished in the oven, so it was much crispier. i added salt, too, even though the spice mix is pretty salty. I’m not convinced I love this stuff. It’s fine. Corn on the cob with piri piri butter, and Trader Joe’s Hatch chilies which I roasted. The corn was FAB (you can’t tell from the pic, but they were absolutely slathered in butter), the hatch chilies fine. I don’t get all the fuss about these chilies. Maybe I need to try the hot ones, as these ones were mild. Very nice flavor, but not really anything to write home about for me. but i roasted up a mess of them so they’ll be made into some type of pork stew tomorrow.
I receive Hatch Chilies ( dried ) from my friend who lives in NM whenever she returns home for visit.
The best is fresh hatch chilies that are only available in August - September, perhaps early October if weather stays warm. They are available fresh at Fresh foods, Trader Joes and Harris Teeter. The stores will even roast it for you free. We , 3 of us( sometimes buy a whole box worth, take it home while it is still warm, the skin just slips off , freeze them in sandwich bags and use them for breakfast with eggs, enchilada etc. and my red sauce.
I thought the hatch chilies are too mild by itself as my family also love spicier food. Bought a ton of chilies ( Mexico holy trinity- ancho pasilla , and mulato , plus guajillo, ) sun dried, from Chile Guys in NM, which I keep in Simple Human 12 gallonSS trash can that I keep in my utility room for perishable supplies that I do not want any critter digging into ,to make my red sauce ( holy trinity, hatch and guajillo ) to which I add my chipotle and adobo sauce ( I buy them the chipotle adobo sauce by dozen thru Amazon ) When I ran out of hatch chiles, the sauce made was still good , complex but I felt it as lacking in something. 2 days ago my friend came to visit for a dinner party, brought me 2 bags of hatch dried chilies.
I cannot be without them. Those chiles in my 12 gallon trash can has lasted me 2 years, going on the third year. I bet it will last me another 3 years. My friend says she only bring back enough to last her a year as they became moldy but truly, those SS trash cans are a blessing. I keep my 25 bag bags of rice , boxes of cereals, extra sugar , extra flour not need in the kitchen chocolates etc in them. They keep and had never had problem as I live in a rural county where those supplies that I need are not readily available.
Hi @christinam! Do you happen to have a link handy to that recipe for spicy cucumbers with fish sauce? Looks fabulous. I don’t think I found the right recipe on my own yet. Lots of cucumbers here and we could a new-to-us way to enjoy them. If it’s not easy to point me to something, I am sure I can figure out something that will do. 
Yes, mine were fresh, from Trader Joe’s. They also sell them frozen, which I understand can include some of the hot chilies, so i may try that sometime. But these were too mild.
Have you already made smacked cucumbers? I use regular ones, not english cucs, and def add the sesame oil, plus pepper flakes if you want.
I have made and loved this one too, but i just used a good pinch of sugar not a full TB
Hi @TheLibrarian - the permalink direct to the recipe is here, on the “other” site. 
Notes - I always add more ginger than the original recipe calls for, and often add more lemon juice. Depends on the size of the roast and what type of lemons you use - I used Meyer lemon juice last night, and had to add some regular lemon juice as I made the gravy, as it wasn’t lemony enough for me.
Not yet. Thanks! Looks like some cucumbers are about to get smacked.
I wrote about my adventures in Sous Vide in the other thread, here’s a photo of the Shrimp Boil that I posted about, I made two batches and had the second one today. Unfortunately shrimp boil isn’t photogenic, but it was delicious. This is my new favorite dish and sous viding it makes it damn near foolproof.
And one more try sous viding the steak. It’s getting better, I’m not too embarrassed to show the interior. I’d say this is a decent medium, just bordering on medium well, with more gray than I like, but better than the last time. @Presunto tip for putting it into an ice bath immediately afterwards helped. 
OMG, 2005, just amazes me how long you have been posting. I don’t recognize one other name on there besides you and Caitlin.
No link, but I saved the recipe paraphrase from Chowhound: “For the cucumbers on page 35 of Dinner, first slice a couple of cucumbers in thin half moons. Then add 1 teaspoon sesame oil, 1 teaspoon fish sauce, 2 teaspoons garlic-chile sauce and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Mix well and enjoy! I usually double this as it gets gobbled up at lightning speed”
I added soy sauce this time, which was good.
Walking along the coast with mom this morning, lots of fog of course- and a nice view of the famous “butterfly house” that was a spread in architectural digest a while back
Lots of houses facing the oceans are mostly glass, i spotted this cute dog attentively watching everyone go by
Mom and dad had thick fancy bacon with eggs and the rest of the hot crash potatoes for dinner, i went with avocado toast using local sourdough and an avocado from the farmers market (!), side of cherry tomatoes and jicama.
There’s a lemon buttermilk pound cake that mom made for dessert, i’ll risk the consequences and have a tiny wedge
Sambal-lime butter shrimp with homegrown long beans, rice with peas, and leftover cukes. I never liked pre-cooked shrimp and this just confirmed it.
Perfect, thank you! Thank you for the inspiration.
Thank you SO much. Sounds delicious. I’ll definitely be making it!
One of the most pristine spots on earth.
I also find them too mild but I stick those between my chicken when making enchilada, or in my scrambled eggs, then add my red sauce which is made of dehydrated holy trinity chiles plus chia arbor and hatch if I have them.
Almost similar to the Chinese version except I use mirin instead of sugar, sesame oil instead of sesame seeds. I do add chili flakes but will try adding chili powder next time.
The house of Kim Novak perched on Big Sur was my dream house.
Emglow was correct about being one of the most pristine spot on earth.
Send me the leftover spice mix 
