I call this one 'Wang' Dang Doodle!


Ready For Grilling
Split up these whole wings with the honesuki (tips in the freezer for a future stock), then marinated them overnight in buttermilk and hot sauce. After that, dried them off, then seasoned them with salt, coarse black pepper, granulated garlic & onion and some sweet paprika.


Grilling
Went with the 'party' method -- center fire and wings placed around it. Mixed light made the shot a bit wonky but you get the idea. Cooked these covered for about 30 minutes, flipping the bird halfway through.


Grilled Chicken Wings
On the platter.


Plated Up
With steamed/buttered broccoli, a loaded baked potato and some spicy-sweet cucumber salad.

=R=

SausageFest!

First, condiment prep . . .


Veg Mise En Place & Sukenari HAP40 Gyuto, 210mm
Yellow bell pepper, assorted onions, black pepper, smashed garlic, evoo and salt.


Grilling
Beef & Lamb Cevaps and 'Grill' sausages.


Plated Up
With some spicy-sweet cucumber salad and assorted condiments, including some 2024-batch homemade sambal.

Happy Monday!

=R=

The asparagus has landed! . . .


Mise En Place & Yu Kurosaki Sasame Petty, 120mm
Evoo, hand-grated pecorino romano, foraged morels, fusilli, black pepper, salt and asparagus.

Seemed a shame to cut up the last of my beautiful, foraged morels before I snapped the pic, so I held off until after. Basically, riffing on cacio e pepe here, using the cheese and some of the pasta water to form an emulsion and "be" the sauce. At the last minute before cooking, I decided to swap out the evoo for unsalted butter. I also added a finely chopped clove of garlic to the morels when I sauteed them. Asparagus was blanched in what eventually became the pasta water.


Plated Up
With an arugula & mini tomato salad, homemade shallot vinaigrette.

=R=

Pizza time!

It being so hot out, I planned for pizza, cooked outside. But the rain came sooner than I expected, so I had to improvise and cook inside . . .


Sausage, Pepperoni & Onion Pizza
Dough: 100% King Arthur 00 flour, 66% hydration, 3% salt, 3% evoo, 1.5% diastatic malt powder, 0.75% sugar
Fermentation: Instant yeast, 72-hour fridge ferment
Toppings: Hot Italian sausage, hand-sliced pepperoni, mandoline-sliced red onion tossed in evoo
Cheeses: Hand-grated whole milk mozzarella, hand-grated parmano blend
Sauce: Drained/seasoned crushed tomatoes, Rao's pizza sauce (both leftover and now finished!)
Other Stats: 612g of dough, 16-inch diameter, ~14-minute bake @ 550F (6 minutes in the pan, 8 minutes directly on the stone)


Angle View


Side View
Nothing to complain about here . . . other than the weather, which prevented me from getting another outdoor rep under my belt. But in spite that, a crispy crust, a nice rise and zero flop on the wedge slices.

=R=

Grilling up some teriyaki salmon but first, some side-dishery . . .


Quinoa Mise En Place & Sukenari HAP40 Gyuto, 210mm
Evoo, salt, orphaned red onion & shallot, Sazón, black pepper, scallions, yellow bell pepper, jalapeno, mini tomatoes, white quinoa and chopped garlic.

Sauteed all of this and added it to the quinoa once it was cooked. The Sazón, I added to the water when cooking the quinoa.


Grilling
Marinated overnight, then patted dry, lightly oiled and seasoned with a couple of homemade rubs. From there, cooked indirect/covered for about 15 minutes, until internal temp was about 130F. Fwiw, I oiled the heck out of the grates and the whole piece of fish came off intact, with the skin. I could have cut it into pieces but cooking it whole makes it easier to maintain a moist interior while also getting a decent crust on the exterior. Smaller pieces tend to cook too fast for that.


Plated Up
With the Sazón & Veg quinoa and some sauteed broccolini (evoo, garlic, lemon, red pepper flakes).

=R=

Larger group than normal, so Burger Night (for a small crowd) . . !


Cheeseburgers, Grilling
6 would have been enough but here's where I ended up after putting all the 85/15 ground meat into the burger press and making half-pound patties. Didn't want to go any bigger and didn't want to put any in the freezer.


Plated Up
On a buttered/griddled homemade sesame seed bun. With grilled asparagus, spicy-sweet vinegar cucumber salad and a blob of the not-very-weekly slaw.

=R=

Last cook for a few days (I think) . . .


Short Ribs, Grilling
Marinade, weight (24 hours): 1 part hatcho miso, 1 part red miso & 2 parts sake. Marked them directly over the fire for a few moments, then moved them to the indirect side and finished them, covered, for a couple more minutes.


Plated Up
With some freshly machined jasmine rice and some spicy-sweet gochujang & sesame cucumber salad.

Happy Monday!

=R=

Prep and cooking for a family weekend shindig started a few days in advance by getting a pot of beans ready . . .


Mise En Place & Tanaka Blue #2 Nashiji Gyuto, 210mm
Mixed stray onions (red & yellow), chopped garlic, celery, black pepper, evoo, Sazon, bay leaves, carrot, slitted jalapenos & serrano, overnight-soaked Rancho Gordo Midnight black beans and Moro beans.

So, yeah. I found the lost packets of Sazon in my pantry and now I'm just going to put the stuff in everything I make until I use it all up! In all seriousness, I thought this cumin-forward blend would be perfect in a pot of beans. I also thought it was salty enough that by using 2 packets I wouldn't need to add any more salt but that turned out to not be the case. As these were cooking, and I tasted the broth, I decided to toss in another teaspoon of salt. So, all in all (aka, note to self) 2 packets of Sazon and 1 tsp kosher salt for a pound of dried beans.

Next up, there was some middle of the night business . . .


Beef Ribs & Tojiro DP Gokujo Boning,150mm
Not much to do from here but open the pack, pat them dry, rub them up and get them on the smoker. I trimmed a little but with beef ribs, I've found it's really not necessary and unlike with pork ribs, I definitely did not want to remove the membrane from the backside, or the ribs would fall apart during the cook.


Texas-Style 'Bark-Etta" Mise En Place
~13-pound skinless pork belly trimmed a bit, squared off, rubbed, rolled and trussed rather sloppily. This was inspired by a recent Chuds video on youtube. We really didn't need this additional food but I really wanted to try making it and figured there was no better time to do so than with a group coming over. I didn't follow his recipe exactly -- made my own rub (kosher salt, 16-mesh black pepper, dried oregano, granulated garlic &onion, mustard powder & freshly ground coriander) -- but per his video, I did include a safe amount of curing salt in the interior rub. After that, rolled it, trussed it and chilled it overnight. This picture was taken after that overnight rest when I was touching it up with additional seasoning (no curing salt on the exterior) before putting it on the smoker.


Bark-Etta
This was after about 6 hours at 225F on the Traeger pellet grill. From here, wrap it in foil for about 45 minutes, put it back on the smoker, then let it rest, slice and serve (more on this later).


Beef Ribs
Also at the 6-hour mark. Getting a nice bark, but these would still have a ways to go from here. About 4 more total hours including a wrap in some butcher paper for the final couple of hours.

As guests started to arrive, there were variety of starters, including a very nice cheese-only Grandma-style pizza . . .


Grandma-Style Pizza
Cut this into small squares and it disappeared very quickly. Other homemade appetizers were a hot spinach & artichoke dip and guacamole. My sister made deviled eggs and there was some shrimp cocktail, too.

While the apps were going, it was back to the grill for me to cook up some other meats . . .


Dogs, Grilling
Vienna Beef natural casing dogs, 6 to a pound. 27" kettle.

While those were cooking, it was time to slice up the Bark-Etta . . .


Bark-Etta
Thatsa lotta meat. More on this dish later but I did take it to about 190F. The pinkness was entirely from the curing salt.


Chicken Thighs, Grilling
Boneless, skinless. Lightly oiled, seasoned and grilled for about 14 minutes. These would be for sandwiches on home-baked sesame buns.

With the chicken going, it was time for the final piece of the beef rib prep . . .


Smoked Beef Ribs
Pretty nice result. From here, I removed them from the bone and cut them into 1-inch-wide chunks.

That was really all the pics I grabbed during the party but I managed to grab some plate shots during the leftovers portion of the event . . .


Grilled Chicken Thigh Sandwich
On a butter-griddled sesame bun with 'super condiment,' shredded lettuce, guacamole and spicy pickle slices.


Porchetta, Plated
Served this on a bed of homemade red chimichurri. In addition to plenty of fresh herbs and really good evoo, the base of this was some roasted red bell peppers and some spicy-sweet vinegar'd cherry bombs that I put up last summer. The acidity and mild sweetness provided a nice foil for the unctuous pork belly. I loved this dish and it really tasted great but maybe it's inherently flawed. To keep it sliceable (and not falling apart), it's good to not take it above 190F internal. On the other hand, at that point, it really needed to render out more of the fat. So, I guess the next time (if there is one), I have to figure out how to solve that (maybe cooking it at an even lower temperature to allow for more rendering before it gets too soft to slice). The only reason it survived the slicing is because I happen to have a very sharp Sujihiki that took it down pretty nicely. But in the end, it was totally delicious, kind of a cross between bacon and prime rib.

Okay, one last shot, courtesy of one of my guests . . .


Buffet Table
In addition to all the dishes described above, there was mac & cheese, quinoa salad, tomato & mushroom salad and potato salad . . . along with a big bowl of the weekly slaw.

=R=

Had some unused dough leftover from the weekend. Figured another 'Grandma-style' pizza was a great way to use it up . . .


Grandma-Style Pizza w/Pepperoni & Onion
Dough: 100% King Arthur 00 flour, 65% hydration, 3% salt, 3% evoo, 1.5% diastatic malt powder, 0.75% sugar
Fermentation: Instant yeast, 4-day fridge ferment
Toppings: Hand-sliced pepperoni, mandoline-sliced red onion tossed in evoo
Cheeses: Sliced brick cheese, hand-grated whole milk mozzarella, hand-grated parmano blend
Sauce: Rao's Pizza Sauce (now available at Costco and I actually like it)
Other Stats: 750g of dough, 17 x12-inch anodized aluminum pan, ~24-minute bake @ 500F (20 minutes in the pan, 4 minutes directly on the stone)


Side View
There wasn't much rise left in this older, overloaded blob of dough but there was still enough to make it a success. Excellent frico, great flavor and a beautifully crispy bottom.

Happy Monday! (and a great Memorial Day, too)

=R=

Inspired by Pink's in L.A. . . .


Burrito Dog, Mid-Assembly & Tanaka Blue #2 Nashiji Gyuto, 210mm
Flour tortilla, 'Merikan cheese, chili, bacon and Vienna Beef natural casing hot dogs.
Decided that I could convert some beans leftover from the weekend into chili. Added some tomato and some chili seasonings, then reduced it for a brief time on the stove. After that, the rest fell into place. Cooked the bacon, drained most of the rendered fat and cooked the hot dogs in what remained. After that, laid everything out on the tortilla, wrapped it as tightly as I could and heated the whole deal in the renderings until it had browned on all sides.


Plated Up
With a side of the chili-fied beans, some salsa and a really nice portion of steamed local asparagus with homemade dijon vinaigrette, courtesy of Mrs. Suburban, who wouldn't go anywhere near a concoction like this! The half I ate was delicious. At Pink's, the components are all much lower grade, which makes it fun in its own right. LOL but seriously, this was actually the highbrow version.

=R=

inspired

got some nice hakurei at the wicker farmers market today and took them as inspiration for a quick stir fry with crispy ground pork, garlic, fermented black beans, some chinese fresh noodles we had in the fridge. quartered the turnips, and also tossed in their greens. side of japanese eggplant broiled with hoisin-mayo glaze. enjoyable, even if it wasn't quite summer yet on june 1. let's see what tomorrow brings.

Golden fried rice (aka cleaning out the fridge) . . .


Mise En Place & Konosuke Fujiyama White #1 Damascus Gyuto, 240mm
Avocado oil, eggs, mung bean sprouts, knob onion tops/greens, soy sauce, carrot, leftover smoked beef rib, orphaned grocery charsiu, frozen peas, red bell pepper, 26-30 shrimp, white pepper, microplaned garlic, leftover jasmine rice and knob onion bottoms.

Just trying to clear out inventory. So, out with the old rice, smoked beef rib, stray chunk of charsiu, bell pepper, bean sprouts, knob onions and rest of our frozen shrimp.


Multi-Meat & Veg Fried Rice
A bit unusual compared to our usual take but I loved just using what we had. And I have to say that the smoked beef rib was a really nice component.

Happy Monday!

=R=

This household staple was new to me . . .


Mise En Place & Konosuke Fujiyama White #1 Damascus Gyuto, 240mm
Everything but the water: carrot, yellow onion, chicken thigh meat, Golden Curry, salt, yukon gold potatoes, avocado oil and black pepper.

I see these mysterious boxes of curry at the store all the time and finally, my curiosity got the best of me. Decided to plunk down for one. Got it home and after viewing a few youtube videos, I was ready to give it a try. This prep -- the bare minimum, it seems -- was certainly quick and easy. Not much work or too time-consuming. First step: start the rice cooker.

Obviously, there are countless variations and possible add-ins. Some of those suggested add-ins include honey, pureed apple, ketchup, worcestershire sauce, garlic and milk, to name a few. Being my first time with it, I wanted to try it relatively unadorned. So, I seasoned the chicken with s&p, then browned it in avocado oil and removed it from the dutch oven. Sweated the carrots and onions in the renderings, then added the water (~5 cups) and the curry cubes. Once the curry had fully dissolved, I added in the potatoes and the par-cooked chicken. Simmered it for about 35 minutes (while the rice cooked) and served it up . . .


Plated Up
Damn -- this stuff is addictive . . . and really delicious! Loved the aroma, the flavor and the silky texture. There was a minor kick of spice but nothing too crazy. It was so tasty, the chicken was the least interesting part of the dish. The curry with veg over the jasmine rice was enough on its own. Not sure how this will play when the weather really warms up because, even though it's a quick cook, it feels like a wintery dish. Still, I'll be buying another box of the curry and keeping it in the pantry, so it'll be there when we want it. A lot of bang for the buck and a very high reward to effort ratio.

=R=

Back at the grill tonight, this time with a 2-pound side of Copper River sockeye salmon . . .


Grilling
Brief teriyaki marinade, lightly seasoned and cooked on the indirect/covered side of a very hot grill for about 12 minutes, until the internal temperature reached 122F. Needless to say, I oiled the hell out the grates, which resulted in a clean, full release of the fish. From there, I dinged it getting it onto the cutting board -- I need a longer spatula -- but not enough to do any real harm.


Plated Up
With some brown basmati rice and sauteed broccolini (evoo, garlic, red pepper flakes, lemon, salt).

=R=

our roof garden is yielding salad! tonight we had radishes and little gems, dressed in homemade ranch, alongside a mushroom fontina galette.

ronnie_suburban wrote:
Okay, one last shot, courtesy of one of my guests . . .


Buffet Table
In addition to all the dishes described above, there was mac & cheese, quinoa salad, tomato & mushroom salad and potato salad . . . along with a big bowl of the weekly slaw.

=R=

I'm going to go out on a limb and say with full confidence there's no raisins in that tater salad so...

You are definitely invited to the cookout.

ronnie_suburban wrote:Damn -- this stuff is addictive . . . and really delicious! Loved the aroma, the flavor and the silky texture. There was a minor kick of spice but nothing too crazy. It was so tasty, the chicken was the least interesting part of the dish.

Japanese curry is great! I've been making it regularly for years ---more so in the winter ---but with beef chuck rather than chicken. Brown sides of a few large pieces of chuck and then cut into bite-sized pieces. The boxed curry blocks are pretty mild, so you will never go overboard buying the one labeled hot, or failing that, medium hot, which might as well be labeled mild. I suppose you could up the heat with curry powder, but I haven't tried that yet. I watch for the blocks on sale at grocery stores like Jewel and WalMart, which don't always have them, and stock up at stores like Mitsuwa and H-Mart. Serious Eats has reviewed the brands, and Golden Curry scores high there and elsewhere, but you won't really go wrong with any of them, or mixing them. There are plenty of recipes online for making the curry mix from scratch or doctoring up a boxed mix, as you mentioned, but the from-scratch (e.g., Serious Eats) approach involves so many more ingredients and so much more time than I can be bothered with (really kills the reward-to-effort ratio), especially since I am reliably informed (via family members living in Japan) that the boxed curry blocks are what Japanese families routinely use to make this quick, delicious, frequently consumed meal.

seebee wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:In addition to all the dishes described above, there was mac & cheese, quinoa salad, tomato & mushroom salad and potato salad . . . along with a big bowl of the weekly slaw.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say with full confidence there's no raisins in that tater salad so...

You are definitely invited to the cookout.

Well, our friends made it so I can take no credit . . . though, if they made potato salad with raisins in it, they probably wouldn't be our friends!

Katie wrote:Japanese curry is great! I've been making it regularly for years ---more so in the winter ---but with beef chuck rather than chicken. Brown sides of a few large pieces of chuck and then cut into bite-sized pieces. The boxed curry blocks are pretty mild, so you will never go overboard buying the one labeled hot, or failing that, medium hot, which might as well be labeled mild. I suppose you could up the heat with curry powder, but I haven't tried that yet. I watch for the blocks on sale at grocery stores like Jewel and WalMart, which don't always have them, and stock up at stores like Mitsuwa and H-Mart. Serious Eats has reviewed the brands, and Golden Curry scores high there and elsewhere, but you won't really go wrong with any of them, or mixing them. There are plenty of recipes online for making the curry mix from scratch or doctoring up a boxed mix, as you mentioned, but the from-scratch (e.g., Serious Eats) approach involves so many more ingredients and so much more time than I can be bothered with (really kills the reward-to-effort ratio), especially since I am reliably informed (via family members living in Japan) that the boxed curry blocks are what Japanese families routinely use to make this quick, delicious, frequently consumed meal.

I trust S&B -- and that's where I started -- because I do like their curry powder. This turned out great but yes, I know I'll probably try at least a few other brands along the way.

Other than some cutlery stuff, I have no first-hand knowledge of current Japanese culture but from what I've read and viewed, I got the sense that this is what a lot of Japanese families use for quick (weeknight) meals, and that it's a longstanding tradition. In any event, it certainly works for me.

=R=

I trust S&B

I use the hot w/bechamel to make croquettas

Copper River salmon cooked on a bed of dill basmati rice. Salmon was first covered with a coating of: garlic, lemon zest, mayonnaise, honey, turmeric and red-pepper flakes.
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/102 ... -dill-rice

Another quick/fun one at the grill . . .


Prime NY Strips
From Costco. A few minutes direct to mark them, then covered/indirect for another few minutes until they reached ~115F internal. After that let them rest/carry-over while I threw some asparagus on the grill. 10 minutes later, time to eat . . .


Plated Up
With charcoal-grilled asparagus, leftover/reheated brown basmati rice and an impromptu mini tomato salad. We're still a ways off from season but the mood has already hit me. These minis kind of scratch the itch.

=R=

New dough, more pizza. This is Marc Vetri's Roman Dough @ 67% hydration from his book Mastering Pizza | The Art and Practice of Handmade Pizza, Focaccia, and Calzone. Ben at Loaf Lounge recommended the book to me. I told him that I was producing good pizzas but having trouble figuring out what levers to pull to get consistent results. Without hesitation, he immediately suggested this book. I'm really glad he did. It goes into granular detail, explaining, among other things, which hydration levels work best at each baking temperature, and why. In fact, many recipes in the book appear multiple times, with different details adjusted depending on baking conditions, etc. I really had a breakthrough with this one . . .


Pepperoni & Onion Pizza
Dough: 100% King Arthur Bread Flour, 67% hydration, 2.25% salt, 8% evoo, 4.4% sugar
Fermentation: 0.4% Instant yeast, 24-hour fridge ferment (3 hour rest before forming)
Toppings: Hand-sliced pepperoni, mandoline-sliced red onion tossed in evoo, dry oregano
Cheeses: Hand-grated whole milk mozzarella, hand-grated parmano blend
Sauce: Rao's pizza sauce (loving this and now available at Costco)
Other Stats: 312g of dough, 12-inch diameter, ~11 minute bake @ 550F (5 minutes in the pan, 6 minutes directly on the stone)

Even at 67% hydration, the dough was quite easy to handle. A bit sticky but not really an obstacle. In fact, it would have been easy to build this pizza directly on the peel but I waited too long to get the oven going, so I opted to play it safe and do it on the pan rather than risk having the unbaked pizza hang around for too long (and possibly stick) on the peel while the oven came to temperature. The result was great . . .


Slice View
Nice rise, great flavor, crispy exterior and bottom crusts but a light and airy crumb. I can't wait to explore this book in more detail.

=R=

Confit of Muscovy duck leg (sous vide @ 155° for 35 hours), with snow peas and blue oyster mushrooms sautėed in (what else) duck fat, with lemon to cut through the fattiness.
Duck = silky texture.

Nr706,

Stunningly beautiful and likely just as delicious!

Regards,
Cathy2

Tonight, more grill time but first some side dish prep, courtesy (in part) of the forager, who stopped by yesterday . . .


Veg Mise En Place & Anryu AS Petty, 120mm
Shoyu, black pepper, sliced garlic, knob onions, asparagus, foraged shiitakes, sherry, evoo and unsalted butter. A relatively quick, staged saute, with the cold butter going in at the end to emulsify everything. The fine-tipped Anryu was perfect for everything here, especially stemming out the shiitakes. Before I got all this over heat, it was time to put the chicken on the grill . . .


Charcoal-Grilled, Bone In, Skin-On Chicken Thighs
My happy place. Sprinkled with a couple of rubs, including my SPG.

While the bird was going (covered/indirect, ~24 minutes), it was time to cook the veg . . .


Sauteed Shiitakes & Asparagus
The sherry added a really nice, nutty aroma. Was just trying to use everything up because I won't be cooking for the next few days and I didn't want the shiitakes or the asparagus to fade out. This turned out better than expected.

Finally, time to eat . . .


Plated Up
With some leftover/reheated brown basmati rice (butter & chives).

Happy Monday!

ronnie_suburban wrote:
Sauteed Shiitakes & Asparagus
The sherry added a really nice, nutty aroma. Was just trying to use everything up because I won't be cooking for the next few days and I didn't want the shiitakes or the asparagus to fade out. This turned out better than expected.

we had shiitakes prepared quite similarly on sunday night - only instead of foraged, they were our own cultivation! only took 20 months, ha.

annak wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:
Sauteed Shiitakes & Asparagus
The sherry added a really nice, nutty aroma. Was just trying to use everything up because I won't be cooking for the next few days and I didn't want the shiitakes or the asparagus to fade out. This turned out better than expected.

we had shiitakes prepared quite similarly on sunday night - only instead of foraged, they were our own cultivation! only took 20 months, ha.

That sounds very cool but also seems like a real long time. The videos you see on youtube make it seem like you'll have them in a matter of weeks. I guess that's some bs.

Tonight I was inspired by a recent video from Stacey and decided to give Beef & Tofu Stir-Fry a whirl . . .


Mise En Place & Konosuke Fujiyama White #1 Damascus Gyuto, 240mm
White pepper, shoyu, dark soy sauce, cremini mushrooms, firm tofu, orange bell pepper, toasted sesame oil, oyster sauce, avocado oil, minced garlic, NY strip steak (freezer stock), red onion, corn starch, baking soda, granulated sugar, black pepper, salt, knob onions and sliced ginger.

I took a few liberties by adding some extra veg -- the mushrooms and the bell pepper that I wanted to use up -- but generally stuck to the script. Marinated the beef in soy, dark soy, sugar, white pepper, corn starch, baking soda, water and sesame oil. While that sat, I fried up the slices of tofu in avocado oil and some renderings from the steak trimmings. From there, went to the wok in stages, with the veg in and out first, followed by the meat (in ginger-infused oil) and, ultimately, the components of the sauce -- soy, dark soy and oyster -- along with a corn starch slurry. Once that started to thicken, everything went back into the wok, including the still uncooked greens -- and was finished with a few cranks of black pepper . . .


Beef & Tofu Stir-Fry
Really nice recipe, and I'm especially glad I added the extra veg. I think the overall dish really benefited from it. Served this with some leftover/reheated jasmine rice and a drizzle of LGM Spicy Chili Crisp.

Happy Monday!

=R=

Took another stab at pad see ewe with store-bought rice noodles . . .


Mise En Place & Konosuke Fujiyama FM Blue #2 Funayuki/Gyuto, 240mm
Avocado oil, fish sauce, chopped garlic, gailan, 'fresh' rice noodles, white pepper, Golden Mountain, oyster sauce, shoyu, chicken thigh meat, eggs, Thai black soy sauce and granulated sugar.

Got a much better result this time than last, mainly because I picked up a few pointers on getting the noodles unfurled. The key was some "aggressive" microwaving. After nearly 3 minutes at 70% power, the rolls softened up enough to be laid out fully and cut into wide strips. And this was with noodles that seemed to have been sitting at the store since yesterday. Who knew the microwave was the key to any good cooking?!


Pad See Ewe
On the platter. Very satisfying, especially on the noodle front. Now, I just have to dial it in a bit more on the sauce side.

=R=