to try: Crispy Rice Salad with Shiitake Mushrooms & Shrimp (Nam Khao–Inspired)

Crispy Rice Salad with Shiitake Mushrooms & Shrimp (Oven Method)

Ingredients

• 2¼ cups water
• 1½ cups jasmine rice, rinsed
• 3 tablespoons lime juice (2 limes)
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon Thai red curry paste
• 1½ tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
• 2 shallots, sliced thin
• 3–4 tablespoons vegetable or neutral oil (for roasting rice)
• 1 cup shiitake mushrooms, finely chopped (stems removed)
• 6 ounces shrimp, peeled, deveined, cut into ½-inch pieces
• ½ cup fresh cilantro leaves
• ½ cup fresh mint leaves, torn
• 4 scallions, sliced thin on bias
• ¼ cup dry-roasted peanuts, chopped coarse

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Instructions

1. Cook the rice
Bring water and rice to a simmer in a large saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until tender and water is absorbed, about 10 minutes.
Remove from heat, place a clean towel under the lid, and let sit for 10 minutes.

Spread rice onto a large plate or sheet pan and let it cool and dry slightly (10–15 minutes).
Tip: Slightly drier rice = better crisping.

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2. Crisp the rice in the oven
Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a large sheet pan with parchment.

Transfer cooled rice to the sheet pan. Drizzle with 3–4 tablespoons oil and gently toss to coat.
Spread into an even layer, pressing lightly so some areas form small clumps.

Roast for 25–35 minutes, stirring once or twice, until rice is golden brown and crispy in spots.
(For extra crunch, leave some areas undisturbed longer before stirring.)

Let cool slightly—it will crisp more as it sits.

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3. Make the dressing
In a large bowl, whisk lime juice, fish sauce, curry paste, sugar, and ginger until sugar dissolves.
Stir in shallots and set aside.

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4. Cook mushrooms and shrimp
Heat a skillet over medium heat with a little oil.
Add shiitake mushrooms and cook until browned and slightly crisp, about 5–7 minutes.

(Optional but recommended: add 1–2 teaspoons soy sauce + pinch of sugar here for depth.)

Add shrimp and cook until just opaque, about 2–3 minutes.
Remove from heat.

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5. Assemble the salad
Break up the crispy rice into bite-size pieces.

Add crispy rice, mushroom-shrimp mixture, cilantro, mint, and scallions to the dressing.
Toss gently to combine.

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6. Serve
Transfer to a platter and sprinkle with peanuts.

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A couple of small upgrades (optional but impactful)

• Mix 1–2 teaspoons curry paste + a splash of fish sauce into the rice before roasting for more “nam khao” flavor baked in
• Finish with extra lime juice right before serving for brightness
• Serve with lettuce leaves for scooping (very traditional)

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Lamb ragu

Very good! 

Original recipe here:  https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1025237-quick-lamb-ragu-with-artichokes

We started with 1 Tbsp oil.  Browned lamb in a thin layer for 5-6 minutes.

Salted it, added 2 Tbsp tomato paste, 1/2 tsp harrisa, 3 large garlic cloves minced (not too small).

Stirred around and cooked for 3-ish more minutes.

Added 1/2 cup pino grigio in small bits while scraping brown bits off the bottom of the pan and simmered another 2-ish minutes?

Instead of cherry tomatoes, we added 1 can TJ tomato sauce, and put in the artichokes at this point as well as 1 tsp fish sauce.  Stirred around and cooked about 5 min as pasta was cooking.

The fresh mint actually was really nice!  We skipped the butter, but that probably is really good too. 

 

GPT Bakery-Style Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

Bakery-Style Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yield

~15 medium cookies

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Ingredients

• 170 g (12 tbsp) unsalted butter
• 25 g (3 tbsp) milk powder (to be toasted)

• 160 g packed dark brown sugar
• 80 g granulated sugar

• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk

• 120 g all-purpose flour
• 100 g bread flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp kosher salt

• 2 tsp vanilla extract

• 170–200 g chocolate (roughly chopped)
  (mix of chips + chopped bar works best; brands like Guittard or Ghirardelli hold up well)

• Flaky salt (optional)

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Directions:

1) Toast milk powder

• Cook milk powder in a dry skillet over medium-low heat.
• Stir constantly until golden and nutty (3–5 min).
• Transfer to a bowl to cool.

2) Brown the butter

• Melt butter over medium heat.
• Continue cooking, swirling, until deep golden with brown flecks and smells nutty.
• Immediately remove from heat.

Important: Pour into a mixing bowl and let cool 10–15 minutes (warm, not hot).

3) Combine butter + milk powder

• Stir toasted milk powder into the warm brown butter.
• This step amplifies that toasty flavor throughout the dough.

4) Mix sugars

• Add brown sugar and granulated sugar to the butter.
• Whisk until glossy and smooth (about 1 minute).

5) Add eggs + vanilla

• Whisk in egg + extra yolk + vanilla until thick and slightly lighter in color.

6) Add dry ingredients

• Stir in flours, baking soda, and salt.
• Mix just until combined—do not overmix.

7) Fold in chocolate

• Add chopped chocolate and chips.
• Dough should be soft but not runny.

8) Rest the dough (key step)

• Cover and refrigerate 24–48 hours.

9) Shape

• Scoop ~60 g portions.
• Form into tall, rough mounds (not smooth balls).

10) Bake

• Oven: 350°F (175°C)
• Bake 11 minutes

Look for:

• Edges set and golden
• Centers still soft/pale

11) Finish

• Sprinkle lightly with flaky salt immediately after baking (optional)
• Cool on pan 5–10 minutes before moving.

What to expect

• Edges: crisp, caramelized
• Centers: soft, chewy, slightly gooey
• Flavor: deep toffee/butterscotch notes from brown butter + toasted milk powder
• Chocolate: melty pockets + structure from mixed textures

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Small adjustments if needed

• Too thick: gently flatten dough before baking
• Too thin: chill longer or add 10–15 g more flour
• More chew: increase bread flour slightly
• Softer overall: pull 1–2 minutes earlier

To try: Cumin cauliflower soup

 https://chatgpt.com/c/69e2caff-c5cc-8332-b629-ff9bb6769ec5

Ultimate Pistachio ice cream

 This recipe was generated with Chat GPT when prompted for a pistachio ice cream with an intense pistachio flavor and a smooth finish (no chunks). I made a few modifications below to the method after making it the first time that I think will simplify without changing the result. Still a bit of a project.

Yield

About 1 generous quart

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Ingredients

• 180 g raw unsalted shelled pistachios

• 420 g whole milk (1 3/4 cups), divided

• 240 g heavy cream (1 cup)

• 4 large egg yolks

• 85 g granulated sugar (6 1/2 tbsp), divided (at custard phase it didn't seem sweet enough, I added 3 more tbsp)

• 45 g light corn syrup (3 tbsp)

• 14–16 g whole milk powder (about 2 tbsp)
  (since you have whole milk powder, use a little less than nonfat dry milk)

• 1/2 tsp fine sea salt

• 1/8 tsp almond extract

• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (optional, but nice and subtle)

Optional (recommended only if you want a delicate floral-luxe note)

• 6–10 saffron threads, bloomed in 1 tbsp warm milk
  (Use only a tiny amount so it enhances without taking over.)

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Method

0) Remove skins from pistachios

Blanch the pistachios in boiling water for 10-15m. Rub vigorously in a kitchen towel to loosen and remove skins. Allow plenty of time for this fiddly task.

1) Toast the pistachios

Heat oven to 325°F / 165°C. Spread pistachios on a tray and toast 6–8 minutes, until fragrant. Cool slightly.

2) Steep the pistachios

In a saucepan, combine:

• pistachios

• milk

• cream

Heat until steaming but not boiling. Turn off heat, cover, and steep 45 minutes.

Optional saffron: Bloom 6–10 saffron threads in 1 tbsp warm milk for 10 minutes, then add to the steeped dairy.

3) Blend + strain for a smooth base

Blend pistachios with a little bit of milk in the tiny blender until it's super smooth (in batches).

Add the steeped dairy, and blended pistachios to a full size blender. Blend 1–2 full minutes until very smooth.

Straining a bonus but I didn't find it necessary

4) Make the custard

In a bowl, whisk together:

• 4 egg yolks

• remaining sugar

• corn syrup

• whole milk powder

• salt

Rewarm the strained pistachio dairy until hot/steaming. Slowly whisk some into the yolks to temper, then return everything to the saucepan.

Cook over medium-low, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened and it coats the back of a spoon, about 170–175°F.
Do not boil.

6) Finish + chill

Remove from heat and stir in:

• almond extract

• vanilla (if using)

Cool over an ice bath, then refrigerate at least 6 hours, ideally overnight.

7) Churn + freeze

Churn in your 1-qt ice cream maker until thick and soft-serve-like, usually 20–30 minutes.

Transfer to a shallow container, press plastic wrap or parchment directly on the surface, and freeze 4–6 hours to firm up.

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Beginner Success Tips

• Use raw unsalted pistachios for the cleanest flavor.

• Don’t skip the almond extract—1/8 tsp only is the sweet spot. It quietly boosts pistachio without making it taste almondy.

Chicken Boti from Zareens

 Grilled Chicken Boti

3 Tbsp oil (we used 2)

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime or lemon juice (we used lemon)

3 Tbsp greek yogurt

2 Tbsp paprika regular (not smoked) paprika

2 tsp cayenne (this was not too much)

2 tsp garlic paste

1 tsp crushed coriander seed (we used powder)

1.5 tsp salt

3 Tbsp white vinegar (we used 2 Tbsp) 

1/2 tsp cumin powder

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 Tbsp fresh mashed papaya (we omitted this)

1/4 tsp garam

 

Mix all above ingredients in a bowl.  Add 2 lb chicken thigh and toss evenly to coat.  Let rest 30-60 min.  Grilled it at 450-500 for ~4-6 min per side until internal temp wsa 165.

VERY DELICIOUS! 

 

Lahori Cholay from Zareens

 Original source was Zareen's cookbook.

Boil potato:  2-3 baby potatoes (about 1/4 cup) cut in half and boiled with 1/2 tsp salt for 8-10 minutes until soft to a fork.  Drain (don't rinse) and let air cool. 

Fry onion.  In 1/2 cup oil or ghee (we used 1/4 cup), fry 1 cup of finely diced onions until they start to turn golden (for us about 10 min).  We used the 12" heavy bottom fry pan. The original recipe doesn't specify golden ... just says 5-6 min?  Don't go less than a 1/4 cup because it won't be enough oil to fry the potato mash in step 2.

Potato mash:  In a bowl, mix 1 Tbsp each garlic and ginger paste, the boiled potato (mash with a fork in the bowl), black pepper, 1/4 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp red pepper flake (we used 1/2 tsp red chili powder), 1/4 tsp turmeric (we used 1/2 tsp), 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/4 yogurt.  Stir to a paste.

 When onions are done, add potato mash and fry for 5-6 min more.  stir frequently, scraping any browned bits off the bottom.

Add 2 cans chickpea with they're liquid.  Cook 5 min over medium heat, stirring frequently.

Add 0 - 1/2 cup water, and simmer on low for 6-8 min or until you have desired consistency.  (we didn't add any water).