Bourride

• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 medium fennel bulb, chopped
• EVOO
• white wine (1/2 a small bottle)
• 1 bottle clam juice (8 oz?)
• 2 c. Penzey's seafood broth
• sprinkle of pepper
• sprinkle of salt
• sprinkle of dried parsley
• sprinkle of dried thyme
• diced potatoes
• 0.8 lb cod (more is fine), cut into chunks
• juice of 1/2 a lemon
• toast (e.g., French bread), rubbed with a cut garlic clove (1 toast per serving)
• fried or poached eggs (1 per serving)

Saute onion and fennel in olive oil until softened.  Add wine, clam juice, seafood broth, seasonings, and potato.  Cook until potato is softened.  Add fish and cook until done (just a few minutes).  Stir in lemon juice.

Serve each bowl of soup topped with a slice of toast and a fried egg.

Notes:  I could probably increase the wine.  Fresh parsley might be nice.  Consider adding a bay leaf.  Don't use too much potato since this is served with bread.

Saag chicken

(modified from https://slate.com/culture/2013/09/palak-or-saag-paneer-recipe-the-best-way-to-make-spinach-non-watery-and-delicious.html)

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 TBS fresh ginger, minced
• 5 dried chilis
• 1 TBS coriander powder
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• 3 boneless skinless chicken thighs
• 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes (not salt-free)
• 16 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/4 c. plain yogurt
• 1/4 c. heavy cream

Saute onion until soft (about 10 min).  Along the way, salt it lightly, and add and saute cumin seeds, garlic, and ginger.  At the end of sauteing, add chilis, coriander, paprika, and turmeric and cook for 1-2 minutes.

Meanwhile, salt and pepper chicken thighs and fry in a nonstick pan until cooked through.

Add tomatoes to onion and cook for 10 min.  Add spinach and cook for another 10 min.  Add garam masala and cayenne and cook for 2 min.  Stir in yogurt and cream.  Blend somewhat with stick blender.

Cut chicken into chunks and stir into spinach mixture.  Heat thoroughly.

Notes:
I think I used closer to 20 oz spinach.  That was fine.  (A little less might be fine too.)  Cream was closer to 1/2 c.  Next time, try blending onion-tomato mixture before adding spinach, and then blend a little more after the spinach has cooked.  Obviously, dried chilis should be removed before blending.

Turkey pot pie

Sauce:

• 4 TBS butter
• 1/4 c. onion, minced
• 6 TBS flour
• 1/2 tsp poultry seasoning
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• sprinkle of garlic salt
• 2 c. bouillon

Melt butter and saute onion.  Add seasonings and flour.  Slowly add bouillon and stir while sauce thickens.

Crust:

• 1 c. flour
• 1.5 tsp baking powder
• sprinkle of garlic salt
• 1/2 tsp dry mustard
• 1/4 c. shortening
• 1/3 c. milk

Mix dry ingredients.  Cut in shortening and add milk.  Roll out on a floured surface to a 9" square.

Assembly:

• 14-16 oz. package California vegetables, precooked
• 2 c. turkey or chicken

Place turkey and precooked vegetables in a buttered 8" square baking dish.  Pour sauce over turkey and vegetables.  Top with crust.  Prick crust with a fork.

Bake at 425 for 20-25 minutes.

Thai drunken noodles (pad kee mao)

Chicken:

• sliced chicken breast, ~8-12 oz
• 1 TBS water
• 1 tsp corn starch
• 1/2 tsp low sodium soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp vegetable oil

Sauce:

• 2 TBS water
• 3 TBS low sodium soy sauce
• 2.5 TBS oyster sauce
• 1.5 tsp sugar

Other:

• 8 oz flat rice noodles
• 1 shallot, minced
• ~3 cloves garlic, minced
• ginger, minced
• 3 bird's eye peppers (Thai peppers), seeds removed, chopped fine
• 2 scallions, green parts only, cut into 2" pieces
• 1 c. Thai basil, loosely packed (or more--just use however much comes in a bundle)
• splash of Shaoxing wine (2 TBS?)

Mix chicken and associated ingredients.  Allow to marinate for up to 20 min.

Heat oil in wok.  Stir fry chicken.  Remove from pan.

Prepare noodles.  Undercook by a bit since they'll cook more in the sauce.

Saute shallot for several minutes until soft.  Add garlic, ginger, and pepper and saute for another minute.  Add scallions, basil, and Shaoxing wine.  Cook for 30 sec.

Add chicken, noodles, and sauce to pan.  Stir fry at high heat until sauce is evenly dispersed.

Notes:
Next time try preparing everything except noodles, so that noodles can be immediately stir fried as soon as they're boiled.

Recipe modified from https://www.recipetineats.com/pad-kee-mao-thai-drunken-noodles/ and https://thewoksoflife.com/2016/03/drunken-noodles-pad-kee-mao/

Kettle corn

• 2 TBS oil
• 2 TBS sugar
• 1/4 c. popcorn
• salt

Heat oil in medium saucepan with a couple popcorn kernels in it.  When they pop, add the rest of the popcorn, sugar, and salt.  Cooking, shaking occasionally, until most of the kernels have popped.

Note:  Last time I tried just sprinkling with salt at the end.  It didn't disperse evenly and wasn't enough.  Next time I would add the salt with the sugar.  Maybe try 1/8 tsp?

Chocolate frosting

(from https://thestayathomechef.com/the-most-amazing-chocolate-cake/)

• 3/4 c butter, softened
• 4 oz cream cheese, softened
• 3/4 c cocoa powder
• 1.5 tsp vanilla
• 3.5-4 c powdered sugar
• about 2 TBS milk (as needed)

Beat together butter and cream cheese until fluffy.  Add in cocoa powder and vanilla extract.  Beat until combined.  Beat in powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time. Add milk as necessary to make a spreadable consistency.

Makes enough to fill and frost a 3 layer (8") cake or to pipe frosting onto most of 2 dozen cupcakes.

Seafood chowder

• 1 shallot, minced
• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
• butter
• splash of sherry
• ~3 medium potatoes, diced
• 1/4 tsp thyme
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• salt
• 2 c. Penzey's seafood broth
• 1/2 pkg TJ's cod chunks, thawed
• 1/2 pkg TJ's mixed seafood, still frozen
• cream
• milk

Saute shallot and garlic in butter until soft.  Deglaze pan with sherry.

Add potatoes, seafood broth, and seasonings.  Bring to a boil.  Simmer until potatoes are softened.

Partially mash potatoes and stir.  Add cod and start boiling it.  Add frozen mixed seafood and simmer until just cooked.

Stir in cream and milk.  Reheat to near boiling.

Notes:  When I didn't salt it before boiling the potatoes, there wasn't enough salt.  Since it'll get dilute later, maybe salt it generously.  It seemed otherwise lacking in flavor too, so maybe increase shallot/garlic/sherry quantities.  Possibly thyme could be increased as well.