#DisasterKitchen

Vegetarian (depending on fat selected for the crust)

This is a heavenly pie. Cooking through these books has made me very familiar with the process of baking a pie from scratch, and while this one is not the easiest to make, it is worth so much more than the effort it takes to make it.

The cardamom and coconut milk bring out the natural sweetness of the potato while giving it a creamy, light decadence and a touch of sophistication. This pie made people light up at work, and having tried it still warm from the oven and then again when chilled, it's fantastic both ways -- but best when cold, which is the mark of a good pie in my book.

The crust is also one of the less fussy and neat crust recipes I've made, possibly ever? It's buttery and flakey, and you can apply this crust easily to something savory as well as the crust itself is not sweet. According to Scott's notes on the subject, he got the dough recipe from Cook's Illustrated, and the fat needs to be extremely cold. I used lard for the first time and put it in the freezer about 30 minutes before beginning the crust, and the results were fantastic. Shortening works too.

I had to take this pie out and bring it over to a party (we were running late), so the picture below you can see the surface that the pie hasn't fully settled just yet. Didn't stop anyone from enjoying it.

Vegetarian

I had been looking forward to making this since I first flipped through this book. This looked like a slam dunk through and through, and I WAS RIGHT.

The bean hummus/dip is delicious on its own, and could easily just be a party dip with some chips, and the shallot vinaigrette, for being so dead simple, was pretty tasty too.

Preparing this was easy, used relatively few dishes (aside from calling for a blender and a food processor), and the end result was gorgeous. Crunchy without dropping bits of corn shell everywhere, salty, tangy, and so incredibly satisfying.

This, the ramen, and the muchim sandwich -- these three superstar recipes carry this book.

https://www.allrecipes.com/do-bay-leaves-do-anything-8546584

The Ottolenghi - it is vital that you use 1g of this very expensive ingredient. It comes from a 500g bag with a one-week shelf life.

The time machine - 15-minute recipe! First, leave to marinate overnight...

The dishwasher - one-pot recipe! Now decant your ingredients and wipe out your pot. And again. And again. And again.

The optimist - cook the onions until caramelised (2 minutes).

The kindergarten teacher - get one nommable little tree of broccoli and bosh that into boiling water. Delish!

The brand names only - ingredients: Ritz crackers, Philadelphia cheese, Cool Whip, orange Jell-o...

The 1950s palate - use one (1) clove of garlic and a small pinch of chili flakes (omit if preferred).

Now, if you've never been to the city of Ooiooaa on the rogue planet of Aaa, what can I tell you? How can I convey the taste of the food there?

I can't. It's far too long a trip for native foods--the worms, the ever-popular peas (not peas at all but some sort of creature that colonizes the sea floor)...the very flavor of the water there is indescribably different, how can I convey that, let alone the taste of every Ooiooiaan's comfort food, peas and pucks?

And if I spend too much time thinking of it, I develop an irresistible craving for a nice warm bowl of peas and a soft, dense puck or two. What to do then? If I set out now it would still be months, if not years, before I set foot in that holy city.

There's nothing for it but to throw something together that at least approaches the food I'm missing. So!

My Recipe for Ooiooiaan Peas & Pucks

Well, already we're in for an argument. "Everyone" knows that peas and pucks is served with skel and a garnish of pickled onions. Except everyone doesn't know that--I met people in Ooiooiaa who were convinced that no real Ooiooiaan puts skel--the basic food of the much-hated Radchaai--on a good Ooiooiaan food like peas and pucks. And even the onions--I can't even describe to you how prevalent onions are in that city, how they are on the table at every meal, and nine times out of ten are in your drink. (I never did get used to hot onion water, but it's absolutely everywhere. Sit down in a restaurant and you'll be served a pot of hot onion water whether you want it or not.) But I was told several times that peas and pucks was never served with onions "in the old days."

I am not here to make any sort of declarations about the authenticity of one recipe or another. I am only trying to make a version of what I got from the food carts outside the Temporal Location of the Radiant Star. So, there will be skel--or "skel" --and onions.

You will need:

1 cup of water 1 teaspoon dashi powder 1 teaspoon miso As many fish balls as you're hungry for/fit in the pan 1 to 2 teaspoons cornstarch 1 tsp wakame pickled onions 1 package refrigerator biscuits

First, put the wakame in a bowl of water to reconstitute. Bake the biscuits according to package directions.

Combine water and dashi powder, bring to a boil. Add the fish balls. Boil for about five minutes (or longer if they're still frozen). Add the teaspoon of miso and stir till it's dissolved.

Add just enough water to the cornstarch to make a slurry. Pour this into the simmering broth and stir constantly until thickened. Use more or less cornstarch depending on how thick you like it.

Drain the excess water from the wakame, add as much as you like to the pan, stir, and remove from heat. Serve over a biscuit, garnish with pickled onions.