Welcome! Years ago in the aughts, the Australian celebrity Chef Bill Granger talked about something he did called “Kitchen Suppers.” It was the anti-dinner party.
Held on a Thursday, not the coveted weekend where expectations can be big. It’s a one pan or very simple dinner eaten at the kitchen table or island, never at the dining room table, which reads too fancy. Just a few people, maybe two couples or a few singles. A do-able number. They bring wine. Dessert is fruit, or a frozen chocolate bar cracked into pieces, or nothing at all. No fuss, so it’s do-able. We aren’t impressing people with our cooking. We are bringing folks together, and that’s what it’s about.
The idea behind Kitchen Suppers is inspired by my book, The Meth Lunches, and the meals we made for Charlie, our handyman, who was addicted to meth, who sat with us day after day, eating food with us, and who we got to know over these lunches. Think simple meals that allow you to bring people in, without a lot of over-complication, expense or ridiculous amounts of work.
A lot of you have asked. We will definitely be making meals from the book.
David and the kids and I are opening our home one weeknight evening a week to friends and people we want to know better in our community. This feels like a great way to have more connected relationships with people we love, or want to love, or who we hope to fall in love with. LOL. I’ll post stories and photos of these dinners, recipes, techniques, shortcuts, and things I’d do differently. What I hope is that some of these conversations also fuel topics for Thursday Essays, and more community engagement and camaraderie and maybe even thoughtful change in our communities.
All the ways we can get real by eating together.
Notes about recipe style: I am an intuitive cook and my recipes are built that way. If you need very specific recipe times, quantities and measurements, these might not work for you. But if you like to get some inspiration for a meal and then have me in your ear, prodding you along with tips and tricks, where you can play and adjust as you cook, this might be the recipe subscription for you. All recipes, unless otherwise marked, will feed 6-8 people easily.
For now, this section is FREE + I’ll post on Sundays. (I’ll still post essays on Thursdays, which will always be FREE) But if you like it and I like it, I’ll probably make this for paid subscribers, starting in the New Year, since it’s pretty detailed work. But for now, it’s open to everyone.
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Thai-Style Curried Red lentils + Crispy Chicken Thighs with a Garlic Yogurt Sauce
PREP
This dish has 3 parts but you can prep a lot of the work ahead.
One: Crispy chicken thighs. These are Costco, skin-on chicken thighs. I debone them (save the bones for soup), cut each thigh into two pieces, douse them in garlic, salt and oil (your fav) and let them chill in the fridge until a half hour before dinner. They can be prepped the night before, and they are better for it.
Costco chicken thighs, skin on, deboned (2 packages or 6-8 chicken thighs)
Garlic
Salt
Oil (canola or olive)
Two: Garlic yogurt sauce: This is an easy sauce and you can make it up to 24 hours in advance. Use a nice thick, fatty greek yogurt, about 2 cups, garlic (I roast a whole head, mash with a fork and stir into the yogurt, but even a sprinkle of powdered garlic or jarred chopped garlic works here), a hit of lemon, salt, a bit of good olive oil and let it puddle in the sauce. This sauce is great with fondant potatoes, home-made fries or crab cakes. I make this sauce ALL THE TIME with lots of little variations.
Full fat Greek yogurt
Garlic of your choice
Lemon
Oil (your fav)
Three: Thai-style Curried Red Lentils in Coconut Milk.
Onion. One, small, sliced thin
Diced vegetables. Saute a cup of two of whatever you have in the fridge. I added shiitakes, carrot, celery, zucchini and leftover cubes of cooked potato. Feel free to add whatever feels good to you and whatever is begging to be used. Chard and kale, all the leafy greens, would be great here, too.
Dried red lentils. Add a cup or so to the veg. Saute for a bit.
Curry paste (I use either Arroy-D or Maesri brands. (This one is panang curry, but green, red and yellow all work. Keep them on hand for quick Thai-style curries)
Coconut milk. Add two cans. Stir everything together.
Fish sauce. Add about 2 tablespoons.
Sugar, a teaspoon or so. (Or a piece of rock sugar or palm sugar).
Lemon. Hit it with either a half a lemon, or a whole lime, or a squirt or two of Chinese Black Vinegar.
Stock or water. Thin out the curry as it cooks with a little stock or water. Keep it covered and simmer about 20 minutes, until the lentils are soft and aromatic. This dish should be the consistency of chilli, not soupy, but not solid like mashed potatoes. It should move a little on the plate.
Taste for enough salt and acid. Panang is very makrut lime-forward so definitely taste as you go.
MSG. Add if you like it. (I do.)
This curry can be made up to two days ahead. And it gets better with age. You’ll want breakfast leftovers for sure. Fry an egg, just til it’s runny, and lay it right over the top. Seriously.
COOK
On the day of the meal:
Put chicken thighs in the air fryer, or oven, skin up. 400 degrees for about 20 minutes, until meat is just done and skin is crispy.
Take yogurt garlic sauce out of fridge.
Warm up curry.
Make a salad to accompany, and/or heat up naan, bread, or pita, whatever you love to scoop up lentils.
SERVE
Pair with a citrus-forward IPA, an ice-cold Singha, a German off-dry Riesling, or a Gewürztraminer from Alsace. Non-alcoholic drinks might include something like a lemonade with hints of cucumber, or a Thai-style iced tea, which is spiced black tea (think: cardamom, star anise, cinnamon and vanilla) served with sweetened condensed milk. Or if you can find it, a Thai-brand of soda or simple plain soda water with a lemon slice.
Serve people individual plates (like the photo) or bring the whole pan to the table (above). Drop chicken thighs, crunchy skin up into the pan, with all the fatty pan juices dribbled around the pan. Add little puddles of yogurt sauce.
Garnish? If you must: Chopped cilantro or chopped scallions.
Serve and then sit with your guests. Have fun! It’s about the fun.
I love this idea of you posting your recipes! I wish I was a good cook who could just throw things together....I’m getting there! The entire time I read The Meth Lunches, I was HUNGRY 🤣
I'm amateur cook, I find you recipe interesting. The way you've illustrated your prep and cooking, has left me hungry. Let me get a bite first.