A List of Ingredients
Specialty Ingredients:

Nam Pla Fish Sauce, Thai Curry Paste, Dried Shrimp, Coconut Milk, Jasmine Rice, Cellophane Noodles, Soy Sauce, Sesame Oil

Fresh Ingredients:

Limes, Jalapeno Peppers, Shallots, Garlic, Cumin, Corriander, Peanut Butter, Curry Powder, Mint, Cilantro, Watercress, Red Onion, Radishes, Cole Slaw, Ginger Root, Grated Coconut, Large Shrimp, Scallions, Lemons, Bean Sprouts, Peanuts, Carrot Juice, Carrots, Snow Peas, Red Pepper, Green Pepper, Bok Choy, Bananas, Shreded Coconut

Basics:

Brown Sugar, Vegetable Oil, Corn Starch, Eggs, Butter

12:10 AM PDT Permalink |

Deciding on the Dishes for a Thai Dinner
Appetizer: Peanut Satay
Soup: Pad Thai Noodles
Salad: Thai Spring Rolls over Fresh Greens
Main Course: Stir-Fry Shrimp and Vegetables with Coconut Rice
Dessert: Banana Fritters

03:12 AM PDT Permalink |

Designing the Menu
For my Thai dinner, I'd like to serve several dishes that fairly represent the cuisine. The Fried Fish Cakes sound good, and Peanut Satay seems like a must have. And I have lots of wrappers left over from previous dinners to make Spring Rolls. I definitely want some kind of light vegetable salad, and Pad Thai Noodles seem like a good choice for the soup. For the main course, probably some kind of shrimp stir-fry dish with rice. Of course, this sounds like way too much food, but leftovers are always a welcome treat for the next day, when the last thing I feel like doing is cooking.
12:03 AM PDT Permalink |

Looking for Recipes
The Thai recipes featured in The Joy of Cooking include Beef Satay with Peanut Sauce, Lime Chili Dipping Sauce, Chicken Coconut Soup, Thai Beef Salad, Thai Vinaigrette Dressing, Coconut Rice, Pad Thai Noodles, Poached Shrimp with Carrot Juice, and Fried Fish Cakes. The Recipes in Essentials of Asian Cuisine include Curry Paste, Peanut Satay, Fried Black Chili Sauce, Spicy Shrimp Soup, Jasmine Rice, Coconut Rice, Sweet and Crispy Vermicelli, Pad Thai Noodles, Curry Soup, Pork Noodle Soup, Thai Spring Rolls, Cucumber Shallot Salad, Pork Curry, Chicken Curry, and Banana Fritters.

Between the two cookbooks there are so many recipes that I can surely put together a Thai dinner without looking any further. And I may even serve it buffet style.
02:47 AM PDT Permalink |

Getting Acquainted With the Cuisine
Upon researching Thai recepes, I've learned that Thai cuisine makes use of many of the same ingredients used in other Southeast Asian dishes. Lots of hot chile peppers, a similar assortment of spices, and many of the same herbs and fresh ingredients. But as with any cuisine, it's the way the ingredients are combined, prepared and presented that makes it truly unique.
12:28 AM PDT Permalink |

My Cookbooks
I've browsed my cookbook shelf and discovered that the only ones in my collection that have Thai dishes are The Joy of Cooking, which has a surprising number of choices, and my old standby, Essentials of Asian Cuisine, by Corrinne Trang. Once I get a good overview of Thai cuisine, I may go cruising the Internet for some alternatives, but judging from what I've already read, I can probably make a fine Thai dinner using just those two cookbooks.
02:17 PM PDT Permalink |

My Experience with Thailand and Its Cuisine
I've never been to Thailand. However, when I lived in Tokyo, it was the destination of choice for many of my fellow teachers when they wanted to get out of the city for a little R&R during the holiday seasons. They always came back tan and relaxed, raving about the food, the nightlife, the people, the beaches and the scenery. One of them, a young man named Paul Faure, even fell in love with a Thai woman and bought her family a cow to give as a gift when he went to ask her father for her hand in marriage. Alas, my exotic Asia travel was curtailed by my pregnancy, so my travel experience was limited to several wonderful vacations to nearby destinations in Japan. Of course, I wouldn't trade my son Will for all the travel adventures in the world, and besides, there's still plenty of time to see and do it all.

As for Thai cuisine here in the U.S., I've only eaten it a few times. In my catering days, the ubiquitous Peanut Satay was a favorite finger food at all the gala events, and years ago, I think I had dinner at a Thai restaurant in Berkeley. But that was about the extent of it, until Rene took me to an unpretentious little place here in Napa called Thai Kitchen. I don't remember the names of all the dishes we had, but I recall everything being quite sweet, and a little spicy. I remember enjoying the salad most of all, but then that's true of nearly every meal. I really love salad.

The learning curve is going to be steep again this month, but judging from my advance research, it doesn't look very complicated. Can't wait to get started learning all about the cuisine and choosing the dishes.
02:20 AM PDT Permalink |

Welcome to Dinner & a Movie for September
The food and film for this month's Dinner & a Movie will be a five-dish menu of Thai cuisine and the epic film Suriyothai, written & directed by Chatrichalerm Yukol. Thai is another cuisine for which I have very little experience, so I'm looking forward to learning about the food, the culture and the history of Thailand.
12:09 AM PDT Permalink |

Next Month's Dinner & a Movie
Well...it's official. I've decided that September's Dinner & a Movie is going to be a five-dish Thai diner and a film titled Suriyothai, an epic period piece written and directed by Chatrichalerm Yukol. I've already delved into my cookbooks for lots of tempting recipes, and I have a copy of the film on DVD. Looks like I'm off to a great start this month.
02:25 AM PDT Permalink |

Looking Ahead to Next Month
Rene has a birthday coming up on the 18th of September, and has recently cultivated a taste for Thai food. And since I always like to spoil him on his birthday, this seems like the perfect time for me to learn how to prepare it. Of course, after a busy and productive summer season, we are going to indulge ourselves with a little well-deserved birthday getaway to San Francisco as well. (No details...That's still a surprise.) But when time comes for my Dinner & a Movie for the month of September, it's definitely going to be Thai.
01:54 AM PDT Permalink |

Back to Normal
The weather is much cooler today, after yesterday's 100+ temperatures, and at long last, I also feel like I have recuperated from last week's Indian cooking extravaganza. The kitchen has finally been restored to order, although I still have a half-dozen jars of homemade chutney in my fridge. But since they keep for a good long time, I will no doubt have a chance to use them for other purposes.

And now that the weather is so much more pleasant, I can turn my attention to next month's Dinner & a Movie. It's always so hard to think about food when the heat robs me of my appetite. So, I'm already getting out the cookbooks to plan my next Adventure in Asian Food & Film.
04:20 PM PDT Permalink |

Happy Birthday Will!
My son Will turns 15 years old today. He was born in Tokyo while I was there teaching English. And since Japan is 17 hours ahead of Pacific Time, we celebrate his Japanese birthday the night before, and his actual birthday here in the Napa Valley on August 28.

For last night's dinner, I grilled two beautiful steaks of tuna and served them with a medley of stir fried vegetables, sweet steamed yams with butter, and plain white rice. It was so tempting just to eat the tuna raw, but since it wasn't sushi grade, I didn't want to risk it.

The temperature was over 100 degrees today, so it's way too hot to cook. We're having Chinese take-out instead.

So, Will darling...Otanjobi Omedeto Gozaimasu! (That's Happy Birthday in Japanese)
08:26 PM PDT Permalink |

Monsoon Wedding Film Review
At long last, I watched Monsoon Wedding and was delighted beyond all expectations. This cinematic extravaganza of Indian culture had me laughing and crying at the same time. The story and characters are captivating, the music is enchanting, and the sets and costumes are a feast for the eyes.

Here is a link to my review of Mira Nair's Monsoon Wedding.

12:05 AM PDT Permalink |

Miscellaneous Ramblings on Indian Cuisine...
I learned a lot while planning and preparing my Monsoon Wedding curry dinner. For example, I discovered that the turmeric in curry powder will stain everything in your kitchen yellow: cookware, plasticware, wooden utensils, china, countertops, sinks, clothing and even fingernails. So if you're cooking with curry powder or turmeric by itself, wear an apron, avoid using plastic containers of any kind, and rinse or wipe any stray drippings immediately. And if something gets stained with turmeric, you can remove it with a solution of water and household bleach.

I also learned that the Portuguese introduced Vindaloo to India. Meat rations were stored aboard their trading ships in barrels of wine with garlic. When the Portuguese traders arrived in India, they used the native spices to season the meat they had brought with them. They called it Vin d'Ail, which means garlic wine, and the word evolved into the Indian language as Vindaloo.

Chutney Demystified: Chutney is defined in the dictionary as a mixture of chopped fruits or green tomatoes cooked in vinegar and sugar with ginger and spices, which leaves it wide open to individual interpretation. Therefore, chutney can be made with most any kind of fruit or vegetable, but it would seem that authentic chutney should be made with fruits and spices idigenous to India. Once the ingredients are decided, making chutney is unbelievably easy.
02:40 AM PDT Permalink |

Monsoon Wedding Dinner & a Movie Recipes and Photos
My Monsoon Wedding Dinner & a Movie was a fabulous curry feast. For the appetizer, I served Curry Infused Shrimp with Mango Chutney, followed by a delicious Mulligatawny Soup, and for the main course, Chicken Vindaloo, Curried Lamb Stew, Spiced Lentils, Jasmine Rice and Naan Bread, accompanied by six different kinds of fruit chutney.

Here is a link to the Monsoon Wedding Dinner & a Movie Photos and Recipes.
03:05 AM PDT Permalink |