First off, Mapo Tofu. I'll start off by saying, this is a dish I've never had before. Also, I was cooking from the Mission Chinese book so it likely isn't a very traditional version anyway. I was way outside my comfort zone of ingredients, and bought many an item from the Asian grocer that I'd never used before, and wasn't entirely sure if some of what I got was really what I intended. That said, I have no idea if it came out like it should, but it was pretty f-ing damn good. I cubed up some leftover pork belly and threw that into the sauce as well, so it wasn't 'strictly' vegetarian. Sorry about that.
Next up, Bagels. We've been teased by promises of this recipe for a while, and it did not disappoint. The kids reported they were the best bagels they'd ever had, which, sadly, is probably true. I don't think 20 minutes was long enough for the Kitchen-Aid to work the dough, and I should've let it go longer as it wasn't quite as luscious as I'd hoped when shaping them later that evening. They cooked up well the next morning though, and flavor was all kinds of awesome. We damn near ate the entire batch. We didn't quite, and I'll report that they weren't quite as good on day two. I'll need to either find a better way to store them, or hold in the fridge and cook to order each morning. Anyway, I ate a few of these for breakfast, then for lunch, just because I could: Reuben bagel. Cream cheese, Pastrami, Swiss, Kimchi, Russian Dressing, Toasted Bagel. Sloppy good.
Ended my weekend with this: the chicken sandwich. Surprisingly easy. I used store bought buns, store bought mayo mixed with store bought sriracha, store bought pickles. Maybe not so surprising it was easy. Still good.
