Pros: Aforementioned costuming was amazing.. The attention to details in this universe of wild color and patterns were exciting for me. I would watch it again just to see that again. The world-building in the concept of magic was a little weak, but the sets were incredible. We felt thrust into a sort of old world theme park—reminding us of Diagon Alley in Wizarding World at Universal, in fact, in a good way. It was interesting to see a Dickensian landscape with a diverse cast of characters, and African dance inspired choreographies (the ones we didn’t fast forward through...)

Cons: The magical, evil doll storyline was central, but never really felt compelling. And the arrogant Latin-lover trope was tired.

Overall: Recommend, and if you’re not into musicals (we are, but this just wasn’t good for us), you can safely skip those sequences and not miss any plot points. This show is eye candy, and acting was good.

DIRECTIONS

Slice green onions and divide greens and whites.

Combine 1lb fine ground beef mixed with the whites of the two scallions (save back the sliced greens for garnish), a good thumb size knob of minced ginger, 2 Tbsp of soy sauce, and some panko bread crumbs, plus a bit of salt and pepper.

Roll beef mixture into 10-12 meatballs and set aside.

Mix a couple Tbsp of soy sauce, 1 Tbsp honey, 4 Tbsp mayo, 2 Tbsp sour cream; plus Sriracha, salt, pepper to your liking. Set sauce aside.

Preheat oven to 425, putting rack at the top.

Start up some jasmine rice. They gave 3/4 cup for two people, and we did it in the IP with water and a bit of coconut oil; but they just basically added 1:1 water, brought to a boil, and then took off heat and covered and let it finish for 15 minutes.

Lightly oil a foil-lined baking sheet. Meatballs on one side, green beans tossed with olive oil, salt, and pepper on the other. Cook for about 15 minutes until everything looks good. You could turn the beans in the middle if you are worried about blackening them too much (and add a minute or two for heat loss when you opened the oven), but we didn’t need to. They browned nicely without burning.

Fluff rice and split between bowls. Toss meatballs in sauce and put on mound of rice, pouring rest of sauce over the top. Add green beans to side and sprinkle with green onions you set aside earlier. They had Korean red pepper flakes as well to put on the top, or just add whatever other spicey pepper topper you like, if you like the heat and don’t have Korean flakes on hand.

I have had this tub of Thai red curry paste for long enough that it is approaching expiration, and I didn’t want it to go to waste. I thought about making a vegetarian meal, and looked up inspirational recipes and found a couple bases to start from. But I know Chris wouldn’t be happy without animal protein in it, so I added chicken to the mix. Love my IP for making up quick shredded chicken for throw-together meals like this one. Note that the named brand of curry paste contains fish, so even sans chicken, this is a pescatarian meal rather than full vegetarian. 

1 medium yellow onion, diced

Coconut oil or other neutral oil

1 can chickpeas, drained, rinsed if desired (I don’t)

3 cups vegetable stock (or chicken stock if making with meat)

3 Tbsp Thai red curry paste (Mae Ploy was my brand)

1 can coconut cream (milk can be used, but I prefer cream for this recipe)

1 can fire roasted tomatoes

1 tsp red pepper flakes (or more if desired)

1 tsp garlic powder

1-2 lbs shredded chicken (optional)

Veg of choice, such as sliced red or green peppers, snap peas, etc

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

To make shredded chicken, take1-2 chicken breasts (can be fresh or frozen), salt and pepper lightly all over and put in IP with 1 cup water or chicken stock. Seal and set to 8 minutes on high. Let naturally release. Shred and set aside. (This can all be happening during the first couple steps of the rest of the curry). I made 2 breasts, then used half of it in the curry, and saved the rest for another meal later this week.

Heat oil in large pan or pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook for 5 minutes or so, until softened. (If using red or green peppers, you can cut them into thin strips and put them in now)

Add in chickpeas, pepper flakes, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and stock of choice, bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 7 minutes.

Add in coconut cream and curry paste and blend thoroughly. 

Add in tomatoes and shredded chicken (and any less hearty veg, like snap peas), stir to combine, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to bring it all together and thicken.

Salt/pepper to taste and serve in bowls as-is, or put over rice of choice. We had it just by itself like a hearty stew and it was so yummy. Other recipes I saw put it over jasmine rice or cauliflower rice.