Family favorite

This pork tenderloin has turned into one of our favorite dishes. The citrus flavors are so good and it’s healthy. Pairs very nicely with baked sweet potatoes.

Brine

• zest from 1 orange
• 1 cup water
• 1 3/4 cups orange juice
• 1/4 cup lemon juice (I will use a mix of fresh lemon juice and bottled lemon juice
• 3 Tb Kosher salt
• 2 TB brown sugar
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 tsp Chinese five-spice powder
• 1 cup ice
• 1 pork tenderloin, butterflied (cut lengthwise down the center off the tenderloin without cutting all the way through.  Then spread meat on a cutting board, cover with plastic wrap and pound to about 1/2 inch thick)

Combine orange zest and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.  Remove from heat and let cool.  Combine with other ingredients.  Put pork in a ziplock bag with brine and refrigerate for 2 – 4 hours.

Remove from fridge and discard brine.  Pat pork dry..  Grill for 2-3 minutes on each side.  Then brush with glaze, grill for another minute and then turn and repeat for the other side.  When pork registers 135 – 140, remove pork from grill.  Let rest and serve with dipping sauce and roasted sweet potatoes.

Glaze

• 1/4 cup orange marmalade
• 2 TB orange juice
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp hoisin sauce
• 1 tsp minced ginger

Heat marmalade and orange juice until marmalade is soft.  Stir in remaining ingredients and set aside until ready to grill.

Dipping sauce

• 1 cup orange juice
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup lime juiuce
• 2 tsp fresh grated ginger
• 2 TB brown sugar
• 1 tsp sriracha
• 2 TB fish sauce

Combine juices, ginger and brown sugar in a small saucepan and boil for 5 minutes.  Stir in Sriracha and fish sauce and boil until syrupy.  Set aside until ready to serve.

Summer

Summer leaves me constantly feeling like my weekends are not long enough. I’m trying to squeeze so much in (golf, gardening, cooking, tennis, reading, crossword puzzles, etc.) I met my daughter at the pool this evening after playing golf and it would have been easy to succumb to the temptation of eating at the snack bar. Fortunately, because I had done the menu plan and been to the grocery store, I knew that dinner would come together quickly and that helps me maintain discipline. And dinner was delicious.

Fiery skirt steak

Dressing

• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, chopped
• 1 tsp honey
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground pepper
• 1/2 cup canola oil

Combine all ingredients except oil in a blender until smooth.  Slowly drizzle in oil with the motor running until emulsified.

Avocado relish

• 2 avocados, pitted, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1/2 a red onion, minced
• juice of 2 limes
• 2 TB canola oil
• salt
• pepper

Combine all ingredients in a bowl.

Steak

• 1 skirt steak
• 1 TB canola oil
• salt and pepper

Brush steak with oil and season with salt and pepper.  Grill for 6-8 minutes and let rest for 5.  Carve against the grain.  Serve with dressing and avocado relish.

We paired this with zucchini and yellow squash sliced thinly and brushed with olive oil, crushed red pepper flakes and garlic powder and grilled.

Yum!

Menu plan and grocery list for week of 7/11

Here is the menu plan for the week:

Sunday

Fiery skirt steak and grilled squash

Monday

Citrus pork and baked sweet potato

Tuesday

Grilled steak and grilled corn with sliced tomatoes

Wednesday

Chicken chipotle tacos

Thursday

Everything bagel salmon and sautéed shiitake mushrooms

Grocery list

Produce:

• garlic
• avocados
• red onion
• limes
• zucchini
• orange
• ginger
• shiitake mushrooms
• corn (I buy corn the day that I’m going to use it)

Meat and seafood

• skirt steak
• pork tenderloin
• steak
• boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• salmon (I’ll buy that on Thursday)

Miscellaneous

• chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
• orange juice
• orange marmalade
• 14 1/2 oz can diced tomatoes
• chicken stock
• 6 ” corn tortillas

Check your pantry and buy if you don’t have:

• red wine vinegar
• honey
• canola oil
• oregano
• brown sugar
• soy sauce
• Chinese 5 spice powder
• hoisin sauce
• sriracha
• fish sauce
• cumin
• Everything bagel seasoning

Summertime favorite

Pesto is one of my favorite things. I plant basil every year and load up the freezer with pesto. There is a little bit left from last year’s batch and the basil is looking fantastic. Samantha and I had pasta with almost the last of what was in the freezer. Here is a post from a few years ago with instructions for making pesto and some ideas of what to do with it.

Pesto

• 2 cups of basil, rinsed and dried
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 TB pine nuts
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Combine basil, olive oil, pine nuts, garlic and salt in a blender or food processor.  Blend until smooth.  Pour into a bowl and combine with cheese.  Refrigerate or freeze until ready to use. Once you have your pesto, here are some things you can do with it (besides the obvious of putting it on pasta): 

• put on sliced tomatoes and then grill or broil 
• mix with sautéed corn, cut off the cob
• spread on top of a boneless, skinless chicken breast (with or without sundries tomatoes), roll up and cook 
• spread on tilapia and bake
• toss with shrimp and then broil or grill shrimp 
• serve with grilled or seared scallops 
• use on pizza instead of tomato sauce 
• use in lasagna as a substitute for tomato sauce in one of the layers 
• mix with mayonnaise and use as a sandwich spread or as the dressing on my soft-shell crab salad

4 in one

Hope everyone had a wonderful July 4th holiday. I’m going to provide a 4 in one update – a new side dish recipe for summer cookouts, the menu plan for the short week, the grocery list for the short week and a new chicken recipe that we had tonight.

First one

We had a traditional cookout for the 4th with burgers and deviled eggs. Samantha wanted potato salad and found a new recipe that we tweaked a bit. She loved it and was glad that we had doubled it for leftovers. Two good notes about this potato salad – it has no mayonnaise so is okay to sit out for a buffet and it’s vegan so everyone can eat it.

Lemon mustard potato salad

• 2 TB Dijon mustard
• 1 TB chopped fresh thyme leavees
• zest of 1 lemon
• juice from 1 lemon
• 3 TB olive oil
• salt
• fresh ground pepper
• 1 1/2 lbs red-skinned potatoes, halved

Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 375. In a large bowl, whisk together mustard, thyme, lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Reserve 3 TB of dressing. Toss potatoes in dressing in bowl and put on sheet pan. Roast for 40 minutes. Remove and toss with reserved dressing. Serve. (Leftovers reheated really well.

Second one Menu plan for week of 7/5

Here is the menu plan for the week:

Monday

Grilled za-atar chicken and cous cous – because I saw a recipe in the paper that looked yummy

Tuesday

Pasta with pesto – because Keith won’t be home for dinner and he isn’t wild about pasta but Samantha and I love it

Wednesday

Pizza with hot Italian sausage and red peppers – because everyone loves it

Thursday

Blackened Cajun chicken pasta salad – because I’ve been craving it

Third one – Grocery list for week of 7/5

Produce

• garlic
• lemons
• 4 red peppers
• 2 sweet onions
• red onion
• tomatoes

Dairy

• plain ygourt
• Moazzarella
• Parmesan

Meat and seafood

• boneless, skinless chicken breasts (times 2 – 1 per person for Monday and 2 whole for Thursday)
• 1 lb hot Italian sausage

Miscellaneous

• za’atar
• cous cous
• pasta of your choice
• pesto (I still have some in the freezer from last summer and my basil is doing well)
• pizza crust
• tomato sauce
• orechiette pasta
• Cajun seasoning

Fourth one Grilled za’atar chicken and cous cous

• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 lemon zested
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 3 TB olive oil
• 1 1/2 TB za’atar
• salt
• pepper
• boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Combine 1/3 cub yogurt with 5 of the garlic cloves, half the lemon zest , olive oil and za’atar. Season with salt and pepper and add chicken, stirring well to coat. Refrigerate until ready to grill (at least 2 hours and up to overnight.) IN a small bowl, combine remaining yogurt with remaining garlic and lemon zest. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Grill over medium heat for 5 – 8 minutes per side. Squeeze lemon juice over chicken breasts and serve with cous cous and yogurt sauce.

Very moist and very good.

Grilled shrimp salad

Tonight’s dinner was a hit and another opportunity to please everyone. Keith and I love shrimp but Samantha is not a fan. We cooked an extra chicken breast on Tuesday and Samantha had that on her salad. I love it when I can make everyone happy with minimal effort.

• Olive oil
• 2 TB reduced sodium soy sauce
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 2-3 TB chopped parsley
• 1 TB chopped chives
• Salt and pepper
• 2/3 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 2 zucchini, sliced
• 1 avocado, pit removed and chopped
• Juice from 1 lemon
• 1 TB honey
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 head butter lettuce

In a bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup of olive oil, soy sauce, garlic, lemon zest, parsley, chives, salt and pepper. Add shrimp and toss to coat. Let marinate for 20 – 30 minutes and then put on skewers.

Brush zucchini slices with olive oil. Grill zucchini for 8 – 10 minutes. Grill shrimp for 6 minutes, turning once. Chop zucchini.

In a small bowl, whisk 3 TB olive oil, lemon juice, honey and Dijon mustard. Add chopped zucchini and avocado.

Place butter lettuce on plates. Top with zucchini/avocado mixture and then top with grilled shrimp (or leftover grilled chicken.). Serve.

Hot weather grilling

We are having a heat wave in Baltimore – hot, hazy and humid. This is the kind of weather when the last thing you want to do is turn on the oven. We’re grilling instead. Last night we had grilled chicken with chermoula and I didn’t have time to update on the blog. It was a new experiment and very well received! We had it with grilled squash.

Grilled chicken with chermoula

• 2 tsp coriander seeds
• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• kosher salt
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• black pepper
• 6 TB olive oil
• 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast per person
• 1 TB garlic, chopped
• 1 cup parsley (including stems)
• handful of fresh mint leaves
• 1 TB lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Heat a small non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add coriander and cumin seeds and toast for about 2 minutes. Put seeds in a small food processor and pulse. Take about 1/2 the spices and put in a bowl. Add 1 tsp salt, the garlic powder and pepper to taste. Brush chicken with oil and sprinkle with seasoning mix.

Add the garlic to spice mix remaining in food processor and pulse. Add herbs gradually, pulsing with each addition. Add the lemon juice, paprika, red pepper and 5 TB olive oil and process until well blended. Add about 2 TB water.

Grill chicken until done and serve with chermoula sauce on the side.

We sliced the squash and brushed with olive oil, garlic powder and crushed red pepper flakes. Those were grilled too. Light, healthy and no oven required!

Tonight is a spicy pork tenderloin that we’ve enjoyed before:

Spicy pork tenderloin

• 1 bunch scallions, halved
• 2 jalapeño peppers, stemmed and halved
• 1 small piece of ginger, peeled and chopped
• zest of lime
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1 TB low sodium soy sauce
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• fresh ground pepper
• pork tenderloin
• bell peppers, seeded and sliced

Combine scallions, jalapeños and ginger in a food processor. Combine canola oil, lime juice and zest, soy sauce and sesame oil in a measuring cup and stir in ground ingredients. Place pork in a dish and add about 1/3 of the marinade. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to 4 hours. Remove from fridge and add peppers to marinade.Turn grill to high and grill peppers about 10 -12 minutes. Grill pork for about 6 minutes a side. Transfer to a cutting board. Serve pork and peppers with leftover marinade and:

Cumin garlic black beans

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp cumin seed
• juice of 1 lime

In a non-stick sauté pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and sauté for about 45 seconds. Add beans and cook stirring. Add cumin seed and lime juice and cook until beans are hot.

Tomorrow we’ll be ready for a salad!

Something for everyone

I went on a kick of making flatbreads a few years ago. It’s fun because you can do a variety and share. It’s a little more challenging in COVID times because salad bars haven’t opened up and that was a great way to get smaller portions. Keith and I love seafood but Samantha doesn’t so she opted for sliced Aidell’s sausage with cheese and tomato sauce as her portion.

Keith and I split two.

Honey shrimp

This sounds weird but it is delicious. I’m thinking about a good base for these shrimp as a passed appetizer for cocktail parties. Open to suggestions!

• 1 thinly sliced shallot
• 1 TB olive oil
• 1/2 lb shrimp, deveined and cut in half lengthwise
• 1 TB cognac
• 2 tsp honey
• 1 tsp butter

Heat oil in a pan over medium heat. Add shallot and saute until soft. Add shrimp and cook until just pink. Deglaze pan with cognac. Add honey and butter. Spread shrimp and sauce on flatbread and cook per package instructions.

Garlic clam

• 1 dozen clams, steamed with white wine
• 1 TB butter
• 1 TB minced garlic (I remembered that I had some roasted garlic in the fridge and used that)
• grated Mozzarella cheese

Combine clams, butter and garlic. Top flatbread with cheese and then spread out clams and garlic butter on top.

The flatbreads we bought said to cook for 2 minutes before adding toppings for crispier crust and then cook for 4 minutes with topping. Delicious! I remember that I also previously made a pancetta, tomato and lettuce variation that we liked. 3 more flatbreads in the package so we’ll have an opportunity to experiment some more soon.

Inspiration

I get recipe inspirations from all sorts of places – it helps if you spend a lot of time thinking about food! Our produce stand is running full throttle and is definitely a great source of ideas. Samantha wanted to stop for some fruit – we got fantastic cherries, blackberries, peaches and cantaloupe. We didn’t expect to see such perfectly gorgeous purple cauliflower. We had to buy it even though I didn’t know what I was going to have with it. We like roasted cauliflower with cumin seed and I saw a recipe in the Wall Street Journal for tandoori lamb chops. I thought they would go well with the cumin cauliflower and some tweaking. The cauliflower was amazing and while the lamb chops were good, I think the consensus was that we are just as happy with simpler lamb chops – live and learn!

Tandoor lamb chops and roasted cumin cauliflower

• 1 TB minced garlic
• 1 TB minced ginger
• 1 TB lime juice
• 1 TB white vinegar
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 TB tandoori spice blend
• lamb chops (I use 1 rib and 1 loin per person)
• 1 container plain yogurt (I used 2%)
• 1/4 cup chopped tomatoes
• 1/4 cup chopped cucumbers

Combine garlic and ginger in a food processor. Add lime juice, vinegar, pepper, turmeric and tandoori spice. Spread on lamb chops and grill to desired doneness. Mix yogurt with tomatoes and cucumbers and serve with lamb.

Roasted cauliflower

• 1 head of cauliflower (purple is so pretty), cut into florets
• 1 TB olive oil
• 1 tsp cumin seed
• 1 tsp curry powder
• salt and pepper

Toss cauliflower with oil and seasonings in a glass baking dish. Preheat oven to 400 and cook cauliflower for about 35 minutes. If you aren’t distracted by watching a super exciting golf tournament playoff on TV, you could turn the cauliflower halfway through but if you are distracted and forget, it doesn’t matter. 🙂

Menu plan and grocery list week of 6/27

Here is the menu plan for the week:

Sunday

Tandoori lamb chops and roasted cauliflower with cumin – because I saw a recipe for tandoor lamb that looked interesting and we bought the most beautiful purple cauliflower at the produce stand

Monday

Assorted flatbreads – because I haven’t made them in a while and we have fond memories of interesting experiments

Tuesday

Grilled chicken with Chermoula and grilled zucchini – because it sounds healthy

Wednesday

Grilled green onion, jalapeno pork with cumin black beans and grilled peppers – because Samantha loves pork tenderloin and spicy food, double win!

Thursday

Grilled shrimp and avocado salad – because I can serve ours with shrimp and Samantha’s without (I can grill an extra chicken breast on Tuesday and save it for her salad)

Grocery list (does not include all flatbread ingredients as topping ideas are still up for discussion!) 🙂

Produce

• garlic
• ginger
• limes
• tomato
• cucumber
• mint
• parsley
• lemon
• peppers (red, yellow, orange)
• scallions
• zucchini
• avocados
• lettuce

Dairy

• plain yogurt

Meat and seafood

• lamb chops (I do one rib and one loin per person)
• shrimp (for the flatbreads, I’ll get more later in the week for the salad)
• skinless, boneless, chicken
• pork tenderloin

Miscellaneous

• black beans

Check your pantry and buy if you don’t have:

• white vinegar
• cayenne pepper
• turmeric
• tandoori spice blend
• honey
• brandy
• coriander seed
• cumin seed
• garlic powder
• paprika
• orzo
• canola oil
• soy sauce
• sesame oil
• olive oil
• Dijon mustard

Summer soup and salad

Typically we think of soup as a winter thing but I found a soup and salad combo that is perfect for summer. We love avocados so everyone was excited about this meal.

Chilled avocado soup

• 2 TB olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 2 cups water
• 6 ripe avocados, chopped (pits removed and reserved)
• juice of 4 limes
• salt to taste
• Tabasco

In a heavy pot, add oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring until soft (about 3- 5 minutes.) Add garlic and stir. Add stock, water, avocados, lime juice, salt and Tabasco. Simmer for 5 minutes. Puree using an immersion blender (or in batches in a blender or food processor. Add pits to soup and chill overnight. Taste soup and season with salt and Tabasco. Serve with salsa and

Pepper Salad

• 3 bell peppers, assorted colors, seeded and julienned
• 3 TB olive oil
• 3 TB lime juice
• 1 TB tequila
• red pepper flakes
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and smashed

Put pepper slices in a glass bowl. Toss remaining ingredients in a small glass jar. Pour over peppers and marinate at room temperature for 30 – 90 minutes.

Colorful, healthy and delicious!

Pleasing everybody

This pizza has been one of our favorites for a long time. In her younger days, Samantha would eat chicken tenders if we were eating this. She loves Italian sausage but is not a fan of shrimp. It’s easy enough to cook the topping, remove enough of the sausage for hers and then add the shrimp. Always happy when we are eating seafood!

Shrimp and Sausage Pizzas

• 2 tsp Olive Oil
• 1 Yellow Onion, sliced
• 1/2 lb Sweet Italian turkey sausage, casings removed
• 2 Chopped Garlic cloves
• 2/3 lb Shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 cup medium Salsa
• 1 TB canned Green Chiles
• 3/4 tsp cumin
• 6 inch corn tortillas

Heat a nonstick skillet over medium high heat and heat oil.  Saute onion until soft, 3 -5 minutes.  Add sausage and garlic and cook until sausage is browned, 8 -10 minutes.  Add shrimp, salsa, chiles and cumin and bring to a boil.  Simmer until shrimp are opaque, 4 – 6 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Refrigerate until ready to use.

When ready to use, preheat oven to 475.  Spoon sausage mixture on to 6 inch corn tortillas and top each with shredded cheddar cheese.  Cook 5 – 6 minutes or until cheese is melted.  This should be on a pizza stone or cookie sheet.

NOTE: Don’t top tortillas until ready to cook. They get soggy and stick to the pizza stone.

Father’s Day dinner

I asked Keith what he wanted for Father’s Day. He graciously offered to grill. We had steaks, Mexican corn and grilled zucchini.

The steaks were treated with a rub and then grilled. The zucchini was brushed with olive oil, garlic powder and crushed red pepper flakes. The corn from the produce stand was also grilled. One of our favorites:

Grilled Mexican corn

• 2 ears of corn per person, husked
• canola oil
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• juice of 1 lime
• 1/2 jalapeño minced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 – 2 oz Queso Fresco (or other mild cheese), chopped
• 1/4 tsp dried chipotle pepper

Brush corn with oil.  Grill about 8 minutes turning frequently.  Corn should be charred in places.  Mix remaining ingredients in a bowl.  When corn is cooked, roll in sauce.  Serve with corn holders and lots of napkins.  Messy but delicious!

Substitution

Tonight was one of our favorite pizzas – the spicy chicken. Unfortunately, when I went to start dinner at 6:00, I realized that I had neglected to roast the garlic for the pizza. I didn’t want to delay dinner by that long so I chopped up some garlic and sauteed it with the onions and jalapeno. While it didn’t have quite the impressive flavor that comes from the roasted garlic, it was still delicious. Sometimes you just have to simplify.

Spicy Chicken Pizza

• 2 TB olive oil
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
• 2 small onions, minced
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground chili powder
• 1 lb ground chicken
• 1 pizza crust
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• garlic to taste (either raw, sauteed with the pepper and onion or roasted (wrap a whole head of garlic in aluminum foil and roast at 425 for about an hour)
• shredded Mozzarella cheese
• spinach

Preheat oven (with pizza stone) to 425.

Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat.  Add jalapeno and onion (and garlic if you forgot to roast it) and saute 2 – 3 minutes until soft.  Add spices and stir to combine.  Add chicken and cook, stirring until chicken is cooked through.

Spread sauce on pizza crust.  Top with chicken, garlic, spinach and cheese.  Cook 8 – 10 minutes or until done.

Bobbing and weaving

Things are a little hectic this week. Samantha is graduating from middle school, I have to change my days around for being in the office and there are some things that are up in the air. So my plan is still fluid. Here is what is known as well as what we had for tonight’s dinner:

Sunday

Chipotle marinated strip steaks and Mexican grilled corn

Monday

Spicy chicken pizza

Tuesday

Shrimp salad with fresh herbs

Wednesday

TBD

Thursday

Roseda beef burgers

Tonight we had strip steaks with one of my favorite marinades. It makes enough for at least two meals and is good on chicken, shrimp, pork and beef.

Chipotle marinade 

• 2 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
• 2 cloves garlic
• 3 TB tomato juice
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup soy sauce (low sodium soy sauce)
• 2 TB sherry vinegar
• 1 tsp basil
• 1 tsp oregano
• salt and pepper

Combine all ingredients in a blender.  NOTE: This marinade has some zip.  You don’t need to drench your protein in it, just dip it and let it sit for a little before grilling.

Grilled Mexican corn

• 2 ears of corn per person, husked
• canola oil
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• juice of 1 lime
• 1/2 jalapeño minced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 – 2 oz Queso Fresco (or other mild cheese), chopped
• 1/4 tsp dried chipotle pepper

Brush corn with oil.  Grill about 8 minutes turning frequently.  Corn should be charred in places.  Mix remaining ingredients in a bowl.  When corn is cooked, roll in sauce.  Serve with corn holders and lots of napkins.  Messy but delicious!

So delicious that we didn’t stop to take a picture! 🙂

Soup and sandwich

I’ve changed the schedule around a little bit because they didn’t have flatbreads at the store. We’ve ordered them online but not sure when they will show up. So tonight is the asparagus soup. I knew the family would want something with it so asked Keith. He started flipping through a cookbook and found a recipe for crab and avocado sandwiches. Such a simple meal! 🙂

Asparagus soup

• 1 1/2 lbs asparagus, tough bases torn off, cut into pieces
• 1/2 cup chopped shallots
• 2 TB butter
• 1 qt chicken stock
• Kosher salt
• Cayenne pepper
• 1/3 cup rice (uncooked)
• Creme fraiche

Heat butter in a heavy pot over medium heat. Add shallots and cook until soft (about 2 minutes.). Add asparagus and cook for another 2 minutes. Add stock, salt and pepper and rice. Bring to a boil. Cover and lower heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

Purée soup in a blender or use an immersion blender (my choice). Stir in about 1/3 cup of creme fraiche. Serve.

Crab and avocado sandwiches

• 1 ripe avocado
• 1/2 lb crab meat
• 1 stalk celery, finely chopped
• 1 shallot, minced
• 2 TB lime juice
• 2 TB creme fraiche
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• Salt to taste
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• Bread

Chop avocado and place in a bowl. Add crab, celery and shallot. Add lime juice, creme fraiche, cumin, salt and pepper and gently mix to combine (I used a spatula.).

Toast bread and top with crab/avocado mixture.

Samantha doesn’t like crab so she is substituting avocado toast.

Memorial Day Cookout(s)

Summer holidays seem to call for cooking out. We had a few friends over last night and served one of our favorites. I got this recipe from a co-worker over 30 years ago and it is always a winner. Several friends have said they could drink the sauce!

Shish Kabob Marinade

• 1 1/2 cups olive oil
• 3/4 cup soy sauce (low sodium)
• 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
• 2 TB dry mustard
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp fresh ground pepper
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/3 cup lemon juice

Combine all ingredients in a bowl or jar.  Marinate sirloin cubes, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes and red onions (quartered).  Skewer and grill.  Serve over rice.

One friend brought a yummy salad and the other brought a lovely charcuterie dish with cheeses, meats, apricots and crackers. For dessert, Samantha made another old favorite recipe. My mom used to make this when we were kids and the recipe got lost for a long time. It was unearthed last summer and it is just as good as we remembered!

Blueberry torte

• 16 graham crackers (we had some debate about what this means because whole graham crackers are divisible into smaller pieces. The box had 3 packages of 9 whole graham crackers so we used one package to simplify things)
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 1 cup sugar (divided use)
• 8 oz cream cheese
• 1 tsp grated lemon zest
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp cornstarch
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 pint blueberries (I would use a whole pint next time, although the blueberries we got were so delicious that Samantha and I ended up eating all of the leftovers)

Preheat oven to 350. Crush graham crackers and mix with butter and 1/2 of the sugar. Press in bottom of 8″ square pan. Blend cream cheese with remaining sugar until smooth. Stir in lemon zest and beat in eggs until thoroughly mixed. Pour over crust and bake for 25 minutes. In a small saucepan combine cornstarch with water and add blueberries. Bring to a boil and simmer 1 minute. Let cool and then pour over cream cheese mixture. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Tonight it will be just the three of us. The sun is finally out and I want to play golf after a weekend of cold rainy weather. I’ll make the hoisin marinade this morning and then will come home and bake some sweet potatoes and enjoy another cookout.

Grilled Hoisin Pork

• 1 jar of Hoisin sauce
• 3 TB honey
• 2 TB sherry
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 pork tenderloin

Combine Hoisin sauce, honey, sherry and sesame oil in a small saucepan and heat, stirring for about 5 minutes until thick.  Let cool.  Use about 1/2 of the marinade on the pork and refrigerate for 4 -6 hours (or overnight).  Grill pork about 10 minutes or until 140 on a meat thermometer.  Heat remaining sauce and serve with pork.

Menu plan and grocery list week of 5/30

Sunday

Shish kabobs, rice and salad – because we had a few friends over and everyone loves that shish kabob

Monday

Hoisin pork and baked sweet potatoes – because the sun finally came out and I want to play golf so picked something easy

Tuesday

Assorted flatbreads – because I haven’t made them in a long time

Wednesday

Spinach salad with steak and strawberries – because it was so delicious that we have to enjoy it again while strawberries are still in season

Thursday

Asparagus soup and sandwiches – because Keith has a meeting that will get him home late so everyone can eat when they want

Grocery list

Produce

• cherry tomatoes
• mushrooms
• red onions
• red bell pepper
• shallots
• sweet potatoes
• spinach
• strawberries
• orange
• asparagus

Dairy

• goat cheese
• creme fraiche

Meat and seafood

• sirloin steak
• pork tenderloin

Miscellaneous

• hoisin sauce
• flatbreads
• chicken stock

Check your pantry and buy if you don’t have

• olive oil
• low sodium soy sauce
• Worcestershire sauce
• red wine vinegar
• lemon juice
• dry mustard
• garlic
• salt
• pepper
• rice
• sesame oil
• honey
• sherry
• white wine vinegar
• panko

Blood orange pork chops

Samantha loves pork and she loves citrus. I found a recipe for pork chops with a blood orange and rosemary marinade and adapted a bit. Everyone loved it and the blood oranges are the most beautiful color. I served it with grilled asparagus and roasted potatoes. A hit.

Blood orange and rosemary pork chops

• 8-10 blood oranges (2 zested, all juiced)
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 TB white balsamic vinegar
• 2 TB fresh rosemary, chopped
• 1 center-cut, bone-in pork loin chop per person
• 1 TB honey

In a measuring cup, whisk together 1/2 cup of blood orange juice, 1/2 of the zest, 1/4 cup oil, 1 TB vinegar and rosemary. Marinate the pork chops in mixture for 1 – 6 hours.

Pour remaining juice and zest in a saucepan and boil until reduced to about 3 TB. In a blender, combine juice with remaining TB of vinegar and honey. Slowly pour 1/4 cup oil into mixture with the motor running.

Heat grill to medium high. Pour off marinade and season pork with salt and pepper. Grill over direct heat – 8 – 9 minutes. Pour vinaigrette over warm pork chops and serve.

The asparagus was tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper and grilled and the potatoes were from The Little Potato Company – you season with their seasoning packet and olive oil.

Eating like rabbits

Tonight was another entree salad as we continue trying to eat healthy. It went over better than I expected. A definite do-over but I’m pushing my luck with two salad dinners in a row.

Chicken chopped salad

• 1 1/2 TB paprika
• 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
• salt
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Shredded Parmesan cheese
• 2 TB lemon juice
• 2 TB olive oil
• 2 TB mayonnaise
• lettuce (I used a mix of butter lettuce and romaine)
• cherry tomatoes, halved

Combine paprika, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp each of salt and pepper, thyme and cayenne in a shallow plate. Toss chicken in spice mix to coat and spray chicken with cooking spray.

Grill chicken over medium-high heat until done (about 145). Let rest for about 5 minutes (chicken will come up a few more degrees.). Slice chicken.

In a large salad bowl mix 2 TB Parmesan cheese with lemon juice, olive oil and mayo. Whisk to combine and then add lettuce and cherry tomatoes (I didn’t add the cherry tomatoes because I wanted a generous amount of tomatoes, Keith wanted a few and Samantha didn’t want any.) Divide salad between plates and top with chicken and extra Parmesan.

Eating in season

Our produce stand reopened last week with local strawberries. The local strawberries are out of this world and every year, I am reminded that the season is really short (pretty much Mother’s Day to Father’s Day.). While they are available, I want to enjoy them as much as we can. I found a recipe in Eating Well for a Steak and Strawberry Spinach salad. Samantha pointed out that it would be really good with warm goat cheese – she was right!

Steak and Strawberry Spinach salad with warm goat cheese

• 1 lb boneless strip steak or rib-eye
• Kosher salt
• ground pepper
• olive oil
• 1 1/2 TB white wine vinegar
• 1/2 tsp grated orange zest
• 2 TB orange juice
• 1 shallot, thinly sliced
• 1/2 tsp honey
• stale bread, torn into bite-size pieces
• 1 bag baby spinach
• 2 cups thinly sliced strawberries
• 4 oz goat cheese
• panko

Season steak with salt and pepper. Spray with cooking spray.

Combine 3 TB olive oil, white wine vinegar, orange zest, orange juice, shallot and honey in a small jar and shake to mix.

Put bread and 1/3 cup olive oil in a non-stick skillet. Heat over medium high heat, stirring until croutons are crispy. Drain on a plate with paper towels.

Grill steak until done. Let rest for 5 minutes and slice against the grain.

Slice goat cheese into rounds. Dip each round in olive oil and then in pinko. Toast in a toaster oven at 350 for about 5 minutes (you want goat cheese to be soft but not melted.)

In a large salad bowl, combine spinach, strawberries and croutons with salad dressing. Toss and distribute between dinner plates. Top each serving with sliced beef and warm goat cheese.

Menu plan and grocery list for week of 5/16

Here is the menu plan for the week:

Sunday

Steak and strawberry spinach salad (because the strawberries are so good right now!!)

Monday

Blackened chicken with chopped salad (because it sounded like something we would all like)

Tuesday

Marinated blood orange pork chops with cous cous (because Samantha loves pork)

Wednesday

White pizza with Fontina, chicken and arugula (because I always love a new pizza)

Thursday

Seafood to be determined (because Samantha is not a big seafood fan and she is invited out to dinner with her cousin)

Grocery List

Produce

• Orange
• shallots
• garlic
• baby spinach
• strawberries
• butter lettuce
• cherry Tomatoes
• avocado
• blood oranges (4 – 5)
• rosemary
• red onion
• arugula

Dairy

• Goat cheese
• Parmesan cheese
• Fontina cheese

Meat and seafood

• Boneless strip steak
• boneless chicken breasts
• center-cut, bone-in pork chops
• bone-in chicken breasts

Miscellaneous

• Pizza crust

Check your pantry and buy if you don’t have:

• Olive oil
• white wine vinegar
• honey
• bread
• paprika
• garlic powder
• pepper
• thyme
• cayenne
• lemon juice
• mayo
• balsamic vinegar
• cous cous

Salad for dinner

We switched our schedule and had the steak salad tonight. The Dijon flavored vinaigrette went really well with the blue cheese. I had all of the components ready so everyone could assemble their own (Samantha isn’t a huge shallot fan). A hit all around.

Grilled steak salad

• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1 lb lean sirloin steak
• Cooking spray
• 2 TB white wine or champagne vinegar
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 7 TB olive oil
• Bibb lettuce
• 1 red and 1 orange pepper seeded and sliced
• 2 – 3 thinly sliced shallots
• 1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese

Combine chili powder, cumin, garlic powder and salt in a small bowl and rub on both sides of steak. Spray with cooking spray. Grill over medium-high heat until done to your liking. Let rest for 5 minutes and slice against the grain.

Combine vinegar, mustard and olive oil in a jar and shake to combine.

Arrange lettuce on plates with pepper, shallots and cheese and pour vinaigrette over salad. Top with sliced beef.

Change in plans

Samantha texted me right before I left work and said she wanted to talk to me about dinner. I wasn’t sure what the issue was and was gratified to learn that she was hoping to switch nights. We were scheduled to have an entree salad for dinner tonight. She had ordered a lunch for school and due to complications with the supplier, her scheduled burrito bowl was replaced by a salad (a salad that according to her wasn’t very good.). She said she didn’t want salad for two meals in a row. One advantage of having all of your meals planned out and purchasing all of the ingredients ahead is that it is easy to make a swap. We’ll have the salad tomorrow.

Spicy sausage and white bean pizza

• Pam cooking spray
• 1/2 lb hot Italian sausage (turkey sausage is leaner or you can use regular)
• 1 can cannelloni beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 plum tomatoes chopped
• 1 prepared pizza crust
• Shredded Mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 425. Heat a non-stick sauté pan over medium heat and spray with cooking spray. Remove sausage from casings and add to pan. Cook stirring until sausage is browned. Add beans and tomatoes, stir into sausage and remove from heat.

Spread mixture onto pizza crust and top with cheese. Bake for 10 minutes and serve. A definite hit and a definite do-over.

Healthy and tasty

Tonight was another experiment and it seemed to be a hit. I thought cous cous would go well with it. Not sure what we’re going to do with the leftover pomegranate juice!

Pomegranate-glazed chicken

• 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast per person
• salt and pepper
• 1 TB olive oil
• 2/3 cup pomegranate juice
• 1 TB honey
• 1 tsp finely chopped rosemary
• 1 clove garlic, minced

Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Heat a non-stick pan over medium-high heat and add oil. Cook chicken until browned on one side (about 6 minutes.) Turn chicken and cover pan, cooking another 6 minutes.

Combine pomegranate juice, honey, rosemary and garlic in a measuring cup. Pour over chicken and reduce heat to a simmer. Cover pan and cook another 5 minutes or until chicken is done.

Serve over cous cous.

Back on track

Last night we had friends (fully vaccinated friends) over for dinner. We reprised the menu from our last company dinner (minus the tuna and with a blueberry curd pie for dessert, courtesy of Samantha.). The beef is lean and the sauce isn’t too bad but the potatoes are pretty decadent. We wanted to get back to our healthy eating tonight. I wasn’t sure what to serve with the spicy pork and thought about the black beans that we all like. Then Keith remembered that we had a family pack of bell peppers in the fridge so we sliced them and put them in the same marinade. Great idea!

Spicy pork tenderloin

• 1 bunch scallions, halved
• 2 jalapeño peppers, stemmed and halved
• 1 small piece of ginger, peeled and chopped
• zest of lime
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1 TB low sodium soy sauce
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• fresh ground pepper
• pork tenderloin
• bell peppers, seeded and sliced

Combine scallions, jalapeños and ginger in a food processor. Combine canola oil, lime juice and zest, soy sauce and sesame oil in a measuring cup and stir in ground ingredients. Place pork in a dish and add about 1/3 of the marinade. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to 4 hours. Remove from fridge and add peppers to marinade.Turn grill to high and grill peppers about 10 -12 minutes. Grill pork for about 6 minutes a side. Transfer to a cutting board. Serve pork and peppers with leftover marinade and:

Cumin garlic black beans

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp cumin seed
• juice of 1 lime

In a non-stick sauté pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and sauté for about 45 seconds. Add beans and cook stirring. Add cumin seed and lime juice and cook until beans are hot.

Menu plan and grocery list for week of 5/2

Hard to believe that May is already here! We’re continuing our goal of eating healthier and starting to transition to foods that suit warmer weather. Here is the menu plan for the week:

Sunday

Spicy pork tenderloin with grilled peppers and cumin black beans

Monday

Pomegranate glazed chicken and cous cous

Tuesday

Barbecue sirloin and blue cheese salad

Wednesday

Spicy sausage and white bean pizza

Thursday

Gnocchi and Caesar salad

Grocery list

Produce

• scallions
• 2 jalapenos
• ginger
• limes
• garlic
• bell peppers
• rosemary
• Bibb
• cucumber
• plum tomatoes
• romaine lettuce
• lemon

Dairy

• crumbled blue cheese
• grated Mozzarella
• Parmesan cheese

Meat and Seafood

• pork tenderloin
• boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• lean sirloin steak
• hot Italian sausage

Miscellaneous

• black beans
• cous cous
• pomegranate juice
• pizza crust
• cannellini beans
• gnocchi (I have homemade in the freezer}
• tomato sauce

Check your pantry and buy if you don’t have:

• canola oil
• low sodium soy sauce
• sesame oil
• cumin
• olive oil
• honey
• chili powder
• ground cumin
• garlic powder
• white wine vinegar
• Dijon mustard
• egg

Something old or something new

I run into a little bit of a conundrum with the debate over trying new dishes or repeating old ones. Last night’s lamb chops were new and I love experimenting and adding to the repertoire. The challenge is that when the family finds something they really like, they want to have it repeated. This pork recipe is one of Samantha’s favorites. At dinner tonight she said “I wish you made this a lot more often”. That’s a nice compliment but of course, doesn’t provide you, my blog friends, with new ideas. If you haven’t tried this one yet, put it on your list. Warning – it may be addictive! 🙂

Brine

• zest from 1 orange
• 1 cup water
• 1 3/4 cups orange juice
• 1/4 cup lemon juice (I will use a mix of fresh lemon juice and bottled lemon juice
• 3 Tb Kosher salt
• 2 TB brown sugar
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 tsp Chinese five-spice powder
• 1 cup ice
• 1 pork tenderloin, butterflied (cut lengthwise down the center off the tenderloin without cutting all the way through.  Then spread meat on a cutting board, cover with plastic wrap and pound to about 1/2 inch thick)

Combine orange zest and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.  Remove from heat and let cool.  Combine with other ingredients.  Put pork in a ziplock bag with brine and refrigerate for 2 – 4 hours.

Remove from fridge and discard brine.  Pat pork dry..  Grill for 2-3 minutes on each side.  Then brush with glaze, grill for another minute and then turn and repeat for the other side.  When pork registers 135 – 140, remove pork from grill.  Let rest and serve with dipping sauce and roasted sweet potatoes.

Glaze

• 1/4 cup orange marmalade
• 2 TB orange juice
• 2 tsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp hoisin sauce
• 1 tsp minced ginger

Heat marmalade and orange juice until marmalade is soft.  Stir in remaining ingredients and set aside until ready to grill.

Dipping sauce

• 1 cup orange juice
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup lime juiuce
• 2 tsp fresh grated ginger
• 2 TB brown sugar
• 1 tsp sriracha
• 2 tsp fish sauce

Combine juices, ginger and brown sugar in a small saucepan and boil for 5 minutes.  Stir in Sriracha and fish sauce and boil until syrupy.  Set aside until ready to serve.

Serve with roasted sweet potatoes.

Why pick a recipe

There are a number of factors that go into deciding on what to make on a particular night. I try to rotate between proteins (chicken, beef, pork, seafood, etc.), between categories (grilled protein, salad entrees, pizza, pasta, etc.) and aligning preparation time with available time (I typically commute on Tuesdays and Thursdays and since I get home later, I want something with advance preparation or simple preparation.) There is also the fact of using ingredients you have on hand. When summer rolls around I will be get back to the luxury of picking fresh herbs from my garden. Right now, I’m still reliant on herbs from the grocery store. Since they can be expensive I want to get as much use out of them as I can. I have rosemary in the fridge from a recipe last week. So when I found a rosemary grilled lamb chop recipe, I was intrigued. It called for an olive sauce but I knew nobody else in the house would eat that so instead, we used leftover sauce from our dinner last week. It was delicious! I cheated and bought the spinach salad from the store.

Rosemary grilled lamb chops and onion garlic roasted potatoes

• 1 rib and 1 loin lamb chop per person
• 2 TB rosemary
• 2 TB kosher salt
• olive oil

Combine rosemary and kosher salt in a small food processor. Brush lamb chops with olive oil and season on both sides with rosemary salt. Grill to desired doneness. Serve with:

Roasted potatoes with onion and garlic

• baby potatoes
• olive oil
• salt and pepper
• 1 onion minced
• 1 large (or 2 small) cloves of garlic minced

Preheat oven to 425. Toss potatoes with about 2 tsp olive oil, salt and pepper. Place on a foil-lined pan and roast for 30 minutes. In a non-stick skillet, heat another 2 tsp olive oil. Saute onion and garlic until just soft. Turn off heat. When potatoes come out of the oven, add them to the skillet with the onion and garlic. Toss and serve with the lamb chops and a salad of your choice.

Menu plan and grocery list week of 4/25

Here is the menu plan and grocery list for the week:

Sunday

Rosemary lamb chops with garlic onion roasted potatoes and spinach salad

Monday

Orange pork with baked sweet potatoes

Tuesday

Saucy Sirloin

Wednesday

Spicy chicken pizza

Thursday

From the freezer

Grocery list

Produce

• baby potatoes
• rosemary
• salad
• sweet potatoes
• garlic
• orange
• ginger
• jalapeno
• onion
• spinach
• plum tomatoes
• scallions

Dairy

• shredded Mozzarella

Meat and seafood

• lamb chops (I do one rib and one loin per person)
• pork tenderloin
• cubed sirloin beef
• ground chicken

Miscellaneous

• orange juice
• orange marmalade
• pizza crust
• tomato sauce
• 1 can consomme
• 1 can mushrooms

Check your pantry and buy if you don’t have:

• kosher salt
• brown sugar
• soy sauce
• 5 spice powder
• hoisin sauce
• lemon juice
• lime juice
• sriracha
• fish sauce
• cumin
• coriander
• chili powder
• flour
• dry mustard

Another pork taco variation

The pork and pepper tacos were a big hit so I was pretty sure that this pork taco would go over well. I was right. If you don’t like your food spicy, cut back on the chipotles. Samantha and Keith loved it but it was just on the edge of too spicy for me.

Pork tacos with chipotle onions

• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp Kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp ground pepper
• 1 pork tenderloin
• 1 TB olive oil
• 4 small onions, thinly sliced
• 1 tomato, cored and chopped
• 2 TB minced chipotles in adobo (this will be spicy – adjust to your taste)
• 1 TB red wine vinegar
• 6 inch corn tortillas
• Thin slices of manchego cheese

Preheat oven to 425.

Combine cumin, coriander, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Rub pork with mixture.

Heat a non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Add oil and cook pork, turning until brown on all sides. Place pork on a baking pan lined with aluminum foil and roast until pork is 140 degrees (about 20 minutes).

Add onions to the pan and cook over medium-low heat covered, stirring regularly until soft, about 20 minutes. Add tomatoes and chipotle. Stir and cook about 3 minutes until tomato is soft. Remove from heat and stir in vinegar.

Slice pork into thin slices. Heat tortillas according to package directions. Top with vegetables, pork and top with Manchego cheese.

I served with our favorite black beans – cooked in a small amount of olive oil with garlic, cumin seed and lime juice.

Celebrating with friends

Last night we hosted a small dinner (everyone vaccinated) in honor of a friend’s special birthday. As a result, I did not get a chance to update blog. Like most people, we haven’t seen many people or done any entertaining for a long time. It was such a treat to be together. We wanted the meal to be special too. When I want special, I often turn to my restaurant cookbooks for inspiration. Here is what I came up with:

Snack – Bar nuts from the Union Square cookbook – toasted nuts tossed with butter, rosemary, salt, cayenne and brown sugar and served warm. Delicious.

First course – Tuna Carpaccio with Tuna Tartar from the Inn at Little Washington cookbook. I’ve made this before – it is fabulous and other than final assembly, everything can be done ahead of time.

Entree – Espresso rubbed beef tenderloin with green peppercorn sauce from The Baltimore Chef’s Table. The tenderloin has a rub which includes espresso powder which I learned is not the same thing as instant espresso. This added a little excitement to the preparations because I thought I had all my ducks in a row – we had ordered the green peppercorns in brine from Amazon early in the week but I didn’t realize that my local grocer did not in fact have espresso powder. A call to the nearby Williams Sonoma established that they did in fact have it so was able to get those in time. The recipe calls for taking the meat in and out of the oven for resting periods – in hindsight, we don’t think that adds value. The rub and the sauce were excellent. We used our favorite potato gratin recipe in lieu of the one in the book and added brussels sprouts with pancetta and chicken stock for a little something reen.

Dessert – The Mocha Icebox cake from the Barefoot Contessa. If you have never made it is worth every single calorie. Her recipe calls for Tate’s chocolate chip cookies. Here in Baltimore, the Otterbein’s bakery makes the most amazing chocolate chip cookies. I use those instead. This one has to be made the day before so another make ahead winner.

Dinner was fun and delicious and a hit with everyone.

Tonight we went simple with Chicken Tandoori and rice:

Tandoori chicken

• 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast per person
• 1 container plain lowfat yogurt
• 1 TB lemon juice
• 1 TB Tandoori spice

Combine yogurt, lemon juice and Tandoori spice and turn chicken in mixture to cover.  Marinate for at least 4 hours and up to overnight.  Bake at 375 for 35  -40 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.  Serve with rice.

A new pizza

I was looking for something new and found a recipe for a spanakopizza that involved a filled pizza. I thought it could easily be adapted to a topping on a standard pizza crust. I was right! This was a hit with everyone. Another plus – it takes very little time to prepare.

Spanakopizza

• 2 tsp olive oil
• 2 small onions, chopped
• 1 10-oz package frozen chopped spinach, thoroughly thawed and squeezed dry
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled
• 1 tsp dill
• 1 whole wheat pizza crust

In a nonstick pan, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion and sauté stirring until soft – about 3 – 4 minutes. Add spinach and cook about 3 minutes so onion and spinach are well combined.

Remove from heat and transfer to a bowl. Stir in cheeses and dill. Spread on a prepared pizza crust and bake at 425 for 10 minutes.

Change of plans

The menu plan for the week had us eating salmon tzatziki tonight. This afternoon Samantha said that it didn’t sound “amazing”. She picked out a substitute recipe that is super healthy. She thought it was “amazing”. I think I’m held to a pretty high standard for weeknight dining! 🙂

Moroccan vegetables with cous cous

• 2 TB olive oil
• 3 onions, chopped
• 1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
• 1 package cubed butternut squash
• 2 carrots, sliced
• 1 yellow pepper cut in pieces
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 qt chicken broth
• 2 tsp honey
• 1 14 1/2 oz can petite diced tomatoes (untrained)
• 1 cup cous cous
• 1 package baby spinach

In a Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring for 2 minutes. Add remaining vegetables and cook for about 8 minutes, until vegetables start to soften. Add garlic and cook for another 2 minutes. Then add spices and stir in. Stir in about 2 cups of broth, honey and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer until vegetables are tender, about 25 minutes.

In a medium pan, bring 1 1/2 cups of broth to a boil. Add 1 cup of cous cous. Cover pan and turn off heat. After 5 minutes, stir cous cous.

Stir spinach into vegetables and cook until spinach wilts. Serve vegetables over cous cous.

Here is a picture of the vegetables. I think Keith is ready for dessert! 🙂

Something old and something new

Last night we had the Southwestern Cobb salad. It’s a dinner that I’ve made before. Keith and Samantha aren’t overly excited about entree salads in concept but they both agreed that it was good. (You can find recipe by searching for it on blog.). Tonight was something new and a continuation of our mission to eat healthy. I was a little worried because it is the first time I’ve cooked broccoli rabe and the first time I had served it but the dinner was greeted with enthusiasm. Always like adding another new option to the lineup!

Orecchiette with sausage and broccoli rabe

• 1 serving orecchiette per person
• 1 bunch broccoli rabe (remove tough stems and coarsely chop)
• 12 oz sweet Italian sausage removed from it’s casing (I asked for sweet but it looks like the butcher gave me hot Italian sausage instead – maybe that is why Samantha liked it so much)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup grape tomatoes
• 2 TB white wine vinegar
• freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Bring a large pan of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 4 minutes. Add broccoli rabe and cook another 5 minutes. Drain pasta and broccoli rabe, reserving 1/4 cup cooking water.

Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat and cook sausage breaking up meat with a spoon until it is cooked. Add garlic and red pepper flakes and stir. Add tomatoes, vinegar and reserved cooking liquid. Cook stirring for about 3 minutes.

Add pasta and broccoli rabe to skillet and stir to combine. Top with cheese and serve.

Menu plan and grocery list week of 4/11

Things got away from me yesterday and I didn’t get a chance to post. Sorry to be a day late but here is the menu plan for the week and the grocery list.

Sunday

Grilled honey-chipotle flank steak and cumin-roasted baby potatoes (selected and prepared by Samantha)

Monday

Southwestern Cobb salad

Tuesday

Orecchiette with sausage and broccoli rabe

Wednesday

Salmon with basil tzatziki and stir-fried zucchini

Thursday

Spanakopizza

Grocery List

Produce

• plum tomatoes
• white onion
• jalapenos
• cilantro
• garlic
• baby potatoes
• romaine lettuce
• avocado
• limes or lime juice
• broccoli rabe
• grape tomatoes
• basil
• cucumber
• onion
• scallions
• zucchini

Dairy

• Queso fresco
• Parmesan cheese
• plain lowfat yogurt
• ricotta
• feta

Meat and Seafood

• flank steak
• bacon
• bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts
• 3/4 lb sweet Italian turkey sausage
• 1 salmon fillet per person

Miscellaneous

• 1 can black beans
• orecchiette
• 10 oz package frozen chopped spinach
• pizza crust

Check your pantry and buy if you don’t have:

• chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
• honey
• chili powder
• coriander
• cumin
• cumin seeds
• olive oil
• paprika
• garlic powder
• crushed red pepper
• white wine vinegar
• dill

Another winner

We are trying to eat healthier for spring and found inspiration in Eating Well magazine. In hindsight, rice would have been a good addition because the sauce was so good. I was trying to keep the calories down so opted out of the rice. A definite do-over. Keith added some chopped Thai chili peppers to his to give it some additional heat.

Steak and Asparagus Stir-Fry

• 1 cup beef broth
• 4 TB black bean-garlic sauce
• 4 TB sherry
• 7 tsp cornstarch
• 1 flank steak, thinly sliced across the grain
• 3 TB canola oil
• 1 lb asparagus cut in two-inch pieces
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced
• 1 bunch scallions, whites thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced

Combine beef broth, black bean sauce, sherry and 4 tsp cornstarch in a measuring cup. Toss steak with remaining 3 tsp cornstarch.

Heat a non-stick wok over medium high heat and add 2 TB canola oil. Cook steak for 4 – 6 minutes, stirring regularly until done. Remove steak to a plate.

Add additional canola oil, asparagus and red pepper. Cook until tender, tossing regularly until crisp for about 4 minutes. Add scallions and garlic and toss. Return steak to wok along with sauce. Cook until sauce thickens, for 2 -3 minutes. Serve either with or without rice.

Another sheet pan dinner

I love sheet pan dinners – so easy and fun when everything cooks together. This was a new experiment and was greeted with interest if not enthusiasm. As in, I would eat it again but not soon. :). My spicy peeps added extra to gochujang to theirs, mine was fine as it was.

Gochujang chicken and vegetables

• 3 TB gochujang
• 2 TB low sodium soy sauce
• 1 TB minced ginger
• 3 TB canola oil
• 1 package cubed butternut squash
• 1 lb turnips, trimmed and cut into cubes
• bone-in, skin on chicken breasts (I used 1 whole breast for the 3 of us and cut them into halves)

Preheat oven to 425. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine gochujang, soy sauce, ginger and oil in a bowl. Toss vegetables with mixture and spread on parchment paper. Toss chicken with remaining sauce and place on baking sheet. Cook for 30 – 40 minutes until vegetables are tender and chicken is cooked through.

Menu plan and grocery list for week of 4/4

Yesterday was Easter and we enjoyed an outdoor family dinner at my sister’s. We provided appetizers and I made fresh Vietnamese spring rolls with peanut sauce. I made some with shrimp and some without. They were quite a hit. My sister and brother-in-law made an excellent dinner of lamb, asparagus, brussels sprouts and potato gratin. What a treat!

Here is the menu plan for the rest of the week:

Monday

Gochujan chicken and vegetables – another sheet pan dinner

Tuesday

Steak and asparagus stirfry

Wednesday

Gnocchi from the freezer and Caesar salad

Thursday

Pizza Amatriciana

Grocery List

Produce

• ginger
• Butternut squash
• turnips
• asparagus
• bell pepper
• garlic
• onions

Meat and Seafood

• Bone-in chicken breasts
• flank steak
• bacon

Miscellaneous

• Gochujang
• beef broth
• black bean garlic sauce
• pizza crust
• can crushed tomatoes

Check your pantry and buy if you don’t have:

• soy sauce
• canola oil
• rice vinegar
• sesame oil
• sherry
• cornstarch
• red wine
• crushed red pepper flakes

The joys of pandemic cooking classes

While there are many things that don’t translate well to Zoom, the pandemic has proven that cooking classes work well remotely. In some respects, they are easier – you cook in your own kitchen, using your own equipment, and then you sit down at your own table and eat it. We have done a few of these and in each case, the ingredients were prepped and provided to us in measured portions. It’s great – all you do is cook. We took a paella class, a gnocchi class and a class that featured Everything Bagel seasoned salmon. All have been hits and will be repeated (although we have so much gnocchi in the freezer that we will wait a while before making it again.). The Everything Bagel salmon is appealing because it is one of the few fish recipes that Samantha will eat. And with all the veggies, it is healthy. And although it was a little hectic as a class, I’ve made it a few times now and it is actually very easy.

Everything Baqel seasoned salmon with vegetables

• 1 package cubed butternut squash
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 TB olive oil
• 1 bag baby spinach
• 1/2 lb shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded and caps cut in strips
• 1 salmon filet per person
• Everything Bagel seasoning
• canola oil

Preheat oven to 400 (I actually used our big oven for the salmon and our toaster oven for the squash but all can be in one oven). Toss squash with thyme, salt and pepper and olive oil. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment and roast for 30 minutes (toss halfway through).

Heat a nonstick (oven-safe) sauté pan over medium high heat on top of the stove. Season salmon with salt and pepper. Pour Everything Bagel seasoning in a flat pan or dish and dip fish, flesh side into seasoning (press to make sure it adheres.). Add about 1 Tb canola oil to pan and put fish, skin side down in hot oil. Place pan in the oven and set a timer for 7-8 minutes. At that point, remove pan from oven and flip fish to seasoned side and return to oven for another 6 to 7 minutes.

While fish is in the oven, heat a sauté pan over medium high heat. Add 1 TB canola oil and mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper and stir occasionally. After about 10 minutes add spinach and toss with mushrooms until spinach is wilted.

Plate with squash, spinach mushroom mixture and salmon. Serve with sweet soy sauce (available at Asian markets)

Grilled pork and pepper tacos

This dinner was a huge hit. Comments included “Delicious”, “Refreshing”, “springy” and “different from other tacos you have made”. Not a scrap leftover. Not difficult and a definite do-over. I decided to add some black beans as a side dish to complete the meal.

Grilled pork and pepper tacos

• 2 yellow bell peppers, halved and seeded
• 1 white onion, cut into slices
• canola oil
• salt and pepper
• 1 pork tenderloin
• 1 cup parsley (you can use cilantro but I’m one of those people who does not care for cilantro)
• 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped
• 3 TB lime juice
• 2 6 inch corn tortillas per person
• crumbled quest fresco

Heat grill to medium high. Brush vegetables with oil and season with salt and pepper. Brush pork with canola oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill vegetables about 4 minutes per side and pork about 5 – 6 minutes a side.

Combine parsley, 3 TB canola oil, jalapeño and lime juice in a small blender or food processor.

Slice vegetables and pork into thin slices. Toss in a bowl and combine with parsley dressing.

In a nonstick skillet, heat corn tortillas a couple of minutes per side. Top tortillas with vegetables and pork. Add cheese and serve.

For the black beans I used a small non-stick skillet and heated about 1 TB of olive oil with 1 clove of minced garlic. I then added a can of rinsed and drained black beans, about 1/2 tsp of cumin seeds and about 2 tsps of lime juice. Always a winner!

Clearing out the freezer

We continue our mission of using some items that have been in the freezer for a while. This pizza is one of Samantha’s favorites and the Italian sausage, pizza crust and mozzarella cheese are now gone from the freezer. A win-win!

• Cooking spray
• 1/2 lb sweet Italian turkey sausage, removed from casings
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 1 red pepper, finely chopped
• 2 stalks celery, finely chopped
• 1 cup tomato sauce
• 1 TB Cajun seasoning
• 1 pizza crust
• 1/2 cup Mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 425.  Spray a non-stick pan with cooking spray.  Cook sausage until no longer pink (8-10 minutes).  Remove sausage from pan and place on a plate on top of paper towels.  Drain most of oil in pan and add veggies.  Cook until soft.  Add tomato sauce and Cajun seasoning and cook for 2 – 3 minutes.  Place on pizza crust and top with cheese when ready to bake.  Bake 8 – 10 minutes and serve.

Soup night

When everyone is eating at different times, a pot of soup is just the thing. This soup has quickly become one of our favorites. Last time my meal critic advised that the pancetta wasn’t crispy enough so I was careful to do better! 🙂

Pasta Fagioli

• 1 TB olive oil
• 4 oz pancetta, diced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 rib celery, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp red pepper falkes
• 3 anchovy fillets, minced
• 1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
• 1 Parmesan cheese rind
• 2 15oz cans cannellini beans, rinsed
• 1 qt chicken broth
• 2 cups water
• 1 cup orzo
• fresh grated Parmesan cheese

In a Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add pancetta and cook until it starts to brown (about 5 minutes). Add onion and celery and cook until vegetables are soft (about 5 minutes). Add garlic, oregano, pepper flakes, and anchovies and cook stirring about 1 minute. Add tomatoes and scrape up any bits from bottom of pan. Add Parmesan rind and beans. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Add chicken stock and water and bring to a boil. Add orzo and cook for 10 minutes.

Before serving, remove Parmesan cheese rind. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Menu plan and grocery list for week of 3/28

Yesterday was beautiful and we enjoyed an afternoon on the golf course. Today is rainy, a good day to cook and watch golf! Here is the menu plan and grocery list.

Sunday

Roast chicken, salad and baked sweet potatoes (because it is good day to roast a chicken and we are low on chicken stock in the freezer)

Monday

Pasta fagioli soup (because everyone liked it so much)

Tuesday

New Orleans sausage pizza (because I had that scheduled for last Thursday, forgetting that we were taking a virtual cooking class on Thursday)

Wednesday

Grilled pork and pepper tacos (because it’s good to try new things and I think we will all like this)

Thursday

Everything Bagel crusted salmon with roasted butternut squash and sautéed spinach

Grocery list

Produce

• Sweet potatoes (we split 2 between the 3 of us)
• salad (we cheated and bought one from the store)
• onion
• celery
• garlic
• red pepper
• 2 yellow peppers
• jalapeno pepper
• 3 limes
• butternut squash (I buy the container of precut squash)
• spinach
• shiitake mushrooms

Dairy

• Parmesan cheese
• Queso fresco

Meat and seafood

• 1 whole chicken
• 4 oz pancetta
• 1/2 lb sweet Italian sausage
• 1 pork tenderloin
• 1 small salmon filet per person (I’ll buy these on Thursday)

Miscellaneous

• Anchovy fillets
• 28 oz can diced tomatoes
• 2 15 oz cans cannelloni beans
• 1 qt chicken stock
• pizza crust
• 6 inch corn tortillas

Check your pantry and buy if you don’t have:

• Olive oil
• oregano
• red pepper flakes
• orzo
• canola oil

Spring salad

This chicken salad is light and delicious. The Thai flavors make it popular in our household.

Thai chicken salad with peanut dressing

• 1 head of Romaine lettuce, washed, dried and torn into pieces
• Meat from 1 bone-in chicken breast, rubbed with olive oil, salt and pepper and roasted at 375 for 45 minutes
• fresh bean sprouts
• shredded carrot
• sliced celery
• red bell pepper cut in strips
• 1 cup coconut milk (use light to make it even healthier)
• 1 TB brown sugar
• 2 TB creamy peanut butter
• 1 TB fresh lime juice
• 2 TB low sodium soy sauce
• 1/4 tsp ground red pepper
• 2 TB dry-roasted peanuts
• lime wedges

Combine lettuce, chicken, sprouts, carrot, celery and bell pepper in a large bowl. Combine coconut milk, brown sugar, peanut butter, lime juice, soy sauce and ground pepper in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Let cool for 3 – 4 minutes and then pour over salad mixture. Toss and top with peanuts. Serve with lime wedges.

Delicious!

Warmer weather dining

Today was beautiful. We got out on the golf course and played 9 holes. A good night for grilling and Samantha chose one of her favorites. Conveniently, it is one of our favorites as well.

Ribs

• baby back ribs  (Ask the butcher to remove the skin for you.)
• sauce (I have made sauce but went with store bought this time)

Preheat oven to 350.  Line a jelly roll pan with aluminum foil.

Put ribs on pan meat side up.  Season with salt and pepper and then cover with sauce.  Cover loosely with more aluminum foil and bake for 90 minutes.  Remove from oven and cover with more barbecue sauce.  (We cooked to this point and then let them sit for about an hour and then grilled them.)

Grill about 4 minutes a side and then serve with more sauce.

Asian coleslaw

• 1/4 cup chopped scallions
• 6 TB white vinegar
• 2 TB sesame oil
• 5 TB mayonnaise
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp grated fresh ginger
• 2 tsp wasabi paste
• 1 package shredded coleslaw mix
• 3/4 cup chopped peanuts

Whisk together first 7 ingredients in a bowl.  Add coleslaw mix and stir well.  Refrigerate until ready to serve.  Stir in peanuts right before serving.

Oven baked sweet potato fries

• 2 – 3 sweet potatoes cut into strips
• 3 TB olive oil
• Spice mix – kosher salt, paprika, garlic powder and dried chipotle pepper (I do about 1 part salt and 2 parts everything else and keep it in a jar for sprinkling on sweet potato fries.)

Preheat oven to 450.  Toss potato strips with all other ingredients and spread out on a sheet pan lined with foil.  Bake 25 – 30 minutes stirring halfway through.

My funny story about the spice blend. I have old jelly jars (the kind with the red and white lid) that I use for all sorts of things – shaking salad dressings, storing spice blends, etc. I had the sweet potato fry blend in one of these. I also had one with dried Thai chili peppers – Keith and Samantha love to sprinkle it on Thai food to increase the heat. I didn’t have them labeled. I grabbed a jar to take with us to the beach so I could make sweet potato fries. Of course, I grabbed the wrong jar and sprinkled the sweet potato fries liberally with Thai ground peppers. Samantha was the only one who could eat them.

Moral of the story – label everything!

Menu plan and grocery list for week of 3/21

Spring is here! Time to switch from cold weather comfort food to lighter meals. Here is what we’ll be eating this week:

Sunday

Barbecue ribs with baked sweet potato fries and Asian coleslaw (Samantha loves sweet potato fries)

Monday

Thai chicken salad with peanut dressing (we made a trip to the Asian market)

Tuesday

Fiery beef with scallions and cashews over rice (I have a flank steak in the freezer that I wanted to use)

Wednesday

Cumin roasted pork chops and Brussels sprouts (this is a sheet pan dinner that I think will go over very well)

Thursday

I’m taking a Zoom cooking class – making gnocchi for the first time ever. Samantha is having the New Orleans sausage pizza that she loves

Grocery List

Produce

• Sweet potatoes
• coleslaw mix
• ginger
• scallions
• romaine lettuce
• bean sprouts
• carrots
• celery
• limes
• onions
• lemongrass (I grow it every year and then freeze some at the end of the summer)
• garlic
• jalapeno
• brussels sprouts
• sage leaves
• red pepper

Dairy

• Grated Mozzarella cheese

Meat and seafood

• Baby back ribs
• boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• flank steak
• bone-in pork chops
• sweet Italian sausage

Miscellaneous

• Barbecue sauce (I’ve made barbecue sauce before but this is just for the three of us and it is just as easy to use store bought)
• peanuts
• coconut milk
• smooth peanut butter
• cashews
• tomato sauce
• pizza crust

Check your pantry and buy if you don’t have:

• White vinegar
• sesame oil
• mayonnaise
• sugar
• wasabi paste
• paprika
• olive oil
• garlic powder
• chipotle pepper
• brown sugar
• low sodium soy sauce
• honey
• fish sauce
• cumin seeds
• ground cumin
• cajun seasoning

Another lasagna variation

I rarely make classic lasagna – I love to include different ingredients – pesto, seafood, mushrooms, etc. This chicken carbonara lasagna is fantastic. I had not made it in a while and now I’m not sure why I waited so long. Good news is that there are a number of pieces in the freezer!

Chicken Carbonara Lasagna

• 1 package lasagna noodles
• 12 oz sliced pancetta, diced
• 1 1/2 lbs chicken boneless, skinless chicken cutlets
• 2 shallots, thinly sliced
• 1 lb ricotta cheese
• 4 oz Fontina cheese, shredded
• 2 oz grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 eggs

Preheat the oven to 375.  In a non-stick skillet, cook pancetta over medium heat, stirring often.  When crisp, drain on paper towels.  Saute shallots in fat from pancetta until soft.  Reserve.  Cook chicken in remaining fat from pancetta until lightly browned and cooked through.  Remove from pan and cut into pieces.  In a bowl, mix ricotta with eggs and 1/2 the Parmesan cheese.  Cook pasta according to package directions and drain.

Butter the bottom of a glass or ceramic lasagna pan.  I did a layer of noodles topped with the chicken and shallots and the ricotta/egg mixture, then another layer of noodles, then pancetta and Fontina and then another layer of noodles. Brush the top layer of noodles with melted butter.

Cover the lasagna with aluminum foil and cook for 40 minutes. Uncover and cook for an additional 10.

I like to cook lasagna and then refrigerate at least overnight so it sets and then cut and reheat. I actually made it on Sunday and we enjoyed it this evening (Tuesday). Remaining pieces are freezing on a baking sheet (not touching) so that they can go in a freezer bag to be enjoyed on a night when I don’t feel like cooking!

Date night dinner

I saw a recipe in the newspaper last week for “The Ultimate Date Night Dinner” – seared scallops with artichoke risotto. It sounded delicious and coincidentally, Samantha was out this evening. I tweaked the recipe a little – it bugs me when a recipe calls for a small amount of something you don’t typically keep on hand that is going to leave you with a lot of that ingredient leftover. The recipe as printed called for 1 tsp of fennel fronds, half of the fennel bulb and a tablespoon of mascarpone cheese. Mascarpone cheese doesn’t keep long and I don’t use it in many recipes. I substituted cream cheese for the mascarpone, left out the fennel and increased the shallot. It was delicious! (I was surprised by how much flavor it had using salted water instead of stock for the liquid.)

Prep all ingredients before you start cooking – once you start stirring the risotto, you have to keep stirring!

Artichoke risotto with seared scallops

• 1 TB butter
• 1/2 cup Arborio rice
• 1 medium shallot, chopped
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1 can artichoke hearts, rinsed, drained and chopped
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 2 TB grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 TB cream cheese or Mascarpone cheese
• Wondra flour
• 3 – 4 scallops per person
• olive oil

In a saucepan, bring 6 cups of water and 1 TB kosher salt to a boil. Move to a burner over low heat to keep warm.

In a heavy saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add rice and stir for about 2 minutes to toast. Add shallot and cook another minute, until shallot is translucent. Add wine and stir until it is absorbed. Gradually add 1/2 cup of the warm salted water at a time. Continue stirring with each addition until it is absorbed. Continue with water for about 20 – 25 minutes until rice is almost tender and plumping.

Add artichoke hearts with an additional 1/2 cup of the water. Keep sitrring until rice is creamy in consistency. Stir in lemon zest, Parmesan and mascarpone or cream cheese. Keep warm while you cook scallops.

Rinse and thoroughly dry scallops. Dust with Wondra flour seasoned with salt and pepper. Heat a heavy skillet over medium high heat. Add 2 tsps of olive oil and sear scallops about 2 minutes a side. Serve on top of risotto.

Menu and grocery list week of 3/14

Here is the menu plan fowEr the week and grocery list (absent the ingredients for Thursday’s Thai dinner which require a trip to HMart.

Sunday

Seared scallops with artichoke risotto (because Samantha went to the movies and she would not have liked this dinner)

Monday

Quiche (as an observation of Pi day – a day late because Samantha does like quiche)

Tuesday

Chicken Carbonara Lasagna (because I got everything to make it last weekend and never got around to it)

Wednesday

Chili from the freezer (because I’m putting chicken carbonara lasagna in the freezer so I need to take something out)

Thursday

Tom Yum Soup and Papaya salad (because Keith and Samantha requested a Thai dinner)

Grocery list (does not include Thursday’s ingredients)

Produce

• shallots
• lemon
• salad
• red onion

Dairy

• Parmesan cheese
• Mascarpone cheese (or cream cheese)
• Jarlsberg (I use a mix of light and regular)
• half and half
• milk
• eggs
• ricotta cheese
• Fontina cheese
• sour cream
• cheddar cheese

Meat and seafood

• scallops (I got 4 for each of us)
• 1 package boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 3/4 lb Pancetta, sliced

Miscellaneous

• 1 can artichoke hearts
• arborio rice
• frozen pie crust
• cornbread
• lasagna noodles

Check your pantry and buy if you don’t have:

• butter
• white wine
• basil
• marjoram