Category Archives: Food

Monday Menu & Recipe Review

Posted by Melissa in Food, Monday Menu and tagged with , , , , , , , ,

This is the first year since my kids have been in school that Easter has coincided with Spring Break. The big kids went back to school today, but when I went to drop Little Five off at preschool, I discovered when we got there that there’s no school on Easter Monday. April Fools’ Day on me. Guess I should have looked at that calendar that was stuck to the back of the “W” worksheet in his folder. So I dragged a reluctant five-year-old to the store and bought groceries. Luckily, it was a short list because we have plenty of nice food left from our Easter feast. I’m back at my post on the couch with a cup off coffee, surrounded by empty plastic Easter eggs. The sun is streaming in, and I’m very glad about it, despite the inconvenient spotlight on the dust lurking under the piano.

We had a beautiful Easter. The bunny filled the baskets (contents procured in one fell swoop at Aldi: kites, water bottles, a little bit of chocolate, Peeps, egg-shaped gumballs in a tiny carton), and we made it to church only two minutes late for 7:30 mass. We even got our regular pew. Go early and avoid the crowds is our motto. Dinner was relaxed, and the weather was nice enough for an extended walk to the park before dessert. After our guests left, I played Forbidden Island with Miss Seven and Mr. Ten, which I confess I enjoyed very much. It’s a cooperative role playing game where you work together to gather the treasure and escape the island before it sinks. Near the end, Miss Seven was quivering with the tension of whether we would all survive or not. Little Five was in charge of sound effects every time a piece of the board fell into the abyss. We escaped to play another day, in case you were wondering.

So here’s the rundown of last week’s meals and what’s on the agenda for this week.

Last week

Monday: Crockpot Sesame Honey Chicken, (courtesy of Jen, my meal exchange buddy!), rice, broccoli

This was really tasty, and the kids ate it all up without a fuss. It would be good as a lettuce wrap, a taco filling or on buns like pulled pork, too.

Tuesday: Passover Seder with friends (I brought the charoset)

Toasted walnuts, a little brown sugar and a drizzle of honey made this the best charoset I’ve ever made. Double the recipe if you have more than four people.

Wednesday: Baked Pasta Shells with Chicken

I was going to make gnocchi, but didn’t start dinner in time. Instead, I improvised a baked pasta with some shredded roast chicken I had in the freezer, a quick homemade white sauce with wine and mushrooms, and some peas and parmesan. It was good.

Thursday: Baked Potato Bar with Sloppy Joe Sauce, salad, carrots and dip

Baked potatoes with self-serve toppings are popular with the kids. Instead of frying bacon, I pulled some sloppy joe sauce out of the freezer, which made the potatoes seem more like a meal. My family liked it on their potatoes, and Mr. Ten’s friend had his on a bun, with a potato on the side. To compensate for those who didn’t eat an adequate amount of salad, the next morning I stuffed their blueberry smoothies with a lot of spinach.

Friday: Black Bean Burgers, Smoky Red Pepper Spread, sweet potato oven fries, kale and radish salad (Smitten Kitchen Cookbook)

This meal felt both virtuous and very satisfying. It was colorful, and turned out to be a nice balance of flavors and textures. The burgers took some time, but I doubled the recipe to feed two families, and still had enough to freeze for a third meal. Next time I will keep a little of the bean liquid to make the burgers a bit more moist, but that’s my only complaint. They have great flavor. This recipe would work well as a freezer meal. Don’t skip the sauce: roasted red pepper (I used jarred) and feta in the food processor. (We thought it might make a good pasta sauce, too.) It was the third time we’ve made a version of that kale salad, and everyone we’ve served it to has asked for the recipe.

Saturday: We went out to dinner and the kids had pizza with the babysitter. That was good, too.

Sunday: Roast leg of lamb with garlic, rosemary and anchovies (from Jamie Oliver), Risotto with mushrooms,  green beans with almonds and mint, deviled eggs, Lemon-Drenched Lemon Cake with berries

The lamb was perfect, and we have plenty of meat for several more lamb meals in the coming weeks. The risotto was also just right; I’ve always followed this recipe, but it’s most successful when you’re not feeling rushed or distracted. I had a glass of Prosecco and friends to talk to while I stirred the rice, and nobody was rushed for dinner because we had plenty of deviled eggs to snack on. The green beans are my new favorite version. I had fairly mature, fat beans, so I added about 1/2 cup of water to the pan, covered it, and let them steam until crisp tender. After a hike to the park and some heavy work on the playground, followed by an Easter egg hunt in the yard, we all recovered our appetites to do the lemon pound cake with sliced strawberries (and a cappuccino) some real justice. I baked it in my flower shaped pans, but otherwise followed the recipe to the letter. I wouldn’t change a thing.

This week

Monday: Mexican Rice Casserole (swap from Jen), guacamole and chips

Tuesday: Chicken with Lemon, Cumin and Mint, farro, Greek salad (doubled, to swap with Jen)

Wednesday: Ali Baa-Baa Sandwiches, Greek salad

Thursday: Baked Potato Soup

Friday: Pasta and Tomato Sauce with Butter and Onion

Crab Cakes

Posted by Melissa in Food, Recipe and tagged with , , ,

I love crab cakes. There’s a good reason you find them on so many restaurant menus. They can be a bite-size appetizer (the Hub used to make them for parties, back when we used to have parties), or you can make larger patties to serve as a main course (alongside a big salad and some crusty bread, so you don’t make a glutton out of yourself over the crab cakes alone).

I have followed this recipe to the letter, with good quality crab meat and beautiful shrimp that required peeling and deveining. They were so good I wanted to hide them from the guests and huddle in a corner with my bowl of remoulade. But for a weeknight, when you’re trying not to blow the grocery budget on a single meal, you can absolutely make these with whatever proportion of canned crab and frozen shrimp you have. It’s a reassuringly flexible recipe, and last week I used one little can of crab and about a pound of cooked frozen shrimp, scaling down the other ingredients slightly (I also halved the remoulade). The entire platter was devoured, and Miss Seven asked me the next day if there were any crab cakes left for lunch. Now that’s high praise.

Crab Cakes

1 lb. crab meat

1 lb. shrimp, chopped

1/2 cup fine bread crumbs

1 tsp. cayenne

1/2 tsp. hot sauce (like Tabasco)

1/4 cup scallions, chopped

1 tsp. Worcestershire (or soy sauce)

5 eggs

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup water

2 cups flour

2 cups bread crumbs

Oil for frying

Combine the seafood, bread crumbs, cayenne, hot sauce, scallions and Worcestershire. Add one egg and the mayonnaise. Mix thoroughly and shape into patties (I used an ice cream scoop). Whisk the remaining 4 eggs with the water in a shallow dish. Lightly dredge the patties in flour (they’ll want to fall apart, so be patient and just keep sticking them back together), dip them into the egg mixture, and then the bread crumbs.

Heat 2-3 Tbsp. of oil over medium-high heat in a large sauté pan (I use my nonstick pan). Fry 4-6 crab cakes at a time–don’t crowd them)–until lightly brown on both sides. Add oil between batches if necessary. Keep them warm on a paper towel-lined platter in a 200-degree oven.

Serve with Remoulade Sauce:

2 cups mayonnaise

1/4 cup cornichons, chopped

1/4 cup capers, chopped

1 oz. chives, chopped

1 tsp. paprika

1/2 tsp. cayenne

1 oz. anchovies, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients together and chill. (Leftover remoulade + can of tuna = fabulous lunch.)

Monday Menu & Recipe Review

Posted by Melissa in Food, Monday Menu and tagged with , , , , , , ,

First day of spring break, and it’s snowing. It has taken me nearly three hours, what with all the interruptions (“He stole my Zhu Zhu pets!” “When can I use the computer?” “I need help getting dressed!”) but I’ve finally planned meals for the rest of this week. This afternoon I will brave my list of errands with all three children in tow. Spring Break at home requires some planning, maybe more than a vacation away–certainly more than I want to plan. But if we are to avoid some nasty Lord of the Flies scenes, I’m going to have to face the music.

I’ve got an Easter craft planned that should occupy Miss Seven and Little Five for a little while and create a flurry of paper scraps to clean up. We’ll have lunch at Ikea one day (kids eat free all week!). I’m declaring this Smoothie Week, and we’re going to try some new variations. The weather is supposed to improve later in the week (sunny and mid-40s), and I vow that at least once we will get out the bikes and scooters and ride to the park. I’ll probably have to play some board games. (My board game aversion is legendary.) I’ll try to encourage some cooperative Lego building. Mr. 10′s closet needs to be reorganized and everything could use a good spring cleaning. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the tree guys will come and grind out all the stumps in our front yard–that will make for some good noisy entertainment.

Many plans. And it’s already time for lunch.

Last week

Wednesday: Creamy Spring Turnip Soup, mint limeade, scones (with multigrain flour, rosemary salt, and no cheese)

I finally discovered what to do with a turnip. This soup was lovely, green from the leeks and slightly sweet, creamy but not heavy, and everyone liked it. The bacon and greens made it feel more like a meal, but it would be a nice first course. As predicted, the limeade was a hit, too.

Thursday: Roast chicken, roasted vegetables

I defrosted that chicken for four days, and it was still icy in the middle, so it took far longer to roast than I planned. I still love Jamie Oliver’s method the best: high heat, stuff the bird with garlic and herbs and lemon, and roast a big pan of veggies (extra turnips!) and potatoes alongside. I need to remember that what looks like too many raw veggies is, in fact, not quite enough. I had visions of leftovers that were sadly disappointed.

Friday: Shrimp Scampi with angel hair pasta, tomato salad

Garlicky pasta with shrimp? We all had seconds.

This week

Monday: Crockpot Sesame Honey Chicken, (courtesy of Jen, my meal exchange buddy!), rice, broccoli

Tuesday: Passover Seder with friends (I’m bringing the charoset)

Wednesday: Gnocchi in Tomato Broth (Smitten Kitchen Cookbook), salad

Thursday: Baked Potato Bar with Sloppy Joe Sauce (Mr. 10 is having a friend over for a sleepover), salad

Friday: Black Bean Burgers, sweet potato oven fries, kale and radish salad (Smitten Kitchen Cookbook)

Saturday: Indian Butter Chicken Curry, green beans with almonds and mint

Sunday: Roast leg of lamb, Risotto with mushrooms, deviled eggs, Lemon-Drenched Lemon Cake with berries, more sides TBD

Monday Menu & Recipe Review

Posted by Melissa in Food, Reviews, Monday Menu and tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Thanks to all your helpful comments, I’m going to try reviewing last week’s menu in addition to planning this week’s. If you haven’t already noticed it, you can often click on the recipe title and it will take you to the recipe if it’s available somewhere online.

Last week…

Monday: Polenta with Fried Eggs and Swiss Chard

I love this recipe and will be making it again–for breakfast or dinner! I ran out of cornmeal (polenta), so I used quick grits instead, which worked out just fine. The kids weren’t huge fans of the chard, but they each tried some. You can use any greens you have–I think they really make the meal.

Tuesday: Pasta pesto

This pesto was a “use up the odds and ends” version, so it had artichoke hearts, arugula, garlic, olive oil and lemon. Whenever you have pesto, make sure you reserve some of the pasta cooking water to mix in at the end. This is a staple in our meal rotation–we all love it and it’s incredibly fast.

Wednesday: Turkey burgers, homemade macaroni & cheese

There’s a really great but complicated Cooks’ Illustrated recipe for turkey burgers. These weren’t it, but they were fine. I always mix the ground turkey with a beaten egg, some bread crumbs, and random seasoning–garlic powder, onion powder, Worcestershire or soy sauce. I made a big pot of mac and cheese over the weekend and this was its second appearance.

Thursday: Pizza Margherita

I followed the recipe in the link for the pizza toppings, and I was underwhelmed. While I love the idea of an uncooked pizza sauce (just puree a can of tomatoes, add olive oil and salt), I found it pretty bland on the pizza and a little watery (I could have drained the tomatoes more). I used Jim Lahey’s pizza crust recipe, but forgot to heat the pizza stone, so I didn’t get a good crispy bottom crust. I still love this pizza dough, and I have two more balls of dough in the freezer for next time.

Friday: Crab & Shrimp Cakes, remoulade sauce, salad

We love these crab cakes, but I’ll admit that they’re a little fussy for a weeknight if you don’t prep them ahead of time. I made the sauce early in the day–10 minutes–and could have assembled and breaded the crab cakes, too, but didn’t. They don’t take long to fry. I’m going to share the recipe later in the week, despite the fact that I forgot to take any pictures. I just used canned crab (not the fancy kind) and frozen, precooked shrimp, but they were still wonderful. It’s a great recipe to get kids to start eating seafood.

Saturday: Korean short ribs, rice, Asian-style slaw

This is the second time I’ve made these ribs, but they weren’t quite as juicy as the first time. Maybe the boneless ribs were too lean? Maybe I had too many in the pot (I doubled the recipe)? Still, they were quite good and the sauce is delicious. The slaw was great, and I’m becoming a big fan of cabbage!

 

This week…

When I plan meals for the week, I look at the calendar first. Days with busy afternoons and evenings get assigned the easiest, quickest meals. Then I usually look at what’s already in the fridge or freezer that needs to be used up. We like to rotate things pretty quickly. This week, I already have a chicken and some shrimp in the freezer, so I won’t have to buy any meat. After that, I usually try at least one new recipe (sometimes more, especially if the Hub is planning the menu). Today the creamy turnip soup caught my eye. The kids are pretty good soup eaters, and this looks like a good candidate for trying a new vegetable. There’s bacon in the soup, and there’s a special drink on the menu to further excite them. And extra soup makes good lunches!

Monday: School Fundraiser

Tuesday: Leftover Korean short ribs–maybe shredded, mixed with sauce, and served in tacos

Wednesday: Creamy Spring Turnip Soup, mint limeade, bread

Thursday: Roast chicken, roasted vegetables

Friday: Shrimp Scampi with angel hair pasta

 

I’d love it if you shared one successful meal you made last week!

Monday Menu

Posted by Melissa in Food, Monday Menu, thoughts and tagged with , , , , ,

Okay, Readers, I could use a little feedback here. I’ve been publishing these weekly Monday Menus for nearly a year now, in the hope that people would comment with some of their own meal ideas, and we could all make meal planning a little more fun. Making a commitment to posting the menu each Monday has been hugely valuable for me–it’s become a weekend habit to outline the week and often get the grocery shopping done, too.

But since people haven’t been moved to comment much, I’m considering changing Monday’s post in the future. I know we will continue to plan our menus, and maybe I’ll continue to share them some or all of the time, but I’m thinking instead about reviewing some of the recipes we try from our favorite magazines and cookbooks. We usually put new recipes on the slate and some are winners, and some are…not. What do you think?

Finally, in the next few weeks I’ll be working on a Recipe Index of all the recipes I’ve posted. It’s long overdue, but soon you’ll be able to find what you’re looking for without searching the archives.  I hope you’ll find it useful!

In the meantime, please do let me know whether you find these menus helpful, or if there’s something else you’d like to see instead. I always appreciate your comments!

But hey–here’s what we’re cooking this week!

Monday: Polenta with Fried Eggs and Swiss Chard

Tuesday: Pasta pesto

Wednesday: Turkey burgers, homemade macaroni & cheese

Thursday: Pizza Margherita

Friday: Crab & Shrimp Cakes, remoulade sauce, salad

Saturday: Korean short ribs, rice, Asian-style slaw

Mediterranean Barley Salad

Posted by Melissa in Food, Recipe and tagged with , , ,

A few weeks ago, I shared my attempt to better plan my lunches. For me, the most successful strategy so far is possibly the simplest: COOK MORE. Intentional leftovers, I mean. (If you’re one of those people who doesn’t eat leftovers…well, I don’t have much to say to you. I’m probably thinking, “What!? Are you crazy?” But if you don’t have anything nice to say…) Sure, there are some things that don’t keep very well (leafy greens in dressing, for one), but most things do just fine reheated the next day. I don’t mind the repetition, but you can always alternate days or package up your leftovers in lunch-sized containers for the freezer. But if I double a dinner recipe, instead of just hoping there will be a serving or two left for the next day, I haven’t gone to any extra trouble and I miraculously have several lunches already prepared for the rest of the week. Grains, pastas, soups and slow-cooked meats are especially suited to this treatment.

This barley salad is a filling, all-in-one side dish (we had it with steak), but it also becomes a nice centerpiece to a lunch (I rounded my plate out with the last bit of egg salad), and if you want more protein you can add some grilled chicken or a bit of thinly sliced steak, or maybe a few slices of cured meat. The recipe is scaled up to serve for several meals, and you can vary it by adding other roasted vegetables, scallions, red onions, or lemon juice instead of vinegar. Use what you have, and taste as you go. If you toss the feta with the barley while it’s still warm, it melts and binds the whole dish together, which I love. If you prefer chunks of feta, wait until the salad has cooled to room temperature before tossing in the cheese.

Mediterranean Barley Salad

2 cups pearl barley

5 roasted sweet peppers, diced

1 large onion, sliced thinly

4 ounces feta, crumbled

large handful of cilantro, chopped

2 Tbsp. tahini

3 Tbsp. red wine vinegar

4 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper

Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Add the barley and simmer until tender, up to 1 hour, adding more water to the pot if necessary (I keep a tea kettle of boiling water handy). In a small skillet, slowly sauté the sliced onions in a Tbsp. of olive oil, stirring regularly, until they are caramelized. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the tahini, vinegar, salt and pepper until smooth. Continue to whisk while drizzling in the olive oil. Set aside.

Drain the barley, and add it to the dressing in the bowl. Add the roasted peppers, caramelized onions and feta, and mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Monday Menu

Posted by Melissa in Food, Monday Menu

This isn’t a week for innovation in the kitchen. It’s just one of those weeks when I’m grateful I did the thinking ahead of time, because without a plan, my brain wouldn’t be able to spit out much more than cereal and quesadillas. Every night.Some weeks are for trying new recipes, but this week is for relying on the veterans. I can usually count on everyone eating soup, most any kind of Asian-inspired chicken dish, and anything with sausage.

I’ll be trying my very best to spend 45 minutes every morning emptying the dishwasher, prepping dinner as far as possible, and doing a load of laundry (I don’t want to relive the laundry pile I just worked my way through). This morning I’ve already finished two out of three, but I still need to get the last few groceries before I can prep dinner (apparently Al Roker said to get your errands done today, before the next wave of snow sweeps in–thankfully, he’s not using groundhogs to predict the weather).

I have a secret weapon, too: a frozen pizza stashed in the garage freezer just in case one day’s schedule (or my sanity) derails and I decide to give up on cooking. It could happen.

Monday: Pasta with Caramelized Cabbage, salad

Tuesday: Sloppy Joes, broccoli

Wednesday: Baked Sausages with Apples and Potatoes, salad

Thursday: Sesame Chicken (scroll down to the end of the comments), sugar snap peas

Friday: White Bean and Tomato Soup, bread

 

What are cooking and eating this week?

Bananas Foster Upside-Down Cake

Posted by Melissa in Baking, Food, Recipe and tagged with , , ,

Just a little public service announcement…

If you haven’t been reading the Bakers Select blog regularly (add it to your blog reader or click on the link in the sidebar–>), I just wanted to point you in that direction. Today’s post includes the recipe for this Bananas Foster Upside-Down Cake that I adapted from a whole slew of banana cake recipes. I’m excited to make it again soon, because the one sitting on my kitchen counter isn’t going to last long.

You can click right here or on the photo above to get the recipe. Try it!

 

Monday Menu

Posted by Melissa in Food, Kids, Monday Menu and tagged with , , ,

I dropped Little Five off at preschool this morning and went straight to the grocery, feeling so prepared with my list and my reusable bags. But alas, not my wallet. I’m just thankful I realized how light my purse was while I was still sitting in the parking lot, and not at check out with a cart full of groceries! So I came home to write my morning blog post and empty the dishwasher, and I’ll do the shopping on the way to preschool pick up.

A comment on someone else’s blog reminded me of this great Skillet Lasagna recipe from Cooks’ Illustrated. I made it once or twice more than five years ago, and then forgot all about it. I think the kids will like it. They’re also beginning to come around to salad, which is such a relief (well, not Little Five–he’s deep into a veggie-hating phase). Mr. Ten used to say, “Salad just isn’t my thing,” but he’s progressed from eating just the tomatoes to adding a few leaves on his plate. Miss Seven doesn’t like the tomatoes, but at the Band Spaghetti Dinner last week, she asked for a bowl of salad. And then she ate it. It must be time to teach them how to make salad dressing!

Other vegetables still aren’t very successful, but I keep making them. I doubt they’ll eat any roasted cauliflower or more than a couple of bites of zucchini (I just don’t understand why they don’t like squash, but they’ll eat broccoli), but at least they always eat raw carrots and ranch dressing. Maybe in another ten years they’ll like zucchini, too.

Monday: Skillet Lasagna, salad

Tuesday: Garlicky pork chops, roasted cauliflower salad

Wednesday: Turkey Tetrazzini (from the freezer), Zucchini with Lemony Crumbs

Thursday: Olympic Seoul Chicken, rice, green beans

Friday: Fish tacos, refried beans, cabbage slaw

For lunches: Chicken noodle soup (the broth, chicken and noodles are all left from Sunday’s chicken dinner); barley with roasted peppers and feta

Pumpkin chocolate bread pudding

Posted by Melissa in Baking, Food, Recipe and tagged with , ,

It’s one of those blustery, snowy February afternoons. Little Five is in the living room, being put through his paces by the piano teacher. I’m in the kitchen, sniffling over a fresh mug of tea and the last slice of gingerbread (it does keep remarkably well). But since I’m just reheating dinner tonight in between the Tuesday marathon of piano/karate/extra chorus rehearsal, I thought it might be nice to make dessert. It’s one of those extra things you do for the people you love, like picking up your socks and clearing off the kitchen counter, even if these are not your own priorities.

Even though I’m spent from fighting (and losing to) a cold–not to mention the emotional effort of filling out kindergarten registration forms–this is a homey dessert that takes all of 10 minutes of lackluster effort. Five minutes to dice up all your leftover bits of bread, five minutes to whisk together the custard. If you put the pudding in the oven right after school, people are in a much more cooperative frame of mind concerning homework. Call it aromatherapy.

Pumpkin Chocolate Bread Pudding

1 cup half and half or light cream

1 cup milk

1 15-oz. can pumpkin puree

1 cup brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

10 cups (about 10 oz.) stale bread (not too soft and not too crusty–I used a combination of challah and an Italian loaf), in 1/2-inch cubes

3/4 cup chocolate chips or chopped chocolate

Butter (or use cooking spray) a medium baking dish (8″ x 8″ or a deep dish pie plate). Put the bread cubes and chocolate chips into the dish. In a large bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients. Pour over the bread and chocolate and mix gently so that all the cubes soak up some custard. Turn on the oven to 350 degrees and let the pudding soak until the oven is ready. Bake for about 40 minutes, until a thin knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Serve warm, with a little vanilla ice cream or whipped cream if you like.