Archives for the month of: October, 2014

When cooking is a chore

October 24, 2014 //
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A couple of weeks ago The New York Times’ Magazine was devoted to food, specifically kids and food. For many of us this is a touchy subject. There are a thousand opinions out there on what kids should eat and how to get them to eat more. One of the magazine’s articles that caught my attention was Virginia Heffernan’s public confession “What if You Just Hate Making Dinner?” In it, she admits that not only does she hate to cook, but she hates cooking for her kids. Frankly, I thought it was pretty brave, but some others thought otherwise.

Since my primary goal in starting this meal planning blog was to help readers cook more frequently for their families her article struck a nerve. I get it. Not everyone likes to cook. I don’t like to knit or really make any crafts at all. If crafting was required for survival my family wouldn’t make it. But, cooking is different. We all need to eat and the more healthy it is the better.

I hope that rather than making you feel guilty about not cooking for yourself or your family that this blog has at the most inspired you and at the very least helped you. Even for me, cooking and especially meal planning, can be a chore. With this in mind, this week’s meal plan is super quick and easy. The maple dijon chicken take about 5 minutes of active time and uses ingredients you probably already have, while the butternut squash polenta is a bit more challenging, but still easy enough to make on a weeknight. Hang in there and remember it is 100% okay to order pizza sometimes!

Something spooky to get you into the Halloween spirit!

Something spooky to get you into the Halloween spirit!

Meal #1: Maple Dijon Chicken Thighs + Roasted Green Beans and Potatoes
Meal #2: Skirt Steak with Arugula + Roasted Cauliflower
Meal #3: Butternut Squash Polenta with Sausage and Onion
Meal #4: Fennel and Garlic Shrimp + French Bread

Your grocery list, excluding the usual pantry items: 

red or yukon gold potatoes – 6 medium
green beans – 1 lb.
arugula – 1 bunch
cauliflower – 1 head
onions – 2
garlic – 1 head
fennel bulbs – 2
butternut squash – 1 small
rosemary – 1 bunch
fennel seeds (optional)
French bread
fine polenta (not quick cooking) – 1 cup
Parmesan cheese (if you don’t already have it)
maple syrup (if you don’t already have it)
dijon mustard (if you don’t already have it)
rice wine vinegar (if you don’t already have it)
boneless, skinless chicken thighs – 2 lb. (approx. 2 per person)
skirt steak – 1 1/2 lb.
sweet Italian sausage – 1 1/2 lb.
shrimp – 2 lb.
Pernod (optional)

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Categories Meal Plans

Butternut Squash Polenta with Sausage and Onion

October 24, 2014 //
0

Butternut Squash Polenta with Sausage and Onion

Didn’t I once say that I had never made polenta before? Well that has all changed. I had no idea how easy it is to make! And if polenta is easy that means grits are easy, which is great because I LOVE cheesy grits with bacon. But, I digress…. This recipe from The New York Times‘ Melissa Clark is very delicious and perfect for fall. Especially if you are looking for another way to prepare butternut squash beside roasting it.

Ingredients

It is a funny recipe though. Once you start cooking it doesn’t take too long to make and it is pretty easy, but the prep feels like a lot. Mostly it is the butternut squash that you have to peel, halve, de-seed and then grate. It really isn’t that much work, but on a weeknight it feels burdensome. That said, once the squash is ready the recipe is pretty straight forward.

Butternut Squash Polenta w Sausage

1 ½ ts. kosher salt, more as needed
1 bay leaf
1 cup fine polenta (not quick cooking)
5 ounces seeded and peeled butternut squash, coarsely grated (1 cup)
3 TB. unsalted butter
Black pepper, as needed
1 TB. extra-virgin olive oil, more as needed
1 ½ lb. sweet or hot Italian pork sausage, sliced into 1/4-inch rounds (or loose)
2 ts. minced rosemary
1 ts. fennel seeds (optional)
2 small onions, peeled, halved, and sliced into 1/4-inch half moons

In a large pot over medium-high heat, combine 4 1/2 cups water, the salt and the bay leaf. Bring to a boil. Slowly whisk in polenta. Stir in squash. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring frequently, until polenta and squash are very tender, 20 to 30 minutes. If the mixture gets too thick while cooking, add a little more water to the pot. Stir in butter and black pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.

While polenta cooks, heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage, rosemary and fennel seeds if using. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the meat is golden and cooked through, 7 to 10 minutes. (Do this in batches if necessary, adding oil if the pan looks dry.) Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate.

Add more oil to the skillet if it looks dry, then add onions. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are tender and golden, 10 to 15 minutes. Return sausage to pan and stir to heat through. Spoon polenta into bowls and top with sausage and onion.

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Maple Dijon Chicken Thighs + Roasted Green Beans and Potatoes

October 24, 2014 //
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Maple Dijon Chicken Thighs
Maple Dijon Chicken

I found this recipe on Pinterest where I think it has made the rounds thousands of times. I’ve seen it multiple times, and I guess I just tried it this week because maple chicken felt perfect for autumn. I can’t say that I love the fact that the original recipe from Witty in the City is called “Man-Pleasing Chicken,” but don’t let that stop you from trying it.

2 lb. (2 per person) boneless, skinless chicken thighs
salt and pepper
3/4 cup dijon mustard
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 1/2 TB. rice wine vinegar
1 TB. fresh rosemary, chopped

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix mustard, syrup and vinegar together. Place chicken thighs in a foil-lined baking pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pour mustard mixture over the chicken and turn them so that the thighs are well-coated with the sauce.

Bake chicken for 40-45 minutes, basting them with the sauce approximately 20 minutes into baking. Let the chicken rest for 5 minutes and sprinkle fresh rosemary on top to serve.

Roasted Potatoes with Green Beans

A simple side dish, that depending on how you look at it, either lightens up a typical potato dish or makes a side of green beans a bit heartier.

IMG_0957

6 medium red or yukon gold potatoes, sliced thinly
1 lb. green beans, ends trimmed
2 TB. olive oil
salt and pepper

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Toss potatoes and green beans in olive oil and salt and pepper to taste and spread on a baking sheet (you may need two so the vegetables aren’t on top of each other). Roast for 20-25 minutes, checking them after 15 minutes to make sure the potatoes don’t burn.

 

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Friday Dinners

October 17, 2014 //
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This recent post by Sarah Grey on Serious Eats about Friday night meatball dinners has been making its way around the Internet. And for good reason. For many of us having more time to relax with friends and family is a high priority, but one that usually gets pushed aside. For those of us lucky enough to live near good friends a night together feels like a luxury. Although I live within minutes of two of my best friends, we can go weeks without seeing each other. So, when I saw this post I immediately emailed it to them and suggested we give it a go. One of my wise friends suggested we aim for the first Friday of the month, rather than every Friday, and move the dinner around so that each of us host on a monthly basis.

And so, a couple of Fridays ago we began what I hope is a long-standing tradition. I hosted the first of our dinners and as Sarah Grey suggests, the dinner was open to outside guests. Along with friends, and a boyfriend we were joined by my friend’s parents who were visiting from out of town. Seven of us, plus Eliza on my husband’s lap, squeezed around our tiny dining room table in a our small Brooklyn apartment and had a blast. Showing our age and station in life, the night started by 6pm and we were cleaning up by 9pm. The time together was the perfect way to end the week and I can’t wait for next month!

Friday Dinners

For the kick-off I prepared a real Brooklyn meal – Sunday Gravy, or in this case, Friday Gravy.

Sunday Gravy – Serves 8

Sunday Gravy

olive oil
8 sweet or hot Italian sausage
8 meatballs
4 cloves of garlic, sliced thin
handful of basil
2 TB. tomato paste
1/4 cup water
2 – 28 ounce cans of diced tomatoes + 1 -14.5 ounce can
2 boxes linguine

In a large pot with a heavy bottom, heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. Brown sausages on all sides – about 5-7 minutes. Remove from pot and put aside for later. Repeat with the meatballs.

In the same pot, saute garlic and basil for 1-2 minutes.  Add tomato paste and water and stir constantly for about 1 minute. Add diced tomatoes to the pot and bring to a boil for about 5 minutes. Lower to a simmer and cover pot, leaving a portion of the pot uncovered, and cook for approximately 2 hours.

About an hour before you are going to eat add sausage and meatballs to the sauce and continue to simmer.

Cook linguine (or spaghetti – whatever you like) according to the directions on the box.

Remove sausage and meatballs and put them on a platter. Toss pasta with sauce and serve.

Mangia!

 

 

 

 

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Poached Eggs in Tomato Sauce with Toast + Bacon

October 3, 2014 //
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Poached Eggs in Tomato Sauce with Toast
Poached Eggs w Tomato Sauce

This is a great “breakfast for dinner” meal (or fancy brunch), and a wonderful way to use up any tomato sauce that you might have leftover from an earlier meal. Plus, it is incredibly inexpensive!

If you are using leftover tomato sauce than this meal comes together in about 10 minutes; if you need to make the sauce it’ll probably be closer to 20-25 minutes.

Tomato Sauce 

¼ cup olive oil
4 garlic cloves, crushed or sliced
1 large basil sprig
1 pinch of hot red pepper flakes
1 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes (or whole, but crush them with your hands before using)
salt and pepper, to taste

In a large skillet over medium heat, heat the oil. When it is hot, add the garlic, basil and red pepper flakes. Saute for 1-2 minutes, until the garlic starts to sizzle, but don’t let it brown. Add the tomatoes and stir. Simmer until the sauce thickens a bit, about 15 minutes. Discard garlic, if you desire, and add salt and pepper to taste.

Poached Eggs in Tomato Sauce

1-2 eggs per person

With the tomato sauce simmering, crack an egg, one at a time, into a small bowl and carefully place each egg in the tomato sauce. Lower the heat and place a cover on top of the skillet. Keep an eye on the eggs; they should take between 8-10 minutes to cook – less if you like your eggs runny and more if you want them fully cooked.

Place 1 or 2 eggs with sauce on a piece or two of good toast and shave parmesan cheese over, season with salt and pepper.

Bacon

Cook however much bacon as you want, however you like. But, I am a convert to the Rachael Ray method, which is much less messy than using the stove.

Preheat oven to 375F. Place bacon on a slotted baking sheet and bake to crisp, 15-18 minutes.

 

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Transitions

October 3, 2014 //
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I certainly wouldn’t be the first to profess my love of autumn on the Internet. It is hard for me to let go of summer, but the arrival of tart apples, pumpkin beer and foliage help. And as much as I hate to say goodbye to tomatoes and corn, the new season allows me to indulge in cooking and eating some other favorites, such as roast chicken and winter squash.

This week’s meal plan is a bit of a transition into a new season and menu. Like farmers markets this time of year where you can still get some pretty good peaches as well as gorgeous winter squash this meal plan isn’t ready to completely concede to cooler weather. Roast chicken is back, but I haven’t started roasting Brussels Sprouts yet (they are better after the first frost). And a trip to a Connecticut apple orchard last weekend inspired the pork chops with apples and cider.

Apple Picking

Meal #1: Poached Eggs in Tomato Sauce with Toast + Bacon
Meal #2: Hamersley’s Roast Chicken with Onions and Potatoes + Steamed Green Beans
Meal #3: Pork Chops with Apples + Sautéed Kale
Meal #4: Pasta Carbonara with Leeks and Lemon

Your grocery list, excluding the usual pantry items:
fresh (or dried) sage
dried thyme
dried rosemary
bunch of basil – 1
lemon – 2
leeks – 4
red onion – 3
bunch of kale – 1
green beans – 1 1/2 lb.
medium red potatoes – 6
tart apples – 2
apple cider – 3/4 cup
diced tomatoes – 1 28 ounce can
good bread – 1 or 2 slices per person
short pasts – 1 box
Dijon mustard (if you don’t already have it)
Parmesan cheese (if you don’t already have it)
eggs – 1 dozen
1/2 -inch-thick boneless pork loin chops – 4 (5 ounces each)
bacon
whole chicken – 4 lb.

 

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Pork Chops with Apples + Sautéed Kale

October 3, 2014 //
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Pork Chops with Apples

Autumn is here, even though you wouldn’t know it here in the Northeast where this past weekend’s temperatures hit over 80 degrees! Despite the unseasonable weather we went apple and pumpkin picking in Connecticut with Patrick’s parents and came home with several pounds of delicious apples. Patrick and I probably both eat an apple a day, but we still have way too many. If I had the time I would make a pie or apple crisp, but for now I am working my way through our pile with savory dinner recipes, like this one from the Food Network, which I adapted for here.
Pork Chops w Apples

4, 1/2-inch-thick boneless pork loin chops (5 ounces each)
1 ts. dried sage
Freshly ground pepper
1 TB. extra-virgin olive oil
1 large red onion, cut into 1/2-inch wedges
2 tart apples, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3/4 cup apple cider

Rub both sides of the pork chops with the sage, and salt and pepper to taste. Heat a large skillet over high heat, then add 1 TB. olive oil and sear the chops until golden on both sides, about 5 minutes total. Transfer to a plate. Add the onion and apples to the skillet and cook over medium-high heat until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and stir in the cider. Return the chops to the skillet. Cover and cook, turning once, until just cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove pork chops, onions and apples from the skillet and turn the heat up to medium-high so that the cider starts to boil. Let the cider boil for a minute or so until it thickens and then pour it over the pork.

Sautéed Kale

1 TB. olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 bunch of kale (any kind will do), stems removed and roughly chopped
salt and pepper, to taste

Heat olive oil in a large skillet and then add minced garlic. Stir garlic for 1 minute, or until it starts to smell good and then add kale. Cook the kale and garlic until the kale is wilted, season with salt and pepper.

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