Archives for posts with tag: soy sauce

Last time I was 8 months pregnant the average temperature outside was 32 degrees. I felt pretty good, and my biggest complaint was that I didn’t always get a seat on the subway because I had to wear a big, winter coat which made it hard to tell that I was pregnant. Now, it’s a different story. It is hot and humid and I feel HUGE. I pretty much always get a seat on the subway, but I am exhausted!

Meanwhile, the markets are packed with produce and I am dying to cook. This week alone, I’ve picked up blueberries, cherries, nectarines, cucumbers, summer squash, tomatoes and even the first corn. It is awesome, but some nights after work I am just too tired to make anything. Fortunately, fruits and vegetables this time of the year are so delicious and fresh that you don’t have to do too much to enjoy them. Hopefully easy summer recipes will get me through the next few weeks!

Endless Bounty

The kitchen counter will look like this for the next few months.

Meal #1: Soy Lemon Skirt Steak with Arugula + Salted Potatoes
Meal #2: Swordfish Parmesan and Roasted Broccoli
Meal #3: Chicken Francese with Noodles + Roasted Asparagus
Meal #4: Pork Chops with Cherry Sauce + Sugar Snap Peas

Your grocery list, excluding the usual pantry items: 

broccoli – 1 large head
shallot – 2
garlic – 1 head
lemons – 5
sugar snap peas – 1 lb.
cherries – 1 cup
arugula – 1 bunch
asparagus – 1 large bunch
potatoes – 1 1/2 pounds
rosemary – 1 bunch
eggs – 1 dozen
white wine
red wine
low-salt chicken broth – 1 cup
butter (if you don’t already have it)
brown sugar (if you don’t already have it)
soy sauce (if you don’t already have it)
garlic powder (if you don’t already have it)
capers (if you don’t already have it)
flour (if you don’t already have it)
Parmesan cheese (if you don’t already have it)
butter (if you don’t already have it)
swordfish steaks (6-8 ounces per person), skin removed
skirt steak – 1 1/2 pounds
skinless, boneless, thin chicken breasts – 1 1/2 pounds
pork chops, bone-in – 1 per person, approx. 6-8 oz each

Soy Lemon Skirt Steak with Arugula

This is so delicious. Skirt steak is pretty amazing and easy to prepare and I usually just grill it with some olive oil and salt and pepper, but I love this marinade. This is a Martha recipe, whom you know I love. She used flank steak, but I stuck to my tried and true skirt steak.
Soy Lemon Steak w Arugula

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (from 2 lemons)
2 TB. packed light-brown sugar
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1 1/2 pounds skirt steak
1/2 bunch arugula (about 2 ounces), leaves torn if large
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
Lemon wedges, for serving

Whisk together oil, soy sauce, lemon juice, brown sugar, and garlic in a bowl. Place skirt steak inside a large resealable plastic bag. Add marinade, press out excess air, and seal. Let stand, turning bag occasionally, at least 1 hour at room temperature, or up to 6 hours in refrigerator (if refrigerating, let come to room temperature before grilling).

Heat grill or grill pan to medium-high. Remove meat from marinade, reserving marinade, and pat off excess with paper towels. Grill, uncovered, turning once, until a thermometer inserted into thickest part registers 130 degrees for medium-rare, about 5 minutes on each side. Transfer to a cutting board and let stand 10 minutes.

Transfer marinade to a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat.

Slice meat against the grain and arrange on a platter. Arrange arugula on top; season with salt and pepper. Drizzle 1 to 2 tablespoons sauce over meat and arugula. Serve with remaining sauce and lemon wedges.

 Salted Potatoes

Salted potatoes are an upstate New York speciality and they are awesome. They are super simple; basically you just boil peeled, or unpeeled, potatoes (your choice) in very salty water. They key is to not be afraid of adding a LOT of salt. The potatoes will pick up just a bit of the saltiness which makes them much more interesting than regular boiled potatoes.

1 1/2 pounds potatoes (peeled or unpeeled, your choice) – half or quarter if large
water
1/4 cup (ish) salt

Add salt to water, place potatoes into water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, bring water down to a simmer and let cook for approximately 15-20 minutes. Potatoes are finished when a knife easily slips in. Drain potatoes and toss with butter.

 

One year and 30 meal plans later (including this one) Everyday Banquet is celebrating its first anniversary! I had no idea when I started this blog whether there would be any readers, let alone whether the idea of presenting recipes in the form of a weekly meal plan would strike a chord. It has been fun to read your comments and follow your interest on Facebook. By far the most gratifying comments have come from those of you who don’t cook a lot or didn’t think you liked to cook but have been trying new meals and liking them. That was always the goal – to get more people into the kitchen, cooking relatively simple and quick meals seasonally. So, on what I hope is the first of many anniversaries, I thank you, my readers for sticking with me and supporting me through the year!

Bon Appetit!
Elizas 1st bday cake_web

Meal #1:Beer-Marinated Pork Tenderloin with Red Cabbage
Meal #2: Penne in a Cream Sauce with Pancetta, Roasted Red Peppers and Peas
Meal #3: Sausages with Lentils and Green Salad
Meal #4: Roasted Wild Striped Bass with Lemon, Olives, and Rosemary + Roasted Fennel with Artichoke Hearts

Your grocery list, excluding the usual pantry items: 

fennel – 1
rosemary bunch – 1
bay leaves – 2
lemon – 2
red cabbage – 1 medium
red peppers – 2
apple – 1
onion – 1
carrot – 1
greens for a salad
artichoke hearts – 1 can in water
frozen peas
heavy cream – 1 small container
Kalamata olives – 1/2 cup
penne – 1 box
red lentils – 1 bag
dried thyme (if you don’t already have it)
Parmesan (if you don’t already have it)
ground chili pepper (if you don’t already have it)
reduced-sodium soy sauce (if you don’t already have it)
brown sugar (if you don’t already have it)
apple cider vinegar (if you don’t already have it)
pancetta – 4-6 ounces
sausage – 1 lb.
pork tenderloin – 2 (1 1/2-1 3/4 pounds total)
wild stripped bass – 1 6-8 ounce filet per person
lager – 1/4 cup

 

Citrus Asian Marinated Chicken Thighs

Even though the recipe says that you can marinate the chicken for just 20 minutes, I made the marinade the night before because I had some free time and let the chicken sit overnight. The flavors were intense and delish. I didn’t have an orange so I just used more lime juice and it was fine.

Sesame Broccoli

Basically roasted broccoli, but with an Asian twist!

Isn’t summer funny? My memories of summer as a kid are of endless days playing in the yard, swimming in backyard pools, riding waves at the beach and catching fireflies. It was the ultimate season of slack and it felt like it went on forever. But as an adult, summer flies by and is packed with planned events and activities. Most everything is fun, but there’s no slacking anymore….

Summer ‘s bounty also provides us with all of the ingredients we need to eat right and get healthy. Almost every fresh vegetable and fruit are ready for harvest and many of them can be enjoyed raw or with minimal preparation. Everything tastes great. Is there anything better than eating a peach so ripe that you have to stand over the sink or risk ruining your shirt? Summer even makes exercising seem like a great idea. I like to run, and my favorite time  to run is on a summer morning when the sun is up early and the temperature is still a bit cool. At the same time there are so many excuses and temptations in the summer. There’s ice cream, fruit crisps and crumbles, hamburgers, beer, rose and gin and tonics. How can you resist? You can’t….

So, the best you can do is embrace the season. Eat as well as you can during the week and indulge on the weekends and during vacation. Hopefully, these summer recipes are just the right amount of healthy, while still being delicious and fast enough to prepare that you have time to go out and catch some fireflies…

Luscious peaches you can indulge in guiltlessly

Luscious peaches you can indulge in guilt-free

Meal #1: Striped Bass with Green Beans and Tomatoes + Corn on the Cob
Meal #2: Citrus Asian Marinated Chicken Thighs + Sesame Broccoli
Meal #3: Salmon with Peach and Tomato Salsa + Corn on the Cob
Meal #4: Gnocchi with Chicken Sausage and Tomato + Kale Caesar Salad

Your grocery list, excluding the usual pantry items:

cilantro – 1 bunch
basil – 1 bunch
thyme – 1 bunch
limes – 2-3
lemons – 2
orange – 1
green beans – 1/2 lb.
scallions – 1 bunch
shallot – 1
red onion – 1
heirloom tomatoes – 3 large
cherry or grape tomatoes – 1 pint
peach (or nectarine) – 1
corn – 1 per person for 2 meals
Tuscan kale – 1 bunch
broccoli – 1 lb.
gnocchi – 1 to 2 packages, depending on size
sesame seeds (if you don’t already have them)
Parmesan cheese (if you don’t already have it)
reduced sodium soy sauce (if you don’t already have it)
skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs – 2 lb.
chicken sausage – 9 oz. (about 3 links)
striped bass fillets – 4 5-ounces each
salmon – 1 1/2 lb.

Soy-Glazed Chicken Thighs with Asparagus and Scallions
IMG_1349 web

This was delicious, although I wish I hadn’t made it on the first day we needed the air conditioner. Roasting chicken at 450 degrees definitely makes the kitchen hot!

The recipe calls for anise seed (aka fennel seed), but if you don’t have it I am sure the marinade would still be delicious. I made the marinade the night before to save time, but the chicken doesn’t need to marinate overnight. And, finally, I didn’t have much sauce at the end to pour over the chicken, but it was still amazing.

No, not that kind of stock.

Since I started this blog in January I have posted almost 20 meal plans and over 70 meals! It is crazy to think that I have made that many different meals so far this year, and the best season for cooking is just beginning! This is obviously a roundabout way of saying that I’m sorry I haven’t posted a new meal plan in a few weeks, but I hope you’ve been able to use the archive to pull together some tasty dinners for your family.

Fortunately, we are entering into the best time of the year to cook. I am obviously inspired by what I find when I am grocery shopping, but no shopping experience inspires me more than a trip to a farmers market. When I first caught a glimpse of those sugar snap peas you see below my heart leapt a bit. This week features a bunch of recipes that make the most of Spring’s finest; I especially love the soy-glazed chicken with asparagus and scallions. And, I promise there are more meals to come.

Sugar Snap Peas web

Meal #1: Penne with Broccoli Rabe and Sausage
Meal #2: Pork Medallions with Mustard-Caper Sauce and Braised Swiss Chard
Meal #3: Soy-Glazed Chicken with Asparagus and Scallions
Meal #4: Whole Baked Trout with Cherry Tomatoes and Potatoes

Your grocery list, excluding the usual pantry items:

broccoli rabe – 1 large bunch
Swiss chard – 2 large bunches
shallots – 4
onion – 1
asparagus – 1 large bunch
scallions – 2 bunches
Yukon gold potatoes – 2
cherry tomatoes – 12 ounces
oregano – 1 bunch
cilantro – 1 bunch
lemon – 1
limes – 3-4
penne – 1 box
aniseed (fennel seed) – 2 tsp. (optional) 
chicken broth – 2 cups
whipping cream (or half and half)
capers (if you don’t already have them)
grain dijion mustard (if you don’t already have it)
soy sauce (if you don’t already have it)
honey (if you don’t already have it)
chicken thighs, bone-in, skin-on – 8
pork tenderloin – 2, 8-10 ounce each
sausage – 1 lb.
trout – 2 whole fish (9 ounces each)

I don’t know what was up with this week, but for some reason I made a lot of meals with Asian ingredients and flavors. The great thing about using Asian ingredients is that they often add a great burst of flavor with very little work or time. So, for this week’s meal plan I’m featuring two of these dinners – the pork stir fry and grilled tuna steak which when paired with my dipping sauce may remind you of sushi.

Meal #1: Salmon and Potatoes in Tomato Sauce
Meal #2: Pork Stir Fry with Asparagus and Sugar Snap Peas
Meal #3: Grilled Tuna Steaks with Dipping Sauce + Sesame Broccoli
Meal #4: Pasta Carbonara with Leeks and Lemon

Your grocery list, excluding the usual pantry items:

onion – 1
shallots – 2
lemons – 2
asparagus – 1 lb. bunch
sugar snap peas – 1 1/2 cups
broccoli – 1 large head or 1 lb.
leeks – 4
ginger – 1 piece
small white potatoes – 3/4 pound
fresh parsley – 1 bunch
Kalamata olives – 1/2 cup
diced tomatoes – 2 cans (28 ounces each)
sherry – 1 bottle (it’ll keep)
sesame seeds – small package (they’ll keep)
short pasta (penne) – 1 box
rice (if you don’t already have it)
soy sauce (if you don’t already have it)
Sriracha (if you don’t already have it)
brown sugar (if you don’t already have it)
rice vinegar (if you don’t already have it)
sesame oil (if you don’t already have it)
corn starch (if you don’t already have it)
eggs – 2
pork tenderloin – 1, 12-16 ounce piece
bacon – 6 slices
salmon fillets – 4 (6 ounces each)
tuna steak – 4 1-inch pieces

Pork Stir-Fry with Asparagus and Sugar Snap Peas
IMG_1220 Web

It is a little early in the season to be bored with asparagus, and trust me I am not, but sometimes I get bored with the typical cooking methods – steaming or roasting.

Note: I used regular cooking sherry that I bought at the grocery store, but if you don’t have that you can find a bunch of suggestions for substitutions on Serious Eat’s online forum.

Beer-Marinated Pork Tenderloin with Red Cabbage
Beer and Cabbage Pork_Web
Since I had a half a head of red cabbage left over from making this dish last week, I thought it was as good a time as any to try this recipe. It is really good – the soy sauce adds a nice tang to the pork and subsequent sauce. I suggest adding a dash of sugar to the red cabbage while it is cooking, and seasoning it with salt and pepper at the end to taste.