Category — Dinner Ideas

Some of you who know me know that I’m currently sporting this crazy brace – I have terrible tendinitis in my left leg/ankle and this thing is supposed to give my leg a rest and help decrease the inflammation.  The jury’s still out on whether it’s making any difference in the tendon, but the verdict otherwise is that it’s a huge pain in the a** to wear around.  It weighs over 5 lbs. on its own, and comes up to just below my knee.

For some, takeout would be the way to go, but now, more than ever, I want a healthy meal at dinnertime.  I can hardly exercise at all, and, well, I’m “of a certain age” such that exercising is pretty much a necessity – unless I want to show off everything I eat on my lower-half.  So I’m trying to find more convenient dinners that minimize prep but which also emphasize healthy components.  And where do I go for inspiration?  Trader Joe’s, of course.  [Read more →]

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I know some of you are afraid to cook fish at home.  I’m not really sure where this comes from, because aside from the fact that you need to buy it day-of cooking (in most cases), I find fish to be a quick and easy answer to the “what’s for dinner?” question.

In our house, we eat a lot of cod.  I know, I know, cod has historically been  over fished, but it’s the only fish that we all consistently agree on.  My daughter won’t eat any of the greens associated with a fish recipe, but she’ll often eat some of the cod itself, along with her ever-present noodles.

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It’s not over ’til it’s over, right guys?  There is still more time to grill, enjoy eating alfresco and to savor some summery weather.  This menu has been top-of-mind lately because I made it for a family celebration of my daughter’s August birthday last year.  My husband, in particular, found it mind-blowing – in fact, the salad here is what turned him into a fresh fig lover.  Serve it up to people you love, and treat them to a last, fresh taste of summer.

For a main course, this Rosemary Chicken Skewers With Berry Sauce recipe from Simply Recipes is simple to prepare, but looks and tastes like it took much more effort.  The sauce is very delicious.

For starch, this Couscous Salad with Dates and Almonds, from Bon Appetit has a nice sweet/savory thing going on.   I use whole wheat couscous to amp up the nutrition and protein and I also make double the dressing – I find I need more than the amount called for in the recipe (but not the entire doubled amount) to dress the salad.

For greens, this Late Summer Salad is an adaptation of a recipe from the Fields Of Greens Cookbook by Annie Somerville.  It is a beautiful composed salad that makes a striking presentation for your guests.

Late Summer Salad 

Wash the spinach and dry it in a salad spinner.  Arrange it on a serving platter.  Make the vinaigrette. 

Cut the melon in half and scoop out the seeeds, then thinly slice and peel, following the contour of the rind.  Rinse the figs and pat dry.  Cut them into halves or quarters.

Arrange the melon and figs atop the spinach.  Drizzle the vinaigrette over the fruit and sprinkle with pine nuts.

Serves 4 – this can easily be doubled – just use a medium cantaloupe.

Orange Vinaigrette

Combine everything but the oil in a small bowl, then whisk in the oil.  Makes 1/3 cup, but again, can be easily doubled.

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It’s August, and here in the Northeast U.S., we all know that our beautiful weekends are numbered.  I don’t know about you, but we’re trying to squeeze in as many backyard BBQs as possible . . . evenings on the patio are precious.  Soon we’ll be shoveling again.

This is a menu I’ve made many times, always to raves from the crowd.  It’s virutally all do-ahead, so you can take some time with your guests instead of running around crazy before dinner.

Grilled Lemon Chicken recipe from Gourmet Magazine – FYI, I use ~3 lbs. of boneless, skinless chicken breasts and it works out well.  Also note that you must marinate this chicken overnight, so plan accordingly!

Pair this with the Orzo With Tomatoes, Feta & Green Onions recipe from Bon Appetit.  FYI, if you can get fresh, multicolored cherry tomatoes, they’ll look really pretty in this.  And a note:  I am usually a hater of pasta salads, but this one has so much flavor, it’s worth the chopping.  Trust me – I’ve never had a party where this was served and people didn’t request the recipe.  Never!

Serve this Fig Salad With Greens & Walnuts on the side – be sure to scale up the recipe to however many servings you need – as written, it only serves 3 people.

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Farmers’ market and Costco?  The two don’t immediately seem to go together.  When most people think of Costco, they think giant-sized boxes of diapers, frozen processed food, etc.  But I would argue that the rotisserie chicken from Costco is the unsung hero of any busy mother.  No, it’s not organic.  Yes, it’s salty.   But it’s also relatively cheap and delicious, and hey, you don’t eat it every day. 

When people think “farmers’ market,” they think fresh produce, locally grown . . . but often they think of ingredients that have to be massaged into something bigger in terms of making a meal of them.  In other words, food that is inconvenient to prepare.  But with some choice ingredients from the market, coupled with the Costco wonder-chicken (or any rotisserie chicken from any vendor), you can whip up an easy no-cook hot-summer-day supper.

After the gym today, I needed to make a return at Costco, so while there, I swung around to the back to grab a chicken.  It’s in the fridge waiting for me.  This afternoon at the Belmont Farmer’s Market, I scored some beautiful sweet corn, gorgeous tomatoes (all different varieties, sizes and colors), a ball of fresh mozzarella that was made this morning and a nice bunch of basil. 

Here’s my plan:

1/2 hour before dinner time, I will remove the chicken from the fridge and let it warm up a bit to room temperature, then I’ll carve it and put it on a platter.

Then I’ll slice the tomatoes and arrange them on a plate so that they don’t overlap, or so that they overlap only slightly.  I’ll salt them lightly with some Kosher salt, then scatter some slivered basil over the top.  I’ll then drop some slices of the mozzarella on top, and then drizzle some nice olive oil and balsamic vinegar over the whole lot.  Tomato salad – done.

Boil up the corn and serve that alongside the chicken and tomato salad with  butter and salt (or brush it with more good olive oil).

Oh, and in the meantime, I’ll make some pasta for my pasta-loving, veggie-hating kid to eat with her chicken. 

Voila.  A simple, no-heat in the kitchen, fresh and tasty summer dinner for everyone to enjoy.

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