how i eat: what’s for dinner this week?
I am so in the mood for some new cookbooks. Buvette: The Pleasure of Good Food gets great reviews. One day, My friend and I planned on eating at the restaurant for brunch, but the wait time was long and we were so hungry. The tiny tables sidled up so close to other patrons weren’t looking too appealing to a very hangry me either, so we ended up at a place around the corner instead. It was mediocre and I regretted not waiting just a little while more for the acclaimed brunch. I always make a mental note to go back, but just never get around to it. I’ll make it there one of these days. But once we we’re all moved in, I’m going straight to Amazon and ordering this book. It’s the next best thing. I can’t wait to try out some new recipes and I love simple Italian/French cuisines and techniques so I’m confident I’ll love this one. But for these next few weeks of moving madness, I’m sticking with what works.
Sunday: BLT Avocado salad with my lemon dijon vinaigrette. This is on regular rotation. As in, every week for weeks now. I like it that much. Bob doesn’t mind it either. I think it’s the homemade croutons that make it for him.
Monday: Skinny pasta alfredo with spicy roasted broccoli. I’d been craving a comforting alfredo sauce for a while now and since I need to use up the ditalini rigati, I figured ditalini rigati alfredo (that’s a mouthful!), why not? I wanted only a slightly lighter option than the usual stick of butter and loads of cheese and cream version and found this one. It was perfect because, while it was a touch lighter, it was still rich and creamy like the original. I didn’t haveNeufchatel cheese, but I did have cream cheese which comes pretty close, so I used that. I didn’t have heavy cream, so I completely omitted it from the dish, but I did use whole milk (as opposed to 2%) so I think that made up for it. I ranout of white flour so I used using whole-grain instead, but that flavor came across in the pasta a little bit. You’ll definitely want to use white flour for this.
Tuesday: I’m excited for this one: Thai chicken wraps and a small side salad. I’ll grill thin chicken breasts, cover it in this peanut sauce, add a little extra cilantro and sliced seedless cucumbers, wrap it in some of those fajita wraps I have in my fridge and call it a night. Greens on the side are a must. I’ll toss in a few roasted Brussels sprouts on the side for Bob (he loves ‘em) and a romaine salad for myself.
Wednesday: Bob is going to cook! He’s been adamant about using up all the ingredients we have in the fridge/freezer/cabinets so he’s going to do an “everything but the kitchen sink” Crockpot dish. All I know is that it will include sausage and bbq sauce. Not going to lie—I’m a little worried that he might go overboard, but I’m crossing my fingers for a hit. I’m still learning to relinquish control in the kitchen.
Thursday: A Spanish omelette. Thinly-sliced potatoes, crispy bits of bacon bacon and caramelized onions all tossed into a batter of eggs seasoned with milk, smoked paprika, vinegar, salt, pepper and then cooked. This recipe comes close to what I’m trying to achieve. I’ve been finding myself more exhausted than usual when I come home on Thursdays (end of the week fatigue!), so I’ll probably cook the onions and bacon ahead of time. I like saving the easiest or quickest meal for Thursdays since all I want to do is lay out, watch Sex & the City reruns and nod off at around 9pm. That’s the ideal Thursday night right there, guys.
