March 2017 Weeknight Dinner Ideas Part 3

Happy Spring everyone!  I am so glad winter is finally behind us, and grilling season is quickly approaching.  Who else is looking forward to spending their evenings cooking and eating outside again?  

In the mean time, I wanted to share a few more March recipes for anyone who looking for some quick dinner ideas.  Both the zucchini noodles and flank steak are super fast and easy.  For the flank steak marinade I used an immersion blender rather than my big blender, and it worked out great with a lot less clean-up.  I was able to quickly make the marinade in the morning so the steak was ready to cook as soon as I got home from a busy day.   

Ok, time to start the pork belly for tomorrow night, and finish cleaning up the kitchen!  As always, please let me know if you enjoyed any of the recipes featured below, and share my blog with your friends!  

RECIPES

Roasted Lamb with Chanterelles and Garlic Rabe, Source: Bon Appétit Magazine, March 2010, page 18

Seared Sea Scallops with Ricotta and Spring Pea Mash and Chive Oil, Source: Food and Wine Magazine, March 2015, page 13

Pork Belly Carnitas with Tomatillo Salsa, Source: Food and Wine Magazine, March 2014, page 99

Cuban Flank Steak, Source: Food and Wine Magazine, March 2017, page 40

Zucchini Noodles with Chicken and Ginger Dressing, Source: Food and Wine Magazine, March 2016, page 84

GROCERY LIST

Produce

4 zucchini 

1 bunch watercress

1 pound broccoli rabe

1 pound fresh chanterelles

1 pound tomatillos

1 bunch scallions

1 bunch oregano 

1 bunch thyme

1 bunch cilantro

1 bunch mint

1 bunch basil

1 bunch thyme

1 bunch rosemary

4 ounces chives

2 serrano chiles

1 habanero

Baby peas

2 limes

1 orange

1 lemon

2 mangoes

1 pineapple

3 heads garlic

1 onion

2 shallots

Ginger root

Lemon juice

Dairy and Frozen

Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Ricotta cheese

Butter

Meat and Seafood

1 rotisserie chicken

1.5 pound flank steak

2 pounds skin-on pork belly

2 1.25-pound racks of lamb

12 extra-large sea scallops

Interior Aisles

Olive oil

Canola oil

Balsamic vinegar

Kosher salt

Pepper

Whole black peppercorns

Cumin

Cumin seeds

Bay leaves

Fennel seeds

Dried marjoram

Crushed red pepper

Cardamim

Toasted sesame seeds

Sugar

Low-salt chicken broth

Flour tortillas

March 2017 Weeknight Dinner Ideas Part 2

Happy almost St. Patrick’s Day y’all!  Who else is really excited to celebrate their minimal Irish heritage on Friday?  I’m going over the top with corned beef and cabbage, Irish Soda bread, Bailey’s Irish Cream Panna Cotta, and of course, lots of Guinness!  In case you haven’t thrown a brined slab of brisket  in your sous vide yet, I included a recipe you can make on Friday below (:

  

In other weeknight dinner hacks, I modified the turkey taco recipe to fit a busy work schedule, but ended up not modifying it enough to make it a truly quick weeknight meal.  Instead of following the recipe, I marinated the turkey legs in a vacuum sealed bag overnight, and dropped them in the sous vide on my way out the door for work this morning.  When I got home this evening I wrapped the legs and sauce in the banana leaves, and finished cooking them in the oven while I made the black beans and salsa.  Lesson learned: make the salsa ahead of time, or skip roasting the turkey legs after cooking them in the sous vide.  You need to factor in lots of extra time to separate the hot turkey meat from all those darn tendons!  

Ok, I am off to get the sous vide ready for our corned beef.  As always, please let me know if you enjoyed any of the recipes featured below, and share my blog with your friends!  

RECIPES

Turkey Barbacoa Tacos With Black Beans, Source: Bon Appétit Magazine, March 2015, page 90

Your New Favorite Pork Chops, Source: Bon Appétit Magazine, March 2015, page 35

Torn Chicken with Crispy Rice and Kimchi Vinaigrette, Source: Food and Wine Magazine, March 2017, page 87

Corned Beef with Pickled Cabbage and Potato Salad, Source: Food and Wine Magazine, March 2017, page 46

Grilled Black Cod Lettuce Wraps with Pickled Cucumbers, Source: Food and Wine Magazine, March 2014, page 122

GROCERY LIST

Produce

3 small bok choy

1.5 pounds green cabbage

1 head butter lettuce

2.5 pounds plum tomatoes

1 cucumber

1 bunch parsley

8 sprigs sage

2 medium carrots

2 celery stalks

2 heads garlic

5 medium to large onion

1.5 pounds baby red potatoes

Lime juice

Dairy and Frozen

Unsalted butter

Queso fresco

Meat and Seafood

4 pound chicken 

4 turkey drumsticks

5 pound corned beef with seasoning packet

2 1.5 inch thick bone-in pork rib chops

1 pound skinless pacha or black cod

Interior Aisles

Olive oil

Canola oil

Vegetable oil

Distilled white vinegar

Unseasoned rice wine vinegar

Red wine vinegar

Apple cider vinegar

Kosher salt

Pepper

Bay leaves

Mustard seeds

Sesame seeds

Cumin

Oregano

Sugar

Honey

Dijon mustard

Whole-grain mustard

Chipotle chiles in adobo

6 ancho chiles

Dried black beans

Corn tortillas

Jasmine rice

Sweet potato chips

2 12-ounce bottles pale ale

Hard to Find Ingredients 

Kimchi

Thai basil

Shiro miso (light miso)

6 morita chiles

Banana leaves

March 2017 Weeknight Dinner Ideas Part 1

March sure did enter like a lion this year!  Here I was, all excited about Spring arriving early, and now I may have to plan my grocery shopping around a snow storm this weekend? Ugh!  I guess the upside is a snow storm is the perfect excuse to stay inside and bake a cake!  

To add to my list of first world problems this week, I searched four grocery stories, but was unable to find both the Arctic Char and sunchokes for the recipe below.  If anyone is able to make the dish I would love to hear how it turned out!  As always, please let me know if you enjoyed any of the recipes featured below, and share my blog with your friends!

Roast Pork with Fingerlings and Grapes with a side of roast carrots

RECIPES

Soy-Sauce-and-Citrus-Marinated Chicken, Source: Bon Appétit Magazine, March 2017, page 94

Seared Boneless Short Ribs With Salsa Criolla, Source: Bon Appétit Magazine, March 2017, page 34

Roast Pork with Fingerlings and Grapes, Source: Food and Wine Magazine, March 2017, page 45

Spiced Arctic Char with Crushed Sunchokes, Capers and Lemon, Source: Food and Wine Magazine, March 2016, page 95

Bucatini With Lemony Carbonara, Source: Bon Appétit Magazine, March 2017, page 94

GROCERY LIST

Produce

1 bunch cilantro

1 bunch thyme

1 bunch parsley

1 bunch scallions

1 red chile

1 poblano chile

1 large red bell pepper

1 plum tomato

1 grapefruit

1 orange

1 lime

3 lemons

1 pound red seedless grapes

1 lemongrass stalk

1 ginger root

2 heads of garlic

1 small sweet onion

4 shallots

1 pound fingerling potatoes

Lime juice

Dairy and Frozen

2 ounces parmesan cheese

2 eggs

Meat and Seafood

1 3.5-4 pound chicken

1.5 pounds boneless short ribs

1.25-pound pork tenderloin 

4 5-to 6-ounce skin-on arctic char fillets

Interior Aisles

Olive oil

Distilled white vinegar

Champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar

Kosher salt

Black pepper

Dried oregano

Ground cumin

Caraway seeds

Fennel seeds

Coriander seeds

Hot smoked Spanish paprika 

12 ounces bucatini or long-strand pasta 

Soy sauce

Fish sauce

Anchovies, oil-packed

Capers

Sugar

1 baguette

Hard to Find Ingredients 

1 pomelo

1.5 pounds sunchokes

Sweet pimentón de la Vera

6 ounces guanciale, pancetta or slab bacon