main dishes

Turkey Kefta in Sweet Onion Sauce

Kefta is a ground, seasoned meat mixture from the Middle East and is usually made from ground beef or lamb.  This is a somewhat healthier take on the dish using turkey in place of the red meat.  I’ve made this dish a few times, and really like it every time.  The only tweak I ever make from the original is to double the Ras El Hanout spice mixture (which you can get from a store such as Penzey’s or make yourself).  The original came from Cooking Light a few years ago.  I served this over couscous with roasted root vegetables on the side.

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Okonomiyaki

Shawn learned how to make this when he was stationed in Japan for two years.  In the restaurants there, the okonomiyaki pancake is cooked on the table right in front of where each person sits, and it comes in a variety of types and flavors.  It is topped with okonomi sauce and mayo.  I’d never had (or heard of) this before, but he made it for me a while back and I absolutely love it.  Very versatile and makes for a fun and easy dinner that we both like.

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Thai Chicken Curry

An extra chicken from El Pollo Rico last night (yes, we got two, don’t judge) led us to contemplate what we wanted to do with leftover chicken.  My immediate answer was chicken curry, and I love this Thai chicken curry…super simple and always delicious.  No Thai basil on hand today, but it was still good with regular basil.

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Halibut with Scallions and Squash

Great spring and summer dish for any white fish filets; halibut just happens to be my favorite.  I got this recipe from Bon Appetit and was really happy with it.  I also added some sauteed grape tomatoes to the mix for color and just a little different flavor, and served it with a side of lemon-olive cous cous. 

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Chicken Mole

I first had this dish when living with my friend Genevieve post-college a few moons ago.  Her father made a mean mole, and I’ve been searching out a good method and base recipe for it ever since.  This one comes from Bon Appetit, and is pretty good – I have tweaked it to my tastes though as the original was a bit too citrusy for me.  Mexican chocolate can be a bit difficult to find, but specialty stores or places like Whole Foods often have it.  You can substitute bittersweet chocolate with a pinch of cinnamon if you can’t find it.  This is an involved dish, but well worth it.

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Lamb Shanks

This was my first time making lamb shanks, and I was pretty happy with the results.  They were very flavorful and tender.  I served them with a side of savory polenta and garlic green beans and purple potatoes…made for a very festive meal!  It also made some very nice lamb stock when finished.

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Pumpkin Lasgane

This one of my favorite ways to make lasagna.  The recipe calls for Swiss chard, but you can really use any leafy green you want.  Spinach or kale might be really good.  Honestly, I would almost double the greens – they cook down, and the contrast from the pumpkin is nice, but 2lb makes very little finished product.  The original recipe, which came from Food and Wine and which I have copied here, called for heavy cream…I just use 2% milk for everything and it turns out great.  I’ve also amended the recipe to add a hard gouda along with the parmesan, which goes well with the nutty flavors of the dish, but you can feel free to omit that, or replace it with any other kind of cheese you like.

pumpkin_lasagna

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Spiced Butternut Squash Soup

This is a new recipe we got from Eating Well magazine, and it’s pretty good.  It needed some extra pepper, but I think there’s a lot of potential to season this to your tastes, and I would make it again.  The recipe suggests to use plain yogurt for garnish, but I actually added a couple of generous spoonfuls to the soup for some added tang.

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Italian Pasta Salad

This is a great pasta salad to have as a meal or as a side at a picnic.  Lots of flavor and easy to adjust to tastes.  I got this one from Chowhound, and we made this one for our Memorial Day picnic.

italianpastasalad

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Mussels in White Wine

Mussels are one of my absolute favorite things, and this is a fast, easy way to make them.  I just served this with some crusty bread on the side to soak up the sauce.   Although this served two of us, it could easily have been for three, or even four with sides.  We had to stuff ourselves silly to finish it all because the mussels wouldn’t keep.  So keep that in mind if this is a meal for two.

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