Menu of the Week #4

This week was a mix of new recipes and some old standards for us. I discovered a new way to make Brussels and cauliflower that I think you will enjoy too. We have to keep our veggie game up to trick family into eating enough, am I right?

Sunday - Chicken Chasseur
On Sunday I went out on a limb and tried an entirely new French recipe made with chicken thighs, white wine, fresh herbs, and mushrooms. Our family does not love mushrooms, but I had such success last week incorporating them into our steak dinner I thought I would see how this recipe faired.

As you can guess, Jim and I liked Chicken Chasseur a lot, but the kids refused the eat the sauce. They did, however, eat a lot of shredded chicken on top of white rice. I had to make sure no red sauce or "green stuff" graced their plate, but they were pretty happy.

This is a dish so regal it was once served on the luxurious Orient Express train. I followed Food 52's simplified version which doesn't require making brown stock and veal stock as the originator. This is a lovely one pot meal which starts with a rich braise of mushrooms, chicken, and tomatoes, and though it tastes complicated, it’s actually pretty simple to make and easy to increase quantities to cater to a crowd.

My substitutions included using boneless chicken thighs and swapping a high-end beef bouillon "Better than Bouillon" for the chicken stock. The recipe read like I was supposed to leave the browned chicken in the pot when I made the sauce, but I removed the chicken to a plate, made the sauce, then nestled the chicken back at the end to cook through. To ensure the mushroom texture would not get in the way of Jim and I enjoying the sauce, I chopped crimini into tiny pea-sized pieces.

Monday - Roasted Salmon served on top of Spicy Roasted Cauliflower
I've been drawn to cauliflower these last six months with no explanation. I think I had it roasted once and that opened my eyes to what this little white canvas of a vegetable could become. Roasted cauliflower has a nutty, sweet flavor that’s hard to resist. I wasn't sure of the parsley, lemon zest, caper, and jalapeño combo in this recipe but Epicurious has earned some street cred, so I decided to give this concoction a whirl.

This cauliflower side dish is not only beautiful but exploding with flavor. The jalapeno provides a green vegetable heat, the way a green bell pepper adds earthiness to a dish. The lemon and capers work well together for bright acidity. This vinaigrette is whisked together quite quickly while the cauliflower roasts in the oven and then everything is tossed together just before serving.

The only thing I think would make this better is to fry an additional tablespoon of capers. The extra sprinkle with a salty, crunchy nibble would send this cauliflower over the top.

As for the Salmon, I cooked it the way I always do. Simply seasoned with salt and pepper, drizzled with olive oil and baked on a foil-lined baking sheet at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.

Tuesday - Chili Mac
Gosh, darn do I love this one pot Chili Mac. The best part is my whole family will eat it, and the recipe makes a significant amount for Jim and me to enjoy for lunch through the week.  I like to add an extra two cups of chicken stock to make this more soupy that "stoupy" but I am the only one in the family who wants it that way. When I ladle into bowls for everyone else, I drain most of the liquid and give them chunky hot pasta and ground beef, all topped with melted cheddar cheese.

Wednesday- Chile Marinated Pork with Vietnamese Brussels Sprouts
This Asian-inspired dish incorporates two essential condiments: hot chile paste and fish sauce. The chile paste gives the pork a nice kick but doesn't completely permeate the meat making it too spicy to enjoy. The salty, pungent fish sauce brings out the umami in the Brussels sprouts. If you've never tried fish sauce, don't fear. Just like Worcestershire sauce, fish sauce is an unexpected way to add depth of flavor to a dish (and you can find it in the Asian section of most supermarkets).

Jim went gaga for the pork and also ate all the Brussels sprouts on his plate. I thought the tenderloin was good and went gaga for the Brussels. I would say this is a meal to make on the weekend and not so much for a weeknight. We ate a little later than I would have liked. The recipe comes from Epicurious, and you can find it here. I used salted cashews instead of unsalted peanuts because that is what I had on hand. Also, instead of adding the nuts to the vinaigrette, for fear of a soggy texture, I crushed them separately and sprinkled on top before serving.

Next time, I would skip the sear on the tenderloin and put it straight in the oven for a more extended period of time like I did in this pork recipe. At Thanksgiving, my brother served fried brussels sprouts, and I preferred the texture of crispy leaves over the roasting in this recipe. I may play with the cooking method in the future.

Thursday - Shepherds Pie
This Shepherds Pie is one of the meals I received from Plated.com back when I was using the service, and I have since made this dinner at least a dozen times. You can find this on my What I Cook on Repeat post too because it is so quick to put together and my meat and potatoes loving family adores it.

Friday - Skirt Steak with Cilantro Chimichurri and Carrot-Citrus Hash
The meal sounds fancy with such a long title, big words and "hash" at the end but I wouldn't steer you wrong, this is a simple dish with big flavor! You can also find this meal on my What I Cook on Repeat post and the instructions here. You may have noticed I make this steak meal the same week as Shepherds Pie so that I can use up the bag of carrots. I usually also add parsnips, left over from Shepherds Pie to the Carrot-Citrus Hash.