真正的春天,终于。所以这周我们’re all about fast one-pan (or pot) dinners that give you plenty of time to enjoy that nice weather outside. And we're going to eat lots of fresh green asparagus and peas, because they're in season. And some steak. Steak might seem like special-occasion fare but it's actually a quick and easy weeknight dinner option, and makes excellent leftovers that can get repurposed in fun new ways (see Friday night's steak sandwiches).
But first, here's the grocery list:
Pantry
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 1/3 cup Dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup whole grain mustard
- Sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
- Mirin (sweet Japanese rice wine)
- Low-sodium soy sauce
- Unseasoned rice vinegar
- Honey
- 2 cups white rice
- 12 ounces linguine or other long pasta
- Ground cayenne pepper
Produce
- 2 lemons
- 2 bunches asparagus
- 2 bunches scallions
- 1 small bunch basil
- 1 head garlic
- 1 bunch radishes
- 1 pint sugar snap or snow peas
- 3 bunches mature arugula or 1 box baby arugula
Dairy
- 1 stick butter
- 1 cup sour cream
- 4 large eggs
- 1 1/2 ounces Parmesan
Butcher's Counter
- 5 skin-on, boneless chicken thighs (about 1 1/2 lb. total)
- 2 (1-pound) boneless NY strip steaks
Seafood
- 6 ounces smoked salmon
Freezer
- 2 (10-ounce) bags frozen peas
Bakery
- 1 ciabatta loaf (for Friday's dinner; stash it in the freezer at the beginning of the week)
Wine & Spirits
- 1/3 cup sake
Monday:A Speedy One-Pot Pasta Dinner
Start the week out easy with aseasonal pasta dinnerthat only requires half an hour of your attention. While you wait for the pasta to cook, wash and dry all thearugulayou bought for the week, and whisk up a simple salad dressing to toss over half of the arugula, then carefully wrap the rest of that arugula up in a paper towel and seal it in a ziplock bag so it'll last until Friday. When the pasta is 2 minutes away from being done, add theasparagusdirectly to the boiling water, then a minute later add thepeastoo. Drain the pasta and the veg together and toss inlemon zest,butter,sour cream, and some of the pasta cooking water to form a creamy sauce. If you have anysmoked salmonleft over after dinner, enjoy it for breakfast or lunch one day this week.
Tuesday:Crispy Chicken Teriyaki
As soon as you get home, start a pot ofwhite rice.Make extra—you'll use it again to make dinner on Thursday. Don’t skip the step inthis recipewhere it tells you to stab the chicken skin all over: this is the secret trick that’ll give you super crispy skin, since those little holes will help the chicken fat render. Then whisk up a homemadeteriyakisauce to coat those crispy thighs in. Thinly slice someradishesandscallions, and arrange them over your sliced-up chicken and serve with thatriceon the side. Who needs takeout when you can make this?
Wednesday:One-Skillet Steak and Spring Veg with Spicy Mustard Sauce
This recipe is proof that a weeknightsteakdinner is totally doable. In fact, it's such a simple meal that rather than cooking just the one steak called for inthis recipe, you’re going to cook two. Let them both rest, then slice one up to go over theasparagus and peasyou quickly sauté in the same skillet you cooked the steak in. Put the second in a container in the fridge until Friday. To tie it all together, whisk together a quickmustardsauce and spice it up withcayenne. It's good with a little kick to it, but if you're feeding the spice-averse, you can skip the cayenne.
Thursday:Master the Art of Making Fried Rice Without a Recipe
Good thing you have all thatriceleft over from Tuesday. Followthis no-recipe guideto turn it into dinner. Quickly fry thosesugar snaporsnow peasyou bought and add anyscallions,peas, orasparagusyou might still have from earlier in the week too. Scramble someeggsinto it, and if you happen to haveleftover teriyaki chickenyou can add it here too, but it’s not necessary. Season everything withsoy sauceand a littlemirin. If you still haveradishesin your fridge, slice them up to use as a garnish.
Friday: It'sSteak Salad Sandwich Night
Friday nights should be easy—you made it to the finish line. Pop that frozen loaf ofciabattain the oven as soon as you get home and open a bottle of wine while you wait for it to defrost. To make tonight's steak sandwiches, followthis easy recipe, using the extra steak from Wednesday night instead of cooking it from scratch. Whisk together aParmesandressing, thinly slice thecold steak, and then toss it all together with thatarugulayou’ve got in the fridge. Eat the steak and greens sandwich-style on slices of bread, or as a salad with the bread on the side—either way you'll feel like you conquered the week.
