Two at the Table_Menu_Week of May 25 2014

This was our second week back from an amazing trip to Tuscany. Last week, we ended up ordering in and eating out quite a lot. Now that we were over our jet lag and settled back into our routine, we decided to try a few new things, mixed in with some old favorites.

We had been planning to make Ina Garten’s Pissaladieres (a very oniony pizza) since before our vacation. Kim first had this dish on a trip to Paris two years ago. With pizza dough already in the freezer and onions already on the counter, we decided to have it on Sunday. (FYI – the recipes calls for anchovies, but you can leave them off if you prefer.)

For any given week, we try to plan a balance of fish, chicken, meat and at least one vegetarian night. We usually use the fish as early in the week as possible, so we decided to try a new recipe on Monday: Salmon Steaks with Swiss Chard, Asparagus, and Almond-Red Pepper Sauce. The recipe was part of a Real Simple article on “one pan dinners”, but given our small kitchen, we had to spread things out over three pans. (It was much easier than it sounds!) There was also a recipe for a sheet pan clam bake that we’re definitely coming back to this summer.

Tuesday night would be the first day back at work after the long weekend, so we decided to keep it simple and make pasta.  We don’t make pasta all that often, so we try to do something a little different when we do. We found a recipe several years ago in the New York Times for Pasta With Spicy Sausages, Tomatoes, Rosemary and Olives and decided to make that again.

We had plans for dinner with friends on Wednesday night, so we moved on to Thursday and one of our favorites: Ina Garten’s Chicken with Herbed Goat Cheese. We make this dish at least once every couple of months because it is very, very simple and very, very good. We decided to make a quick and easy side of sautéed spinach to go with it.

We decided to make another favorite on Friday: Real Simple’s Chili-Glazed Pork with Sweet Potato Hash. The recipes uses a pork tenderloin, which is cooked under the broiler, so it takes no time at all. The best part is there are always leftovers, which make for great Cuban sandwiches on Saturday. (Hint, hint – check back this weekend for notes on the Cubans!)