Two at the Table_Menu_Week of August 10 2014

We have a fun week planned, with a Yankee game Sunday afternoon and a birthday party to attend Saturday afternoon. We also have a couples cooking class with Chef Maria Reina at the Hilltop Hanover Farm & Environmental Center Friday evening.

Our menu is a little shorter than most weeks, because we figure we’ll have a light dinner the night of the ballgame and the party and eat what we make in the cooking class on Friday. What’s more, Kim has a couple of dinner dates this week, so Tony will be on his own to whip up a one-person dinner.

On Monday night, we’ll make Ina Garten’s Mustard Roasted Fish from her “Back to Basics” cookbook. We still have lots of spinach left over form our trip to Long Island, so we’ll make that along with the potatoes we have left over from the Sheet-Pan Clambake With Mussels, Shrimp, and Chorizo. The fish recipe is not only simple and delicious, but will also allow us to use up the creme fraiche we used to make the Crispy Skinned Duck Breast with a Cherry Sauce and Creamy Spinach and Polenta last week.

Since Kim will be out to dinner on Tuesday, Tony peeked in the freezer to see what he might be able to turn into a simple dinner. He landed on Food Network’s Chicken, Sausage and Peppers, which will let him use up some chicken breasts and Italian sausage we have in the freezer.

On Wednesday, we’re making a new recipe that we saw on Jessica Mechant’s How Sweet It Is blog (www.howsweeteats.com): Cheese Smothered Stuffed Poblanos. The recipe is incredibly easy and we’re making it even easier by using pre-made jasmine rice that we bought from our online grocer, Fresh Direct. We typically don’t take shortcuts like this, but since rice can take a little while to cook and can sometimes be hard to get exactly right, we’re going to make an exception.

Kim will be out to dinner again Thursday night, so Tony took another peek in the freezer and found the chorizo left over from our Sheet-Pan Clambake With Mussels, Shrimp, and Chorizo last week. A quick recipe search turned up Spicy Shrimp and Chorizo Kebabs from “Food & Wine” magazine. Tony will have this with a fun side of roasted corn, red peppers and zucchini, which we also purchased on Fresh Direct.

In addition to the dishes noted above, we’ll also report out on our Friday evening cooking class as well. We’re not sure what we’re making yet, but it should be lots of fun!