Do you want more easy weeknight dinners along with inspiration for dinner parties? My cookbook Nights and Weekends is now available for pre-order!
After hosting three back-to-back dinners this week, I felt like I finally got my spark back in the kitchen. Since September I’ve been cross-testing someone else’s cookbook —part of the patchwork of how I put an income together that I don’t share much about. Testing wrapped up a few weeks ago and I’ve been slowly getting back in the groove of thinking about the kind of food I want to be eating, rather than what I have to be making in order to meet a deadline. Coupled with warmer weather and the market brimming with the bounty of spring (strawberries, asparagus, snap peas galore!), I suddenly have an endless well of ideas. The notes app in my phone has a long list of recipes I’m scheming for both weeknight dinners and future parties. For now, may these menus (and recipes!) offer some inspiration as we finally enter a new season of cooking.
Sunday night menu, dinner for 3
Shrimp cocktail (recipe below)
Gin martinis
Clams with celery, scallions, and garlic in a creamy white wine broth with lots of herbs
Butter lettuce salad with a pickled shallot vinaigrette (recipe below)
Monday night menu, dinner for 5
Marinated pork chops on the grill
Casey Elsass’s pickled potato salad from his new book What Can I Bring?
Charred broccoli
Strawberry rhubarb crumble pie (recipe below)
Tuesday night menu, dinner for 12
Snack spread with caramelized shallot dip and chips (recipe in my upcoming cookbook Nights and Weekends)
BBQ chicken thighs and drumsticks on the grill (from our own chickens!)
Sour cream cornbread with salted honey butter (recipe below)
Romaine salad with cucumbers, red onions, and ranch dressing
Roasted asparagus with a mustardy vinaigrette
Ice cream sundaes with hot fudge sauce and poached cherries (recipes below)
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