Rethinking dinner

A

amanda_pennsylvania

Well-known member
Howdy, all. So, it's summer, longer days, more light. This means that my family doesn't want to eat dinner until later in the evening, like around 8pm or so. I don't mind eating later, but I don't want to be cooking that late because I'm tired.

So I'm trying to rethink my approach to dinner. Does anyone have any thoughts about what I could do for dinners that wouldn't involve much cooking? Or maybe things I could cook earlier?

Salads, obviously. Antipasti plates? Other thoughts? I'm kinda stuck...

 
How about pasta dishes? You can saute stuff for the sauce in advance,

then cook the pasta just before serving, heat up the sauce, and toss in the pasta.

 
Amanda, I've been bachelorette-ing for the past few weeks and here's

what I've been enjoying.
Dressed kale with fresh butter lettuce, tabouli, fresh tomatoes and hearts of palm.

I prepare an entire head of fresh kale (cut off bottom, soak in ice water until HUGE and crunchy, dry, cut off all stems, shred into bite-size pieces, crush with your hand for a few minutes with a lemony dressing). This can sit in the frig for over a week with no problem.

For dinner or lunch, I take the prepped kale, add fresh lettuce greens, a few scoops of prepared tabouli (I used Moosewood Cookbook), fresh diced tomatoes and heart of palm, slivered.

Then I add some protein...mostly it's been baked sockeye salmon. (Once baked, that lasts for a few days.)

Or slivered steak.

Or deli rotisserie chicken.

 
I'll probably be of now help to you because I live in S. Fl. and

the land of the 24/7 air con and I never think in terms of it's to hot for that. That said, I love anything that I can put together in the a.m. and then just cook in the oven. Casseroles, stews, chili etc. I have baked casseroles in the gas grill many times and even baked a cake in one once. It's basically an oven. Or make meatballs and sauce in the morning, reheat at dinner time and put in hoagie rolls with mozz. on top. Or it's a good time to get out the Panini grill and try different ones. I'll post a link for a blog called Panini Happy. She has tons of ideas for different ones. I also have a killer recipe for a chilled tomato soup that is amazing. Let me know if you're interested in the recipe.

http://paninihappy.com/

 
I'm with Orchid in doing the dinner prep in the morning. I don't know if you are a working person..

if not, do as much as you can in the morning . I do all my chopping, marinating, even make the salad and dressing, store them separately in the fridge. If I am having rice, I measure everything out (mise en place) and put it on prep boards. I have my cooking pans out, too.Have others set the table while you throw everything together in the evening, and since they want to eat later, assign someone to do the clean-up, and someone to put the food away. You can use that time to quickly figure out the next nights meal.
In summer, I stick with quick stuff. Here are some faves.

http://whatscookingamerica.net/KarenCalanchini/TexMexTacoBowls.htm

 
I'm a huge fan of cooking when it's enjoyable, then reheating or finishing off a dish

later. I'll marinade things overnight, then cook them off in the morning while I have my coffee and shower. Reheat for dinner.

The pulled pork that was so popular here on the Swap (can't remember the exact name at the moment), it has a 6 hr roasting time. I'd put that in the oven when I went to bed, then pull it out, sit it on the counter to cool and go back to bed. When I got up a little while later, I'd shred the meat, stick it in the fridge, and go to work. I'd usually double the recipe and freeze half. Then make rice bowls and pulled pork sandwiches for a few days.

I also really like deli salads--hearty bean or grain-based salads that can stand the test of time. Marilyn mentioned kale salads and those are great too. Very durable, good for several days. Then when you want dinner, you can just add a protein--broil or grill steak, chicken, or shrimp. Easy.

You mentioned salads. I'm a huge fan of them and realized I eat more salads when everything is chopped and ready to go. So I create my own "salad bar" and have a bunch of different containers I can grab from. I boil a dozen eggs, chop three bunches of kale and throw them back in the bag they came in, chop red peppers, red onion, broccoli, whatever. I'll even triple the salad dressing recipe so I've got enough to last all week.

I'll take a flank steak, throw it in the marinade while I'm at work, then just sear it off when I get home.

I used to work at a lunch spot that served food buffet-style. One thing we'd do is make up a bunch of meat for meatballs. One day the were sauced Italian-style. Another day, they'd be in a mahogany sauce, etc. We'd mix up a big bunch of meat in the beginning of the week and vary with the sauce day by day.

I'd make up a triple batch of taco meat, portion it, and stash it in the freezer. Then you're ready for salads, tacos, or even enchiladas in no time.

I've already had dinner, but tonight, I'll be making a batch of Italian meatballs and red sauce for tomorrow. All I'll have to do tomorrow is cook off the pasta. And the best part for me? I get to cook when it's relaxed and and enjoyable. smileys/smile.gif

 
Ted Allen's Porchetta

I prepped this then wasn't able to get around to cooking it off for a couple days and the flavor was incredible! In the recipe, he serves it on a bed of polenta, but for summer, I'd love on a bed of cous cous or something along those lines.

Porchetta

3 pounds boneless pork shoulder, trimmed of excess fat
Kosher or sea salt
Grated zest of 1 lemon
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 teaspoons fennel seeds, plus more for sprinkling
16 fresh sage leaves, chopped
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
Freshly ground pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

Prepare the pork: To butterfly, slice down the middle of the pork with a sharp knife, about two-thirds of the way through. Open the meat like a book and pound with a mallet or heavy skillet into a 1-inch-thick rectangle, about

8 by 14 inches. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Season the pork with about 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. In a small bowl, mix the lemon zest, garlic, 2 teaspoons fennel seeds, the sage, rosemary and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper. Rub the mixture all over the pork, then roll it up tightly and tie with twine. Drizzle the roll with olive oil and rub all over; sprinkle with pepper and more fennel seeds. (The roll can be prepared up to 3 days in advance; refrigerate until roasting.)

Place the pork roll on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Roast until a thermometer inserted into the middle registers 180* degrees and the pork is crusty on the outside, about 2 hours. Let rest 15 minutes before slicing.

 
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