The menu for the week beginning April 26th is:
- Monday – Roasted chicken breasts accompanied by lemon potatoes and roasted broccoli.
- Tuesday – Tuna croquettes accompanied by green beans in almondine sauce.
- Wednesday – Pasta with tomato and almond pesto accompanied by peas
- Thursday – Hot dogs with Michigan sauce accompanied by fried potato rounds
- Finger Food Friday – Maryland crab cakes
Comments
For some reason the roasted chicken with red potatoes and roasted broccoli sounded really good. I don’t have a single recipe for it all – it’s a combination of 3 different ones that just sounded good together.
Both the tuna croquettes and the pasta with tomato and almond pesto I’ve made before and both were really good. Since I’m just back from vacation I didn’t want a lot of complexity this week so sticking with things I know and I like.
Talking with mom this week about cooking and in particular “coney sauces” got me hankering for hot dogs with Michigan sauce. Takes some time to make but it sure is good!
The crab cakes will be interesting. I’ve never made them before but my wife loves them. I’m going to try Paul Prudhomme’s recipe with a seasoning mixture. I have a Cooks Country version that broils them, but I want to try out the pan frying since I’m a sucker for fried foods.
Outcomes
The roasted chicken hit the spot. Pan seared to give it a nice crust, it roasted in the oven for a nice finish that left it moist and juicy. The sliced red potatoes simmered covered in a lemon-chicken broth before evaporating the liquid and crisping the outsides – yummy! Roasted broccoli is quickly becoming a favorite dish – I tossed the florets in lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, salt, sugar and pepper before roasting.
Second time round with the tuna croquettes and despite some binding issues they tasted really good – my wife even said so. My daughter even ate them. The microwaved green beans in almondine sauce were great as well. The best part (depending on how you look at it): no left overs!
As with the tuna croquettes, the tomato almond pesto was even better the second time around. I used a few less tomatoes this time and the basil flavor really came out. Not much left over, a mere mouthful – which won’t be in the fridge long!
I’ve always loved hot dogs with coney sauce and the Michigan sauce recipe I’ve been using just keeps getting better. I used a higher fat content ground beef this time and while a bit more oily it had a slightly better flavor.
The crab cakes were fun to prepare and had good taste. The cooking technique and/or perhaps the recipe didn’t turn out a OMG crab cake I was hoping for. The spice mix left heat on the pallet long after the crab cake was gone, so the spices get an A+. Since my wife likes crab cakes I think I’ll be playing with these a bit.
One more item on the crab cakes – left over ones warmed up make great fillings for omelets!
