10.20.2007

This Week's Menu

So I’m a single parent for 6 days while the husband is in Seattle, soaking up all that Pacific Northwest beauty. Though he’d argue that he’s not soaking up anything since he is on a business trip. Whatever. All I know is that he has temporarily broken free of the routine and I’m in it up to my eyeballs.

So what’s the point? Well, a little self-congratulations, of course! Despite all the insanity that comes with single-handedly running a household consisting of myself and a 6-year-old spirited child, I have to say that I whipped up a pretty good menu for the week:

LAST NIGHT, FRIDAY: It was “Kid Dinner Night.” So she got Annie’s Homegrown mac and cheese, while I made myself pumpkin ravioli with brown butter, sage, pine nuts, and parmesan. As a little extra finish, I lightly grated bittersweet chocolate over it. It may sound strange, but I assure that this gives the meal that little extra thing. You know, the thing.

TONIGHT: ABC sandwiches and fingerling potatoes. What are ABC sandwiches? Apple, bacon, and cheddar. Put it on rye or wheat bread with some Dijon. Dang! Simple, healthy, and really dee-lish. I just boiled the fingerlings then drizzled my brand-new awesome olive oil over them with some salt and pepper.

TOMORROW NIGHT: Yukon Gold potatoes with Gorgonzola and Pancetta. This is a new recipe so we’ll see how it goes. How can I go wrong with gorgonzola and pancetta, right? Then I’ll grill some shrimp for the kiddo and I’m grilling myself filet mignon, rare, of course.

MONDAY: Grilled cheese sandwiches and homemade applesauce. Last weekend we went apple-picking upstate so I’ve got apples coming out my ears. Hence, the applesauce. And I ain’t making no ordinary grilled cheese, oh no. Brie and proscuitto are going on mine.

TUESDAY: We’re doing antipasti. I know, this is my “lazy” meal. I’ve got sopressata and Serrano ham for the meat. For the cheese, I have a Ossau Iraty Paradou, Tome Fermier d’Alsace, and a local triple cream goat cheese. If you have access to Fresh Direct, you can try these cheeses yourself. The creamy goat cheese is going to pair well with the slightly salty Ossau Iraty. I have some really buttery crackers that cost a small fortune…but it doesn’t matter because they’re amazing. And lastly, I’ll do some roasted peppers, artichoke hearts, and olives. It’ll be super good and super easy.

Lastly, this is sort of related. Have you heard about this whole bike thing in France? Vélib? Apparently it’s really popular in other European cities. I love it. Again, it makes me suspect that I could be very happy living in Europe. I don’t know, though. Clearly I have a romanticized view of it all. It’s probably just like New York. Where you ride your bike around, risking life and limb, getting honked at, flipping people off, and lots of swearing in multiple languages. Right? But it’s still a nice idea…

2 comments:

Anali said...

Wow, you really know how to put together a menu for when your husband's out of town! I usually try to stock up on leftovers, because I am NOT the one who typically does the cooking. However, if Chris were gone for 6 days, I'd probably be forced to do some cooking. Maybe I'll bookmark this post...

Phoenix tried a similar concept to Velibe a few years ago - they bought a bunch of purple bikes and kept them at specified locations around downtown. The theory was, people could just borrow a bike and leave it at any purple bike rack. Naturally, they were all stolen within months. You probably remember this, actually.

Unknown said...

Oh, no, no. It really is nothing fancy, Anali. The key is to take really ordinary dishes and fancy 'em up. Take a look at the list. I made boiled potatoes, variations on cheese sandwiches, and pasta with butter. That's it. Just made them prettier.

And I totally remember the purple bikes!