Sunday Night Dinners

Sunday Night “Spring Chicken” Dinner

The day when we all lose an hour of sleep but know spring is right around the corner! The day when we believe winter is finally behind us and sunshine is right around the corner! The day when we start to dream about shorts and bathing suits and we start to eat healthier meals…

Menu inspired by Daylight Savings: Spring time dinner

Antipasta- green beans, roasted red peppers, artichokes, mozzarella, & salami; marinated with garlic, mustard, vinegar and salt/pepper for taste

Broccoli Rabe- cant go wrong with GREEN veggies! Sauteed with extra virgin olive oil and garlic

Roasted Chicken- chicken thighs (bone-in) seasoned with extra virgin olive oil, salt and peppers; roast @ 425 degrees for about 35-40 minutes until skin is crispy. Tip- use a cast iron pan if you have one. Chicken will cook to perfection. 

Not only was the plate colorful but it was delicious, filled with lots of veggies and it was easy to make! Now the question is- WHERE ARE YOU SPRING?! Mother Nature says- Right around the corner!

Sunday Night “Frankie’s Meatballs” Dinner Party

Been wanting to make the most quintessential Sunday Night dinner since I started my blog; Spaghetti and Homemade Meatballs, and this past Sunday Night was the perfect time to make it.

A dinner party on a cold wintery night was the backdrop for pulling together this hearty, warm, stomach-filling, off your diet kinda of meal. The only recipe that I thought of to use for making meatballs from scratch was from Frankie’s Spuntino’s cookbook. I am bias to this recipe as I have had the pleasure of dining at his restaurant as well as good friends with the person that lives next to Tony- the inspiration for the secret ingredients in making these meatballs perfect. The secret is out: pine nuts and raisins that provides texture and the right amount of sweetness to compliment the meat and pecorino cheese. 

For this blog I am going to include the link to Frank and Tony’s recipe to pay tribute to coming up with the deliciousness recipe. 

http://www.chow.com/recipes/29105-frankies-meatballs

Dinner was paired with spaghetti, homemade garlic bread and lots and lots of red wine! Everyone enjoyed and left full and happy! 

Bon Appetit! 

Sunday Night “Stick to your Ribs” Dinner

Freezing temps, gusty winds, chills through the body means it is time for some stick to your ribs sunday night dinners. I have always wanted to make Braised Short Ribs and when my friend was visiting I knew she would appreciate the meal; a foodie just like me.

The meal started with a Romaine Salad with Homemade Blue Cheese Vinaigrette. The Blue Cheese paired perfectly with the hearty ribs; helps to cut through the richness of the ribs. A side of winter veggies of roasted squash and brussel sprouts rounded out the stick to your ribs dinner. Paired with a delicious bottle or two of Sonoma wine the meal was a complete success for warming the body and filling our bellies on a cold winter night. 

Recipe: (Serves 4)

Salt and pepper 8 beef short ribs then dredge them in flour; set aside. In a dutch over, over medium cook pancetta (diced) until crispy and rendered. Add olive oil and brown the ribs on each side;  1-2 minutes on each side and then remove. Add onions, carrots, and shallots to pan and cook 2 minutes. Pour in wine (2 cups of red wine); bring to a boil and then added in broth (2 cups of beef broth) and salt/pepper to taste. Add the ribs till they are submerged, add thyme and rosemary springs, cover and place into oven at 350 degrees for 2 hours; then reduce heat to 325 and cook for an additional 30 minutes. Ribs will be falling off the bone and ready to eat! 

ENJOY! 

Sunday Night “Frankenstorm” Dinner

When “Zone A” and Sunday Night Dinner Collide you get a “Franekstorm” feast for two! 

With the pending storm I had to think about a dinner where we will have left overs and something hearty to keep us warm in case we lose electricity. What came to mind was my dad’s roasted chicken that he said is a full proof recipe- will always come out crispy and juicy! DONE! 

Roasted Chicken:

Whole chicken- ask butcher to remove the backbone

Day of cooking, wash, pat dry and season with salt. Put in the fridge for at least 2 hours uncovered. An hour and a half before cooking, take the chicken out and let it sit to bring to room temperature for 1 hour. During this time place a cast iron pan in the oven and pre-heat to 500 degrees; I also seasoned the chicken with black pepper, paprika, some more salt and olive oil. Final 30 minutes, place the chicken on the cast iron, breast side up. For 30-40 minutes (keep an eye on the chicken and baste with its juices to keep it from drying out. Like my dad said it is a full proof recipe. The chicken was crispy and juicy and we did have left overs :)

I accompanied the chicken with roasted potatoes and brussels sprouts (my favorite vegetable, so happy it is fall). 

You dont have to wait for storms to collide to enjoy this dinner. Enjoy!

Sunday Night “Labor of Love” Dinner

Nothing like winding down the summer with a slow, cooked rotisserie chicken. While my husband minds the grill, we work together to create a dry rub to season the chicken and then let it rest for at least an hour. Our dry rub includes anything we can get our hands on in our home- garlic, paprika, cumin, dry mustard, cinnamon, white pepper, granulated onion, salt and pepper and fresh herbs from the garden. EASY, that is all it takes to prep the chicken and then the rotisserie does all the labor for 3 hours (4.5lbs chicken) for a crispy skin on the outside and juicy meat on the inside.

The season coming to an end means cooler days and some of my favorites will go into “hibernation” till next year- corn, tomatoes and basil. So I decided to make my corn, walnut salad and fresh caprese salad to round out the Labor Day dinner.

Sunday Night Dinner didnt require that much labor but a delicious dinner nonetheless that was made with love! 

Sunday Night Dinner “Gives You Wiiings”

Garlicky, peppery, finger-licking ever so good chicken wings. Sometimes that is all it takes to make a delicious and easy Sunday Night Dinner.

Every time we make these wings we add new ingredients to change it up a bit. This time we kicked it up a notch with Sriracha as well oyster sauce. Not only did the wings come out amazing but its a great go-to recipe; YOU can make it your own with any ingredients you have on hand.

We typically get around 3lbs of wings (should serve 4-5 people but without sides up to 2 people) and should marinate at least 3-4 hours if not longer. 

Marinade: put all into a freezer bag along with the wings (flip bag a few times while marinating)

1/2 cup lite soy sauce

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon honey

2 tablespoons minced garlic

2 tablespoons ground pepper

We added 2 tablespoons Sriracha and 2 tablespoons oyster sauce. 

When ready fire up the BBQ (in our case an electric one) and let the wings and the heat work their magic. Depending on the BBQ it should take about 30 minutes. Once ready start enjoying the sticky, tender, savory wings! 

Remember to have lots of napkins handy. Enjoy!

Sunday Night “Happy As A Clam” Dinner

For the last two days I’ve had a headache that would not go away. So when I was trying to figure out what to make for Sunday Night Dinner I knew it had to be easy and stress-free. 

The first thing that came to mind was seafood, but what kind of seafood. I needed something that did not take that much time to prep and could use ingredients found in the house to pull it all together. CLAMS! They just need to be steamed and can add anything you want to the broth for flavor. Experiment and make it your own.

I used what I found in the fridge so this made me “happy as a clam”. Always love making a great dish while using leftovers! 

I started with sauteing onion, chorizo (thanks to my brother for bringing it over), garlic, tomato, wine with some butter. I let the broth cook for a bit to burn off the alcohol. Once bubbling I adding in the clams (1 1/2 dozen) and covered it for about 8-10 minutes till the clams opened. “Happy as a clam” that all the clams opened :)

I served the clams over couscous with a side of garlic bread to soak up the yummy broth. With the dogs days of summer upon us this was a perfect Sunday Night Dinner bursting with flavors that was light and perfectly filling.

Enjoy!

Sunday Night All-American Dinner

What better way to celebrate the Olympics then to make All-American burgers. Tonight’s Sunday Night Dinner was team work between my husband and I seasoning and cooking together.

We used turkey meat along with fresh herbs to lighten up dinner without losing taste. Chopped chives and fresh oregano from the garden went into the patties along with salt and pepper for taste. Grilled up the burgers for about 20 minutes (varies depending upon thickness) to get a nice char on them. 

We dressed up the burgers with white onion, tomatoes, fresh basil (a nice fresh twist to the sandwich) with a smear of dijon mustard (try Maille mustard you wont be disappointed!). 

A juicy, tasty, and healthy burger paired with a salad and accompanied with your favorite cold beverage (mine- Brooklyn Summer Ale) you have an all-american dinner to celebrate the Olympics! 

Sunday Night Dining Al Fresco

Now that the humidity has subsided we were able to enjoy dinner on the balcony with a nice breeze and tasty BBQ. Nothing screams summer time then BBQ chicken, a cold beer, a relaxing atmosphere with great company (my husband). 

We put a chili-lime rub on the drumsticks and chicken breasts and let them sit for about an hour. During that time I chopped up cucumbers, tomatoes and onions for my shepherd’s salad. It’s a great cool compliment to the warm juicy chicken and couscous.

Note- Couscous only takes 5 minutes to cook and is delicious. I highly recommend adding to your Sunday Night Dinners. 

The chicken (bone-in) takes about an hour on the BBQ so make sure to coordinate with when you want to eat. This is one of those dinners that is just that simple! When the chicken is ready, pile on the sides and start enjoying! 

BBQ’ing always helps to slow you down; so while the summer is still here, try to take a moment and enjoy your Sunday Night Dinner Al Fresco. 

Sunday Night “Shells off” Dinner

Soft shell crabs only comes around once a year for a limited time. So when you see them at your market I advise you to scoop them up quickly and enjoy your Sunday Night Dinner! 

This time of year every menu has a soft shell crab special on it. I was at a food festival the other week and I said to my husband “wow look at that line for the soft shell crab sandwich”! it is a favorite for everyone. Seriously makes everyone happy taking that first bite of the crunchy tasty crab that we all know is only available for a short while. We savor the moment and it puts a smile on our faces.

This smile happened for me over Memorial Day weekend when I finally eyed the perfect soft shell crabs at the market. The rest of the dinner plan came together quickly with pairing the soft shell crabs with black bean/corn salad and fresh Caprese salad. Trifecta of all meals!

Soft Shell Crabs:

I marinated the crabs with some beer (not a light beer, need taste and flavor), chopped garlic, cumin, paprika, salt and pepper for an hour. 

I seasoned the flour with cumin, paprika as well as a “seafood blend” spice along with salt and pepper. Be generous so the flavors come through when cooking. In a pan I used good EVOO, heat till it starts to bubble a little. Coat the crabs with the flour, shake off the excess and put the top side down into the pan and cook for about 5 minutes to golden brown, then flip for a couple of minutes. Remove from pan and let the crab sit on a paper towel to soak up some of the grease. Its that EASY! 

Black Bean & Corn Salad:

One can of black beans, rinse and put into a bowl. Put 4 sweet corn stalks into bowling water to soften and then remove the corn from the cob and mix with the beans. Cut up a red onion, some jalapeno for some heat, fresh herbs, EVOO, salt and pepper. 

I received so many compliments on this Sunday Night Dinner. I hope you enjoy making and eating the meal as much as I have enjoyed writing about it. 

Till next week! Bon Appetit! 

Seafood Sunday Night Dinner

Ah summertime. This time of year fresh fish is the perfect way to end a busy weekend. 

I was hoping to make soft-shell crabs as they are only in season for a few months but had to go to plan B when the market didn’t receive any that morning. Looking at all the wonderful seafood to choose from I decided on steamers as an appetizer and scallops for my main course. 

As much as I had to improvise the menu as I was thrown a curve ball, Seafood Sunday Night Dinner came together just perfectly.

This Sunday Night Dinner included a guest, my brother, so the stakes were a bit higher in making sure everything was timed right and enjoyable. 

The steamers only take about 5-8 minutes to cook. The broth is what it is all about. In a sauce pan melt some butter and add in good white wine. Let that cook for a minute to burn off the alcohol. Next add in garlic and fresh herbs. Then add in the steamers and cover with lid. I added in prosciutto to give the dish my own spin. Ready to serve. Eat while hot.

My relationship with scallops has been years in the making. I have learned that it is a MUST to lay out the scallops on a paper towel for at least 10 minutes prior to cooking in order to get the moisture out to help brown the scallops. Season with salt and pepper and into the pan on mid-high heat. They only take a few minutes on each side to get golden brown. Any longer the scallops will get hard. 

I accompanied my Seafood Sunday Night Dinner with corn salad (walnuts, feta & fresh mint) and couscous with olives. The entire dish worked beautifully, was so easy to make and was healthy. 

While the temps hit 80 degrees continue to enjoy the treasures from the ocean. Happy Seafood Sunday Night Dinner! 

Sunday Night Pre-Birthday Dinner

Happy birthday to ME! What better way to kick-off a pre-birthday celebration than with my delicious, healthy home-made pizza! Everyone loves pizza especially when it is made with fresh mozzarella, fresh herbs and home-made dough and sauce.

With the sun shining and the warm breeze, my husband and I decided to relax at home and enjoy the sunset over the east river while making Sunday Night Dinner. The first thing that came to mind for both of us was PIZZA! 

My husband’s reasons for pizza: “Its my favorite meal you make.” ” I love when you make pizza because it takes a while so I get to enjoy watching TV.” “I look forward to pizza night because I know once we are done with the first pizza there is always a second one ready to go into the oven”. 

My reasons for pizza: “CHEESE & BREAD- my weakness” “It’s my birthday and I will make what I want to.” 

I always start with making the sauce as it needs at least 1 hour to simmer. While the sauce is on the stove I start to make my dough. 

Sauce Recipe: (with help from my dad!)

In a dutch over saute onion till transparent. Add garlic for 30-45 seconds (be careful not to burn) 

Add 1 can of peeled tomatoes (my favorite San Marzano) 

1 teaspoon of wine vinegar

1 tablespoon of dried mustard

1 tablespoon of brown sugar 

1 tablespoon of garlic powder 

Add any fresh herbs you like (recommendation: oregano, thyme, parsley)

Salt/Pepper for flavor

Simmer for 1 hour with lid

Dough Recipe:

Start with 1/2 cup of warm water and package of yeast with a teaspoon of olive oil to activate the yeast. 

3 cups All-Purpose Flour (recommendation: King Arthur All-Purpose Flour)

Mix 1 tablespoon salt into flour with the activated yeast along with a tablespoon of honey. 

On a lightly floured surface mix and roll the dough into a ball. Knead it for a few minutes and then set aside in lightly greased bowl and cover to allow the dough to rise (at least 1 hour if not longer).

Preheat oven to 425. Place the pizza pan in the oven for a couple of minutes to warm. Remove and roll out the dough on the pizza pan. For added flavor sprinkle some shredded Parmesan cheese and some oil olive on the dough and put into the oven for a few minutes. Remove and add sauce, cheese, and fresh basil (from my herb garden!). Place back into oven for another few minutes. For the last minute I turn on the Broil setting to crisp up the dough for perfection! 

Voila!! Paired with a nice sauvignon blanc and your Sunday Night Dinner is ready to enjoy! 

Buon Appetito! Ci vediamo domenica prossima! 

(Photo courtesy of my husband. Sunset through wine glass)