Sara’s Weeknight Meals
Linguini with White Bean, Sun-dried Tomato, and Olive Sauce
Makes 4 servings Hands-on-time: 10 minutes Total preparation time: 20 minutes Mashing up white beans instantly produces a creamy pasta sauce – without cream – that’s capable of binding together all the ingredients in a dish. Here I’ve “beefed up” the sauce with sun-dried tomatoes and olives from the pantry. Of course,…
Fried Rice
Makes 4 servings Hands-on-time: 15 minutes Total preparation time: 15 minutes If you order Chinese takeout (and who doesn’t?), chances are you often have cooked white rice on your hands. I can’t think of any better use for it than to transform it into fried rice. The kids love it. I have…
Asian Turkey Burgers with Wasabi Sauce
Makes 6 servings Hands-on time: 20 minutes Total preparation time: 30 minutes Sure, ground turkey is a nice lean alternative to ground beef, but its very leanness guarantees that it will usually be quite dry. How to juice it up? Vegetables – in this case Napa cabbage, which gives off moisture…
Portobello Burgers with Red Pepper and Gorgonzola
Makes 4 servings Hands-on time: 20 minutes Total preparation time: 30 minutes plus 1 hour marinating This is an absolutely wonderful meatless summer sandwich. In the center is a marinated and grilled Portobello mushroom cap. It is filled with melted Gorgonzola, topped with roasted red peppers, and lathered with just a…
Grilled Shiitake, Sweet Potato, and Eggplant Kabobs
Makes 4 servings Hands-on time: 10 minutes Total preparation time: 50 minutes including marinating time Shiitake mushrooms, sweet potatoes, and eggplant are all very “meaty” vegetables. Similarly, there’s a creaminess to Sesame Miso Sauce, although it contains no cream. Put them together and you’ve got a very filling dish. Tasty,…
Easy Buffalo Chicken Wings
Makes 4 servings Hands-on time: 5 minutes Total preparation time: 30 minutes If you are a fan of Buffalo Chicken Wings you will not be disappointed by these, even though they are a much-simplified version of the original, which involves deep frying, sauces, and celery stalks. You will be happy…
Royal Chicken Cooked in Yogurt
Makes 4 servings Hands on time: 10 minutes Total preparation time: 40 to 45 minutes 1 cup yogurt 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1 teaspoon ground coriander 1 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste Freshly ground black pepper 3 1/2 pounds chicken,…
Green Chile and Zucchini Quiche
Makes 6 servings Hands-on time: 25 minutes Total preparation time: 55 to 60 minutes This quiche gets its Southwestern flair from Monterey Jack cheese and canned chiles. But if you have a little more time, you should lose the canned chiles and make it instead with roasted fresh poblanos, which…
Food Processor Pizza Dough
Makes about 4 servings Hands-on time: 10 minutes Total preparation time: 45 minutes 2 to 2 1/2 cups unsifted, unbleached all-purpose flour One 1/4-ounce package quick-rising yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons) 1 teaspoon sugar 1 teaspoon table salt 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil Combine 1 3/4 cups of the flour, the…
Steamed Black Bass with Ginger and Scallions
Makes 4 servings Hands-on time: 15 minutes Total preparation time: 35 minutes 2 or 3 whole black sea bass, 1 1/2 to 2 pounds each, gutted and scaled A large thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger 6 scallions, trimmed 1/4 cup vegetable oil Kosher salt or sea salt 1 cup Soy-Ginger Sauce Working Ahead-…