Pasta with Greens & Beans
I’m trying to eat more greens, more beans, and less meat. This warm, hearty dish is a delicious way to get collard greens on the table.
Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower
Roasted cauliflower, with or without Parmesan cheese, is a great quick veggie for a weeknight meal. For a fancier version with garlicky breadcrumbs, try Dianna’s Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower.
Crispy Sheet Pan Gnocchi & Veggies
Gnocchi is a pillowy potato pasta typically boiled in water like other pastas, but a recent trend in roasting all of the ingredients for a meal on a single sheet pan has inspired a new way to cook them. Shelf-stable or refrigerated gnocchi can be roasted straight out of the package, resulting in a crispy, chewy texture. Bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, red onion, basil, and garlic round out the meal.
Garlic Noodles
Butter, garlic, soy sauce, fish sauce, and Parmesan seems like a funky combination, but it’s a delicious way to dress a side of noodles.
Guy’s Campfire Mac & Cheese
Guy made this giant batch of mac & cheese at a Cub Scout campout, and it was a big hit with both the kids and the adults.
Ribollita
This year for book club, my choice was The Italian Party, a novel set in 1950s Sienna and “teeming with seduction and spycraft.” My menu was inspired by food from the book and centered on this Ribollita, a stew of kale, tomatoes, and beans, thickened with day-old bread. It’s a recipe and style of cooking thought of as “poor cooking” and making the most of what you have, but it was a beautiful dish to serve to friends with wine, Cacio e Pepe, and delightful discussion of a great story.
Dianna’s Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower
Parmesan cheese, garlic, and breadcrumbs take roasted cauliflower to the next level. For a simpler version, try Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower.
Garlic & Parmesan Roasted Shrimp
Top shrimp with garlic, Parmesan cheese, basil, and oregano for a quick, perfect appetizer or weeknight dinner. Serve with Farro, Tomatoes, & Parmesan.
Farro, Tomatoes, & Parmesan
This dish was inspired by Martha Stewart’s one-pot pasta dish that creates its own sauce as it cooks. Combine water, farro, thinly sliced onions and garlic, and cherry tomatoes, and cook until the farro is tender and the onions and tomatoes have melted into the perfect sauce.
Cheez-It Chicken Tenders
These baked chicken tenders are moist and whimsical, due to a crispy coating of crushed Cheez-It crackers, making them the perfect weeknight meal for kids.