As fall promised dipping temperatures, I made a pledge to myself in the kitchen: two new recipes a week through the winter months. The pandemic fostered a passion in me for exploring creative meals, and my three go-to meals for my middle school-aged kids were becoming personal disappointments the more that I experimented with newer recipes. (Today, my kids are teens, my son in eighth grade and my daughter in 10th.)
It’s not that my favorite three weren’t crowd pleasers. Chicken cutlets prepared using the traditional Chicken Katsu Japanese style is a variation of my own childhood favorite – and often requested birthday meal growing up – with white rice and creamed corn from a can. Add a splash of hot sauce for some zing.
The other two are dishes made primarily outdoors. As a single dad, my Weber Spirit Gas Grill and Big Green Egg provide for quick clean up and richer taste than meals prepared on the stove. My kids have been raised to enjoy fish, so salmon filets with Dijon mustard and salt and pepper is something they crave. Secretly, I add a slight coating of curry spice before I spread mustard thinly over the fish. Add broccoli florets with toasted garlic fried in a large cast iron pan with olive oil and white rice, and you’ve got a kid- (and adult-) pleasing meal.
Steak tips marinated with Sweet Baby Ray’s barbecue sauce also taste delicious when made on the grill. I grill the room-temperature meat to get sear marks, between medium to well done. Hannaford Sweet Bourbon Marinade also works well as the sauce, either marinated with the steak tips overnight in the fridge or added moments before you cook the tips – whatever your state of affairs allows at the time. Whichever sauce you pick, the meal works with rice made from scratch or with Uncle Ben’s Instant Microwavable rice.
For variety, I also prepare as a side dish Annie’s Shells & Cheddar (known by the kids as “Bunnies,” a reference to the company’s logo) or McCain Smiles, round discs of mashed potatoes in the shape of a face.
All of these meals continue to be staples of our family meals – eaten at the dinner table, in front of the TV, or, at times, standing alone at the kitchen counter. Yet, they aren’t the only ones on our menu anymore. Not only did I keep the pledge for two new dishes per week during the pandemic but also took pictures to share with friends and family on Instagram, #oronome2020. And the comments I’d get, on my stories and in person, gave me reassurance, so I kept my pledge going into the spring.
Slight, subtle compliments from my kids, which honestly had been my real concern, also encourage me to continue pushing new meals onto the dinner table. Once, my daughter asked if the angel hair pasta I was preparing for dinner was “some fancy gourmet recipe.” (With butter, garlic, and basil, which she loved.) Another time, as I prepared a dish using a tagine, found widely in Moroccan cooking, my son and I watched YouTube videos about the culture of the country and learned that saffron is the most expensive spice in the world.
Cooking, it turns out, was feeding our family and our lives with new tastes and experiences.
Why stop now?
Pan-Fried Broccoli
Serves 4
1 – 1 ½ pounds of broccoli
4 tablespoons oil olive
Salt and pepper, to taste
4 cloves garlic, minced, or 1 tablespoon pre-minced garlic
Cut the broccoli up into bite-sized florets, leaving some of the stem.
Heat up 2 tablespoons olive oil in a heavy pan, preferably cast iron, over medium high heat. Distribute the broccoli evenly in the pan. While it is cooking, sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons oil over the broccoli and season the vegetable with salt and pepper.
After a few minutes, look for browning and then use a spatula to turn over the florets. Add the garlic and begin to watch for browning. Cook for a few more minutes, stirring frequently in the final stages; then plate. The florets should be tender, fragrant, and delicious. Eat immediately.
Grilled Salmon with Curry
and Dijon Mustard
Serves 4
1 ½ pounds salmon, thick-cut with skin on
Extra-virgin olive oil, to coat the fish
1 – 2 teaspoons curry powder
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Salt and pepper, to taste
Warm your grill to medium heat.
As it warms, rinse the fish, pat dry, and coat with oil. Sprinkle the curry powder on the flesh side of the salmon, then brush on a thin layer of mustard. Season with salt and pepper.
Put the fish directly on the grill grates, skin side down, for approximately 5 minutes. A good rule of thumb is to watch how the flesh of the fish changes color from bottom to top as it cooks. When the color has changed almost 70 percent to the top, flip it over for about another 5 minutes. Use a fork or a thermometer to check doneness. (The FDA says to cook to 145 degrees F, but many people prefer salmon cooked to 125 degrees F; the temperature will continue to rise a few degrees even after you’ve taken the fish off the grill.) Serve warm.
ABOUT THE COOK, JEFF SANDERS
Jeff Sanders landed in Maine some 21 years ago. He enjoys tasting and recreating foods from cultures all over the world. In particular, he’s on a mission to recreate some of his favorite pizza styles from New York City. He also loves to slow cook on his Big Green Egg. A high school English teacher, he lives in Orono with his kids, Finley and Waite. An avid hiker, he can be found most weekends in Acadia National Park.
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