November 16 - 20

It's cold and rainy and I want to stay in my pajamas and drink coffee all day.  That has nothing to do with dinner, but it needed to be said.  And, looking back, it might have influenced my choices for this week.  Lots of roasting, lots of comfort-food-in-a-big-pot sorts of things.  Yum.

Sunday, November 16

It's Jambalaya time!  

I'll also be making soup today to serve at school tomorrow.  The teachers are taking turns making lunch for each other, then we pay five bucks to eat, and all the money goes to United Way.  We get to do a fundraiser and eat well, too.  I'm making Pasta Fagioli soup, and my friend Elizabeth is bringing bread and a lovely dessert.

Monday, November 17

Salmon with bourbon glaze:  Mix up some brown sugar, bourbon, water and soy sauce.  Put some salmon (wild-caught, please -- the farmed stuff's bad for the environment and you) on a pan covered with tin foil.  Put the oven on about 400 or 425 (this is my standard temperature for everything, I think) and brush the sauce on.  After about 5 minutes, brush some more.  Cooking time depends on how big the salmon pieces are -- I think usually between 8 and 12 minutes, so I'll do one more brush a few minutes before pulling it.  Sprinkle a bit of salt and pepper.

We're also having oven-roasted fingerling potatoes (picked these up on my giant farmers' market adventure a few weeks back and haven't had a chance to use them yet) -- coat lightly in olive oil, salt and pepper, roast for about 25 - 40 minutes.  So obviously, put them in before the salmon.

And broccoli.  We'll have that too.

Tuesday, November 18

Chunky Vegetable Chili

Wednesday, November 19

Pasta with crumbled turkey sausage, veggies and homemade tomato sauce.

Thursday, November 20

Let's-Pretend-We're-Tailgating Sandwiches:

Take half a loaf of lovely multigrain bread, unsliced.  Cut it in half the long way, separating top from bottom (like a giant hamburger bun).  Saute onions, mushrooms, red pepper, zucchini, press into the bottom slice of bread.  A layer of cheese (I'm thinking provelone) on top of the veggies.  Some ham (or other deli meat) on the cheese, then some honey mustard and mayo.  Press the top of the bread on.  Wrap the whole thing in tin foil, put on a pan and into the oven (400, probably) for 15 - 20 minutes.  Slice in thin slices.  The name comes from the fact that we make these when we tailgate for Lions games, and we cook them on the grill.  

Also, sweet potato oven fries:  slice a sweet potato, toss in olive oil, salt, pepper, and fun spices (maybe some ancho chile powder, maybe just Lawry's...).  Put parchment on a cookie sheet, spread potato slices in a single layer.  Bake for 25 - 40 minutes.