No Diet Food in Sight Here
You're on a "diet" and you're not in the mood to look for something healthy to make for dinner tonight. In fact, healthy, although tasty, is sounding tiresome. And, your great big hulking middle son is coming over for dinner. He is so not going to be into "Oven Roasted Tomatoes and Garlic with Halibut."
Instead, you laze against the kitchen counter with your coffee, soaking up the glorious sight of real sunshine coming in the window, thinking about family favorites. At least thinking about them doesn't add calories. Family Favorites at our house are classified as anything I have made more than once. Remember, I subject my family to different recipes all the time. They're so tolerant. But they're spoiled, too, because last night I didn't put much thought into dinner, and, well … did you know if rice noodles cook too long they sort of thicken things up? Does gelatinous conjure a clear image for you? If I'm not movin' and shakin' in my kitchen, the guys are denied their evening (or any other meal for that matter) surprise.
So what do they really like?
Spaghetti with Fresh Clams, Parsley, and Lemon from Bon Appetit
If you have (or are) a picky eater, you can add shrimp, mussels, or chicken instead. I've mixed the seafood several times. You can use different herbs, add diced tomatoes, a bit of goat cheese, or sliced, roasted lemons which are truly heavenly. Serve it with pasta as the recipe calls for, or, serve without the pasta in a wide bowl, and get a loaf of crusty bread to soak up the juice dip by dip. Absolutely fabulous!
Warm Bread Salad of Crispy Pancetta, Parmesan and Poached Egg from Jamie Oliver's
cookbook. This salad is a meal in itself. The combination of lemon and egg with the salty pancetta is truly gratifying. Try it exactly the way Oliver puts it down. It's worth every bite.
Swordfish with Mediterranean Tomato Sauce and Linguini from Michael Chiarello's Flavored Oils: 50 Recipes for Cooking with Infused Oils. I have tried so many of the recipes in this book and they are a foodie's delight. Whenever I make bruchetta, the mix is derived from a recipe in this book, Pasta with Tomato Vinaigrette. Yes, the pasta recipe is outstanding, but toast a baguette, spread on some goat cheese, and pile on this luscious tomato vinaigrette.
Stuffed French Bread from Susan Branch's Heart of the Home: Notes From a Vineyard Kitchen
cookbook. I have many of her books, thanks to my wonderful mother-in-law who has given me all of them. Branch's recipes are easy to make, easier to tweak if you need to, and are yummy. The Stuffed French Bread recipe is so good, that after all the dip is gone, everyone digs into the bread which has soaked up the dip. Wow. Not for the calorie-counting faint of heart.
There's a few more, but I'll get to those another day.