Happy New Year! Starting 2020 (and finishing 2019) with a great plate.
Athens chose to welcome 2020 with a roar. Or a yawn. You decide. :)
For a week that started in 2019 and ended in 2020, our meals were also a representation of the changing time, er, decade. What?! A new decade has begun. How fun! So to close out 2019, we feasted on noodles, pork, pasta, and lamb, then welcomed 2020 with bowls of greens, salmon, roast chicken, and not a carb in sight. Balance! It’s the theme of the year (decade). 😉 And for the record, carbs are in no way banished from our table. They’re just currently on a vacation.
I have aspirations to make these reviews a bit more concise so that you can spend a little less time reading and more time cooking. Sound good? Let’s see how it goes.
Let’s get to the food!
Spicy Sesame Noodles with Chicken and Peanuts
Recipe available via NY Times Cooking.
Sunday before New Year’s Eve we were still in the phase of “eat all of the noodles before 2020” so we indulged (slightly?) with this scrumptious dish. Any recipe that includes the words “spicy sesame noodles” I’m basically sold. I love those flavors and rice noodles are a weeknight gift. They cook so quickly!
In terms of the recipe, we swapped ground chicken for ground pork because we wanted extra flavor and while we had plans to add in cabbage and mushrooms, we entirely forgot they were in the fridge while we cooked. And of course, we used gluten free brown rice noodles instead of anything wheat-based (obvi). Finally, always use gluten free soy sauce - Tamari - in place of regular. Minor changes to make an awesome dish even more delish. Wow. 2020 and the rhymes just won’t stop.
This dinner was ridiculously yummy and made plenty for days of leftovers when adding way more noodles than recommended (oops). Also, I chose to drizzle extra GF soy sauce on my bowl for a bit more punch. For anyone wary of spice, don’t be. This meal wasn’t as spicy as I expected and I’d probably add extra spice next time. Spice is nice. :)
Quick Lamb Ragù
Recipe by Alison Roman and available via NY Times Cooking.
For our final cooked-at-home meal of 2019, we went all in with this incredible lamb ragù which was shockingly perfect for a weeknight. However, the title included the word “quick” so why am I surprised? Moving on!
This dinner was divine. So flavorful. So yummy. So give-me-seconds-immediately kind of awesome. As fans of ground lamb, this dish was a no-brainer. I suppose you could swap it for a different meat, but my oh my please don’t. It’s too good with this one.
The only change necessary to make it gluten free is to use your favorite GF pasta. Easy as that! We used Jovial Foods GF tagliatelle, but I may try it with capellini or spaghetti next time, just for fun.
If you’re looking for a decadent pasta dish to impress your friends, or just regularly crave a divine bowl of joy, then make this meal. Perfect for a regular Monday, a special occasion, or even toasting the New Year. ;)
Spiced Chickpeas with Salmon, Radishes, and Greens
Recipe by David Tamarkin in the book Cook90.
Welcome to 2020! Our first meal of the new decade was mighty delicious and mighty healthy if I do say so myself. Turns out subsisting on decadent dinners only feels good for so long; I was craving this lighter, healthier bowl by the time dinner was ready. Who is this strange person craving healthy foods? Not strange, just perhaps, a little more grown up? Jury is out. I still love cheese fries. ;)
The best part of this meal is how easy it can be adapted to suit your tastes. Not in the mood for fresh salmon? Skip it! We used a package of smoked salmon instead and it was amazing. I loved that the salmon was cold while the chickpeas were warm; a great flavor combo. And while the recipe recommended seasoning the chickpeas with za’atar, we opted for cumin instead (my preference). Yum!
I loved the flavor combinations in this dish and how perfect it would be for a brunch among friends, a fancy lunch to bring to work, or a really delicious, minimal-effort dinner. A healthy base of arugula topped with all of the proteins and crunchy radish. What more do you need in 2020, honestly. Just be sure to cook extra chickpeas. Trust me. ;)
If you had not noticed, this dinner is naturally gluten free! Cheers to that! Let’s make more and more dinners naturally gluten free this year, shall we? Naturally gluten free means that no changes are needed to make the recipe GF (in case you were curious).
Vinegar Chicken with Crushed Olive Dressing
Recipe for chicken by Alison Roman and available via NY Times Cooking.
Continuing the theme of greens and health, we chose this very popular chicken recipe for night two of the new year/decade. I’d heard a lot about it and immediately saved the recipe when scrolling the NY Times Cooking app (an awesome gift, btw).
Another plug for recipe author Alison Roman who continues to write incredible recipes that are weeknight-appropriate, superbly delicious, and fun for everyone. This chicken, included. I know it’s free publicity for her, but she deserves it. Her food is just so freaking good. Desserts, too.
Beyond the chicken, which I adored covered in those awesome olives, we paired the dinner with Brussels sprouts which we braised with a lot of garlic and onions. It’s an original recipe by my husband so you’re welcome to ask him for the details. This entire dinner was scrumptious and savory and so, so yummy. Can I use more adjectives today? Try me.
Just make this dinner. Or any of the ones we made this week. You’ll love every single one. I know it.
So much for being concise. I’ll try again next week. 😉
Enjoy!
