What’s for Dinner? Melissa Bahen Has You Lined (+ Giveaway)

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It’s the query that by no means quits: “What’s for dinner?” Whether or not you’re juggling a busy workweek, college pickups, or simply making an attempt to make it by way of the witching hour, dinner nonetheless must land on the desk. That’s the place Farmhouse Weeknights: Fast and Healthful Recipes for Dinner is available in.

We’re thrilled to share three of Melissa’s favourites from the ebook under—together with a creamy roasted cauliflower soup, a vibrant shortcut kale salad, and a panini that brings the deli counter residence.

Maintain scrolling for the recipes—and don’t miss the giveaway on the finish of the put up to your likelihood to win a replica of Farmhouse Weeknights!

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Roasted Cauliflower & White Cheddar Soup

I began making this cozy soup a number of years in the past, and it grew to become an immediate favourite. We’ve got it typically, particularly when the times are quick and chilly. Roasting the cauliflower earlier than including it to the soup offers it a wealthy, deep taste, which works superbly with the nutty cheddar and recent, herby thyme.

Prep: 10 minutes | Prepare dinner: 40 minutes | Complete: 50 minutes | Serves: 6 to eight

Substances:

• 2 kilos cauliflower, chopped
• Additional-virgin olive oil or your favourite impartial cooking oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus extra as wanted
• Freshly floor black pepper
• 1 giant onion, diced
• 4 teaspoons minced garlic, or 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon recent thyme, plus extra for garnishing, non-compulsory
• 6 cups vegetable broth or hen broth
• 3 cups shredded sharp white cheddar cheese
• 1 1/2 cups half-and-half

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place the cauliflower in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle generously with olive oil (about 3 tablespoons), season with kosher salt and pepper, and roast for 20 minutes, till the cauliflower is golden brown.
2. When the cauliflower has been within the oven for about 10 minutes, put the onion in a big, heavy-bottom Dutch oven or saucepan. Drizzle with about 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sauté over medium warmth for 10 minutes. Add the garlic and thyme and sauté for 1 to 2 extra minutes.
3. When the cauliflower is finished roasting, add it and the broth to the saucepan. Carry to a boil, cowl, cut back the warmth, and simmer for quarter-hour.
4. Take away from the warmth and mix both with an immersion blender or in a countertop blender till easy. If you’re utilizing a countertop blender, go away the lid barely askew and canopy it with a kitchen towel whereas mixing. This can permit steam to flee but in addition defend each your hand and the kitchen from splatters and steam. After mixing, pour the soup again into the saucepan.
5. Return the soup to medium warmth, add the cheese and half-and-half, and cook dinner till heated by way of. Add salt and pepper to style, then serve with some thyme if utilizing.

SHORTCUTS & NOTES

• Pre-prepped cauliflower florets
• Pre-chopped onion
• Pre-minced garlic (frozen cubes, or a jar or squeeze tube)
• This can be a case the place shredding the cheese your self will lead to a smoother soup, however I’ve positively used pre-shredded white cheddar earlier than and lived to inform the story.
• The crispy cheese garnish pictured within the photograph is simply an non-compulsory crunchy chew that appears fairly.

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Annie & Brooke’s Kale Salad

I first had this fancy-but-easy salad at my good friend Brooke’s annual Christmas bingo celebration a number of years in the past, however she received the recipe from our good friend Annie, so I’m attributing it to each, with love. It’s a really fairly salad with beautiful contrasts in flavors and textures, and better of all, it’s tremendous simple to make because of a complete bunch of shortcuts. The scrumptious dressing is made up of two store-bought dressings, a lot of the veggies are pre-chopped and are available in a bag of broccoli slaw, and you’ll definitely sweet your personal pecans, however I all the time use a bag of already candy ones from the produce part of the grocery retailer. The one actual work required to make it’s to cut the kale and provides it somewhat therapeutic massage to make it tender.

Prep: 10 minutes | Prepare dinner: 0 minutes | Complete: 10 minutes | Serves: 6 to eight

Substances:

• 1 bunch lacinato kale, ribs eliminated, chopped
• 4 tablespoons Briannas blush wine French dressing, or model of selection
• 4 tablespoons Briannas poppyseed dressing, or model of selection
• 1 (12-ounce) package deal broccoli slaw
• 1/2 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
• 1/2 cup sweetened dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup candied or honey-roasted pecans

Directions:

1. Put the kale in a big serving bowl, pour the blush wine French dressing over, and gently therapeutic massage the kale for 1 to 2 minutes. This helps make it tender.
2. Add the poppyseed dressing, broccoli slaw, Gorgonzola, dried cranberries, and pecans and toss to mix.

SHORTCUTS & NOTES

• Lacinato kale can be referred to as Tuscan kale and dinosaur kale. Generally I can solely discover it within the natural produce part at my grocery retailer. I see it typically at farmers markets and summer season produce stands, and it’s simple to develop in a yard backyard. It is available in bunches of lengthy, skinny leaves with a darkish inexperienced, nearly blueish colour and a very cool, pebbly texture. When you can’t discover lacinato kale, I’d use packaged child kale and skip the therapeutic massage step. Don’t use curly kale; it may be fairly bitter.

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Hen Pesto Paninis

I received the concept for this tasty sandwich from a beloved native grocery retailer. They’ve a giant pizza oven within the deli part and bake up recent pizzas and a few totally different sorts of sizzling sandwiches. This one with tender hen and flavorful pesto is my favourite. I deal with myself to 1 if I’m on the retailer round lunchtime, however they’re tremendous easy to make at residence, too. The entire totally different sandwich substances lend one thing particular to the completed product: sharpness from the purple onion, sweetness from the tomato, that scrumptious peppery taste from the arugula. Focaccia is the most suitable choice for bread, so use it if yow will discover it.

Prep: 10 minutes | Prepare dinner: 3 to five minutes | Complete: quarter-hour | Makes: 1 sandwich

Substances:

• 2 items thick-sliced sourdough, or 1 piece of focaccia, halved like a hamburger bun
• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon pesto
• 1 ounce sliced mozzarella or provolone cheese
• 2 1/2 ounces shredded rotisserie hen
• Child arugula
• Thinly sliced purple onion
• Thinly sliced tomato

Directions:

1. Preheat your panini maker.
2. Lay each items of bread out on a plate or chopping board. Unfold the mayonnaise on each halves, then drizzle with the pesto. On 1 of the items of bread, layer the cheese, hen, child arugula, onion, and tomato. High the sandwich with the remaining piece of bread.
3. Prepare dinner within the panini press for 3 to five minutes, till the bread is golden and crusty.

SHORTCUTS & NOTES

• Retailer-bought pesto (We just like the one from Costco.)
• Pre-sliced cheese
• When you don’t have a panini press, you’ll be able to nonetheless take pleasure in this sandwich—simply give it the grilled cheese remedy! Calmly butter the surface of each items of bread and cook dinner it in a skillet or on a griddle over medium warmth till either side is golden and the cheese is melty.

Recipes excerpted from Farmhouse Weeknights: Fast and Healthful Recipes For Dinner by Melissa Bahen. Pictures by Melissa Bahen. Reprinted by permission of Gibbs Smith Books.

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Enter to Win Your Personal Copy of Farmhouse Weeknights

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