Weeknight Meals

Maple Bacon Biscuits

Bacon. Is. Good. So are fluffy biscuits. No wonder they are breakfast staples. I don’t usually buy buttermilk (why does it only come in a big carton when you almost never need more than a cup??) but in this case it was definitely worth it.

These came together pretty quickly on a weeknight, but you could also include them with weekend brunch or dinner, such as pulled pork, roast chicken, or soup.

Maple Bacon Biscuits
From The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook by Deb Perlman

Makes 6-8 biscuits

3 slices bacon
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 1/2 cups (190 grams) all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Approximately 4 tablespoons butter, chilled and chopped into small chunks
1/4 cup buttermilk

Fry the bacon until crisp. Remove from the pan and drain on paper towels. Pour the bacon fat into a measuring cup and put in the freezer until fat is solid.

Chop the bacon into small bits and place in a small dish. Pour the maple syrup over the bacon and stir; set aside.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove the solidified bacon fat from the freezer.

In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients. You should have about 2 tablespoons of fat. Adjust the amount of butter up or down to have 6 tablespoons total. Using your fingertips or a pastry blender, rub the bacon fat and butter into the dry ingredients until mixtute resembles coarse meal. Add the bacon-maple syrup mixture and buttermilk and blend together with a rubber spatula until evenly moistened.

Gather the dough into a ball and pat out to a 1-inch thickness on a well-floured surface and cut into biscuits with a 2-inch cutter. Arrange biscuits on the baking sheet. Bake 12-14 minutes until puffed and golden. Serve warm.

Chicken and Peaches Platter

Rotisserie chicken is a great gift to a busy cook (or non-cook). It is flavorful, fall-off-the-bone tender, and a versatile protein source. The best part? It is very economical: at my neighborhood grocery store, a chicken goes for $7.50 during the week and just $5 on Sundays. Roasting thr chicken yourself isn’t pricey, but I don’t think I can beat that deal.

Whether from-scratch or rotisserie, I love having a chicken on Sundays and portioning out several lunches that won’t leave me bored or headed for takeout. I picked up a few fresh local peaches and put together a killer salad.

Rotisserie meet can sometimes feel a little greasy to me (compared to a chicken I’ve roasted myself). I discard the skin and am a little more vigilant on trimming excess fat and skimp a little more on the dressing; the meat is so moist you won’t miss it.

Chicken and Peaches Platter
Serves 6

2-3 heads romaine lettuce, cut crosswise into 1-inch strips (you want at least 12 cups)
1 rotisserie chicken (about 2-2 1/2 lbs), skin discarded, meat removed from bones and chopped in large pieces
3 peaches, sliced (peeled if desired)
6 tablespoons crumbled blue cheese 1/2 cup almonds, roughly chopped
1/4 cup white wine vinegar (or try sherry, champagne, raspberry or your favorite vinegar)
1/4 cup (or less) extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Arrange the lettuce, chicken, peaches, cheese, and almonds on a platter. In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, oil, salt, and pepper. Drizzle over the salad when ready to serve.

Fish Tacos

Growing up, tacos were a school lunch food, and something we sometimes ate at friends’ houses, but not a regular feature at our table. We just didn’t eat much Mexican or Tex-Mex in our family, in restaurants or at home.

These days, I’m making up for lost time. I love Mexican and Mexican-inspired food (authentic or not). I would probably eat tacos once a week if I could. Ground beef, steak, fish, chicken, pork, vegetarian… do many options, I never get bored.

I like tilapia for fish tacos because they’re inexpensive, always available and have good flavor and texture. I often use the individually packaged 4 oz. frozen fillets (2 fillets for a single serving works well). Most fish is best served immediately, not as leftovers. I only cook what I need, but I often make it two days in a row since I already have the ingredients.

Fish tacos are typically made with corn tortillas rather than flour. They aren’t as sturdy, and they break easily, especially if there’s a lot of liquid. Some people use a double layer of tortillas. I just eat quickly, and finish off anything that falls out with a fork. :) To make it paleo, replace tortillas with butter or romaine lettuce leaves.

I love fish tacos with my canned summer corn salsa. So good! Make your tacos hotter with a spicy salsa, jalapenos, or a dash of siracha, or include a shake (or three) of red pepper when seasoning the fillets.

~Red

Fish Tacos

For every 2 people:
12-16 oz. firm white fish fillets, such as tilapia or mahi mahi
Cumin, salt and pepper to taste
2 limes, divided
Olive oil
Cilantro
4-6 corn tortillas
Shredded cabbage, diced avocado, salsa, sour cream/creme fraiche, or your favorite toppings

Pat fish fillets dry with paper towels. Place fish in a shallow glass dish and season both sides with cumin, salt and pepper. Finally chop a couple tablespoons of cilantro leaves. Pat into fish. Squeeze the juice of one lime over the fish. Drizzle with olive oil. Flip the fillets a couple times to coat. Cover and refrigerate 15 minutes.

If desired, whisk together a lime sour cream sauce with about 2-3 tablespoons sour cream or creme fraiche and 1 tablespoon lime juice.

Brush a grill pan with olive oil. Heat over medium heat. Grill tortillas until lightly brown. Wrap in paper towels and store in the microwave to keep warm.

Increase heat to medium-high. Shake excess marinade from fish. Grill fish until the center is opaque and the fish flakes with a fork.

Assemble tacos: load tortillas with pieces of fish, cabbage, lime sour cream sauce, avocado, salsa, extra cilantro, or other favorite toppings.

Serve immediately with lime wedges. And possibly a margarita on the rocks.