Sunday

Skillet gnocchi with chard and white beans (recipe in the comments from January 9, 2009)
Salad with red wine and bacon vinaigrette

Hot tea
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This was a great Sunday dinner. I made the first 2/3 of the recipe while T was napping and then we just tossed it all together and reheated after church tonight. The result was wonderful. the first time we made this we used Gia Russa brand shelf stable gnocchi, but Wegman's was out of stock. We used Wegman's brand mini gnocchis this time to great effect. T really liked the bitty size and ate heartily!

Prep notes
Difficulty: Easy
Chopping: Onion, garlic, chard, Parmesan
Time: 35 minutes
Make ahead: I did!

Reaction:
"This was the perfect post apple picking dinner!"

The kid report:
T was enthralled with this. He picked out all the chard and all the gnocchis to eat first :)

Monday

Bulgur salad with kale and salami (recipe in the comments)
Canteloupe

Hot tea
Jelly beans
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This is a new recipe I saw on the Whole Foods website. I was immediately attracted to it because it's bulgur based. Both M and I love tabbouli, but that's the only recipe we make with bulgur in it. I was excited to have another option. This recipe also seems perfect for us because we're addicted to leafy greens and we love salami. We get the greens in a variety of dishes, but never have salami because of health issues. This is a great way to have a little. The marriage of flavors in this dish is perfect and has that sort of taste alchemy that makes for an excellent and unexpected meal. Our grocery store was out of ale, so we used Swiss chard, which worked great. I think any reasnably mild flavored green would be great.

Prep Notes
Difficulty: Easy
Chopping: Kale, salami, olives, garlic, canteloupe
Time: 35 minutes
Make ahead: This was great as lunch the next day!

Reaction
J: "This is unexpectedly wonderful!"
M: "Awesome dinner salad"

Friday

Beans and greens (recipe in the comments)
Carrots, wax beans, and haricot verts with balsamic glaze

Hot tea
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This is a true oldster. One of our first cookbooks was Moosewood Cooks at Home and this was one of the first recipes we made from it. It's featured more or less regularly in our repetoir for over ten years! We actually haven't had it in a while, but the flavors tonight made us wonder why not. The creamy beans and the bitter garlic-y greens combine to form the most perfect fusion of flavors. It's simple, complete, and OH SO satisfying. Make sure you serve these on a flavorful bread. We used to use a loaf with Parmesan baked on top, but sourdough is good and tonight was a roasted garlic loaf - perhaps my favorite.

Prep Notes
Difficulty: Easy
Chopping: Escarole
Time: 20 minutes
Make ahead: Yep, just do the toasts right before you eat.

Reaction
J: "Old home week!"
M: "Excellent."