Restaurant Week

Last week I deemed "Restaurant Week" and picked 6 recipes to make from this NY Times article featuring restaurants from around the country along with recipes. While it was fun and easy to follow (no need to brainstorm our menu for hours), I actually found the dishes a bit underwhelming. Maybe it was because they were lacking color or I've grown accustom to the flavors of my favorite food bloggers—I can't quite pinpoint why this was my least favorite week.

Both Nick and I chose the pork roast with roasted jalapeno gravy as our winning dish. The pork was rubbed with a garlic and onion seasoning and then drowned in a delicious gravy that gave it a slight kick. It was unique and delicious served over mashed potatoes—a dish I would definitely repeat. 

I loved reading about the restaurants and the chef's take on each popular recipe before I made each dish. The first dish I made was the southern macaroni & cheese from a soul food restaurant in the Bronx which sadly had to close after unauthorized gas plumbing was found in the building. Since then, the chef, Millie Peartree, partnered with another restaurant to make meals for essential workers during Covid-19. 

Next up was the chicken Versuvio, an Italian dish popular in Chicago. I was so excited to find that Nick liked the peas in this dish—he normally dislikes peas and I've missed them so much. I meant to serve sourdough bread with this to sop up the wine sauce but didn't get around to feeding Mr. Bubbles in time to make a loaf. 

I did make a fresh loaf in order to make the croutons for the Canlis salad from Seattle. Toasted in bacon grease, they were extra tasty! This salad was a nice break from the mostly beige dishes. 

The most beige of them all—pepperoni rolls famous in West Virginia. Nothing to hate on here but they would work better as an afternoon snack versus dinner. I felt in dire need of a long run after these. And some veggies.