Every week, Executive Food Editor Keith Dresser pairs each main dish with a side to give you a complete, satisfying dinner without the guesswork. Look for the game plan section to learn tips on how to streamline your kitchen work so dinner comes together quicker.
Dinner This Week
Dinner This Week: Broiled Shrimp
This week’s menus include Broiled Shrimp Skewers, Broccoli and Feta Frittata, and Salerno-Style Spaghetti for dinner in about an hour.
By Published Nov. 12, 2021
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Dinner 1: Broiled Shrimp with Couscous Pilaf
Game Plan: Prep the ingredients for both dishes. Start cooking the couscous. Once the water has been added to the couscous, broil the shrimp. Finish the couscous right before serving.
Broiled Shrimp Skewers are designed to be served with a sauce (links follow), but it's also fine to simply serve the shrimp with lemon wedges. (If omitting the sauce, broil the shrimp for an extra 15 to 20 seconds.) The additions to Couscous with Shallots, Garlic, and Almonds can be adjusted to suit what you have on hand. Half of a finely chopped onion can be used instead of the shallot. Other nuts can be substituted for the almonds and other tender herbs, such as basil, can be swapped for the parsley.
Printable Shopping Lists: Broiled Shrimp and Couscous Pilaf
Shrimp Sauces: Spicy Lemon, Fresh Tomato with Feta, Charmoula
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Dinner 2: Broccoli and Feta Frittata with Boiled Potatoes
Game Plan: Prep all of the ingredients for both dishes. Put the potatoes on to boil, then prepare the frittata through step 2. Once the potatoes are simmering, cook the frittata (step 3), monitoring the potatoes for doneness.
Broccoli and Feta Frittata uses milk and salt to help the eggs stay tender even when cooked to a relatively high temperature. Milk dilutes the egg proteins, making it harder for them to coagulate and turn rubbery. Salt weakens the interactions between the proteins, producing a softer curd. Boiled Potatoes with Butter and Chives calls for red potatoes, but other varieties of small potatoes will also work. We like to use potatoes that are less than 2½ inches in diameter, but if you need to use larger ones, halve them before boiling.
Printable Shopping Lists: Broccoli and Feta Frittata and Boiled Potatoes
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Dinner 3: Salerno-Style Spaghetti with Bibb and Frisée Salad
Game Plan: Prep all of the ingredients for both dishes. Prepare the pasta dish. While the eggs cook in step 4, toss the salad.
Salerno-Style Spaghetti with Fried Eggs and Bread Crumbs is a simple dish of garlicky spaghetti topped with a fried egg. We like the texture and richness that both the bread crumbs and egg add to the dish, but either one can be omitted (we don’t recommend omitting both, though). The components in Bibb and Frisée Salad with Grapes and Celery can be swapped out to use what you have in the fridge. Feel free to mix and match the lettuce variety, although we do suggest a mix of greens for the best flavor and texture. Other types of fruit, fresh or dried, can be substituted to add sweetness. And if you don’t like blue cheese, try adding crumbled goat cheese for some richness.
Printable Shopping Lists: Salerno-Style Spaghetti and Bibb and Frisée Salad
View more weeknight dinner ideas below, or check out all of the Dinner This Week menus.
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Start Free TrialAbsolutely the best chicken ever, even the breast meat was moist! It's the only way I'll cook a whole chicken again. Simple, easy, quick, no mess - perfect every time. I've used both stainless steel and cast iron pans. great and easy technique for “roasted” chicken. I will say there were no pan juices, just fat in the skillet. Will add to the recipe rotation. Good for family and company dinners too. I've done this using a rimmed sheet pan instead of a skillet and put veggies and potatoes around the chicken for a one-pan meal. Broccoli gets nicely browned and yummy!
Absolutely the best chicken ever, even the breast meat was moist! It's the only way I'll cook a whole chicken again. Simple, easy, quick, no mess - perfect every time. I've used both stainless steel and cast iron pans. great and easy technique for “roasted” chicken. I will say there were no pan juices, just fat in the skillet. Will add to the recipe rotation. Good for family and company dinners too.
Amazed this recipe works out as well as it does. Would not have thought that the amount of time under the broiler would have produced a very juicy and favorable chicken with a very crispy crust. Used my 12" Lodge Cast Iron skillet (which can withstand 1000 degree temps to respond to those who wondered if it would work) and it turned out great. A "make again" as my family rates things. This is a great recipe, and I will definitely make it again. My butcher gladly butterflied the chicken for me, therefore I found it to be a fast and easy prep. I used my cast iron skillet- marvellous!
John, wasn't it just amazing chicken? So much better than your typical oven baked chicken and on par if not better than gas or even charcoal grilled. It gets that smokey charcoal tasted and overnight koshering definitely helps, something I do when time permits. First-time I've pierced a whole chicken minus the times I make jerk chicken on the grill. Yup, the cast iron was not an issue.