Wow! I’ve made my share of soufflés that were more like cheese sauce, but I keep trying!
I love the bowl concept, and yet somehow never think of them when menu planning or assembling quick meals. 
A friend of mine introduced me to the idea years ago when she made a Vietnamese summer roll in salad form (dressed it with modified nuoc cham). SO good, so refreshing, and much less work than rolling rice paper! (And yet… I’ve only made it once since then…)
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I’d love to hear what you ended up doing, as I’ve got a package of ground chicken defrosting 
Another dish I like to make that I haven’t made in awhile is deconstructed sushi. Similar to a spring roll bowl I start with a layer of rice, one layer of one type of veggie, another layer of another type of veggie, then topped with a protein (shrimp is my favorite) then garnished with some toasted nori. As you said it’s much less work than rolling rice paper 
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I’ve made a sushi “stack” where you layer the ingredients in a bowl and then invert it onto a plate.
While I have rolled sushi at home, I will say that I much prefer faux handrolls to either the stack or the maki - all the ingredients on a plate, with seaweed snacks - make a bite at a time!
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LOL.
Thinking I’d make a 2/3 batch, the first thing I did was pull from the fridge the pound of ground pork which I thawed for two days, all the while thinking it was chicken. This was at 5:00 last night. So, I found a half-pound of frozen ground chicken, and thawed it in the micro-wave. I had read the blog post you linked to referring to The Japanese Grill, a cookbook which I used to have and respect. In the blog post she explained how Ono and Salat recommend cooking a portion of the Tsukune meat first to prevent shrinkage. So, when the edges of my ground chicken were cooked in the process of thawing, I didn’t fret about it. Thanks for that.
This gave me the amount of meat needed for the full recipe. I decided to skip the skewer and grill issues (in the wake of all my indecision, pondering, hesitations and waffling, DH had already renamed this dish Shiitfukee Balls) and used the oven. I made 12 large-ish meatballs (#14 cookie scoop) out of the full recipe, and roasted at 425 for 25 minutes. Then I basted with the tare and stuck under the broiler for 2-3 minutes, basting at 1 minute intervals.
They came out great. Tender and juicy. I should add I did knead the meat mixture, as recommended in the blog post for keeping skewered meat together. It’s a habit of mine to overwork meatballs in any case, carried over from sausage making, I guess. I agree it helps keep things together.
Results and photo posted on WFD here.
Will be interested to hear what route you take!
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Sounds like it worked out! The meatballs looked great, so much rounder than mine ever stay, haha.
I was fascinated by the cooked inclusion too, so I’m curious if it helped with shrinkage. I did like Orkin’s flavor profile better than some of the plainer ones which rely almost entirely on the tare sauce.
Recipes that call for kneading ground meat are always odd for me, because I was taught to never overwork it, but it shows up over and over again - eastern european, Chinese, and now this Japanese recipe. Different texture outcome desired, of course, but it’s funny to do something completely against your instincts/training!
I bet the pork mistake was actually a plus!
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Hi everyone!
I’m on my own post the nephew adventures of the past two weeks.
We are in the midst of summer worsts in nyc - heatwave, thunderstorms that add humidity to the heat, and unpredictability (checking the weather before leaving for the day - no rain! few hours later - black skies and rain!). I don’t often determine menus by weather, though, so it’s just annoyance rather than effecting meal planning.
Still trying to plan with a view to using up what’s in the freezer and fridge:
Fri - Nephew to be dropped to airport. He arrived late after his program wrap-up, I made him enchiladas with mole and refried beans for lunch, packed quesadillas for the long flight with the last of the packet of tortillas plus other treats and fruit, repacked and organized his carry on while he dozed off on the sofa (the bunch of teens obviously didn’t sleep much their first time on their own, lol), shook him awake with some difficulty to leave for the airport. He almost missed his flight (literally the last one on) despite being at the airport well in advance because the TSA PRE line was SO LONG -and airport staff and folks from the adjacent Clear line, which was luring people out of the regular line with a 2 weeks free offer, then cut in front of the Pre line and made it even longer. I was livid, but had to stay calm to keep him calm - both kids did their first solo flights this time, and despite a calm exterior were nervous because their last trip home together from visiting me (pre pandemic), they were waylaid for the entire trip by a family friend in the middle of a manic episode. Anyway.
Of course Murphy’s law applied - his bag got flagged, the cream cheese he specially bought from the bagel shop for his parents was deemed “too liquid - something might be hidden inside” - at which point I said to the lady I didn’t need a long discussion, I just needed to GO, so she should throw out whatever she needed to. But no, she then pulled out a small (clearly labeled <100ml) jar he bought for his dad, and when I pointed out the size, went to have a DISCUSSION with a colleague (at this point the people behind us were losing their marbles, because their flight was 10 mins after ours, and she was displaying zero urgency for anything) — while I’m calling out “throw it out if you need to, can we just LEAVE, PLEASE”). Of course the jar was well within TSA limits, so back she came. She had scattered half the contents of the bag even after asking me to point her to the two offending items, and then asked me to “help her repack” - while there was a plexi-plastic or whatever separator actually blocking me. Then she wandered off again, totally ignoring the family behind me who were also waiting for their bag to be examined.
Kid made it on as the last passenger - there was a lady after him who had to wait at the door for her son who was also waylaid by TSA examination, and I watched as they closed the doors on her and offloaded her pet. Phew.
Sat - Catch up and dinner with a friend I haven’t really spent time with since before the pandemic. Not sure where or what, but will be lovely.
Sun - Friday’s postponed plan to catch up with the separated friend who has surgery coming up. Hope to have some time to prep a few ingredients for the week, though.
Mon - Tsukune (thanks @MunchkinRedux for the inspiration!) and possibly also king oyster and shiitake yakitori, though I might turn those into noodles to accompany.
Tues - Larb with the other half of the ground chicken packet, plus rice and pickled broccoli slaw.
Wed - Out with a friend who’s leaving for Europe for a month (I’d say “lucky” but I really have no interest in something like that at the moment after having been away for so long).
Thurs - Leftovers, hopefully, from Mon or Tues
Fri - Freezer dive - TBD.
Sat / Sun - I will revisit the biryani plan. May also need to help my friend who’s having surgery get set up.
Might also bake something for the same friend and the family who’s coming to stay for a week post surgery, thinking about what.
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*Affecting meal planning
Autocorrect has been on quite a tear of late.
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Planning an easy week. It’s a busy one here, and I can’t believe it’ll be August.
This week’s breakfasts: After finishing up chocolate scones, I may make blueberry scones (lemon blueberry, perhaps) at my husband’s request.
S: (tonight) takeout - cheeseburgers and fries
Su: Chicken pot pie soup - chicken, carrots, peas, green onions, stock, dash of cream, with bread.
M: Chicken pesto pasta with spinach and peas
T: A dip based on this: https://www.skinnytaste.com/greek-7-layer-dip/ with bread - vegetarian
W: Both my husband and I have events in the evening. Will likely pull some leftovers from the freezer to eat before we go… and hope our dogs do not wreak havoc in our absence.
Th: Likely a version of this: https://www.skinnytaste.com/scallops-with-corn-and-tomatoes/ - but with shrimp - seafood
F: Old school ground turkey tacos (cheese, guacamole)
Have a good week!
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Still working on menu plan for this week. Mostly, I have been working on new meal plan rotations to make my life and grocery buying simpler. And, hopefully, keep the freezer from being completely full.
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Holy cow, that is quite the TSA adventure! I almost left DH in Orlando earlier this year. He disclosed on the way to the airport that he hadn’t renewed his PreCheck status (“you didn’t tell me to!”) - not sure how but the symbol appeared on his boarding pass for the flight there. On the flight home, though… he was in the regular line, which was miles long, while DS and I were in the PreCheck line. Miraculously, we all got on the plane. And he renewed his status once we got home. I would have left him in Orlando, for the record…
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Hi, everyone. Cooking for two adults and a 12yo in the Boston burbs.
Sun: stromboli (https://smittenkitchen.com/2018/01/stromboli/), salad
Mon: ham/mozzarella panini, carrot sticks
Tues: dinnertime whammy of hair appointments for DS at 5:30 and me at 6:30! Staggered meal of fast bolognese (The Dinner Plan) and probably green beans
Weds: burritos (steak?), pepper strips
Thurs: DH suggested grilling burgers and corn, if I stop at the farm stand or send him there. Otherwise, tbd.
Fri: dinner out with friends
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Hi everyone. Love this thread for ideas, rarely post because I almost never plan ahead for just me, currently in mid-coast Maine. But my sister, BIL and nephew are arriving from AZ for a long weekend so I have plans, for a change:
Thurs: whatever fish looks best at the fish store (hoping for swordfish or halibut; at a minimum there will be haddock, all local), big farmers market salad, COTC. Last week’s FM salad was bitter, I suspect because of the heat, so fallback is black bean salad with cherry tomatoes and herbs and some FM green veg.
Fri: more fish (if it’s a second day of haddock, chowder) and what I call a “Greeked-up Panzanella”, basically a mash-up of the two salads (green beans, cherry tomatoes, arugula, red onion, pepperoncini, black olives, feta) with anchovy croutons (which my nephew will enjoy helping me make).
Sat: either buffalo chicken thighs with a massive blue cheese slaw or takeout from my favorite BBQ place. Blueberry pie.
Sun: grilled steaks with blue cheese butter, COTC, Caesar salad or slaw (depending on the lettuce situation), summer tomatoes.
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Hi everyone! We were away last week at a cottage without internet or cell reception (landline for emergencies)—utter bliss and some great meals including pizza made in their Fontana wood burning pizza oven! This week we’ve been scrounging a bit. And I am on solo parenting duty today until Sunday.
Mon - I was at a friend’s, family had pizza & Caesar salad
Tues - Marcella’s zucchini frittata with onion and basil (so good), sautéed cabbage, and sourdough baguette
Wed (tonight) - spaghetti puttanesca, with a cucumber salad. Ice cream for the kids.
Thurs - Zucchini tortillas (Alexandra cooks) filled with scrambled eggs, oven fries, maybe a couple cut up grilled hot dogs for the boys? This might be too ambitious. We’ll see.
Fri - grilled italian sausages, corn on the cob, salad
Sat - chicken souvlaki, pita, Shirazi salad. And we will probably bake a snacking cake to kill some time.
Sun - roasted cod with a coriander crust (Falastin), quinoa tabbouleh
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Oh man, I love tsukune! Haven’t made them in so long - thanks for the reminder!
Lucky family to have such great food on the menu for their visit!
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Greetings, People.
A full week of cooking from a summer garden – green beans and zucchini are hot ticket items at the moment.
For two adults in the PNW:
FRI: Scallion roasted chicken and potatoes. Green bean salad.
SAT: Skillet meatballs with peaches and basil. Roasted green beans.
SUN: Zucchini pizza. Green salad.
MON: Leftover scallion chicken and pasta with mushrooms. Artichoke and tomato salad.
TUE: Cabbage stir-fry – this or this.
WED: Fish if it looks good at the market (else beef). Garden vegetable of the day.
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Hello everyone it’s hard to believe we are half way through the summer. So far I’ve been to two ribfests, an Asian market and a jazz festival. I have also tied in a few meetups with a couple of close friends. What a difference from two years ago when everything was closed. I am feeling much happier and sleeping much better most nights.
In the meantime I am now getting a bumper crop of veggies in my CSA so it’s now a race against time to finish them all up. This is what I have planned for this week:
Today: My take out lunch is a cheese tray from a nearby restaurant. I will have a Russian salad for dinner.
Saturday: Dinner will be venison pie from the pricey butcher, steamed green beans and corn on the cob on the side.
Sunday: Rest day. I’ve been going out a lot the last few weeks so I will probably go for an afternoon walk then spend the rest of the afternoon curled up on the sofa with a book. More specifically in front of the air conditioner since the weatherman is predicting that this weekend will be a scorcher.
Monday: Last serving of peanut soup in the freezer.
Tuesday: Spring roll bowl.
Wednesday: Pork lo mein.
Thursday: Fettucine al pesto, side veggies will be whatever veggies are left from last week’s CSA.
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Hi, all! Cooking for 2 in Chattanooga.
Saturday, August 6: Caramelized Tomato Tarte Tatin from NYT; salad
Sunday: Burmese prawn curry from The Complete Asian Cookbook; sesame-garlic green beans from Milk Street; rice; lemon bars
Monday: Tandoori grilled mushrooms; rice; some sort of veggie?
Tuesday: Scrounge/takeout
Wednesday: Pasta with sage-ricotta pesto from Milk Street
Thursday: Scrounge/takeout
Friday: I’m off to the Bay Area to visit my dad and my daughter; DH has to stay home and teach. Fending for himself and taking care of the cats will make him grumpy, but I’m sure he’ll survive!
Have a good week, all! Stay as cool as possible, and happy cooking!
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