Chefs' Weeknight Dinners

Abby Hocking

Chefs approach weeknight cooking with ingenious strategies, flavor-bombing recipes with ingredients like curry paste or chorizo and creating novel combinations. Proof of their talent: this preview of F&W’s forthcoming cookbook on chefs’ weeknight dinners, out in the fall.

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Alex Guarnaschelli: Cauliflower Steaks with Herb Salsa Verde

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“It’s amazing how meaty cauliflower can be,” chef Alex Guarnaschelli says. Here, she treats the vegetable like steak, searing thick planks and topping them with a super-tangy salsa verde. The salsa would also be delicious on beef steaks and other assorted vegetables.

F&W's Ultimate Guide to Cooking with Vegetables

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Kuniko Yagi: Mapo Tofu

Photo © Fredrika Stjärne

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“This is totally my way of making this dish,” chef Kuniko Yagi says. “I’m sure Chinese people wouldn’t let me call this mapo tofu.” Yagi’s version has more meat than tofu, but she still relies on jarred toban djan, the chile-bean paste that gives this Chinese takeout staple its signature heat and deeply savory flavor.

Fast Chinese Recipes

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Mourad Lahlou: Mussels with Saffron and Citrus

Photo © Fredrika Stjärne

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Chef Mourad Lahlou simmers mussels in a lovely saffron cream sauce. Lahlou prefers Mediterranean mussels. “The ones I get are called that, but they really come from the Pacific Northwest,” he says. “They’re plump, juicy and don’t toughen up as much as other varieties when you cook them.”

Fish and Seafood Recipes

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Cathal Armstrong: Chickpea Vegetable Stew

Photo © Fredrika Stjärne

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“The dish is rich in texture and full of healthy goodness,” chef Cathal Armstrong says about this hearty vegetable stew that he made for the co-CEO of Whole Foods. Armstrong adds heft to the coconut milk broth with quick-cooking fingerling potatoes, and subtle heat with harissa, a Tunisian chile paste.

F&W Star Chef Cathal Armstrong

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Carla Hall: Quinoa Salad with Spring Vegetables

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For this lively, bright salad, Carla Hall combines herb-scented red quinoa with radishes, green peas and lima beans. Hall recommends rinsing the quinoa to get rid of the bitterness, and draining off any liquid after cooking so the grains remain fluffy.

Salads with Grains

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Sarah and Evan Rich: Roast Chicken Panzanella

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“In the height of summer, what’s better than tons of tomatoes and cucumbers in a salad?” chef Evan Rich asks. He and wife, Sarah, give this traditional Tuscan bread salad a California spin with strawberries, cilantro and toasted pumpkin seeds.

Summer Party Recipes

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Jenn Louis: Bucatini all’Amatriciana with Parmigiano

Photo © Fredrika Stjärne

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Chef Jenn Louis makes this version of pasta all’amatriciana with just a few flavor-packed ingredients. She likes to use traditional guanciale (cured pork jowl), which has a robust pork flavor. The sauce is also delicious with milder pancetta.

Pasta Recipes

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Chris Cosentino: Rigatoni with Lemony Kale Pesto

Fredrika Stjärne

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Making pesto with kale instead of basil isn’t just healthier, it’s unexpectedly delicious. And according to the dish’s creator, chef Chris Cosentino, it’s a simple way to get kids to eat kale.

F&W's Healthy Recipe Guide

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Matt Jennings: Pizza with Baked Meatballs

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“Avanzi means ‘leftovers,’ in Italian,” says Matt Jennings, who often made this pizza on Fridays with his host family in Florence, using leftovers from the week of cooking. He urges people to get creative: “Char cucumbers and sprinkle feta on top. We’ve even put toasted ground nuts, dried fruit and canned beans on the avanzi—although not necessarily at the same time!”

Italian Recipes

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Renee Erickson: Grilled Lamb Chops with Cucumber Relish

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A grill pan or cast-iron skillet is a quick way to cook lamb chops. Chef Renee Erickson serves them with a sweet-savory Moroccan-inspired relish that includes pine nuts, golden raisins and lemon. She recommends eating the chops with your hands. “The bones should be picked clean,” she says.

Fast Lamb Chop Recipes

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Spike Gjerde: Thai Chicken Soup

Photo © Fredrika Stjärne

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Chef Spike Gjerde says this soup is his family staple. The flavors are bright and the dish is easy to make, especially with store-bought rotisserie chicken. Gjerde adds lemongrass, ginger and plenty of lime to create a broth that’s light, tangy and deeply aromatic.

Sensational Soup Recipes

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Tim Byres: Red Snapper with Asparagus and Chorizo

Photo © Fredrika Stjärne

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Tim Byres has a secret ingredient for seasoning fish: thin slices of dried chorizo. “Think of them like pepperoni slices,” he says. “The chorizo will crisp up and curl, releasing fragrant paprika oil that flavors the fish.”

F&W's Ultimate Guide to Fish

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Aarón Sánchez: Jumbo Shrimp with Garlic & Chile Butter

Photo © Fredrika Stjärne

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In just 20 minutes, chef Aarón Sánchez cooks shrimp in a punchy Latin-style sauce with chiles and plenty of garlic. He also adds bottled clam juice, which amps up the seafood flavor and adds depth.

More Fish and Seafood Recipes from F&W

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Andrew Zimmern: Roasted Peach Cobbler with Balsamic Syrup

Fredrika Stjärne

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“I’m no pastry chef, but I make a killer cobbler,” Andrew Zimmern says. “The inherent explosive juiciness of ripe peaches makes it the perfect fruit here.” He tops the dessert with vanilla ice cream and thick, rich aged balsamic vinegar, such as Malpighi Saporoso condimento balsamico or Noble Tonic 05:XO, which is aged in bourbon casks.

F&W's Ultimate Guide to Desserts

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Megan Garrelts: Oatmeal-Cherry Cookies

FREDRIKA STJÄRNE

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These buttery oatmeal cookies are made with sour cherries in syrup—a juicy, sweet-tart alternative to the usual raisins. You can use Amarena cherries or, for a more grown-up indulgence, brandied cherries.

Amazing Cookie Recipes

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Jonathan Waxman: Pan-Fried Flounder with Lemon Butter Sauce

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Jonathan Waxman’s recipe for crisp flounder is simple and delicious. The keys, he says, are to get flounder from a reliable source and to concentrate while cooking it. “Get the flounder too hot and it turns to mush, too cool and it goes rubbery.” He then drizzles the fish with a tangy Meyer lemon–butter sauce.

F&W's Ultimate Guide to Fish and Seafood

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Jamie Bissonnette: Beer-Braised Chicken Wings with Clams

Photo © Fredrika Stjärne

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The dish from Jamie Bissonnette is like a delicious mash-up of beer-steamed clams and roast chicken wings. He came up with this eclectic recipe when guests arrived for a dinner that he’d forgotten about. “It was a wicked lucky success,” he admits. Bissonnette recommends serving this with grilled bread.

Dinner Party Recipes

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Tyler Florence: California Steak Salad

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Tyler Florence says you can top this main-course salad with any vegetables you have on hand. Crisp ones are best with the seared beef tenderloin and blue cheese vinaigrette.

Summer Party Recipes

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Ricardo Zarate: Peruvian-Style Pasta Bolognese

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Inspired by tallarín saltado, a classic Peruvian comfort food, this dish combines garlicky soy-flavored noodles with a rich meat sauce. Ricardo Zarate usually prepares the sauce with diced beef tenderloin but the ground beef here makes it quicker for weeknight dinners.

Pasta Recipes

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Susan Feniger: Kitchen-Sink Soba Noodles

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Susan Feniger calls this cold noodle salad “clean out the refrigerator soba”: Tossed in a spicy citrus-soy dressing, the recipe is adaptable to whatever vegetables you happen to have in your crisper.

Cool Food for Hot Weather

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Jonathon Sawyer: Popcorn Pudding

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Jonathon Sawyer and his family love chocolate-covered pretzels. That gave Sawyer the idea to create this luscious dessert that brilliantly combines the flavor of salted popcorn with a sweet, creamy pudding.

Dessert Recipes

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Rick Bayless: Mexican Chocolate Chip-Pumpkin Seed Cake

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Based on almond cake, Rick Bayless’s pumpkin-seed cake is moist and fluffy with just a whisper of a crisp crust. For a lighter variation, omit the chocolate and add lime zest.

Mexican Recipe Guide

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Rocco DiSpirito: Red Coconut Curry with Seafood

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This lighter, brighter Thai-style curry is from health-conscious chef Rocco DiSpirito. He cuts back on the coconut milk and boosts the flavor of the broth with shrimp, mussels, fish and vegetables.

F&W's Healthy Recipe Guide

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Edward Lee: Turmeric Chicken and Rice

Abby Hocking

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“This is a simple one-pot chicken-and-rice dish, but the turmeric adds color, spice and flavor,” Edward Lee says. “That makes it a winner in my house.” He recommends using a whole organic chicken so you know exactly where the bird came from and serving the dish family-style.

More Amazing Chicken Recipes

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Chefs' Weeknight Dinners

1 of 24

Alex Guarnaschelli: Cauliflower Steaks with Herb Salsa Verde

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Kuniko Yagi: Mapo Tofu

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Mourad Lahlou: Mussels with Saffron and Citrus

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Cathal Armstrong: Chickpea Vegetable Stew

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Carla Hall: Quinoa Salad with Spring Vegetables

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Sarah and Evan Rich: Roast Chicken Panzanella

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Jenn Louis: Bucatini all’Amatriciana with Parmigiano

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Chris Cosentino: Rigatoni with Lemony Kale Pesto

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Matt Jennings: Pizza with Baked Meatballs

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Renee Erickson: Grilled Lamb Chops with Cucumber Relish

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Spike Gjerde: Thai Chicken Soup

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Tim Byres: Red Snapper with Asparagus and Chorizo

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Aarón Sánchez: Jumbo Shrimp with Garlic & Chile Butter

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Andrew Zimmern: Roasted Peach Cobbler with Balsamic Syrup

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Megan Garrelts: Oatmeal-Cherry Cookies

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Jonathan Waxman: Pan-Fried Flounder with Lemon Butter Sauce

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Jamie Bissonnette: Beer-Braised Chicken Wings with Clams

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Tyler Florence: California Steak Salad

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Ricardo Zarate: Peruvian-Style Pasta Bolognese

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Susan Feniger: Kitchen-Sink Soba Noodles

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Jonathon Sawyer: Popcorn Pudding

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Rick Bayless: Mexican Chocolate Chip-Pumpkin Seed Cake

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Rocco DiSpirito: Red Coconut Curry with Seafood

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Edward Lee: Turmeric Chicken and Rice

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