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  1. HomeChevron Right
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  3. Make-Ahead Main Courses

Make-Ahead Main Courses

By Food & Wine
Updated October 23, 2019
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Slow Cooker Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic
Credit: © Lucy Schaeffer
From salmon with curried spinach to gnocchi parisienne, here are some delicious make-ahead dishes.
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Spinach-and-Grape-Leaf Pie

Spinach-and-Grape-Leaf Pie
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Chef Alex Raij made this big, impressive pie, which she calls pastel de parra, to snack on throughout the weekend; a big slice is also satisfying as a meal.

  • More Spinach Recipes

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Meat Loaf with Creamy Onion Gravy

Meat Loaf with Creamy Onion Gravy
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"This is a culmination of all the meat loaves I've ever eaten," says Andrew Curren, chef-partner of 24 Diner in Austin. "My mom always made a good meat loaf—it never had the tomato goo on top of it. Then I tasted a meat loaf that had cheese in it; that was a good idea. In Italy, I was introduced to soffritto and realized the importance of cooking with carrots, onion, celery." Curren serves the meat loaf with creamy gravy, which is also excellent on lunchtime meat loaf sandwiches.

  • Delicious Meatball Recipes

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Roasted Delicata Squash with Quinoa Salad

Roasted Delicata Squash with Quinoa Salad
Credit: © John Kernick
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Quinoa is definitely a superfood: A grain-like seed, it's a "complete" protein containing all eight essential amino acids (another plus: it cooks much more quickly than most grains). To create a terrific vegetarian main course, Michael Symon of Cleveland's Lola tosses quinoa with arugula, apple, raisins and fresh herbs, then spoons the salad into a halved baked squash (a great source of iron and vitamins A and C).

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Pumpkin Lasagne

Delicious Pumpkin Recipes
Credit: Karen Mordechai
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You can roast fresh pumpkin for this dish or use canned unseasoned pumpkin puree, which is quicker. Like most lasagnes, this one is easier to cut if left to set for 10 minutes or so before serving.

  • More Savory Pumpkin Recipes

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Salmon with Curried Spinach

Salmon with Curried Spinach
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A good choice for a dinner party, this dish looks as if you've gone to some trouble when in fact it's really easy. And everybody likes salmon.

  • F&W's Ultimate Guide to Fish Recipes

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Pork Medallions with Curry-Honey Glaze

Pork Medallions with Curry-Honey Glaze
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Steamed basmati rice and sautéed chayote or cucumber slices make ideal accompaniments to this dish.

  • More Pork Recipes

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Three-Cheese Baked Pasta with Porcini and Radicchio

Three-Cheese Baked Pasta with Porcini and Radicchio
Credit: Food & Wine
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This pasta features three types of cheese: fontina, asiago, and parmesan.

  • Baked Pasta Recipes

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Vegetable-and-Ravioli Lasagna

Vegetable-and-Ravioli Lasagna
Credit: Rick Poon
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Fresh spinach ravioli are a clever shortcut for making lasagna: Each ravioli is already a mini layer of pasta, cheese and vegetable. This recipe is especially fast to make using pre-roasted or grilled vegetables from the deli counter.

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Chicken Dijon

Chicken Dijon. Photo © Johnny Valiant
Credit: © Johnny Valiant
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Melissa Clark's favorite part of the chicken is the drumstick, because it's juicy and easy to brown. She likes using only drumsticks in this mustardy stew—thickened with tangy crème fraîche—so that all the meat cooks at the same rate.

  • French Main Courses

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Lasagna with Mushrooms and Lamb Sausage

Lasagna with Wild Mushrooms-and-Lamb Sausage
Credit: © Quentin Bacon
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Marcia Kiesel’s earthy, meaty lasagna features two types of mushrooms, rich mushroom stock, truffled pecorino cheese and spicy merguez lamb sausage.

  • More Mushroom Recipes

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Sardinian Stuffed Eggplant

Sardinian Stuffed Eggplant
Credit: Quentin Bacon
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Efisio Farris, the executive chef at Arcodoro in Houston, says that his mother used only eggplants from the first pick of the season (le primizie) for this dish because of their supple texture and earthy-sweet flavor without a hint of bitterness. But if you don’t have the primizie option, you should seek out firm, heavy eggplants with smooth, evenly colored skin. Check for ripeness by pressing them lightly; if this leaves an imprint, the eggplant is ready to use.

  • More Eggplant Recipes

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Stuffed Pork Tenderloins with Bacon and Apple-Riesling Sauce

Stuffed Pork Tenderloin with Bacon and Apple-Riesling Sauce
Credit: Kirsten Strecker
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Debra Whiting, the chef and co-owner of Red Newt Winery Bistro in New York's Finger Lakes, loves the fresh goat cheese from the local Lively Run Dairy so much that she always works it into her dinner menu. Here, she mixes the cheese with apple, sausage and greens, then stuffs it inside a bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin.

  • More Pork Recipes

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Red Chile-Chicken Enchiladas

Red Chile-Chicken Enchiladas
Credit: © Fredrika Stjärne
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Grace Parisi makes a slightly spicy red sauce for these enchiladas with smoky guajillo chiles and fruity ancho chiles.

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Macaroni-and-Beef Casserole

Macaroni-and-Beef Casserole
Credit: © Alexandra Rowley
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This hearty cumin-scented casserole has an irresistible cheesy-crisp topping.

  • Casserole Recipes

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Short Ribs with Mushrooms and Spring Vegetables

Short Ribs with Mushrooms and Spring Vegetables
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To layer the flavors in this dish, chef Rory Herrmann at Bouchon in Beverly Hills marinates beef short ribs and vegetables in red wine overnight, then uses the marinade in the braise as well. Spring vegetables help lighten the rich stew.

  • More Hearty Stews

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Pickle-Brined Chicken

Pickle-Brined Chicken
Credit: © Simon Watson
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"When you have leftover pickle juice, isn't it a waste not to use it to make chicken taste delicious?" asks Frank Falcinelli. He brines chicken breast in dill-pickle juice to flavor it and keep it moist in the oven, then serves it on top of supertender leg meat he's shredded and mixed with sautéed chard.

  • More Chicken Recipes

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Celery Root and Mushroom Lasagna

Celery Root and Mushroom Lasagna
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"In Marche, we only make lasagna for special occasions like Christmas," Fabio Trabocchi says. For this streamlined version of his luxe lasagna in bianco (white lasagna), he layers flat noodles with a supremely rich sauce, along with a root-vegetable ragù, fresh mozzarella and whole basil leaves.

  • More Lasagna Recipes

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Southwest Seafood Chowder

Southwest Seafood Chowder
Credit: © David Malosh
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As a native New Englander, chef Steve Sicinski loves clam chowder but prefers making a healthier version with Southwestern flavors.

  • More Fantastic Chowder Recipes

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Braised Pork Shanks

Braised Pork Shanks
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Pork shanks, which come from the front leg of the pig, can be chewy when cooked incorrectly. When prepared properly, however, they become succulent and flavorful. Tim Love thinks the best way to cook them is in a long, slow braise, as in the recipe here. Don't let the liquid boil, he warns, or it will toughen the meat.

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Gnocchi Parisienne

Gnocchi Parisienne
Credit: James Baigrie
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These very tasty gnocchi are made with pâte à choux—the same dough used for profiteroles, cream puffs and éclairs—that is poached and then baked. You don’t need a light hand to make these, as you do for other forms of gnocchi; in fact, the dough comes together quickly in a saucepan and requires vigorous stirring.

  • More Gnocchi Recipes

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Lentils with Red Wine and Herbs

Lentils with Red Wine and Herbs
Credit: Jan Baldwin
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Sophie Dahl fondly refers to this dish as Paris Mash because she used to make it in Paris while visiting an artist friend, Annie Morris. With herbs and a scattering of mâche (a sweet and tender green), the stewy lentils become a perfect combination of soup and salad. French green lentils work best here, because they hold their shape when cooked.

  • Cooking With Red Wine

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Julie's Texas-Style Chili with Beer

Julie's Texas-Style Chili with Beer
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A blend of three chiles flavors this bold short-rib chili.

  • More Chili Recipes

22 of 23

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Slow Cooker Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic

Slow Cooker Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic
Credit: © Lucy Schaeffer
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This tasty dish pairs well with a smooth, spicy California Pinot Noir.

  • More Slow Cooker Recipes

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    1 of 23 Spinach-and-Grape-Leaf Pie
    2 of 23 Meat Loaf with Creamy Onion Gravy
    3 of 23 Roasted Delicata Squash with Quinoa Salad
    4 of 23 Pumpkin Lasagne
    5 of 23 Salmon with Curried Spinach
    6 of 23 Pork Medallions with Curry-Honey Glaze
    7 of 23 Three-Cheese Baked Pasta with Porcini and Radicchio
    8 of 23 Vegetable-and-Ravioli Lasagna
    9 of 23 Chicken Dijon
    10 of 23 Lasagna with Mushrooms and Lamb Sausage
    11 of 23 Sardinian Stuffed Eggplant
    12 of 23 Stuffed Pork Tenderloins with Bacon and Apple-Riesling Sauce
    13 of 23 Red Chile-Chicken Enchiladas
    14 of 23 Macaroni-and-Beef Casserole
    15 of 23 Short Ribs with Mushrooms and Spring Vegetables
    16 of 23 Pickle-Brined Chicken
    17 of 23 Celery Root and Mushroom Lasagna
    18 of 23 Southwest Seafood Chowder
    19 of 23 Braised Pork Shanks
    20 of 23 Gnocchi Parisienne
    21 of 23 Lentils with Red Wine and Herbs
    22 of 23 Julie's Texas-Style Chili with Beer
    23 of 23 Slow Cooker Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic

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