Forget about the stress that comes with cooking from scratch during those busy weekdays. America's Test Kitchen released its latest cookbook, The Make-Ahead Cook, back in August, keeping folks who enjoy crafting home-cooked meals but don't always have the time in mind.
Three recipes from the book, as well as some excerpts (which you'll see in italics), were shared with CL. And each, depending on how you use them, could make enough for flavor-packed leftovers, fit for storing in the fridge or freezer.
Beef and Broccoli Stir-Fry
Serves 4
Ingredients
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 1/2 pounds flank steak, trimmed and sliced thin across grain
1 pound broccoli florets, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch-long matchsticks
1/2 red onion, sliced thin
1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted
Directions
Whisk hoisin, 1/4 cup water and soy sauce together in bowl; set aside. Combine 1 teaspoon oil, ginger, garlic and pepper flakes in small bowl.
Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over high heat until just smoking. Add half of beef, breaking up any clumps, and cook without stirring for 1 minute. Stir beef and continue to cook until beef is browned around edges, about 30 seconds; transfer to separate bowl. Repeat with 1 1/2 teaspoons oil and remaining beef; transfer to bowl.
Heat remaining 2 teaspoons oil in now-empty skillet over high heat until shimmering. Add broccoli, carrots and onion and cook for 30 seconds. Add remaining 1/4 cup water, cover skillet and lower heat to medium. Steam vegetables until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes.
Push vegetables to sides of skillet. Add ginger-garlic mixture to center of skillet and cook, mashing mixture into skillet, until fragrant, 15 to 20 seconds. Stir mixture into vegetables.
Return beef with any accumulated juices to skillet and toss to combine. Whisk sauce to recombine, then add to skillet and cook, stirring constantly, until sauce is thickened and evenly distributed, about 30 seconds. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.
Why This Recipe Works: Because a stir-fry comes together so quickly, it was critical to get all the ingredients organized ahead of time. Prepping extra broccoli also helped us save time when we made our Skillet Pizza with Broccoli and Red Onion (page 177).
Serves 4
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound hot or sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
8 ounces penne (2 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, rinsed and chopped fine
Salt and pepper
6 ounces baby spinach (6 cups)
Grated Parmesan cheese
Heat oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add sausage and cook, breaking up meat with wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 4 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Stir in broth, water, pasta, tomatoes and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to vigorous simmer and cook, stirring often, until pasta is tender and sauce has thickened, 15 to 18 minutes.
Stir in spinach, 1 handful at a time, and cook until wilted, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve with Parmesan.
Why This Recipe Works: Chopped sun-dried tomatoes provided big, bold flavor (and also came in handy for a simple yet vibrant sauce for our skillet pizza later in the week). We kept cleanup to a minimum by building the sauce and cooking the pasta right in the skillet.
Serves 4
Ingredients
3/4 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, plus 1/4 cup packing oil
1/2 cup warm tap water
5 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 ounces broccoli florets, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 red onion, sliced thin
1 package store-bought pizza dough (1 pound)
8 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded (2 cups)
2 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (1 cup)
Directions
Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 500 degrees. Process tomatoes, 2 tablespoons tomato packing oil, 1/4 cup water, one-third of garlic, and salt in food processor until smooth, about 30 seconds, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.
Combine broccoli, onion, remaining 1/4 cup water, and remaining garlic in large bowl, cover, and microwave until broccoli is tender, about 2 minutes; drain well.
Divide dough in half. Press and roll 1 piece of dough (keep other piece covered) into 11-inch round on lightly floured counter. Grease 12-inch ovensafe skillet with 1 tablespoon tomato packing oil, then lay dough in skillet and reshape as needed.
Spread half of tomato mixture on dough, leaving 1/2-inch border at edge, and sprinkle with half each of mozzarella, broccoli-onion mixture and Parmesan.
Set skillet over high heat and cook until edge of crust has set and bottom is spotty brown, about 3 minutes. Transfer skillet to oven and bake pizza until edges are brown and cheese is melted and spotty brown, 7 to 10 minutes. Carefully remove skillet from oven (skillet handle will be hot) and slide pizza onto wire rack. Let cool slightly before serving.
Being careful of hot skillet handle, wipe out skillet using paper towels. Let skillet cool slightly, then repeat with remaining 1 tablespoon tomato packing oil, dough, tomato mixture, mozzarella, broccoli-onion mixture and Parmesan. Serve.
Why This Recipe Works: The broccoli florets left over from our stir-fry were the perfect choice for a hearty vegetable topping… Rather than reach for store-bought pizza sauce, we created a simple yet assertive spread using the sun-dried tomatoes we used in our skillet penne dish.
This article appears in Dec 25-31, 2014.