YURA’S MEALS-TO-GO

Here are some highlights from this week’s Meals-to-Go:

Shrimp Creole fans can expect big flavor—with a soft touch, thanks to fluffy Scallion Rice Pilaf that’s served alongside. Classic flavor starter, onions/bell peppers/celery, is sautéed until softened in a café crème-colored roux. It’s speckled with a spice mix of oregano, thyme, and garlic, plus plenty of smoked paprika. And with the addition of shellfish stock, Andouille sausage, wine and crushed tomato, it becomes a rich sauce for “smothered” poached shrimp. 

Campbell’s, Heinz, and Van Camp’s, B & M, and Bush’s all convinced eaters that baked beans were too much effort to make from scratch. Enter, Buddy’s Baked Beans, with the quality of a dish made by hand (but as convenient to you as canned!). Tender and creamy, smoky with pork and molasses, it’s more than perfect as the side for Tuesday’s Glazed Beef-Bacon Meatloaf. Those baked beans, along with fresh Chopped Cabbage Slaw give this meal a country-picnic feel, as does Late-Spring String Beans with Rosemary and Garlic.

The rich rotisserie flavor of great roasted chicken marries well with rosemary-red wine-Portobello ragu. Together, they’re pillars of Wednesday’s Trattoria-Style Roasted Chicken and Mushroom Lasagna. Pasta sheets decked with shredded Provolone and mozzarella, alternate with layers of pulled chicken in this bright, earthy sauce. It’s a spring casserole that feels both hearty and alive.

If your weekend cookout was a washout, make a beeline for our sliced Char-Grilled Flank Steak in a tangle of colorful Crunchy Thai Slaw. Purple and green cabbage are showered in mint and cilantro, with carrots, multi-colored peppers, sugar snaps, tomatoes and edamame. Ten minutes before serving, douse the dish with the salad’s signature dressing—a sweet-savory nuoc cham pungent with lime. (This dish contains peanuts.)

Almost-Summer-Solstice Succotash brings our booming farmers market within reach. We celebrate ingredients so good that they barely need cooking: quick-blistered cherry tomatoes, sheared corn, and sweet-as-can-be sugar snaps, seasoned with basil, thyme, and roasted mixed peppers. We serve it, this week, with Oven-Poached Salmon and plenty of your favorite Basil Sauce. Accompanied by crispy-on-the-outside, creamy-on-the-inside Lemon-Roasted Pee-Wee Potatoes. This meal is meant to be eaten warm.