YURA’S MEALS-TO-GO

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

This gorgeous Chef's Salad is well-endowed with Grilled Chicken Breast along with Swiss and cheddar and Black Forest ham. A great diner meal means plenty of other “Big Salad” staples—romaine, crispy cukes, baby spinach, arugula, and ripe tomatoes. It comes decorated with hard-boiled egg and crispy bacon, and with a bullseye dressing that’s part buttermilk “ranch,” part creamy blue cheese.

Blistered poblanos are covered in juicy, skillet-browned ground beef, and layered with this much Jack Cheese (that will melt like lava into every crevice!). Layer. Repeat. Then top off the brimming casserole with an egg + milk + poblano custard, and in less than an hour you’ve got deep-dish Beef Chiles Rellenos Casserole.

Foaming butter gets an infusion of garlic, curry powder and ginger, then we brush it all over sea bass. A sprinkle of lemon zest, cilantro, and a blast in a 500° oven, and there we have it: Australian Sea Bass in Lemon-Curry Butter. Great with a bounty of vegetables—a Broccoli, Shiitake and Red Pepper Sauté and served with no ordinary starch side dish, rather Jasmine Rice Scented with Lemongrass. 

We’re showcasing a braised beef with a clean-eating, serene vibe. Japanese-Style Beef Stew with Butternut Squash and Soba Noodles sets morsels of beef in a rich gingery broth of dashi, sake, and soy. Bright lemon peel and peppercorns are added to season, and sweet mirin sets the stage for bright orange, bite-sized butternut squash. A twirl of buckwheat soba, with its earthy nutty notes, gets swirled into the braising liquid once you reheat.

We could have called this dish Walk Away Chicken, a recipe to pop in the oven then go do other things. Its inspiration is the accidental genius of a not particularly resolute cook, one who’d just as soon salt-pepper-roast, than fuss over the details. Tuesday’s iteration adds just enough zhsooh to Simple, Roasted Chicken Thighs to make it our own: sprinkle with herbes de Provence then roast with shallot halves, garlic cloves, and quartered whole lemons, with just enough vermouth to maybe squeak out some jus. Served with Spinach-Mashed Potatoes as well as French Green Beans with Crushed Tomatoes.