| Did a friend forward this to you? Sign up here. Hi, everyone. It's been quite the week here in Washington, with more meals than usual eaten at home around the dining room table. Like many in the region, we spent the first few days of last weekend's winter storm snowed and iced in, then several more juggling work and childcare while school was out. Thankfully, the power stayed on and we were stocked up on fresh food and frozen items to last us a while. And even if all the leftovers and ready-to-eat options had been polished off, I'm confident that between our fridge and pantry staples, we would have had plenty of good meals ahead of us. Two of those staples are dried beans, easily cooked in my Instant Pot, and eggs, which I am more than happy to put on top of whatever bread product (bagels, naan, rolls) is around. Ellie Krieger believes just as much in these kinds of affordable pantry items, which she combined to fantastic effect in her Lentil Skillet With Spinach, Tomato, Egg and Feta. Inspired by shakshuka, this dish trades the tomato-and-pepper-based sauce for a bed of spiced legumes (which do still feature canned, diced tomatoes) and frozen spinach. Eggs cooked right in the lentils make this a main course for any time of day. While Ellie calls for four eggs, the entire meal is filling enough that you could stretch it to include as many as six, especially if served with pita or other bread.  |  | | | The Berbere Salisbury Steak that Aaron Hutcherson featured from cookbook author Jerrelle Guy also glams up a few humble ingredients. You'll find the same ground beef patties in gravy as you'd expect in the classic formula, but berbere, an Ethiopian spice blend, adds zip and complexity to both the meat and sauce. My favorite part, though, may have been the halved, practically caramelized shallots. Don't shallots make everything feel a little fancier? Ditto the optional, but very pretty, crisped sage leaves. Food writer Kara Elder shared a riff on another saucy favorite with cookbook author Alissa Timoshkina's Hungarian Mushroom Paprikash Stew. Versatile fungi star in this substantive meatless take that shares the same DNA — loads of paprika, sour cream, onion — as the traditional version made with chicken. You can use all white button mushrooms, but I'd encourage you to at least mix in some cremini (also known as baby bella) 'shrooms, which are a little deeper in flavor. And like shallots, they just add that extra bit of flair. What other ways can we help you upgrade your pantry staples or classic dishes? Aaron and I are here to help in our live weekly cooking chat Thursday at 11 a.m. Eastern. Submit your questions now, then set a reminder to come back once we kick off the conversation. Until next week, stay warm and happy cooking. |
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