Weeknight Meals

We love the sweet-sour taste of classic veal scaloppini, but we have started using turkey cutlets in our peppery version. Turkey has such a rich taste, plus it’s leaner and less expensive than veal. This recipe is simple enough for everyday dinners, but it tastes special enough that you can eat it by candlelight, especially when it’s served with our almond rice pilaf.

Prepared mustard is about as underappreciated as a staple could be. After all, it’s fat-free, low in calories, and high in flavor. Despite these assets, its main role in most households is as a condiment for meat and, perhaps, as an occasional ingredient in vinaigrette. In this chicken dish, however—essentially broiled chicken smeared with a spicy mustard paste—it plays a leading role. You can make this dish with chicken breasts if you prefer, but I recommend starting with bone-in breasts and following the same procedure. If you want to use skinless, boneless breasts (forget about crispness), smear the meat all over with the mustard mixture, then broil for just about six minutes, turning two or three times to prevent burning.

This dish is a true Southern delight, our riff on Louisiana-style spicy shrimp combined with cheesy grits just the way we make ’em at The Lady & Sons. It’s amazing how easy this is to whip up. Make it for your family, and they’ll swear you spent all day tied to the stove.

If you’ve been to Savannah, or if you live here (hey, neighbor!), then you know that we’re one shrimp-crazy city. We like shrimp so well we are happy just boiling them up and eating them out of their shells. But every once in a while, we do something a little more substantial for dinner, like this Cajun-flavored dish, which goes great with our colorful Broccoli and Red Pepper Salad (page 109).

Ratatouille is a vegetable stew from the south of France, traditionally made by slow cooking. By roasting the vegetables in a hot convection oven, the juices, flavors, and colors are quickly sealed in and the vegetables are succulent and remain distinguishable.

Wheat berries are whole wheat kernels that become appealingly chewy when cooked, and bulgur, a Middle Eastern staple, is crushed dried wheat kernels (best known as the basis for tabbouleh). Together they make a nutritious and satisfying salad (the grains are hearty and filling) that can stand alone as a meal or work as a side dish with grilled lamb chops or crispy seared fish. I’ve called for celery hearts because I love their sweetness, but regular stalks of celery work just fine.

A complete, one-pot meal.

To prepare the brussels sprouts before cutting them, be sure to pull off the tough outer leaves. Thin slicing and simple seasonings will convert those who aren't fans of brussels sprouts. Petrale sole, a Pacific Coast fish, is prized for its delicate flavor and thick fillets.

Your whole meal—both meat and side—is cooked in just one pan. Us e the food processor grating disk to make quick work of shredding the beets.

Cinnamon, cayenne, and mint give this healthful main course some exotic North African flavor.

Skip the wine—this salad is perfect with a Belgian ale. Saint Andréis a soft, ripened cheese much like Brie or Camembert. Either cheese would make a good substitute.

The bright flavors are a nice counterpoint to rich foods.

The garnet yam, named for its dark reddish-brown skin, is the variety you're most likely to find in the produce section of the supermarket. It's actually a sweet potato, and it's so flavorful that it requires only a little cream and butter, and some tart lime juice.

Pasta in the Greek style, with an added surprise: parsnips.

A tangerine's skin is so thin that when it's cooked, you can eat the fruit—peel and all. Asian sweet chili sauce is an orange-colored, slightly spicy bottled Thai sauce; it's available in the As ian foods section of some supermarkets. Chinese five-spice powder can be found in the spice section of most supermarkets.

This dish showcases both red- and tan-skinned sweet potatoes.

Broccolini may also be labeled "aspiration" or "baby broccoli." if using Ordinary broccoli, cut off the florets, peel the stalks, and cut into short, thin sticks.

It's pretty hard to upstage bacon, but if you get your hands on some heirloom Carolina Gold rice, the granddaddy of long-grain rices in the United States, that's what you might end up doing. Lee cooks it uncovered, which allows the water to evaporate and thus concentrates the richness of the chicken stock and tomato juice.

A rich meal calls for a crisp salad, in shades of green and white, to cleanse your palate. Radish sprouts add a peppery bite to the crunchy jicama and flat leaves of parsley and celery.

Roy Choi approaches food like a graffiti artist: "I just want to put it out there and be gone before anyone knows I spray-painted on the wall." So if you've been following Kogi BBQ-To-Go tweets but haven't been quick enough to find the truck, these fusion quesadillas should satisfy your cravings.