Five Favorite Dinner Shortcuts - No. 48

So secretly simple

None other than Fudge Pie starting with a brownie mix.

Thanks to everyone who watched me on QVC last night! I talked cake with host David Venable via Skype. And honestly, my Bluetooth earbuds kept disconnecting from the iPad, so minutes before showtime I was in a real pickle. My husband cranked up the volume on the iPad as far as it would go, so if you saw me leaning over the table toward the camera, I was just trying to hear what David was saying! The drama of remote. Back to dinner and reality…

YOU MIGHT KNOW I ONCE WROTE A BOOK called The Dinner Doctor, which followed the Cake Mix Doctor, and was a collection of recipes that helped me pull off dinner at 6. It also helped with bake sales, holiday gatherings, and dinner parties, too.

It blended from-scratch with off-the-shelf and allowed me to survive those madcap child-raising years. I was unapologetic about relying on a few convenience foods like frozen puff pastry and pre-roasted rotisserie chicken from the supermarket.

Still am today.

But today there are even better options for blending a little convenience with scratch. (Hello,Trader Joe’s!)

So from time to time in this space I’ll be sharing my favorite hacks and finds so that we can all get a bold, fresh meal on the table deliciously.

I’d love to know your tricks, too, from unique products you buy to how you cook. Crock Pot? Sheet pan meals?

Five secretly simple ideas

I’m going to jump right in and start sharing. Here are some favorites:

1. Scalloped Potatoes using hash browns. I really should rename this recipe Lifesaver Scalloped Potatoes because they have saved me as a last-minute side. And they are every bit as good as the more time-consuming Potatoes Dauphinoise. If you keep some of the chunky frozen hash browns in the freezer and have garlic and Parm, all you need to buy is heavy cream. The trick is to let the casserole cook enough so that it browns and bubbles around the edges and develops flavor!  And pair this with any roast, grilled steaks or portobellos.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Empty a 32-ounce bag of frozen diced hash brown potatoes into a 13- by 9-inch casserole or 12-inch cast iron skillet. Stir in 1/2 cup Parm or shredded Gruyere, several cloves of minced garlic, and 2 cups heavy cream. Season with salt and pepper, and a pinch of cayenne or nutmeg if you like. Cover the pan with foil and bake until bubbly, about 45 to 50 minutes. Remove the foil, sprinkle a little more cheese or some buttered bread crumbs over the top, and cook uncovered the last 10 minutes, or switch the oven to broil and and broil until golden.

1. Marinate with Paul Newman Caesar salad dressing. (Not the creamy one, the vinaigrette one. And you can use other brands as well, but make sure there are anchovies on the ingredient list because it’s the anchovies that give this dressing the umami.)

Place boneless chicken breasts or pork tenderloins in Ziplock bags and pour the dressing into the bags. Seal and massage the bags to coat well. Place in the fridge overnight - and two overnights is even better! - then grill over a hot fire to sear and char a bit, turning to cook on all sides. Dial the heat down a bit to let the meat cook through. For chicken - most chicken breasts are just so large and tough these days that I place them in a Ziplock, then whack them with my maple rolling pin to flatten a bit, and then pour in the dressing and marinate.

1. Make a Salsa starting with pre-shredded cheese. I know it sounds a bit strange, but it is the most delicious easy snack to put out for folks dropping by the house or coming over to watch football. My sister Susan passed along this recipe years ago. You’ve got the chips, salsa, guac, but that third cheesy dip is so nice. And it’s a lot less messy than simmering up queso, so here goes:

Dump a bag of shredded cheese of your choice (8 ounces; 2 cups) in a bowl and add a big handful of chopped tomatoes (about a cup), a drained small can of green chilies (or a tablespoon minced fresh serranos or jalapeños), some sliced black olives (or green!), big handful each of chopped green onions and cilantro and enough Italian salad dressing of your choice to moisten. (I sometimes add avocado cubes.) Serve with tortilla chips!

1. White Bean Soup using canned beans is a shortcut version of the Provençal classic, soupe au pistou. I am never without canned white beans in my pantry, especially the white Great Northern beans. Be sure to drain and rinse them to get rid of the gassy liquid, add them to a pot with a nice saute, some stock (veg or chicken), simmer, and you’ve got dinner in minutes. Dollop a bit of homemade pesto on top!

Sauté some onion and a medium zucchini, sliced, in a tablespoon or two of olive oil in a large saucepan until soft and a little browned. Add 2 cans of drained and rinsed white beans, 3 cups chicken or vegetable broth, and a small can of tomatoes seasoned with garlic and onion, plus some black pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce to low, cover, and simmer until the flavors blend, about 15 minutes. If you like, stir in about a cup of cooked pasta and a tablespoon of pesto. Simmer a bit more, then serve with crusty bread and more pesto.

That pie.

1. Turn a brownie mix into a fudge pie. I’m pretty darned picky about box brownies. So I buy the best brand I can and instead of pouring the batter into a brownie pan, I pour it into a frozen pie crust! For dinner parties, I bake this a couple hours ahead of time and let it stay warm at the back of the stove, slice, then serve with good vanilla, coffee, or peppermint ice cream.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prick a 9-inch frozen pie crust (slightly thawed) a few times on the bottom with a fork. In a bowl, stir together a 15- to 16-ounce brownie mix, 2 eggs, and a stick of melted unsalted butter. Pour into the crust, and scatter a small handful of chopped pecans or walnuts on top. Bake until the top puffs up and the edges are firm, about 30 minutes.

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I hope you’ve enjoyed this first of many Thursday no-recipe recipes. Being such an ingredient stickler, it’s not easy for me to write a no-recipe recipe, but as time goes on, maybe I’ll loosen up some and relax!

Those are my fast fixes, what are yours?

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Next Tuesday in Between the Layers:

Some recipes just say fall… like Apple Skillet Pie. And on Thursday, just for you, my subscribers, my friend Beth’s secretly simple recipe for apple tarts using Granny Smiths and frozen puff pastry.

Have a great weekend!

Anne