What to do this weekend to get ready for the week
- Make your anchovy butter
- Give your beans a nice luxurious soak
Nothing Fancy’s Anchovy Butter Chicken w/ Chicken Fat Croutons
I have a serious love / hate relationship with roasting a whole chicken. On the one hand, there’s something just really special / romantic about cooking a whole animal (train whistling in the night romantic, not candlelit dinner romantic – though maybe that too…), and when you do it right, the bird can really radiate with that golden brown skin. On the other hand, if you’re like me, you won’t be able to crisp the skin, your white meat will overcook and you’ll just be left feeling inadequate and distrustful of the world around you. We didn’t get this bird right. Though I’m loath to question AR, not sure if the anchovy butter totally works here. Also I’m a firm believer in brining, which we didn’t do because sometimes there’s just not enough time.
Nothing Fancy’s Tiny Creamy Pasta w/ Black Pepper & Pecorino
This recipe is one of those where, with the first bite you think, “Hmm, pretty good” and by the third bite you realize that you’re weeping, and are certain that there is a god and that you have the power to summon them, to briefly live inside your bowl in the form of a delicious creamy pasta. We used Fregola which are these tiny little orbs of gluten goodness and also possibly the name of your yuppie, millennial friend’s daughter. Make sure to check your grocery store for this pasta ahead of time; ours didn’t have them, and we had to do a side trip to Eataly. Finally, expect a good arm workout from this recipe; it’s a lot like making a risotto with constant stirring and adding more water.
Creamy Braised White Beans w/ Pan-Seared Scallops
Brothy beans are our jam. If Fregola is already taken, we’re planning on naming our kid Brothy Beans. Also scallops are delicious, so this recipe crushed it. We know everyone says to sear your scallops, but we do things differently here at Jane and Zak. We went for a slow, 5-hour braise on our scallops. Just kidding, scallops are too expensive to troll ourselves with those shenanigans. Cast iron, rattling hot, 90 seconds on one side and 60 on the other, garlic butter spooned over in the last 60 secs, topped with lemon juice. Amazing. Wish we had more scallops.
Jane & Zak: Meal Prepping from Williamsburg, Brooklyn 