A Year in Dinners

Lest I miss out on all of the Year-in-Review fun that everyone seems to be having as we wrap up yet another one, I thought I’d try something a little radical: Present all the dinners I cooked in 2016, as recorded in my Dinner Diary. I know: Super exciting! But the headlines this year were so boring and business-as-usual, so what else was I going to write about? (Please do not answer that.) Since it’s customary to reflect a bit as we flip our calendars, I did want to preface My Year in Dinners with a few notes:

• We are definitely not kosher. There’s a lot of pork.
• We are much better about going meatless than we were a few years ago, but boy we still have a ways to go.
• We do love our pan-fried fish and green salads. (I need to post about our go-to green salads; we have them so often that I only ever record them as “salad.”)
• Some months don’t have as many dinners as others. This is because I did not include where we ate when traveling, entertaining, dining out or dessert because it got kind of complicated. But you can find most of those details in my travel and entertaining posts or instagram for restaurants.) Also, because I get lazy and forget to write things down for weeklong stretches sometimes.

I included links to recipes where I could, and if a meal appeared in one of my books, I noted which one. (Key: Love Story = Dinner: A Love Story; Playbook = Dinner: The Playbook; Celebrate = How to Celebrate Everything.) Because I don’t really use recipes, you might notice that the description of the dinner does not exactly match the linked recipe, but I figured I’d give you something as close as possible. Lastly: All dinners shown in the above grid can be found in Playbook.

January
Pork Ragu
Chopped Salad
Brown-Sugar-Mustard Salmon
Italian Wedding Soup
Grain Bowl with Brussels Sprouts and Egg
Short Rib Pot Pie
Turkey Chili (Love Story)
Kale Cobb Salad (Playbook)
Chicken Paillard with Lemon and Salad
Mercurio’s Baked Ziti
Chicken Pot Pie (Love Story) and a version here
Shrimp Salad Rolls (Playbook)
Grandma Jody’s Chicken (Love Story & here)
Kale, Feta & Roast Tomato Pizza
Arroz con Pollo (Love Story)
Homemade Sushi Night
Bo Ssam/Rice/Slaw/Fried Veggie Noodles/Chocolate Chip Cookies
Pan-fried Chickpeas, Yogurt, Naan (Celebrate)
Chopped Salad with Chicken and Ranch
Fried Fish with Salad
Burgers, Baked Beans (Celebrate), Salad
BBQ Chicken Sandwiches, Potatoes, Slaw (Playbook and here)
Salmon with Kale/Pomegranate Salad (Celebrate)

February
French Bread Pizzas
Breaded Vinegary Pork Chops (Love Story and here)
Swedish Meatballs (Love Story)
Salmon with Brussels
Indonesian Chicken Salad 
Pasta with Turkey Bolognese (and in Love Story)
Leftover Pizza
Chicken & Black Bean Tacos (Love Story)
Rice & Beans with Avocado (coming soon, crazy I haven’t written this up)
Honey-Lemon Roast Salmon (Playbook) with Leftover Horseradish Cream Sauce
Miso-Butter Tofu (shown above)

March
Beer-braised Pork with Cabbage (shown above)
Egg/Sausage/Cheese/Biscuits (Celebrate)
Rotisserie Chicken, Salad, Homemade Challah (Celebrate)
Filet with Red Wine Sauce (Celebrate)
Veggie Chili
Brussels Bowl with Coconut Rice
Fried Flounder with Salad
Chicken Sausages with Salad and Crusty Bread
Burrito Bowls (Celebrate and here)
Chicken Cutlet Sandwiches
Burgers with Big Green Salad
Roast Chicken Thighs with Gochujang
Chili from Freezer
Brown Sugar Mustard-Glazed Salmon
Sushi Bowls
Fried fish with Salad
Quinoa Bowls with Chicken and Kale
Burrito Bowls with Sausage
Easter Filet/Potatoes/Salad
Avocado Toasts
Meatball Sandwiches

April
Milk-braised Pork Loin
Picnic Chicken (Celebrate)
Poke Bowls
Crispy Chickpeas and Tamarind Yogurt (shown above, Celebrate)
Cider-braised Pork Loin wth Gnocchi (Similar: Cider-braised Meatballs in Celebrate)
Bulgogi Burgers
Ditalini Pasta with Chickpeas
Chicken Tacos
Poke Bowls
Turkey Burgers with Green Salad
Grilled Ribeyes with Peanuty Slaw (Slaw: Playbook)
Hunter Stew
Burrito Bowls
Butter-roasted Salmon with Beets, Green Beans, Barley
Turkey Meatballs
Chicken Pot Pie (Love Story)

May
Shrimp Rolls and Beets (Playbook)
Chicken Cutlets with Salad (Love Story)
Homemade Pizza
Korean Pork Tacos with Peanut Slaw (Playbook)
Grilled Salmon with Wheatberry Salad
Spicy Pork and Cabbage Salad
Giant Turkey Meatballs with Charred Green Beans
Bacon-wrapped Tenders with Pickles and Salad
Homemade Fettuccine with Mushrooms & Chives (shown above)
Grilled Farm Market Sausages, Lahey Bread, Salad
Salmon with Horseradish Sauce
Rotisserie Chicken with Salad
Lemon Chicken (Celebrate) with Chopped Salad
Soy/Rice Wine-marinated Pork with Broccoli and Rice
Rigatoni with Meatballs
Tony’s Steak/No-Knead Bread/Cherry Pie

SUMMER (I was really bad about recording, so I’m consolidating June-July-August)
Grilled Chicken and Market Salads
Salmon Salad (Love Story)
Salad Pizza
BBQ Chicken, slaw, potato salad (Love Story)
Fried Fish 
Strawberry Spinach Salad (shown above)
Goat Cheese Toasts with Chard (& Sausages)
Fried Shrimp Tacos with Mango Salsa
Sushi Bowls with Salmon
Spaghetti with corn, tomatoes, basil, shallots
Lettuce/Pork Wraps (Celebrate)
Strawberry Spinach Salad (shown above)
Salmon Salad (Love Story)

Yogurt-marinated Chicken, Grilled Asparagus, Tomato/Feta Salad
Burgers
Fish Tacos with Cilantro Pesto (Playbook)
Salmon Salad (shown above, Love Story)
Miso-Butter Tofu
Turkey meatballs with Salad
Homemade Veggie Dumplings
Lentils & Salmon & Grilled Greens
Soy-Glazed Pork Chops with Barley & Savoy Slaw (Celebrate)
Corn & Chicken Summer Stew (Playbook)
Tomato Tart wth Strawberry Spinach Salad
Crispy Chicken Sandwiches with Kale Salad
Shrimp Cocktail
Fried Flounder, Butterbeans, Tomato Feta Salad
Pizza made by the girls
Yogurt-marinated Chicken
Ribs & Double Mustard Potato Salad
Shrimp Rolls, Tomato-Corn-Feta Salad, Butterbeans & Mint (Playbook, pictured)
Grilled Chicken with Veg
Shrimp Cocktail w Green Salad
Grilled Steak with Salsa Verde and Campfire Potatoes
Soy-Honey Chicken on Grill/Caesar’s Salad
BBQ Pork Sandwiches
Chicken Caesar Salad

September
Roast Chicken  (Love Story) with Salad & Baguette
Turkey Chili (Love Story)
Caesar Salad with Chicken (shown above)
Yogurt-Marinated Chicken
Arctic Char with Kale Salad
Turkey Meatballs with Market Greens
Chicken Pot Pie with Caprese (Love Story)
Pad Thai
Crispy Chicken Sandwiches with Roast Market Carrots
Grilled Chicken, Corn Salad, Foccacia
Pulled Pork Sandwiches, Slaw
Mustard Herb Chicken
Veggie Dumplings
Brussels & Avocado Bowl
Salmon Salad (Love Story)
Grandma Jody’s Chicken with Shredded Beet Salad, Yogurt, & Herbs
Grilled Sausages & Double Mustard Potato Salad (Love Story)

October
Baked Shrimp with Feta
Pappardelle, Pork Ragu (shown above)
Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Roast Cauliflower & Bread Crumbs (Playbook)
Honey-Mustard Baked Chicken Thighs
Grilled Tuna & Teriyaki Anions
Chicken with Artichokes and Creamy Tomato Sauce (Playbook)
Pasta with Leftover Ragu & Broccoli Salad
Franks ‘n Beans (Celebrate)
Mustard-Herb Chicken
Chicken with Brussels & Bacon (Love Story)

November
Spaghetti & Turkey Meatballs
Mustard-Herb Chicken
Flounder Meuniere
Marcella’s Milk-braised Pork
Sausages with Salad & Bread
Burgers & Big Green Salad
Chicken Pot Pie (Love Story)
Fried Flounder with Slaw
Fried Veggie Noodles (shown above)
Grilled Cheese & Tomato Soup
Arroz Con Pollo (Love Story)
Sushi Bowls (Salmon)

December
Mustard-Herb Chicken
Shepherd’s Pie
Steak with Sesame Spinach and Potatoes
Burrito Bowls w Beans/Veggie & Pork (Celebrate and here)
Salad Pizza
Ragu “Pies” with Salad
Rotisserie Chicken and Mashed Potatoes
Shrimp Rolls (Playbook)
Mercurio’s Chicken Parm
Xmas Dinner: Filet, Sybil’s Salad, Carrots with Pecans, Mashed Potatoes
Brown-Sugar-Mustard Salmon with Smashed Potatoes & Sour Cream