Quick

Jay was over for Sunday dinner - I try to do fish on Sundays as much as possible, mainly because it's healthy but also because that's what Jay likes to eat! This salmon was excellent. I loved it, even though it was fully of mushrooms. Shiitakes aren't so bad because the texture isn't so chewy and they're sliced up in this recipe. We also loved the squash. I was looking for something different and was unsure about the grapes, but it actually turned out really nice. The pudding - good, but not thick enough.

Excellent quick dinner tonight - the cumin rub is really good on the chicken thighs.

• Spiced-Up Grilled Chicken Thighs with Cumin and Coriander (The Perfect Recipe for Losing Weight and Eating Great, p. 248)
• Roasted Green Beans with Cherry Tomatoes and Oregano (The Perfect Recipe for Losing Weight and Eating Great, p. 268)

This was a late dinner, but I wanted to make this test recipe before I missed the deadline for the feedback period. Wow, was this chicken good! We both loved it. It came together in under an hour. I had planned to make polenta and a salad with the chicken, but it was getting so late that Larry just put together some garlic bread and that was that.

• Sauteed Chicken Cutlets with Porcini Sauce (Test Recipe)
• Sourdough bread with Sauteed Garlic Butter (Fine Cooking #43, March 2001, p. 49)

Wine: Ridge 2003 Lytton East Zinfandel (Dry Creek Valley, California). We're not drinking enough wine lately, and our Zins are going past their prime... not lots of fruit left in this one but okay for a weeknight.

These shrimp were very good and really quick to make, but I think they would have been better if I would have uses shell-off shrimp for the soak in the brine. Larry loved the green beans (he was craving Chinese long beans), but they were a little spicy for me.

• Plumped Ginger-Caramel Shrimp (The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper, p. 227)
• Schezuan Green Bean (Hot Vegetables, p. 57)

I've been wanting to buy the new cookbook "How to Eat Supper" ever since Larry picked it up from the library. This is the type of cookbook that really appeals to me. I read it cover-to-cover and marked a ton of recipes I want to try. This is the first dish I've made from it, and it's delicious. I love beans, and this is an easy and really delicious preparation (especially when paired with garlic bread).

• Warm White Bean Salad with Fragrant Garlic & Rosemary (The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper, p. 116)
• Sourdough bread with Sauteed Garlic Butter (Fine Cooking #43, March 2001, p. 49)

Larry and Jay were planning on going out to dinner, but I had picked up stuff for a quick, light dinner. The markets are bursting with heirloom tomatoes (not too many from our garden yet), so we just had a tomato salad with the chicken. We liked the chicken, and it was really quick and easy.

• Sear-and-Sauce Chicken Cutlets with Mustard Cream Sauce with Tarragon (The Perfect Recipe for Losing Weight and Eating Great, p. 222)
• Fresh Heirloom Tomatoes