Lockdown Menu Ideas

I’ve been getting a lot of messages on Facebook and Instagram from people looking for ideas of what to cook as you enter into the bizarre world of lockdown. Over on Instagram a lot of people shared photos of their pantries stocked with everything from beans and pasta to Doritos and Cheerios. But even if you have 400 pounds of pasta and enough toilet paper to last you until 2026, that still doesn’t answer the question: what’s for dinner?

In this world where we seemingly have less control hour by hour, the one thing that we can try to control is what we are eating. But with kids (and spouses!) home, and no fixed schedule, the idea of planning meals can be daunting and make for even more stress.

Since we here in Italy are now on Week 2 of the lockdown, I thought I could share a few tips for how we are dealing with meal planning (since that is kind of my thing) , as well as some recipes that might inspire (also my thing.)

First of all: have a plan. I know that might be hard, but bear with me. In these endless days, with little structure, having a fixed schedule or plan to stick to provides comfort and a framework. I’m not saying you have to stick to it all the time. I’m realistic. But at least having one is a starting point.

Here at Casa Minchilli we have always gathered for meals at the table. There is never any thought of each member of the family eating whenever and whatever they wanted (this is partly because I”m a control freak, but also because Italy) . And we are certainly sticking to this. I set the table and we sit down to both lunch and dinner. And at dinner I make the effort to make it look as nice as possible. Tablecloth, cloth napkins, candles, centerpiece: the works.

But the biggest part of our lockdown survival meal plan is an actual meal plan. After a few days of fumbling around, Sophie decided we needed a real, honest-to-goodness meal plan that she could tape to the wall. You know. Like the kind they used to send home with the kids every week to let us know what was being served in the school cafeteria.

Making our meal plan wasn’t easy, but it was worth it. First we went through our favorite cookbooks and websites picking out recipes we thought sounded good. Then we chose the ones we knew we could make with the ingredients we either had already, or could  easily get. The next step was filling out the week, trying for variety from day to day , and also leaving room for improvisation, should it hit.

Once we got that down, Sophie took out her prized set of felt markers and make a pretty plan to tape to the wall.

Can I tell you how completely comforting it is to have this? I know it’s a little thing, but we all stop by to have a look at it several times a day. I have to add that while we do stick to the plan, we also are open to changing it. For instance today for lunch we had scheduled Pasta with Zucchini. But since we have leftovers from the last few days, we’re improvising with those. Also? Yesterday was St. Joseph’s day when Italians traditionally eat cream filled pastries called Bigne’ di San Giusseppe. So Sophie has decided to spend the morning making these.

FYI: here in Italy we are allowed out to go grocery shopping. We have limited this to one outing a week or less if we can. Our grocery stores are fully stocked.

Below I’ve included our meal plan. We didn’t have a set meal plan the first week, but did manage to eat quite well anyway! I’m including links to the things we made the first week. Although things definitely got much more interesting (less soup) once we planned things out.

I’m providing links where ever possible.

Before we got going on the meal plan thing, here are some of the things I made the first week. We were heavy on soups for some reason:

Mixed grain and Bean Soup with Swiss Chard
Pasta with Zucchini and Tuna
Cabbage and Potato Soup
Quiche/ Torta Rustica (eggs, gouda/parmigiano, pancetta and Swish chard (I used a premade crust and winged it, but here is a great recipe from David Lebovitz)
Raddichio Salad
Sauteed greens
Spaghetti with bottarga (thank god Sophie brought her bottarga with her when she came up, but if you don’t have bottarga here is a recipe for spaghetti with anchovies)
Alison Roman Crispy  lentils with a chili fried egg
Pasta with Broccoli and Anchovies (the link goes to orecchiette with broccoli rabe, but just use regular pasta and regular broccoli)
Roasted zucchini
Braised Fennel

I’ve got tons of recipes on my website, most of which you can make with thing you have in your pantry. Here are some collections:
Soup
Pasta
Beans

 

Meal Plan March 16-22

Market day! And the start of our Meal Plan!!

Note: I’ve updated this posts today (March 24) and tried to add as many links as possible. You’ll also notice that our original menu changed a bit. While it’s nice to have a plan, remember it’s ok to improvise and change!

Monday :
Lunch: Farro Grain Bowl with Tahini Dressing & Egg
(We used farro, but you can use any grain, including rice. On top: chopped carrots, marinated red onions, thinly    sliced   onions, avocado, hard boiled egg, Tahini Yogurt Sauce)
Dinner: Mixed grilled meat, bruschetta , steamed broccoletti

Tuesday
Lunch: Focaccia Barese, mozzarella, green salad
There is a reason that everyone you know is making Focaccia. It’s easy, it’s comforting, and if you have leftovers, it’s great heated up the next day. Sophie followed this recipe on YouTube, but she also wrote it up and it’s saved on my Instagram Story Highlights
Dinner: Alison Roman’s Spicy Pork Soup : We followed the recipe, but substituted agretti for the greens.

Wednesday
Lunch: Pasta with Artichokes and Goat Cheese, Salad – yes, you can make this with frozen artichokes or even peas.
Dinner: Chicken Shawarma, Chopped Salad, Cumin Roasted Cauliflower, Easy Roti, Yogurt Sauce

Thursday
Lunch: Gnocchi with Tomato Sauce. Sophie followed this recipe on YouTube, but here is one from my website.
Dinner: Vegetarian Dinner: Black Eyed Peas, Sauteed Greens from the Garden.
Leftover focaccia and home made crackers from a bread recipe that didn’t work out.

Friday:
Lunch: Pasta with Zucchini and Tuna (Saved on my Instagram Story Highlights.)
Dinner: Roast leg of Lamb,  Steamed Broccoli with Lemon , Fennel Salad

Saturday:
Lunch: Pizza, Mixed Salad (odds and ends that were left : lettuce, grated carrot, a few cherry tomatoes, celery)
Dinner: Swiss Chard and Bean soup;

Sunday:
Lunch : Roasted Broccolini with Lemon (Alison Roman) , Endives (Radicchio) with Anchovy Breadcrumbs and Egg Yolk (Alison Roman); Asparagus Risotto (like this recipe, but minus the peas)

Dinner: Greek Feast: Lamb Shwarma (left over leg of lamb, taken off the bone and sautteed till crispy), Hummus, Cucumber and Yogurt; Greek Salad, Broccoli with Seasoned Breadcrumbs, Greek Pita

Cocktails:
As you know, I’m a big believer in cocktails every evening. Since wine tends to keep me up at night, we have a cocktail before dinner, and then that’s that. While in normal life I do have wine on the weekends at lunch, these days we’ve eliminated any day-drinking because that seems like it would just lead to more day-napping.
During these days I’ve been keeping the cocktails to these four (although after seeing David Lebovitz’s post just now, I think that Gimlets might make it onto rotation if I can pick up some limes next week).

Negroni
1 oz gin
1 oz campari
1 oz red vermouth
Pour in rocks glass, add ice and stir. Garnish with a slice of orange if you have it. But don’t feel you have to cut open a precious piece of fruit just for this.

Martini
I’m a big dirty martini fan. Usually gin, but when it’s been a particularly rough day I tend towards vodka (not sure why). For the dirty part I alternate between olives and pickles. Although I’ve also fallen in love with Melissa Clark’s idea of using an anchovy (put one in the shaker, and then another as garnish along with an olive)
3 oz Gin or Vodka
Splash of dry white vermouth
1 teaspoon of olive or pickle brine.
Place ingredients in a shaker, add ice, and stir or shake till chilled. Strain into chilled martini glass and garnish with olive or pickle (or anchovy)

Manhattan
3 oz of Bourbon (or Rye)
Splash of red vermouth
1 tsp of maple syrup of cherry syrup
bitters
If you can get your hand on great quality cherries in syrup this is your chance to use them. But in a pinch I also just buy a jar of regular maraschino cherries.
Place bourbon , vermouth and syrup in shaker. Add ice and stir or shake to chill. Strain into glass , garnish with cherry and add a few drops of bitters of choice.

Sweets:
I know a lot of your are stress baking. That’s a good thing. I’m sure we all need a little sweetness in our life now. Sophie even went so far as to add a special bakery section to our menu plan. Here’s what we’ve made so far:

Apple Cake: this is a great cake to make if you have stocked up on apples (it works equally well with pears and even bananas). Also, it doesn’t use a lot of butter, which I know is sometimes hard to get.

Ricotta Chocolate Crostata: During out last foray out to shop, I was able to get a pint of fresh ricotta. This recipe also calls for raspberries, but if you don’t have that you can just use an extra cup of chocolate chips. Alternatively here is a similar recipe that uses ricotta and jam, and one that uses just jam.

Chocolate chip cookies: Alison Roman’s chocolate chip cookie recipe is great, since you can divide it in two and keep half the dough to bake the next day. And yes, this is helpful for not eating ALL the cookies right when you make them.

Campari Olive Oil Cake: This is from Melissa Clark’s newest book Dinner in French and is as easy as it is delicious.

If you write up your  own meal plan, I’m happy to share it on Instagram.
Tag me, and use the hashtag : #lockdownmealplan Please don’t send me the photos directly. Just tag me on Instagram @eminchilli and I’ll see them!

 

IMPORTANT NOTE: I realize that we are extremely lucky to have food on our table to cook. The dire consequences of this crisis has meant that many of the most vulnerable members of our communities have lost their jobs, and may not be able to get food on the table. If you can help, and are looking for a place to start, I can point you towards this fund, started by Together Rising, which will help support public school children , and their families who depend on schools to provide their main meal of the day.
If you know of any other causes where people can donate, please leave them below in the comments.
Thank you.

(And to see more of what we’re cooking, eating and of course drinking, make sure you are following both @sminchilli and @eminchilli on Instagram)