Starting on This Week's Dinners

With rain/snow in the forecast for as long as five days (it's snowing like crazy right now!), are we back to thinking about the foods of winter? Maybe, maybe not.

My first choice, grilled sea scallops and tomatoes with olive vinaigrette (originally published in Gourmet) has a spring-like lightness, especially with its arugula base, but is prepared on a grill pan, safely indoors. Arugula from a store would be fine, or I could wait another day and get it at the Boulder Farmers Market. Sprouts has sea scallops on sale this week, and this pairs well with a freshly baked bread, maybe the seeduction bread from Whole Foods.

The weather also gives us another opportunity to enjoy a warming chowder, and with the Farmers Market full of potatoes and parsnips, that suggests potato and root vegetable chowder with bacon from Bon Appetit.

Then I have a dilemma, as I have a weakness for grilled country style ribs, which are on sale this week at Sunflower. Perhaps we'll have a break in the weather somewhere, permitting outdoor cooking in comfort. Besides, these ribs are especially good smoked, which means the grill cover would mostly be on, so maybe only the cook would be exposed to the elements if it continues to rain or snow. Heck, the cook can wear a rain jacket. So long as the ribs don't get snowed on, think this one's on the menu.

More ideas to come shortly.