Jay was here dinner tonight. I had lots of veggies in the house, so meal planning was easy – I knew I wanted to cook up a lot of them before they went bad.
– Larry loved this chicken. Thicker phyllo strips worked better for these. The marinade was very good. Jay thought it was good, but not great.
– Jay loved the squash. So did I. I used two different squash – one that was heavy with dark green skin, one that was larger and not as heavy, with more orange in the skin. The smaller, green squash was much better.
– The romanesco broccoli was really excellent. We got it in our weekly organic delivery, and I only had a tiny bit. It tasted a lot like cauliflower, but I assume it’s better for us because it’s green. I roasted it in the convection toaster oven.
– Amy told me that even I, a lifelong hater of green beens, would like these green beans. I have to say that I was confident after reading the recipe, because usually the only way I like vegetables is roasted (asparagus is an exception). She was right. These are good. Not chocolate cake good, but edible. I had two helpings because they’re good for me and I didn’t choke on them. Larry wasn’t super crazy about them.

• Sesame-Lemon Chicken with a Crisp Phyllo Crust (Fine Cooking #25, March 1998 p. 37)
• Roasted Acorn Squash with Maple (Fine Cooking #49, March 2002, p. 41)
• Roasted Romanseco Broccoli
• Roasted Green Beans with Red Onion and Walnuts (Cook’s Illustrated, November/December 2005, p. 10)

Wine: David Coffaro 2001 Estate Zinfandel. Eh. Coffaro wines are best young – I don’t think they age very well. Drinkable. More of a weeknight wine.