Oct 19–Oct 25 · 7 of 7 nights planned · live from Airtable
COOKED Mon 10/19 (Adam confirmed Tue). 1x: 1 lb ground beef, 3 oz pancetta, garden San Marzanos. Leftovers for about one lunch.
TONIGHT, Tue 10/20 (set Mon 10/19). MAKE 2x: 2 garden spaghetti squash, no protein. The 1-hr roast is the long pole, so start by 5. 2x needs ~6 cloves fresh garlic, 2 C milk, 2 T cream cheese, ~2.25 C grated Parmesan. The Parmesan amount is unconfirmed and Monday's bolognese used some. Parsley garnish is optional; there's none in the house until the order lands. TONIGHT: move steaks for 3 (ribeye or T-bone) from the big freezer to the fridge for Wed.
Halve the squash lengthwise, scrape out the seeds, and roast cut-side down on a rimmed baking sheet at 400F for about 1 hour, until a fork shreds the flesh easily.
Melt the butter in a small pot and soften the garlic. Whisk in the flour, then the milk, and cook until it thickens.
Stir in the cream cheese and 1 C. Parmesan until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
Shred the squash strands with a fork straight in the shells, or turn them into a bowl.
Toss the strands with the sauce, top with the remaining Parmesan, and run under the broiler until spotty and bubbling. Finish with red pepper flakes and parsley.
Page states 2 large servings or 4 side servings and gives no prep/cook times — recorded at the upper bound. Double it for the household: 2 medium squash and everything else x2. The 1-hour roast is the long pole and can be done ahead, which makes this a good dinner for an afternoon out. Garden/Farm row reads 'a metric ton' of spaghetti squash.
STEAK NIGHT (moved here from Fri; no brisket left over). Ribeye or T-bone, pulled Tue night. ~20 min active. 4 T butter + 4 cloves fresh garlic. No side chosen. Long day: story time at 10, Sterling's dentist in Fort Smith at noon. OPTIONAL TONIGHT: make Thursday's tonnato sauce (keeps a day), but only once the order has brought the capers, anchovies, tuna and lemons.
Cook steak.
TAYLOR'S CAPER DISH. Serves 4, ~45 min active, 1 hr total. From the Wed AM Walmart order: 4 boneless pork loin chops (6 oz each), capers, 2 jars oil-packed tuna, 2 C flat-leaf parsley. Already in the house: anchovies (half jar, need 3), panko, eggs, lemons, red onion (half is plenty for 1/4 C), 1.25 C olive oil. Sauce can be made Wed night. TONIGHT: move the brisket point from the big freezer to the fridge for Sunday.
Sauce can be made a day ahead.
TAYLOR'S GREEN PASTA. Serves 4, no protein. Start the oven before the water: the garlic roasts 35-45 min in the butter. SWAP: Parmesan instead of Pecorino Romano (Adam's call, Tue 10/20). From the Wed AM order: 1 lb angel hair, 5 oz baby spinach, 1 large head garlic. Butter (1 stick) is already in the house. LeadAR debrief 9-11:30 AM; the evening is clear.
Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
Arrange the butter slices across the bottom of a small (2-cup) baking dish. Sprinkle with salt: 1/4 teaspoon if using salted butter, and 1/2 teaspoon if unsalted. Place the garlic halves, cut side down, over the butter and salt. Cover the dish tightly with foil, and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until the garlic is absolutely soft when poked with a knife and golden brown along the cut side. Carefully remove the foil. Empty the garlic cloves into the melted butter. I do this by lifting the peels out of the butter with tongs, allowing most cloves to fall out, and using the tip of a knife to free the cloves that don't. Scrape any browned bits from the sides of the baking vessel into the butter.
Meanwhile, cook your pasta in well-salted water until 1 to 2 minutes shy of done. Before you drain it, ladle 1 cup pasta water into a cup, and set it aside. Hang on to the pot you cooked the pasta in.
Place the spinach in a blender or food-processor bowl, and pour the garlic butter over it, scraping out any butter left behind. Add another 3/4 teaspoon salt and several grinds of black pepper, and/or a couple pinches of red-pepper flakes, and blend the mixture until totally smooth. If it's not blending, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of reserved pasta water to help it along. Taste for seasoning, and add more if needed.
Pour the spinach sauce into the empty spaghetti pot, and add the drained pasta and a splash of pasta water. Cook over medium-high heat, tossing constantly, for 2 minutes, until the sauce thickens and coats the spaghetti. If the pasta sticks to the bottom of the pot, add more reserved pasta water in splashes to get it moving. Tip the pasta into a serving bowl, finish with more salt and pepper and freshly grated cheese, and hurry — it disappears fast.
Book notes:
- Angel hair isn't required, but the thin sauce clings best to fine strands.
- You can replace half the butter (4 T./55g) with olive oil.
- You can bump the spinach up to 8 oz. for a greener sauce; season extra well to adjust.
Taylor's green pasta. First planned for Fri 10/23/2026. Garlic roasts 35-45 min in the butter, so start the oven before the water. Book gives no total time.
POTATO HILL FESTIVAL: out all day volunteering, no cooking. Not decided: the seafood boil bag from the kitchen freezer (old, use it, zero effort) or eat at the festival. The brisket point should be thawing in the fridge since Thu. (No recipe linked, so this row shows no title.)
BURNT ENDS from the brisket point (Adam, Mon 10/19). Maybe Natalie comes over, so check the headcount. The point is in the big freezer: pull it to the fridge by Thu night 10/22 (Sat is the Potato Hill festival all day, so don't leave it for then). Long smoke, so start early. No burnt-ends recipe in the base. (No recipe linked, so this row shows no title.)