My suggestions for what to cook this weekend include some game day food ideas for our American readers who’ll be feeding a crowd for the Super Bowl on Sunday, as well as Valentines Day dinner ideas for all of you if you’re planning on cooking a romantic meal at home for your loved ones on Sunday instead of Monday night.
If you’re cooking a special dinner for a loved-one for Valentines Day on Saturday night or Sunday evening instead of Tuesday, we have plenty of recipes for romantic Valentines Day dinners for you, as well as ideas for Valentines breakfast on Sunday.
And for our American readers, if you’re planning a Super Bowl party on Sunday with friends we have loads of recipe ideas for Super Bowl food, as well as some healthy-ish Super Bowl ideas here, and we’ve got a couple more ideas below.
But before I share my suggestions for what to cook this weekend, I have a favour to ask. Grantourismo is reader-supported. If you’ve enjoyed our recipes, please consider supporting Grantourismo by supporting our Cambodian cuisine history and cookbook on Patreon, which you can do for as little as the price of a coffee.
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Now let me share my suggestions for what to cook this weekend.
What to Cook this Weekend – Game Day Food and Valentines Day Dinner Ideas
Here are our What to Cook this Weekend suggestions for meals for breakfast, lunch and dinner for Saturday and Sunday.
Saturday Breakfast – Poached Eggs with Asparagus, Pancetta and Parmesan, a Contemporary Take
This poached eggs with asparagus, pancetta and parmesan makes a more contemporary styled take on the classic dish above, and it’s one of our best Valentines Day breakfast recipes you can make, especially if you’re serving breakfast in bed.
Instead of the poached egg sitting neatly on top of the asparagi, the eggs in this dish sit in an asparagus purée made from the stems, while the tips sit prettily on top. The grated Parmigiano Reggiano is sprinkled between the egg and asparagus purée, and pancetta and breadcrumbs are sprinkled on top to add texture and flavour.
One of the shortcomings of the traditional dish is that you lose much of the scrummy egg yolk when it bursts open onto the plate. Terence resolved that little problem by serving it in a bowl with a spoon.
Poached Eggs with Asparagus, Pancetta and Parmesan, a Contemporary Take
Saturday Lunch – Mexican Grilled Corn Salad Recipe
And to think that last week all I was sharing was soups… I don’t know about where you live but the weather has been warming up here, so I’ve started making salads again. Although I haven’t given up on soup yet! I’ll be sharing a delicious new soup recipe in a few days.
I love this Mexican grilled corn salad recipe as much as I love the recipe for elotes that I’m sharing below. We first began making these and other Mexican dishes after we returned to Australia following our first trip to Mexico way back in 1993, when we backpacked all over the country.
The funny thing is that it was elotes, and this salad version of that dish, that partly-inspired the Southeast Asian-style char-grilled corn with lime butter and lemongrass mayonnaise recipe and grilled corn salad with lime, chilli, lemongrass mayo, and sourdough croutons that you may remember us posting a couple of months ago.
The other inspirations were a popular street food snack here in Cambodia of grilled corn on the cob, slathered with mayonnaise, lime juice and chilli flakes, and the more traditional Cambodian grilled corn called poat dot, which is brushed with a sauce of coconut milk, sugar, fish sauce, and spring onions.
Mexican Grilled Corn Salad Recipe for a Taste of Mexico at Home
Saturday Dinner – Braised Chicken with Olives and Capers Recipe for Juicy Mediterranean Style Chicken
This braised chicken with olives and capers recipe makes incredibly succulent chicken legs in a Mediterranean style with a couple of surprising Asian ingredients.
It’s another of our top picks for what to cook this weekend, especially if you’re making Valentines Day dinner at home.
Adapted from a recipe by Australian chef Martin Benn, it’s one of our best chicken recipes, a foolproof set-and-forget chicken dish that no matter how long you leave it or reheat it the chicken remains juicy.
We love to serve it with a chicken jus and crunchy Hassleback potatoes or creamy potato mash and this radish cucumber salad with feta, rucola and fresh herbs.
Braised Chicken with Olives and Capers Recipe for Juicy Mediterranean Style Chicken
Sunday Breakfast – Classic Salade Lyonnaise Recipe
Our classic salade Lyonnaise recipe makes a lovely breakfast eggs dish that is as delicious as it looks and it comes together quickly, making it one of our best Valentines Day breakfast recipes.
Soft poached eggs sit atop frisée lettuce, with some croutons, crispy bacon pieces, and a vinaigrette dressing of olive oil and vinegar.
The idea is that you get some frisée, egg white and yolk, a crouton and some bacon in every mouthful.
It’s a brilliant mix of textures and a perfect marriage of flavours. We know that poaching eggs can be daunting if you’re not an old hand at it, so we tips to poaching eggs in the post below.
Classic Salade Lyonnaise Recipe – Weekend Eggs Southern France Edition
Sunday Lunch – Mexican Street Corn in a Cup Recipe for Esquites or Elote en Vaso
If you made our Mexican street corn salad recipe, above, yesterday and you have leftovers, then this dish is a cinch. Our Mexican street corn in a cup recipe for Mexico’s esquites or elote en vaso, which means ‘corn in a cup’, makes a Mexican street food snack or antojitos, meaning ‘little cravings’.
The Mexican street food snack consists of steaming hot corn kernels with Mexican crema, cotija cheese, lime juice, and ancho chilli powder that’s sold in a takeaway cup. It comes with a spoon and you stir it all up and the first time you try it on the streets of Mexico City or Merida or Oaxaca, like a slap to the face – or a whack to a piñata – you realise what’s been missing in your life.
Like most Mexican food, it’s absolutely delicious. It’s also super easy to make, especially if you have leftover corn on the cob. And if you don’t, if corn is not in season where you live, you could use a quality frozen corn brand or tinned corn kernels. Like peas, corn doesn’t lose its flavour from being frozen or canned.
If you’re feeding a crowd for Super Bowl Sunday, then also check out our recipes for an authentic Mexican guacamole, easy red tomato salsa, chili con carne, quesadillas, and my ultimate nachos, along with recipes for classic margaritas and micheladas.
Mexican Street Corn in a Cup Recipe – How to Make Esquites or Elote en Vaso
Sunday Dinner – Pork Stroganoff Recipe for Tender Pork Made with the Chinese Velveting Technique
If you’ve cooked and enjoyed my traditional beef Stroganoff or richly spiced chicken Stroganoff recipes and you’re a lover of Chinese cuisines and dishes made with the Chinese velveting technique, then you’re going to love my pork Stroganoff recipe.
Served on beautiful ceramic plates with crispy shoestring fries on the side, this pork Stroganoff is probably the most elegant of all my Stroganoff recipes, making it another of our top picks for what to cook this weekend, especially if you’re making Valentines Day dinner at home.
You’ll still want a fresh garden salad but you can serve that at the centre of the table to share. And if you’re looking for a vegetarian main course for your Valentines Day dinner, then I also have a mushroom Stroganoff recipe.
Pork Stroganoff Recipe for Tender Pork Made with the Chinese Velveting Technique
Please do let us know in the comments section below if you make any of our ideas for what to cook this weekend as we always love to hear how our recipes turn out for you.
