Spicy Sesame Chicken & Couscous

Recipe: Spicy Sesame Chicken // What's Cooking Chicken
Side Recipe: Couscous // Seth's Grandma

Rating:

This was nice! The chicken recipe called for curry paste, which we did not have. We substituted some Dinosaur BBQ dry rub seasoning. The dish was pretty mild overall, not really spicy. I might have liked the flavor of the curry. We added parsley to the couscous, which I enjoyed.

Crunchy Mustard Baked Salmon

Recipe: Crunchy Mustard Baked Salmon // Serious Eats
Side Recipes: Couscous (not pictured), Corn, & Roasted Broccoli

Rating:

I burnt the salmon topping a little bit in the broiler, but we still liked it. The corn was delicious for being so early in the season. We'll use this recipe again.

Stuffed Peppers with Goat Cheese and Couscous

Recipe: Stuffed Peppers with Couscous and Goat Cheese // How to Cook Everything Vegetarian (pg 399)
Side Recipe: Blumenthal's Roast Potatoes // Serious Eats

Rating: 

This was a tasty vegetarian entree. The peppers, goat cheese, and couscous blend well together. We roasted the peppers over our gas stovetop before stuffing them; we set them over a low flame and let the skin soften and blacken. The original recipe calls for quinoa, but we had couscous on hand, so that's what we used.

My favorite was the roasted potatoes. We liked them better than our homemade fries. The recipe called for peeled potatoes, but I like potato skins, so I left them on. They were great.

Blackened Salmon with Crunchy Coconut Couscous

Recipe: Blackened Salmon with Crunchy Coconut Couscous // Serious Eats
Rating: 

This was fine, but there are other salmon recipes I enjoy more. The coconut milk added a mild coconut undertone that wasn't overwhelming, and I liked the combination of scallions and parsley. I wouldn't use the pumpkin seeds in the couscous if I were to make this again.

Maybe the overall flavor combinations were just too wild for me. Here's a plus, though: it came together quickly! Really--five minutes, and then we just waited for it to cook.