What’s for Dinner? Melissa Bahen Has You Covered (+ Giveaway)

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It’s the question that never quits: “What’s for dinner?” Whether you’re juggling a busy workweek, school pickups, or just trying to make it through the witching hour, dinner still needs to land on the table. That’s where Farmhouse Weeknights: Quick and Wholesome Recipes for Dinner comes in.

We’re thrilled to share three of Melissa’s favourites from the book below—including a creamy roasted cauliflower soup, a colourful shortcut kale salad, and a panini that brings the deli counter home.

Keep scrolling for the recipes—and don’t miss the giveaway at the end of the post for your chance to win a copy of Farmhouse Weeknights!

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Roasted Cauliflower & White Cheddar Soup

I started making this cozy soup several years ago, and it became an instant favorite. We have it often, especially when the days are short and chilly. Roasting the cauliflower before adding it to the soup gives it a rich, deep flavor, which goes beautifully with the nutty cheddar and fresh, herby thyme.

Prep: 10 minutes | Cook: 40 minutes | Total: 50 minutes | Serves: 6 to 8

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds cauliflower, chopped
• Extra-virgin olive oil or your favorite neutral cooking oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more as needed
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 large onion, diced
• 4 teaspoons minced garlic, or 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme, plus more for garnishing, optional
• 6 cups vegetable broth or chicken broth
• 3 cups shredded sharp white cheddar cheese
• 1 1/2 cups half-and-half

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place the cauliflower in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle generously with olive oil (about 3 tablespoons), season with kosher salt and pepper, and roast for 20 minutes, until the cauliflower is golden brown.
2. When the cauliflower has been in the oven for about 10 minutes, put the onion in a large, heavy-bottom Dutch oven or saucepan. Drizzle with about 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sauté over medium heat for 10 minutes. Add the garlic and thyme and sauté for 1 to 2 more minutes.
3. When the cauliflower is done roasting, add it and the broth to the saucepan. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce the heat, and simmer for 15 minutes.
4. Remove from the heat and blend either with an immersion blender or in a countertop blender until smooth. If you are using a countertop blender, leave the lid slightly askew and cover it with a kitchen towel while blending. This will allow steam to escape but also protect both your hand and the kitchen from splatters and steam. After blending, pour the soup back into the saucepan.
5. Return the soup to medium heat, add the cheese and half-and-half, and cook until heated through. Add salt and pepper to taste, then serve with some thyme if using.

SHORTCUTS & NOTES

• Pre-prepped cauliflower florets
• Pre-chopped onion
• Pre-minced garlic (frozen cubes, or a jar or squeeze tube)
• This is a case where shredding the cheese yourself will result in a smoother soup, but I have definitely used pre-shredded white cheddar before and lived to tell the tale.
• The crispy cheese garnish pictured in the photo is just an optional crunchy bite that looks pretty.

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Annie & Brooke’s Kale Salad

I first had this fancy-but-easy salad at my friend Brooke’s annual Christmas bingo party several years ago, but she got the recipe from our friend Annie, so I’m attributing it to both, with love. It’s a very pretty salad with lovely contrasts in flavors and textures, and best of all, it’s super easy to make thanks to a whole bunch of shortcuts. The delicious dressing is made up of two store-bought dressings, most of the veggies are pre-chopped and come in a bag of broccoli slaw, and you can certainly candy your own pecans, but I always use a bag of already sweet ones from the produce section of the grocery store. The only real work required to make it is to chop the kale and give it a little massage to make it tender.

Prep: 10 minutes | Cook: 0 minutes | Total: 10 minutes | Serves: 6 to 8

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch lacinato kale, ribs removed, chopped
• 4 tablespoons Briannas blush wine vinaigrette, or brand of choice
• 4 tablespoons Briannas poppyseed dressing, or brand of choice
• 1 (12-ounce) package broccoli slaw
• 1/2 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
• 1/2 cup sweetened dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup candied or honey-roasted pecans

Instructions:

1. Put the kale in a large serving bowl, pour the blush wine vinaigrette over, and gently massage the kale for 1 to 2 minutes. This helps make it tender.
2. Add the poppyseed dressing, broccoli slaw, Gorgonzola, dried cranberries, and pecans and toss to combine.

SHORTCUTS & NOTES

• Lacinato kale is also called Tuscan kale and dinosaur kale. Sometimes I can only find it in the organic produce section at my grocery store. I see it often at farmers markets and summer produce stands, and it’s easy to grow in a backyard garden. It comes in bunches of long, skinny leaves with a dark green, almost blueish color and a really cool, pebbly texture. If you can’t find lacinato kale, I would use packaged baby kale and skip the massage step. Don’t use curly kale; it can be quite bitter.

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Chicken Pesto Paninis

I got the idea for this tasty sandwich from a beloved local grocery store. They have a big pizza oven in the deli section and bake up fresh pizzas and a couple of different kinds of hot sandwiches. This one with tender chicken and flavorful pesto is my favorite. I treat myself to one if I’m at the store around lunchtime, but they’re super simple to make at home, too. All of the different sandwich ingredients lend something special to the finished product: sharpness from the red onion, sweetness from the tomato, that delicious peppery flavor from the arugula. Focaccia is the best option for bread, so use it if you can find it.

Prep: 10 minutes | Cook: 3 to 5 minutes | Total: 15 minutes | Makes: 1 sandwich

Ingredients:

• 2 pieces thick-sliced sourdough, or 1 piece of focaccia, halved like a hamburger bun
• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon pesto
• 1 ounce sliced mozzarella or provolone cheese
• 2 1/2 ounces shredded rotisserie chicken
• Baby arugula
• Thinly sliced red onion
• Thinly sliced tomato

Instructions:

1. Preheat your panini maker.
2. Lay both pieces of bread out on a plate or cutting board. Spread the mayonnaise on both halves, then drizzle with the pesto. On 1 of the pieces of bread, layer the cheese, chicken, baby arugula, onion, and tomato. Top the sandwich with the remaining piece of bread.
3. Cook in the panini press for 3 to 5 minutes, until the bread is golden and crusty.

SHORTCUTS & NOTES

• Store-bought pesto (We like the one from Costco.)
• Pre-sliced cheese
• If you don’t have a panini press, you can still enjoy this sandwich—just give it the grilled cheese treatment! Lightly butter the outside of both pieces of bread and cook it in a skillet or on a griddle over medium heat until each side is golden and the cheese is melty.

Recipes excerpted from Farmhouse Weeknights: Quick and Wholesome Recipes For Dinner by Melissa Bahen. Photographs by Melissa Bahen. Reprinted by permission of Gibbs Smith Books.

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Enter to Win Your Own Copy of Farmhouse Weeknights

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