Fresh and fast – perfect dinner pairings!

Craving the weekend on Wednesday because you’re hungry for your favorite chef-created meal? Don’t wait: The distinct flavors of your favorite restaurant dishes are within reach, without dining out every night. You can skip the take-out fare and create a tantalizing, made-fresh meal at home to enjoy tonight.

Savory meals begin with top-notch ingredients. Meats and seafood paired with fresh produce offer endless possibilities for creating restaurant-quality meals that look and taste chef-made. Try starting with a complete pre-prepped salad from the produce aisle. Today you’ll find several ready-made chef-inspired creations at your favorite market. The flavorful combinations are topped off with perfectly matched dressings that make these salads worthy of center stage on any family’s table.

These top-drawer salads — fresh mixtures of greens and vegetables, paired with savory goodies like crunchy artisan bread croutons, chef-made dressings and aged cheeses — beautifully harmonize with a variety of contemporary entrées. The combination ensures a fast, flavorful and easy-to-make weeknight menu masterpiece.

Complete restaurant-style salads are full of special flavor touches. Right there in the produce aisle you can find a crisp spring mix with carrot strips, tender pea pods, lightly roasted soy nuts and sunflower kernels. Tossed with a poppyseed vinaigrette dressing, it’s a perfect balance of sweet and savory. Take another look and you’ll discover a salad with baby spinach, focaccia bread croutons and provolone, Parmesan and feta cheeses, dressed with a caramelized onion-kissed Dijon vinaigrette.

Paired with these or other complete salads, simple and delicious entrée ideas will make you look like the savviest cook on the block. Match a ready-to-serve complete salad with your own list of favorite “make fast” dishes. Or check out some of these ideas and recipes to make flavorful, fast entrées that make beautiful menu music with a chef-inspired complete salad from the produce section.

Caesar’s Corner

Culinary legend ascribes creation of the cherished classic, Caesar salad, to Italian chef Caesar Cardini, who owned a restaurant in Tijuana, Mexico in the 1920s. As the story goes, Chef Cardini found himself with just a few odd ingredients (the requisite romaine, pantry standards Worcestershire and canned anchovies, a lemon, a piece of Parmesan and stale bread) and unexpected guests he needed to serve. Truth or myth, the rest of the salad story is history. And we love variations on this classic Caesar theme — topped with grilled chicken, shrimp, bacon and other cheeses.

*Grilled Steak with Lemon-Anchovy Butter

Serves 3

1 ribeye or New York strip steak, about 1-inch thick, about 1 pound

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature

2 teaspoons anchovy paste

1 teaspoon grated lemon rind

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Heat broiler or grill. Meanwhile, in small bowl stir together butter, anchovy paste, lemon rind, lemon juice and pepper; cover and chill. Broil or grill steak to desired doneness. Garnish each serving of steak with a dollop of chilled butter; cover and refrigerate leftover butter.

Enjoy dining in like dining out! Who needs dinner reservations?

Island Inspired Escape

For a tropical inspired evening, pair a ready-made complete salad with this sweet ‘n’ spicy salmon fillet. Serve fresh orange wedges and store-bought almond cookies for a sweet finale.

Apricot-Ginger Glazed Salmon

Serves 2

1/2 pound salmon fillet

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 tablespoons apricot jam or preserves

1 1/2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger

1 teaspoon soy sauce

Heat oven to 450°F. Season salmon with salt and pepper; place skin side down on parchment-lined (for easy clean up) rimmed baking sheet. In small bowl, stir together jam, ginger and soy sauce; spread evenly over salmon. Roast 10 to 15 minutes, until salmon flakes easily.

Far East Café

Try pairing an Asian-inspired complete salad with this simple Pacific Roasted Pork Tenderloin. For a dramatic finish, dish up fresh strawberries atop angelfood cake.

Pacific Roasted Pork Tenderloin

Serves 4

1 whole pork tenderloin, about 1 to 1 1/4 pounds

3 tablespoons hoisin sauce

1 teaspoon oil

1/2 teaspoon ground five-spice

Heat oven to 425°F. In small bowl stir together hoisin, oil and five spice; rub evenly over pork. Place pork in small roasting pan; roast 20 to 25 minutes until internal temperature, measured with a meat thermometer, is 155°F.

Remove from oven and let rest 5 minutes before slicing to serve.

Mediterranean Delight

Warm up the night with a fresh complete salad and a Greek Grilled Chicken Panini. Lemon bars from the bakery bring this easy menu to a sunny conclusion.

Greek Grilled Chicken Panini

Serves 2

1 1/2 cups coarsely shredded meat from rotisserie chicken

1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper seasoning

1/2 10- to 12-inch focaccia, split horizontally

2 ounces thinly sliced fontina

1 4-ounce jar roasted red bell peppers, drained

Thinly sliced red onion

8 pitted kalamata olives, halved

1 tablespoon butter, optional

In small bowl toss shredded chicken with lemon pepper. Layer chicken, cheese, peppers, onion and olives into focaccia. Grill sandwich in a panini press, or melt butter in hot skillet and grill sandwich on each side until browned. Cut in half to serve.

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