The 20 best recipes you can make on a weeknight

Pulling together a decent meal mid-week can send even the most accomplished cook into a tailspin. That is exactly the situation we found ourselves in when we decided to launch The Weeknight Kitchen, our weekly email newsletter.

Because of our radio broadcast, we see an enormous amount of material from talented chefs and cooks. We thought Weeknight Kitchen would be the perfect opportunity to match those recipes with the need to feed ourselves and our families.

In celebration of The Splendid Table's 20th year, we’ve selected 20 of our Weeknight Kitchen favorites from the past. These are the recipes we have held onto and made our own. Please dig in, check out our archive of Weeknight Kitchen recipes, and if you haven't already, sign up for the 20 years to come.

Vietnamese Lemongrass and Chile Chicken

by Diana Henry

Photo: Laura Edwards

Sometimes the key to great weeknight eating is planning the next day’s meals the night before. An overnight soak in a marinade can turn most proteins into something sublime. Nuggets of chicken emerge from the marinade super saturated and seasoned. A quick stir fry with a bit more of the spice and you are ready to go. Customize as you wish, adding less chile or using lemon peel if lemon grass is unavailable. Definitely finish the dish with sesame seeds to add a wonderful crunch.

Fattoush

by Gloria Newhouse

Photo: The Feast Goes On

Pita bread is tossed with fresh finds from the market -- lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers and herbs -- and then covered with a delicious Middle East-tinged dressing of lemon juice, olive oil and the sweet-sour magic of pomegranate molasses and a sprinkle of sumac.

Shrimp with Spinach, Garlic and Smoked Paprika

by Ellie Krieger

Photo: Quentin Bacon

A dusting of smoky paprika really makes this dish sing. You can add some heat if you like with a shot of vinegary hot sauce -- delicious with the wilted spinach. Be sure to pay attention to Ellie's advice on taking care not to burn the garlic. Better undercooked than overcooked.

Thai Fried Omelet

by Andrea Nguyen

Photo: Paige Green © 2014

Eggs are cooked "Thai style" -- whisked with seasonings and a little cornstarch to give them extra fluffiness and then fried until lightly browned. Fold the omelet into a French roll, garnish with slices of cucumber, carrots, cilantro and extra chiles, and grab a cold beer.

Green Apple and Macadamia Quinoa

by Jane Coxwell

Photo: John Bedell

The quinoa needs to be made in advance, but that can easily be done the day before or first thing in the morning. Feel free to use more yogurt and lemon if the salad isn't moistened to your liking, and be generous with the nuts. We used chopped almonds in one batch and they were delicious.

Salmon with Capers and Dill

by Rachel Allen

Pan sautéed salmon filets, or steaks, are dressed with a simple sauce of capers, a squeeze of fresh lemon and fresh dill. This is weeknight food at its best.

Fried Chickpea Salad

by Geoffrey Zakarian

Photo: Sara Remington

Canned chickpeas are crisped in a pan with a little oil and then tossed with lots of garlic, scallion and cumin. Served warm on a bed of sturdy greens and herbs and tossed with a yogurt dressing, it is a main course that is utterly impossible to resist.

Japanese-Style Meat and Potatoes

by Kathy Brennan and Caroline Campion

Photo: Christopher Testani

We made the stew once, and now it shows up weekly on our tables and at potlucks. We tend to think Japanese and get stuck on sushi and tempura, but stews like this are an old, old tradition. They are mainstays for anyone who likes to cook in quantities and stash future suppers in the freezer.

Rodrigo-Style Fish

by Pati Jinich

Photo: Penny De Los Santos

This recipe dresses inexpensive pan-seared tilapia filets in a bath of fresh scallions, lime juice and Maggi or soy sauce. Flake the fish into pieces, wrap them up in warm corn tortillas and pass the napkins.

Farmers Market Pasta

by Lynne Rossetto Kasper and Sally Swift

Photo: Ellen Silverman

A good supper can be as simple as this: You drop pasta and vegetables into a pot of boiling water then stir together a salad dressing for saucing them. You'll keep coming back to this pasta and zucchini at those times when inspiration and energy take the night off.

Winter Squash Curry

by Katie Chin

Photo: Masano Kawana

For fast suppers with sensational flavors, think Thai-style curries. Contrasts really fly in curries. For instance, finish a curry of leftover chicken and roasted vegetables with a few chunks of pineapple and a lot of lime juice. Use this recipe as your basic formula and take off from there.

Spanish Pork Skewers

by David Tanis

Photo: Gentl and Hyers

Pork tenderloin is sliced, skewered, dressed with freshly ground cumin, coriander, garlic and smoked paprika, and then quickly grilled on a hot griddle. Serve them alongside a nice salad of winter greens and you are good to go. Kids will love eating them off the sticks.

White Beans with Spicy Black Olive Vinaigrette

by Melissa Hamilton and Christopher Hirsheimer

Photo: Canal House Cooking

Take a simple can of white beans, give them a good rinse and then dress them in a rich tapenade-inspired dressing. Simply delicious, and even better if you take the time to make the beans from scratch.

Spicy Mussel Soup with Grilled Bread

by Gabriele Corcos and Debi Mazar

Photo: Extra Virgin

Barely a soup -- no broth is added -- this recipe is just a slug of wine and the juices from the mussels and tomatoes. Be sure to take care of the garlic. If you really pay attention and add the tomatoes when the garlic just becomes fragrant (less time than the recipe recommends, we think!), it will sing.

Cold Spicy Ramen Noodles with Tofu and Kimchi

by Joe Yonan

This recipe is a step up from the ramen of your college years and a savior on busy weeknights. Substitute pieces of chicken or fish for the tofu if you like, but do not skip the kimchi, which is what really turns this into a main event.

Almond Flounder Meunière

by Dorie Greenspan

Photo: Alan Richardson

While French in provenance (therefore the meunière, meaning "miller's wife"), this recipe uses a technique you can apply to any mild fish filet like tilapia, catfish, sole, or as Dorie recommends here, flounder. Dredge the filet in the almond/flour mix, brown the butter and saute, taking care not to move it around too much so that it gets a chance to really brown before flipping. This is the perfect time to pull out your biggest non-stick skillet.

Kukuye Sabsi

by Judy Wilkenfeld

Photo: Alan Benson

This is a show-off supper. Heaped on a bright yellow round of omelet is fresh spearmint, radishes full of pepper and crunch, gentle scallion rounds and yogurt. Just in case there isn't enough of a spark, garlic, parsley and more scallions speckle the eggs. Did we mention how fast this recipe is? You can swan around the table cutting wedges and looking like you just had a nap.

Falafel

by Elizabeth Falkner

Photo: Cooking Off the Clock

The best part of this recipe? The falafel "dough" can be pulled together in advance from canned chickpeas and kept in the refrigerator until you need it. Serve with tahini and hot sauce, flatbread and a cucumber salad.

Angel Hair Pasta with Flash-Sautéed Fresh Cherry Tomato Sauce, Tuna, and Green Olives

by Martha Holmberg

Photo: Ellen Silverman

This recipe is essentially a quick tomato sauce made with cherry tomatoes, tossed with canned tuna and green olives. The small addition of butter that Martha calls for at the end of the sauce recipe is an essential step and a good thing to keep in mind to finish pan sauces in general.

Potato and Chorizo Tacos

by Roberto Santibañez

The taco, filled with potato and bright, spicy chorizo, is exactly what we need to wake up our palates. Be sure to follow Roberto's instructions to begin cooking the chorizo in a cold pan, which will help render as much of the fat as possible, and serve them with a cool slice of avocado and fresh green salsa.