What’s for Dinner? The Food Crate

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If you’re anything like me, you’ve done just a bit too much cooking during the pandemic, and I’m always on the hunt for simple solutions to dinnertime. Just in time for fall and heading indoors, there’s a new game in town that you should know about: The Food Crate. Founder Jordan Laudano hails from a family that has supplied high-end restaurants across New England with provisions. He and his chef have labored for the last six months in their commercial USDA certified kitchen to develop recipes that they can pack and ship directly to you. What’s the upshot? High-end restaurant-quality meals with little to no prep in YOUR kitchen. They’re not in the business of trying to teach you how to cook, like Blue Apron and other food boxes; rather you choose what you want from their vast options and voila! Heat up your picks, and a delish dinner is on the table.

You can order prepared crates like The Atlantic Steam Pot, Carnivore Grill, Smoked Barbecue or Sunday Sauce, or create your own from the assortment of charcuterie, appetizers, entrees, and sides. Everything looked so tempting, we most definitely over-ordered.

Our favorite was the tuna kit: a fresh-from-the-sea block of Ahi, with sesame crusting mix and umami-rich citrus/wasabi/soy sauce. I dipped the Ahi in the mixture, pan-fried for a minute or two per side, and proudly presented a gorgeous dish.

We loved the ease of a surf-and-turf-inspired grill of skewered tenderloin tips marinated in Japanese Barbecue sauce and Thai Shrimp, deeply flavored with coconut, fish sauce, and lemongrass. We grilled them up, but you can also pop in the oven.

For lunch, we snacked heartily on gluten-free flaky crab cakes with a luscious lemony aioli.

Even cocktail hour was covered with a disc of creamy CT-based Arethusa Farm Camembert (Jordan tries to source as much as he can locally) quince paste, my favorite oat crackers, and buttery Marcona almonds.

We saved the tasty and bright Sunday sauce for Sunday (of course) and accompanied it with a mountain of chicken meatballs (which arrive partially cooked, ready to pop in the oven) studded with mozzarella, spinach, and red pepper. Even a jar of freshly grated pecorino was provided. We added our own gluten-free pasta and enjoyed an Italian feast.

For dessert, we baked up a tray of the irresistible coconut chocolate chip cookies, warm and gooey straight out of the oven.

I’m a firm believer in gifting consumables, and The Food Crate will be high on my list. I’ve already sent one out and shared my goodies with a housebound friend.

Good to know:

Use code ELIST15 for a 15% discount off your entire order for E List readers only. Offer ends 9/30.

Free overnight shipping with $125 order.

www.thefoodcrate.com

Shipping available to tri-state area, New England, and Pennsylvania.

food crate

 

food crate