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What to Cook the Week of May 18 - 24: 10 Dinner Ideas from a Chef

By Chef Michael Rossi · SEASON plan, May 18 - 24, 2026

Every Sunday I write one week of dinners: five Classic and five Plant-Based, chosen around what is actually good at the market that week. This is the plan for May 18 - 24, 2026. Take the ideas, cook the ones you want, or let SEASON hand you the whole week with the shopping list already done.

A dinner from the SEASON plan for May 18 - 24, 2026, by Chef Michael Rossi

The Classic five

1
Lemon-Thyme Roast Chicken
Red Potatoes · Carrots · Spring Peas · Pan Jus
A whole roast chicken with vegetables underneath is the original one-pan dinner.
Roast, 90 Minutes · serves 4
2
Shrimp Fried Rice
Day-Old Jasmine Rice · Eggs · Scallions · Soy
Fried rice rewards preparation and respects speed.
Skillet, 30 Minutes · serves 4
3
Steak Chimichurri Bowl
Pearl Couscous · Chimichurri · Charred Asparagus · Roasted Peppers
Chimichurri is the headline.
Grill or Skillet, 35 Minutes · serves 4
4
Sausage & Broccoli Rabe Orecchiette
Italian Sausage · Pecorino · Late-Spring Rabe
This pasta is the soul of Italian-American Sunday cooking turned into a weeknight dish.
Skillet, 30 Minutes · serves 4
5
Chicken Tinga Tostadas
Chicken Tinga · Crispy Tortillas · Avocado Crema · Cotija · Pickled Onion
If you cooked Sunday's roast chicken, this is the dish for the leftover meat - pull about 3 cups, skip straight to step 4, and Tuesday's dinner is 20 minutes ahead.
Skillet, 30 Minutes · serves 4

The Plant-Based five

Fully plant-based, every week, built to stand on its own rather than as a substitution.

1
Late May Farmers Market Bowl
Farro · Crispy Chickpeas · Shaved Fennel · Radish · Chermoula
The chermoula is the dish.
Stovetop + Oven, 35 Minutes · serves 4
2
Strawberry & Burrata Salad
Peak Strawberries · Vegan Burrata · Basil · Aged Balsamic · Grilled Sourdough
This dish exists only for two weeks a year.
Grill + Assembly, 25 Minutes · serves 4
3
Spanish Roasted Mushrooms over Creamy Polenta
Wild Mushrooms · Sherry Vinegar · Confit Garlic · Creamy Polenta · Fresh Thyme
This dish builds on three techniques: mushrooms cooked hot and undisturbed until they brown, polenta cooked slow and stirred for creaminess, sherry vinegar added off the heat to wake everything up.
Skillet + Stovetop, 40 Minutes · serves 4
4
Spring Mezze Plate
Whipped Butter Bean Spread · Charred Spring Vegetables · Marinated Olives · Pickled Stone Fruit
A mezze plate is the dish, not any single component.
Multi-Component, 45 Minutes · serves 4
5
Roasted Artichoke & Spring Onion Pasta
Charred Baby Artichokes · Spring Onions · Confit Garlic · Mint · Toasted Breadcrumbs
Baby artichokes are at peak right now and only need basic prep - no fuzzy choke to dig out, no heroic trimming.
Skillet + Oven, 45 Minutes · serves 4

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The recipe above is the cooking. SEASON membership is the system around it:

Ten dinners chosen for you every Sunday - five Classic, five Plant-Based
One consolidated shopping list for the whole week, sorted the way a chef shops
A prep plan that tells you what to do ahead so weeknights are assembly, not cooking
Servings that scale, hands-free Cook Mode, and the full searchable Library of every dish

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See every SEASON weekly dinner plan → · More May dinner ideas →